Paul Winterton (1908–2001) was an English journalist and crime novelist better known under the pseudonym Andrew Garve. He also published under the name Paul Somers and his first books were attributed to Roger Bax. In 1952 he joined the Detection Club. He was one of the founding-members of the Crime Writers’ Association and served with Elizabeth Ferrars as its first joint secretary. His introduction of Inspector James of Scotland Yard as a series character was Blueprint for Murder (Hutchinson, 1948).
Set in the turbulent post-war years, the story clearly demonstrates the difficulty some survivors of combat had in joining society again. Widowed Charles Hollison, owner of a thriving paint manufacturing firm, was overjoyed to have his only son Geoffrey and his nephew Arthur Cross back home. Geoffrey’s war was largely away from the action but Arthur was in the thick of European fighting, where he spent time in a POW camp. Hollison wants them both to take over the family firm and keep it going during the enormous rebuilding phase underway. Geoffrey is grateful for the opportunity, Arthur not so much.
Arthur picked up some unsavory habits during the war and his spending far exceeds his income. He decides that his uncle’s comfortable fortune should be his and that Hollison must die. He works out a convincing alibi for the murder, always the hardest part, and a schedule for carrying it out. His capacity for detailed clear, if twisted, thinking is outstanding. Everything goes according to his timeline until a tiny but significant disruption to his alibi occurs.
Not a mystery by any means, the reader knows almost right away who the killer is, the identity of the victim, and the motive for the killing. What isn’t plain is if the killer will actually escape unscathed. Inspector James suspects Arthur right away, even though his alibi is rock solid, yet Arthur’s undoing comes from an altogether different direction. There’s a terrific segment on sailing across the English Channel in a storm. Winterton had to have been a sailor or he had access to expert advice.
As so often occurs in London crime fiction, his plan required a heavy fog. I am beginning to think fog-dependent crime fiction might be another subgenre.
Fans of character analysis and post-war crime fiction will want to look at this one.