One of the most intriguing aspects of Golden Age and mid-20th century authors is their almost endless versatility. So many of them seem to toss off a few mystery novels as a diversion from their real lives, which have nothing to do with writing. Ellen Wilkinson wrote one single excellent mystery and then went back to politics. Mavis Doriel Hay wrote three good mysteries, only three, and then returned to her lifelong interest in British rural industries and crafts. Basil Thomson worked in intelligence, law enforcement, criminal justice, and diplomacy and in passing turned out a handful of mysteries. In some parts of the world Ngaio Marsh is better known for her significant contributions to theatre than for creating Roderick Alleyn. And on and on and on.
John Canaday (1907-1985) is another example. He was a university art professor and critic, turning out volumes in his chosen field while producing a handful of mysteries under the pseudonym Matthew Head. He later became the chief art critic for the New York Times, serving in that role from 1959 to 1973. After he resigned his role as art critic for the Times, he became their restaurant critic for a few years. World War II interrupted his tenure as art professor at the University of Virginia when he went to the Belgian Congo to work as a French interpreter for the Bureau of Economic Welfare. This experience provided the background for his mysteries with Dr. Mary Finney.
The first one in the series is The Devil in the Bush published by Simon & Schuster in 1945, narrated by a young botanist named Hooper Tolliver, who is visiting various plantations in Africa to determine if they can fill in materials shortages caused by the war. Last on his list is an isolated rundown plantation, where Tolliver finds the manager developed a particularly virulent form of dysentery and dies before Tolliver can talk to him. An itinerant pair of middle-aged missionaries, one a doctor, arrive at the station about the same time on a routine visit. Dr. Mary Finney is suspicious of the sudden death and requests lab cultures. She is comparing the timing of the illness onset with the presence or absence of residents on the station and coming to ominous conclusions when another death occurs.
This is the most exotic mystery I can remember. The attempt to establish European living conditions in a jungle setting is stunningly conveyed through the telling of everyday events. Tolliver as a newcomer is an opportune reason to mention the unsettling history of the area, including cannibalism and native uprisings, which is casually relayed in asides.
Dr. Finney is a far from routine detective. Unfortunately the reader is largely treated to her conclusions, not the process by which she reached them. The mystery is competent enough but is overwhelmed by the vivid snapshot of the details of colonization. An intriguing read.