Murder Has a Motive (Mordecai Tremaine Mystery, 2)

At first, I found it annoyingly slow then suddenly I realized I couldn’t put it down. The transition between molasses slow and intensely relentless was very subtle and well done. One minute I was ready to quit because of the annoying repetition about the atmosphere and the detective’s quirks, and the next I was wondering how he would get himself out of the tangle and make it clear to everyone else.
I guessed quite early who did it, but I wasn’t sure. Duncan gave so many clues, true and false, that he made me doubt my own conclusions.
Now if you don’t like being told instead of shown what’s going on this isn’t the book for you. Especially, in the beginning, we are told directly over and over again exactly what the atmosphere is and what the significance of every statement is. That got a bit tiresome, but eventually, that stops.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as clean as I had hoped. The language was clean until the last third or so. Then there were quite a few ‘mild’ curse words. There was also an adulterous relationship. It’s handled delicately, but it is sort of winked at.
I received this as a free ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark. No positive review was required and these are my honest opinions.

A period mystery with an engaging detective
I would have liked him
One of the best of its time and place
I will read anything this author has written

"Murder Has a Motive" is a mystery novel that was originally published in 1947 and is set in England. The real murders mimic the murders in a play that the locals are putting on. The play suggests whodunit, but the detective feels that the similarities are misleading.

The amateur detective, Mordecai, snooped around and collected clues. While it was a clue-based mystery, Mordecai seemed most taken by the atmosphere of evil that he felt about the place. While I did correctly guess whodunit and why early on, I was never sure that the author wasn't suddenly going to go in another direction as several possibilities were left open.

There were quite a few suspects to keep track of, and some were so bland that it was hard to remember who they were. However, the more important characters did have more distinct personalities. At the end, Mordecai hopes to end the killing spree by getting everyone together and pretending to know what he was only guessing. There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.

I received a free ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Mordecai Tremaine, fascinated with murder and involved in helping the police with two real-life murder cases since his retirement, happens to be visiting friends in the small town of Dalmering on the same day Lydia Dare has been found stabbed to death. He is a self-effacing man, who seems to have a knack for understanding the motivations of his fellow man, which can be very helpful in solving murder cases. Inspector Boyce of Scotland Yard, who has been called in to head the investigation, again allows Mordecai to assist him. As Mordecai attends the rehearsals for the play that Dalmering’s residents are putting on, “Murder Has a Motive – A Play in Three Acts,” he soon realizes that reality seems to be mirroring the acts of the play. When a second murder takes place, Mordecai realizes he must act quickly before the third act is played out in real life.

Murder Has a Motive was originally published in 1947 and is the first book in the Mordecai Tremaine series by Francis Duncan. Duncan’s writing style is very easy to read, and I was instantly drawn into the story. There isn’t a lot of action or suspense in the book, but it moved along well and included a surprise or two. Inspector Boyce is not the clueless, blundering policeman that one sometimes finds in amateur detective books, but it is still all Mordecai with the final solution, who gathers the cast together in the final scene to unmask the murder. It is a solid piece of Golden Age detective fiction, with a compelling plot.

I enjoyed this quote at the end of the book as Mordecai wrestles with consequences of his investigation.

"You couldn’t see only beauty in the world. You had to see the disfiguring stains, the sordid and sprawling things, too. Because that was life. Life was ugly and untidy besides being beautiful and marvelous and full of wonder. You had to see the dirt as well as the stars. To see the dirt and not become a cynic, to hold fast to one’s ideals, to preserve one’s belief in the underlying decencies of humanity—that was the real purpose of living."

I received this book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

Murder with a Motive is a vintage mystery, originally published in 1947, and republished in the US in 2018. It was written when many mysteries were solved by amateur sleuths who bested the police, drawing parallels to Agatha Christie and others of the period.

In this book, the amateur is Mordecai Euripides Tremaine (why did so many have extravagant names, I wonder), an unremarkable man, a retired tobacconist with pince-nez who ambles through the village, gathering information and clues he shares with the Scotland Yard detective assigned to the case.

I found this slow going at first, with ponderous and overdone paragraphs of description that made me impatient to get to the next pages. However, by the time we were halfway through, I was attuned to the writing style and found myself intrigued. I enjoyed the rest of it, with the small twists and turns that led to the somewhat melodramatic ending. I did not see the villain coming, though, but I think I was simply enjoying the ride and was willing to let our sleuth do the work for me.

This is an old-fashioned murder mystery, with corpses but no gore, a small group of suspects (almost but not quite like a drawing room murder), and some nice little red herrings. I was well entertained for a few hours. I think if it is approached as such (i.e., not expecting it to be a fast-paced, modern day thriller), fans of the era will enjoy it. I would probably read another in the series.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Great

Author

This is the 2nd 'Mordecai Tremaine' book I have read. I enjoyed the 1st so much that I immediately ordered 3 others. now under review is the first of those 3 to have arrived. The author used the pseudonym 'Francis Duncan' for all the works of his that I have learned of so far.

Mordecai Tremaine is an amateur English detective. He is a retired tobacconist who came to the notice of a Scotland Yard detective who recognized his unofficial investigative skills.

This story take place in the fictional village of Dalmering in Sussex County. Three murders have occurred there in quick succession. The victims had an association with a play that was to have been performed there. Its name, 'Murder Has A Motive,' has been used as the book title by the writer. Tremaine and the detective, Inspector Boyce, become re-associated from having previously worked together on another case.

Author Francis Duncan writes in a style that is both descriptive and easy to follow.. The editions I have read are hardcover, published in large print by Thorndike Press. This reviewer's eyesight is such that I find them a pleasure to read. I came upon this series by accident while searching Amazon for something to read. From what I have read so far I recommend them.

book arrived promptly and was as described.