Sara Elizabeth Mason (1911-1993) was an American writer from the Deep South, who taught school as well as worked in academic libraries. Her background is thoroughly described in an article by Curtis Evans posted on his blog on 21 June 2018, http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2018/06/death-in-heart-of-dixie-and-windy-city.html. It’s also part of the release that combines her first two books in one volume. She only wrote four crime novels, the first of which was Murder Rents a Room, published by Doubleday Crime Club in January 1943 and then resurrected and reprinted by Coachwhip Books in 2020.
Kate Frazier has returned to Cliffs Edge, the ancestral family home in rural central Alabama, after the death of her husband in New York. There, with the help of several black workers, she and a couple of cousins farm worn-out land to raise enough money to keep the taxes paid on the dilapidated mansion that was first built in 1830. To generate additional funds, the cousins have begun renting rooms to hunting and fishing enthusiasts and giving tours of the classically constructed Southern manor.
Alex Dexter has been ill and his doctor sends him south to recover. He finds Cliffs Edge by accident and decides to stay for a few days. (Kate charges him $15 a week for room and board– $250 in 2021 dollars — which the family cook Ella considers extortionate.) All of the family disagreements, tensions, and worries are on display for him, as various nearby cousins drop in, and one cousin living in Philadelphia decides to visit with no notice. Cousin Kitty brings her big-city clothes and flirts determinedly with every man within speaking distance, angering or annoying all the other women.
Despite richly deserving it, Kitty’s is not the body that Kate discovers in the woods near Cliffs Edge a few days later. Sheriff Bill Davies and the coroner issue a finding of murder and everyone in the family begins to look at each other in doubt. No one has much of an alibi but everyone has something to hide, so Sheriff Davies has an uphill battle to discover the culprit.
A quite readable story with a good mystery. The plot has a number of clever obfuscations although I guessed the perpetrator about halfway through. My Southern roots recognized the setting and the psychological need to hold on to family history regardless of the cost. Mason no doubt incorporated some of her own genealogy into the details. Readers will find the attitude toward people of color jarring at least, if not downright offensive. This perspective permeates the story and sadly contributes to its authenticity. I am curious about the timing of the writing, as there are no references to World War II that I noticed. It’s likely that it was begun well before the entry of the United States into the war in December 1941 and perhaps completed before then too.
Contemporary reviews are not always available for books by obscure authors, especially their debut novels, but Kirkus reviewed this one in its 13 August 1943, issue, and the New York Times reviewed it in its 15 August 1943, issue.
An interesting blend of detective novel and the themes of the Southern literary renaissance of the early 20th century.