Dramatic Murder by Elizabeth Anthony – Review

By Sarah Morgan

Some titles jump up and grab you by the throat. Others are instantly forgettable. Sadly, Dramatic Murder falls into the latter category – it’s just so bland and generic. However, don’t let it fool you into thinking the pages within aren’t worth bothering with, because it’s a gem of a tale.

It’s the work of Elizabeth Anthony, who was born Barbara Courlander, and wasn’t what you would describe as prolific. She only wrote one other crime novel, Made For Murder, which came out in 1950, two years after its predecessor.

Did she simply not want to compete with her sister, Shelley Smith, who was a successful writer in the genre? That’s something Martin Edwards, who writes an informative profile of Elizabeth/Barbara during an introduction to the book, speculates about. She was, however, also a single mother, so perhaps parenting, understandably, dominated her life.

For crime fiction fans, that’s something of a shame. There’s a sense of a talent lost, because if Dramatic Murder is anything to go by, she was an author of much skill and invention.

“Killer on the loose”

The story begins at Christmas, with a group of guests assembling at Possett Castle, which is owned by their friend, the improbably named playwright and broadcaster Dimpsie McCabe.

On their arrival, Dr Harley and journalist Katherine Mickey find the place seemingly deserted. Their fellow guests are apparently in the grounds playing a game, while the host is nowhere to be found – until the duo stumble upon his body caught up in the Christmas tree in his study.

It seems that Dimpsie has been the victim of an unfortunate electrocution accident, although Dr Harley isn’t convinced that he would do something so silly as mess around with faulty lights while wearing wet slippers. Then, on their return to London, other members of the party turn up dead, which makes it pretty clear there’s a killer on the loose. But who would want to bump members of this disparate gang off, and why?

If truth be known, the identity of the person responsible is very guessable indeed, but it’s nevertheless fun watching the central characters trying to figure out whodunit.

And with the festive season an alarmingly short time away, what better way to get in the mood for it than by passing the long, cold winter nights with a Christmas-themed mystery?

‘Dramatic Murder: A Lost Christmas Murder Mystery’ by Elizabeth Anthony is published by the British Library