15 November 2022.
ISBN:978-1-91-547517-6 (PB)
Originally published 1932.
The story is narrated by Farrar, a moderately successful shipbroker, who for many years was a close friend of Wellington Burnet, although Burnet was a far more prosperous businessman, who had made his fortune in the City. The intimacy between Farrar and Burnet faded when Burnet married a woman who was much younger and far better born than him and moved to a magnificent house called Midwood, which Burnet’s new wife, Alison, has had decorated in a lavish style. The friendship revived somewhat in the past few months when Burnet started to return to the city, but Farrar doesn’t feel as if it can ever be the same between them. Farrar has also become friendly with Philip Tolefree, a member of the same club. Farrar initially believes Tolefree is an insurance agent but then discovers this is cover for his real employment as a private inquiry agent. Tolefree’s speciality is investigating business crime.
Farrar is invited to visit Midwood for the first time and is astonished when, soon after he arrives, Tolefree also turns up. Tolefree explains that he is present because Burnet has sent for him as an inquiry agent. However, before Burnet can tell Tolefree what he needs him for he is found dead in his study, battered to death by a blunt instrument. When Burnet’s body is discovered, Tolefree automatically takes charge, preventing anyone from leaving the scene of the crime and thus depriving them of the opportunity to conceal or destroy evidence. This is greatly appreciated by the police detective in charge of the investigation, Inspector Catterick.
As far as Tolefree can tell, only three people have a complete alibi for the time of Burnet’s murder: Farrar, and Burnet’s nephew, George Gillespie, and Tolefree himself. Although the time of death can be narrowed down to only five fatal minutes it seems that it will be impossible to discover the identity of the perpetrator or the motive for the crime, especially as several of the suspects have secrets, they wish to conceal.
George Gillespie asks Tolefree to investigate his uncle’s death and Tolefree is also eager to discover what commission Burnet had wished him to undertake. Farrar is determined to help discover who killed his old friend and the three form an alliance, with Tolefree as their leader. Despite his desire to help, Farrar frequently finds the tasks he has to undertake distasteful and embarrassing, whether it is inadvertently eavesdropping on two of the suspects who are having a personal conversation or following Tolefree’s command to shadow a suspect. Tolefree and his helpers discover that not only do all of the suspects have secrets, but the victim also had something he had been at pains to conceal. The story has an interesting extra dimension in the relationship between Tolefree and Inspector Catterick. They do not work in competition to each other, nor do they work in partnership, but rather harmoniously in parallel. Surprisingly, it is the police detective who indulges in dramatic gestures to startle the suspects into making mistakes while Tolefree is quieter and more subtle, often working quite literally in the dark. However, it is evident that both men respect the other’s abilities and use each other’s skills to help reveal the truth.
The Fatal Five Minutes was first published in 1932 and has just been republished.
It is slow paced and discursive but nevertheless it is an interesting read with
a clever twist regarding the motivation for the crime and some excellent
characterisation, which subtly shows that few people are all good or totally
depraved. I would recommend this as an interesting and enjoyable read for
anybody who enjoys exploring the lesser remembered crime fiction of the period
revered as the Golden Age of Crime Fiction.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
Robert Alfred John Walling (1869-1949) was an English journalist. He invented the upper-class private investigator Philip Tolefree. He was born in Exeter; his father was the journalist RH Walling. He married Florence Greet and lived in Plymouth, where he edited the Western Independent. Walling also wrote travel articles and biographies. He did not begin to write mysteries until he was nearly sixty. His series characters were Garstang and Philip Tolefree.
Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times. Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 6 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link below.
https://promotingcrime.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/carol-westron.html www.carolwestron.com
http://carolwestron.blogspot.co.uk/
To read a review of Carol
latest book click on the title
The Curse of the Concrete Griffin
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