Moray Dalton was the pen name of Katherine Mary Deville Dalton (1881-1963), who wrote two romances and then turned to crime. Her first mystery was released in 1924 and it was succeeded by 28 more, the last one in 1951. Most of the books featured Scotland Yard Inspector Hugh Collier or private detective Hermann Glide. Dean Street Press reprinted 15 of them and Spitfire Publishers reprinted four others.
The Shadow on the Wall (Jarrolds, 1926; Spitfire, 2022) is Dalton’s second crime fiction novel. More thriller than mystery, as the culprit becomes apparent quickly. It is impossible to say much without giving away key plot points.
Sir Henry Gage died in Hampshire and left his estate not to the son of his distant cousin Adela Durrant, who had been keeping house for him, as expected but to his nephew who had been cast off by the family for his wild behavior years ago. Hugh Gage was dead but Laura Gage, his daughter, saw the notice the lawyers placed in the Canadian newspapers and stepped forward with her half-brother to claim her father’s inheritance. All her papers were in order and Laura takes possession to the unstated fury of Mrs. Durrant. She remains in the house and makes Laura’s life miserable. A sudden death in the house followed by a near-fatal illness brings matters to boiling point, and Laura goes on trial for murder.
This bare bones outline does not convey the complexity of the story. It has elements of Christie’s Sad Cypress and Taken at the Flood, only more complicated. Dalton has a nice feel for the underprivileged and friendless members of society, illustrating how easily they are caught up in events they can’t control. She also shows in a chilling sequence how readily inconvenient women could be locked up and drugged into submission. The English interest in archeological digs in the Middle East during the 1920s gets attention too. This is the second 1920s book I have read in a month where these excavations were a source of escape for characters. There’s a melodramatic strain here that I didn’t notice in Dalton’s later work, but her feel for her characters is well developed, even this early in her writing career. Her people, from Laura to the grouchy gardener, are sharp and clear. The basic plot is standard and the outcome predictable but Dalton adds frills, tucks, and a bit of beadwork and turns out a suspenseful read. Intriguing.