I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
First Came a Murder
by
John Creasey
spy thriller, vintage mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Ipso Books on September 15, 2015 and has 213 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Unbegotten, The Toff Goes On, Gideon and the Young Toughs and Other Stories, Introducing the Toff, The Peril Ahead, The Death Miser, Redhead, Carriers of Death, Death Round the Corner, Death by Night, Sabotage, A Kind of Prisoner, The Mark of the Crescent
Third in the Department Z vintage spy thriller series and revolving around the brave gay men of British Intelligence under Gordon Craigie. The focus is on Hugh Devenish and Marion Dare. First Came a Murder was first published in 1934.
My Take
These men of Department Z have reputations as devil-may-care men who travel on a whim, amusing themselves as they wish.
First Came a Murder starts with a, well, a start, when the first character is injected with poison. And the action doesn’t stop, as Devenish is nearly mowed down by a car.
Creasey uses third person global subjective point-of-view from a number of perspectives, primarily Devenish’s and Craigie’s. It means we know what they’re thinking, saying, and experiencing. And they are busy men!!
I do enjoy Creasey’s descriptions of the settings — Craigie’s office is such a bachelor’s pad, of the manners, those fabulous cars, the police procedures so lax compared to today’s, the myriad betrayals, kidnapping, explosions, arson, blackmail, the undercover work (on both sides), the boarding party(!), high speed chases . . . it’s non-stop! Frame-ups run the gamut from setting someone up for prison, faking deaths . . .
So far there’s always been a romance that steals away yet another agent.
That Riordan is such a typical bad guy. Cocky. Thinks he’s too smart for everyone. Doesn’t care who he hurts. Doesn’t care what he wrecks.
For all the secrecy Creasey promotes, there are a lot of cops who know who the agents are. I do rather envy these men having those “get out of jail free” cards, lol. Creasey also talks of there being a dozen men ready to leap into action, and there always seem to be so many more Craigie calls on.
It’s pretty sad how much the locals hate the Riordans. It makes me appreciate Devenish’s trick, with the Jolly Sailor’s compliance, all the more.
It’s a robbery of incredible proportions, and Creasey keeps the action moving with plenty of greed and cruelty.
The Story
It’s a terrible betrayal, talking up that stock, but nothing compared to what the “Honorable” Marcus Riordan has planned.
The Characters
Hugh Devenish is one of Craigie’s agents. Pincher is his manservant. Pincher’s sister is married to Wiggings, a prize fighter.
Department Z is . . .
. . . the nickname for British Intelligence, a.k.a. British Secret Service, that’s headed up by the infamous Gordon Craigie. His agents include Anthony Barr Carruthers, who is playing deep; Robert Augustus Bruce; Tobias and Timothy Arran, fraternal twins; and “Dodo” Trale.
Lord Aubrey Chester, an excellent tennis player, is married to the beauteous Diane.
Scotland Yard
William Fellowes is the chief commissioner. Superintendent Arthur Moore. Billitter is the station-sergeant at the Line Street Station.
The H.M.S. Dromore is a destroyer, limited to 33 knots. The Hastings and the Bradford are her sister ships.
Sir Basil Riordon, Bart., is the governor of Bleddon’s, a private bank and lives primarily at Wharncliff Hall in Sussex. His son, the Honorable Marcus Riordan, has a reputation as a modern Croesus. Huggett is Marcus’ bruiser of a chauffeur. A former girlfriend, Lydia Crane knows everything — and Marcus would do anything to get rid of her. Miss Marion Dare, a jailbird, is Sir Basil’s downtrodden private secretary. Other staff include Rogers, Tomlinson, and Mrs Ransome, who is the housekeeper. All of them, all are jailbirds. Madame X is Marcus’ supermodern yacht.
Macauly is the troubled general manager at Bleddon’s.
The Carilon Club is an unofficial headquarters for the agents of Department Z. M’sieu Charles Rickett is the Club secretary. Meeson is one of its members.
Wharncliff, Sussex, is . . .
. . . a village that gave its name to Riordan’s home. The Bull is an inn. Will’um is either the innkeep or a patron. The Horsham Fire Station is the nearest.
Shoreham is . . .
. . . a port where Madame X is anchored. The Jolly Sailor is a pub where William Hearty is the landlord. Detective Tankerton is with Sussex CID.
Portsmouth is . . .
. . . another port where the S.S. Mario, a tramp cargo boat, is anchored. Shades of Cussler’s The Oregon Files here! Hans Lorenson is its Dutch skipper. Carris is its chief engineer.
The directors of Marritabas/Marritabas Tin Mines, Ltd., include Samuel Benjamin Martin, Horace Oswald Birch has a wife and child, Robert Elijah Honeybaum, and Octavius William Young. The influential Redmond, Soames and Redmond are Martin’s acting solicitors. Marion had once worked for the Marritaband Development Company. The Discharged Prisoners Welfare Association helps ex-cons get work.
The Cover and Title
The background of the cover is white with faint gray handwriting all over it and drops of blood spattered on the lower half. At the top is the author’s name in a paler red — a rectangular outline in the upper right holds the series info in a slightly darker red. The title is below the author’s name in black with an info blurb in red beneath that.
The title speaks true, for First Came a Murder.
