Quick Curtain by Alan Melville

Quick Curtain by Alan Melville ISBN-13: 9781464208706 Paperback: 268 pages Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Released: Dec. 5, 2017

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
'Don't talk bunk!' said Mr Douglas. 'You can't carry on with the show with a man dying on stage. Drop the curtain!'

When Douglas B. Douglas—leading light of the London theatre—premieres his new musical extravaganza, Blue Music, he is sure the packed house will be dazzled by the performance. What he couldn't predict is the death of his star, Brandon Baker, on stage in the middle of Act 2. Soon another member of the cast is found dead, and it seems to be a straightforward case of murder followed by suicide.

Inspector Wilson of Scotland Yard—who happens to be among the audience—soon discovers otherwise. Together with Derek, his journalist son, Wilson takes charge of proceedings in his own inimitable way.

This is a witty, satirical novel from the golden age of British crime fiction between the world wars.


My Review:
Quick Curtain is a humorous mystery set in England and was originally published in 1934. It's a clue-based mystery, but it's also a spoof on "clever detective" murder mysteries. The detective and his journalist son exchanged witty banter as they worked together to uncover clues. I was a little surprised at the assumptions they made, though I grant that "clever detectives" do tend to make flashy assumptions. The story wasn't really about guessing whodunit, though technically you can.

While I enjoy this author's humor and his interesting characters, I liked "Death of Anton" better. I guess I felt a little tricked, thinking it was a real mystery and not learning it was a full-fledged spoof until the end. And the ending left a few loose ends lying around, which was a little unsatisfying. There was no sex. There was a fair amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this humorous mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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