Christianna Brand was the pseudonym of Mary Christianna Lewis (1907-1985), who also wrote as China Thomson, Annabel Jones, Mary Roland, and Mary Ann Ashe. She wrote mysteries, fantasy, short stories, and children’s books. The 2005 film Nanny McPhee is based on the Nurse Matilda character created by Brand. Her mystery series lead character was Inspector Cockrill who appeared in seven of her books but Inspector Charlesworth was introduced in her first book Death in High Heels (John Lane, Bodeley Head, 1941).
One of Brand’s many early jobs was an assistant in a dress shop and it is easy to see where she collected the background for this first book. The owner of Christophe et Cie was opening another store and two of the senior staff were hoping for the position. The remaining staff, two models, three sales assistants, and an inventory manager, were hoping the more difficult of the two would receive the promotion because it would take her out of their orbit. It was with this announcement hanging in the balance that one of the possible recipients dies of poison she ingested with her lunch. Since the office staff ate together, there was every opportunity for her lunch to be poisoned by one of her coworkers. Charlesworth had to reconstruct detailed agendas of each staff member’s day and their locations at the critical times.
Set in a high-end dress shop I had great hopes for lavish descriptions of gowns and day frocks but I was sorely disappointed. As a mystery Death in High Heels is flawed, as might be expected in a first effort. Charlesworth is too inexperienced for the job, overestimates his abilities, becomes far too involved with several of the suspects, and on and on. The plot is solid but the unraveling takes too long. The characters though are spot on. Brand captured the pettiness, the bickering, the backstabbing of a small office perfectly. The predatory shop owner is an all too familiar sight in the workplace. Her depiction of the naïve teenaged companion to one suspect’s mother was priceless. The aforesaid young lady had been warned of dire consequences if she were rash enough to accept a ride with a young man but the warning went out of her head when a personable undercover policeman struck up a chat with her, trying to collect information about the suspect. Off she went with him without a thought.
I adored the characterization. Brand was clearly taking solid notes while she went through the daily grind of her job. The plot wasn’t quite as breathtaking as her later books but the potential is there. For followers of Golden Age mysteries.