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THE SUSSEX DOWNS MURDER, which first appeared in 1936, starts off the series of classic detective novels being re-issued by the British Library in conjunction with Poisoned Pen Press in the United States. An introduction to the author and his work appears at the beginning of these reissues. These introductions are well worth the few minutes it takes to read them as they place the author in an historical context and also point out the reason why a particular work was selected for republication. In his introduction to THE SUSSEX DOWNS MURDER, Martin Edwards analyzes the four important elements in which this novel is better than earlier work, not only by Bude himself, but by other novelists of the time. Those four - setting, plot, the detective and the writing - do indeed stand out throughout this work.
Chalklands Farm is home to the Rother brothers, John and William, along with William's wife. Right from the beginning the setting plays an important role in the plot. Chalklands is so named because on this farm, chalk is processed into lime. Several times throughout the book, how that is done comes into play.
John Rothers leaves on a road trip but disappears. His car is found abandoned but there are some signs of a struggle. And then pieces of bone turn up in a lime delivery leading police back to the door of Chalklands. Perhaps the grieving brother wasn't quite as despondent as he appeared? Certainly if you follow the money all paths lead back to the brother. But Bude has more in store for his readers than this simple plot.
Detective Meredith is a different sort of detective. Unlike so many English detectives over the years, Meredith has a sense of humor. Yes, he follows the rules and follows the money, but he's a pleasant soul who readily admits mistakes. And he makes more than a few along the way in THE SUSSEX DOWNS MURDER.
Lastly, Bude's writing is easy to read even after all of these years. Some of his characters speak in local dialect but in context the speech flows smoothly. The author has a bit of a sense of humor that shows up in the writing as well. He has his characters saying and doing some outlandish things, probably very much the way ordinary citizens came across to detectives then - and now. In one case, a witness quite possibly has an important piece of information but is so caught up in describing his "psychic eye" that Meredith can hardly get the story of what the guy actually saw.
People report what they see based on what they think must have happened according to their own brand of logic. They see evidence as it is presented. Well, a good crime novel isn't going to have the crime solved on the obvious, and this one doesn't either. On page 195 of a 230+ page book, we find Detective Meredith still going over the "Ten Points in the Case that Remain Unexplained." Clearly he has a long way to go! As a final little joke, or possibly as a tease for the next book to come, Bude uses the same title for his last chapter as he did for the first: "The Opening of a Problem."
In the introduction, Martin Edwards outlined the four exceptionally strong elements of this work - setting, plot, the detective and writing. I found that Bude indeed lived up to Edwards' praise. Wouldn't it be nice if all writing shared these points of excellence?
§ Caryn St.Clair resides in University City, Missouri and is a former elementary school media specialist, President of the Parks Commission and a docent at the St.Louis Zoo.
Reviewed by Caryn St Clair, May 2015
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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