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OUR FIRST MURDER
by Torrey Chanslor
Rue Morgue Press, June 2002
191 pages
ISBN: 091523050x


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

OUR FIRST MURDER was originally published in the 1940s and is now being reprinted by Rue Morgue. In OUR FIRST MURDER, Amanda and Lutie Beagle inherit their brother's, Ezekiel's, detective agency upon his death. Both women are in their sixties and are spinsters living together because they are family. Amanda and Lutie, along with their niece Marthy, go to New York City in order to claim their inheritance and decide to keep the detective agency. Once they have had a chance to explore the city and begin to get bored due to a lack of cases, they are asked to investigate a murder. Hoping to reach Ezekiel, John Bynam calls the agency, because he has found a decapitated body in his girlfriend's, Hester Gale's, bed. The police quickly decide that John and Hester are the obvious suspects and the Beagle sisters must prove their client's innocence.

Chanslor presents 1940s New York City through the eyes of two "country" women. Amanda does not seem to have a real opinion of the city; while, Lutie romanticizes the city due to the mysteries that she reads on her own. Lutie is the dominant character simply because she is the one that has always been fascinated with mystery books; hence, she is the one that investigates. Lutie goes to clubs and magic shows in hopes of solving the crime without any real fear of the city or for her safety. Marthy does not hold the same opinion. She simply follows Lutie in her adventures because she wants to keep Lutie out of trouble.

All of the characters within the book are strongly based on the characters of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Lutie is almost a female Sherlock Holmes without all of his bad habits. She is the character that does most of the "footwork" dragging her Watson (Marthy) along. She also approaches mysteries in the manner of Christie's characters in that she expects the police to welcome her help with their investigations. Amanda is a cross between Miss Marple and Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe. She knits and is primarily concerned with the business end of things although she does piece together parts of the mystery. As already mentioned, Marthy is Watson and faithfully follows Lutie and chronicles the agency's adventures. Ezekiel, although dead and not a fully developed character, is reminiscent of Poirot simply because of his relationship with the police.

Torrey Chanslor takes a formula that has been used successfully by both Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (as well as future writers) and transforms it into something that is both traditional and unique. One can only hope that Chanslor's other Beagle Detective Agency mystery is also reprinted. If you enjoy "classic" mysteries then OUR FIRST MURDER will satisfy your reading craving.

Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, August 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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