Was It Murder?

• Publisher:   HarperCollins (paper)
• Number Of Pages:  
• Publication Date:   1980-01
• ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0060805013
• ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780060805012

Was-It Murder?-deals with the phenomenon of coincidence by posing the question of how likely it is that two brothers attending the same boarding school meet with two separate accidental deaths-and curious ones at that-within the same schoolyear. In the manner typical of the Golden Age whodunnit, the solution is only presented in the final pages of the novel. Throughout the book, an amateur sleuth and a Scotland Yard detective vie with each other to solve the riddle, with only one of them successful in the end.

It should be noted that Was It Murder? remained Hilton's only detective novel-a brief youthful foray into crime fiction he shares with writers such as C. S. Forester (Payment Deferred, 1926; Plain Murder, 1930) and C. P. Snow (Death Under Sail, 1932).

Plot summary:
Oakington is one of the lesser-known public schools in England, and Dr Roseveare, its headmaster, has been trying hard for seven years to improve its reputation. When, in the winter term of 1927-28, one of the pupils is killed in his sleep by an old gas fitting falling down from the ceiling he contacts Colin Revell, an Old Boy, to discreetly investigate the matter. Not entirely convinced that there was no foul play involved but unable to pin down a motive on anyone, Revell leaves again after a few weeks, and most of the evidence is destroyed by the installation of electricity in the whole building.

A few months later Revell is shocked to learn that the deceased boy's brother has also died under mysterious circumstances-he seems to have jumped into the school's indoor swimming pool late at night after the water had been drained-and travels to Oakington of his own accord. Now it turns out that the closest relative of the two brothers, who have been orphans for years, is actually a teacher at Oakington, and that he stands to inherit a small fortune. At the same time Revell falls in love with that teacher's beautiful young wife.

source: Wikipedia

I enjoy the old Britishness of James Hilton's work and the psychological quirks of his characters. But this mystery was disappointing and boring. First of all, I guessed who done it, and why, very early on. Then the author explained everything in very long and boring conversation at the end between several characters. A summing-up like that shouldn't be necessary if the writing of the basic novel is good. The amateur detective's personality wasn't developed sufficiently to allow me to find him interesting. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't an interesting character in the book. The whole thing was exceeding formulaic and I find little to recommend it.

From the Dover edition: "Was It Murder?" like "Goodbye Mr. Chips," takes place in that most traditional and confounding of English settings, the public school. Colin Revell, impudent Oxonian and sometime sleuth, returns to his alma mater Oakington to puzzle over a schoolboy's "accidental" death. The accidents multiply in frequency and horror as Colin idly pokes about the Gothic quads, and the tightly modulated suspense ripens with a generous foretaste of Hilton's later acclaimed talent: finely perceived, individual characters, overwhelming atmosphere, and full complement of adventure and romance. From reviewer: I must admit it has been many years since I read this, picking it up because "Random Harvest" and "Lost Horizon" are favorites, and I enjoy mysteries. So, my rating is based mostly on not having a bad feeling about it, but not having a great one, either. P.S. This book was originally released in 1931 under the title "Murder At School" under a pen name of Glen Trevor.

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