The Corpse with the Grimy Glove (AKA More Than One Serpent)

The Corpse with the Grimy Glove (that was the US title the original British title being More Than One Serpent)  was the thirteenth of R. A. J. Walling’s twenty-two mysteries featuring private detective Philip Tolefree. It appeared in 1938.

R. A. J. Walling (1869-1949) was born in Exeter in England and spent his professional life as a successful newspaperman. He took to writing late in life. His first novel was published in 1927 and the first of the Philip Tolefree mysteries appeared in 1932.

Tolefree is clearly a man of birth and education but he lacks the spectacular aristocratic pretensions of a Lord Peter Wimsey. He does however view the world with a slightly ironic eye. His methods are, on occasions, slightly unconventional. He has no animus against the police but he does sometimes neglect to tell them things when perhaps he should have done so. Tolefree however is no rebel. He believes implicitly in the law and in justice. He simply prefers to pursue his investigations entirely independently.

His Watson is a shipbroker named Farrar who narrates the novels. Like most Watsons Farrar is not unintelligent but he is generally quite unable to follow the workings of Tolefree’s mind once the latter is on the scent of a criminal.

Given that Walling spent his entire life in the West Country it’s no surprise that this detective novel takes that part of England as its setting, and uses that setting very effectively.

Tolefree has been invited to the ancient and rather impressive dwelling place of Sir James Lanivet. The baronet is a local figure of great importance in the small seaside town of Bossena. Almost everybody in the town, and in the surrounding area, is either a tenant of Lanivet’s or is in some way dependent on the family. This will prove to be a factor of major significance.

Sir James has another guest, and a rather surprising one, in the person of a City financier of evil reputation named Tenterton. Tenterton has been implicated in several financial scandals and is widely regarded as a swindler. The real surprise, to Tolefree’s way of thinking, is that Tenterton does not seem to be very happy to be in Bosenna and is not there entirely of his own free will. The reason that Tenterton does not wish to be there will prove to be the key to the unravelling of a murder that is about to take place.

The plot is interesting and ambitious involving, even by the standards of detective fiction, an extraordinary number of people with dark secrets and ambiguous motives. Not necessarily motives for murder, but motives for actions that have the effect of making the solution of the mystery more troublesome for Philip Tolefree.

The only other of Walling’s Tolefree novels that I’ve read is The Corpse in Green Pyjamas (British title The Cat and the Corpse). It was published in 1935 and had a somewhat whimsical feel, as if Walling was enjoying himself having a bit of a romp with mystery novel clichés. By comparison The Corpse with the Grimy Glove has a slightly darker tone although it’s not without its occasional lighter moments.

Interesting, both novels have moments that suggest that the author may well have had a fondness for gothic fiction.

Walling has an easy-going writing style which suits the easy-going personality of his hero quite well.

While I’ve described Tolefree as easy-going it should not be assumed that he is lacking in tenacity or willpower. He can be stubborn and he can be forceful when the occasion demands. An affable exterior is a useful asset for a detective.

Perhaps one can say much the same thing about Walling as a writer. His free and easy style belies the fact that he clearly took detective fiction quite seriously. Walling is a writer I could easily become very fond of. The Corpse with the Grimy Glove is thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended.

R.A.J. Walling’s The Corpse with the Dirty Face

The Corpse with the Dirty Face was the eighth of Englishman R.A.J. Walling’s Philip Tolefree mysteries. This 1936 novel was also published under the title The Crime in Cumberland Court.

I’ve become quite a fan of the Philip Tolefree detective tales. I wouldn’t claim that Walling belongs in the front rank of golden age writers but he was a solid and generally entertaining second-tier practitioner of the art of detective fiction and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Walling’s books also benefit from the author’s deep love of the West Country where he spent his entire life.

Private detective Philip Tolefree is employed to investigate the disappearance of merchant banker Benjamin Broadall. It transpires that this is not just a missing persons case but murder, and a rather ghastly murder at that. Tolefree’s old friend Inspector Pierce of Scotland Yard is in charge of the official investigation but Tolefree’s involvement is far from over.

There is nothing impossible about the crime itself. It’s the motive that is impossible. Plenty of people could have killed Broadall, but why would anyone want to do so? Several people have motives but these motives are, in Tolefree’s view, quite unconvincing. Obviously someone did have a sufficient motive and it’s equally obvious that there is something very important that has not been revealed to either Tolefree or the police. There is a secret behind this murder. It’s also clear that no-one is telling the whole truth. Broadall’s daughter Mary, his nephew Dick Silverbridge, his devoted secretary Pollerby, the seedy doorman Wiverton, the lovely widow Mrs Landrake and the two suitors for Mary’s hand, the bluff young son of the local squire Jack Budshead and Broadall’s musical young friend Lionel Causeland - every one of these people had an opportunity to commit the murder and every one of them is hiding something.

The convoluted and ingenious plot provides the basis for a classic fair play mystery. In my view a successful fair play mystery requires more than just a plot that holds together satisfactorily. The solution should also be psychologically plausible. The murderer should be someone capable of committing the deed and the motive, when revealed, must be believable. The Corpse with the Dirty Face satisfies all of these requirements.

This is not one of those books in which the official police are portrayed as well-meaning but bumbling buffoons. Inspector Pierce is an intelligent policeman with a subtle but very effective approach to his job. Tolefree and Pierce co-operate amicably and efficiently. In some of Walling’s books Tolefree does conceal important evidence from the police but in this tale he is scrupulously fair in his dealings with Inspector Pierce. Tolefree’s biggest problem in fact lies in persuading the various witnesses to tell the truth to the police, something they are extremely reluctant to do.

Walling took to writing detective fiction quite late in life after a long and successful career as a newspaperman (working as a reporter, an editor and a publisher). His style is rather breezy with a nice leavening of sly wit.

Walling was a pretty consistent writer. The Corpse in the Green Pyjamas, The Five Suspects, The Corpse in the Crimson Slippers, The Corpse in the Coppice and The Corpse with the Grimy Glove are all highly entertaining and I’d find it difficult to pick a favourite.

The Corpse with the Dirty Face is a thoroughly enjoyable example of the English golden age detective story. Highly recommended.

R. A. J. Walling's The Five Suspects

English newspaperman R. A. J. Walling (1869-1949) took to crime writing very late, being nearly sixty when his first mystery was published. For the next twenty years he averaged better than a book a year. As a crime writer his reputation rests mainly on his twenty-two Philip Tolefree novels. The Five Suspects was the sixth of the Tolefree books, appearing in 1935.

Philip Tolefree is a private enquiry agent although one gets the impression that being a detective is more of a hobby than a means to earn a living. He is clearly a well-educated man and his languid manner points to an upper-class background. His lack of interest in money suggests that he is not a man who needs to concern himself greatly about such sordid details.

Tolefree is prepared to co-operate with the police when it suits him but it also not averse to keeping important pieces of evidence to himself. He has nothing against the police although he has no great regard for their abilities as detectives.

Tolefree is generally assisted by his friend Farrar, a ship-broker who enjoys dabbling in crime-solving.

The Five Suspects brings Philip Tolefree to the town of Farchester. We can assume that Farchester is somewhere in the West Country. That’s where Walling spent his entire life and it provides the setting for most of his mystery novels. Tolefree in this instance is actually on hand before any crime has been committed. The death of a Miss Minching, a middle-aged lady with whom Tolefree had been slightly acquainted and for whom he had considerable esteem has brought him to Farchester for her funeral. On a Saturday afternoon he happens to be in the office of the elderly local solicitor Mr Spinks. Mr Spinks is the executor of Miss Minching’s estate and for some mysterious reason of his own he has asked a number of people to meet him in his office on that afternoon, his manner suggesting that he has discovered something about Miss Minching’s estate that is troubling him. The nature of his concern is destined to remain mysterious since Mr Spinks is not seen alive after that afternoon.

On the following Monday morning Philip Tolefree is the one who discovers the body of the unfortunate Mr Spinks, who had apparently drowned after falling into the canal near his office. Tolefree had already noted several curious things in the solicitor’s office on the Saturday afternoon, small things but the sorts of things that a man is likely to notice if he happens to be a detective. The fate of Mr Spinks does not come as a great surprise to Mr Tolefree, and he is even less surprised when the medical examiner announces that Mr Spinks had been strangled and was already dead before his immersion in the canal.

There are in Mr Tolefree’s view five possible suspects although his view is somewhat at variance with that of the police. He is inclined to believe that their favoured suspect is very unlikely to be the killer. In any case Philip Tolefree is determined to conduct his own investigation and has little interest in the views of the police.

Walling was not the kind of crime writer who had any great ambitions other than to produce effective and entertaining mysteries. He could not be said to push the edge of the envelope in any way. He did however have the ability to construct satisfyingly devious plots. He also had the knack for peopling his novels with slightly offbeat and rather colourful characters. Walling’s prose is as smooth and easy-going and as pleasing as the personality of his detective. 

Philip Tolefree is a middle-aged man with polished manners but with a playful sense of humour. He is a very civilised man, and Walling’s novels are very civilised crime novels. The Five Suspects provides plenty of thoroughly harmless diversion and I recommend it highly.

The Corpse in the Crimson Slippers

One thing you have to say about the mystery novels of R. A. J. Walling (1869-1949) - there’s none of that transcending the genre nonsense to be found in them. They are pure golden age puzzle-plot detective stories.  They also happen to be rather good.

The Corpse in the Crimson Slippers was published in 1936 and was the seventh of Walling’s Mr Tolefree mysteries.

This book contains all the ingredients that irritate modern critics, and delight fans of the genre - a country house setting, an intricate plot, disguises and mysterious coded messages. Walling was smart enough to realise that in 1936 a country house murder would need to have something extra, and he provides enough variation to keep things interesting.

Philip Tolefree’s latest case is rather unusual. Author-adventurer Ronald Hudson employs him to crack a code in a letter he has received. He refuses to give Tolefree any information as to what the message might be about. Ordinarily Tolefree would not have accepted a case under such circumstances but he’s intrigued by Hudson’s glamorous and mysterious reputation. He’s even more intrigued by the fact that Hudson is wearing a false beard. The disguise would fool most people, but not a professional like Tolefree. So why would Hudson bother? And who exactly is Hudson anyway?

Even more curious is a barely legible pencil note on the business card given to Tolefree by Hudson. As a result of this note Tolefree finds himself at Old Hallerdon, the Devon country house of industrialist Sir Thomas Grymer. Where, as it so happens, a young man has just committed suicide. What possible connection there could be between Hudson’s coded message and the suicide of a young research chemist is a question Philip Tolefree cannot answer at present. It is however just the sort of question that appeals to Tolefree.

Much depends on the layout of Old Hallerdon and the relative positions of the rooms occupied by various people at the time of the suicide. Which means we need a floor plan. And Walling provides us with not just one but two floor plans. This something that warms my heart. I do love my mystery novels to include maps and/or floor plans.

This adventure is not entirely confined to the country house. There’s also a good deal of racing about in high-powered motor cars.

Tolefree is not your standard golden age amateur detective. He’s a professional private inquiry agent and he has a living to make. He’s clearly a well-educated man - Latin and French quotations do not disturb his equilibrium - but he is equally clearly not a member of the leisured upper classes. In fact he’s pretty solidly middle-class, which also seems to have been true of Walling (who was a successful newspaper editor and publisher).

Walling was a West Country man so it’s no surprise that this novel is set in Devon. That’s the part of England that he knew and it’s always a sound plan for an author to stick to setting with which he is personally familiar.

The plot is delightfully complex, with guns, shell casings, fingerprints (or the unexpected lack thereof), fly-fishing, enigmatic antiquarians, bogus scientists, Frenchmen with impressive moustaches, Tudor domestic architecture and crimson slippers all playing crucial parts. 

Walling was an archetypal example of the school of detective fiction labelled as the Humdrum School by critic Julian Symons. Over the past few years the once-despised  Humdrums have been gradually rehabilitated and are now once again finding an appreciative readership. Walling is one of the more underrated representatives of this school. It really is time his books were brought back into print. In the meantime the good news is that used copies of his Philip Tolefree mysteries are not too difficult to find, often at pleasingly reasonable prices. The Corpse in the Green Pyjamas and The Corpse with the Grimy Glove are also great fun.

The Corpse in the Crimson Slippers is splendid entertainment. Highly recommended.

The Corpse in the Coppice

The Corpse in the Coppice was the ninth of R. A. J. Walling’s twenty-two Philip Tolefree mysteries. It was published in 1936 and the US title was Mr. Tolefree’s Reluctant Witnesses.

Mr Tolefree is on holiday with his friend Inspector Pierce from Scotland Yard. Pierce is recovering from a serious illness and has been persuaded by Tolefree to return to Netherminster, the idyllic village in which he grew up. Netherminster proves to be just as delightful and tranquil as Pierce had remembered it from his childhood. The tranquility is however short-lived.

Tolefree and Pierce, along with the Chief Constable of Netherminster, are dining at Ashcott House, the home of Martin Hawker. It’s a pleasant dinner until something very surprising and somewhat disturbing happens. Hawker tells Trelawney, the Chief Constable, that a murder is about to be committed. He does not know the identity of the murderer, or of the victim, but he is adamant that the murder will occur. Of course everyone assumes it’s some kind of joke, at least that’s the assumption until shortly afterwards when Trelawney receives a telephone call. A murder has indeed been committed!

The victim is Robert Pitt, who lives (or lived) with his wife in a rather curious house known as The Coppice, set on the edge of a wood. He has been shot. The victim is clutching a revolver which has not been fired. It appears that Robert Pitt either suspected that someone was likely to make an attempt on his life, or he was making an attempt on someone else’s life and his would-be victim beat him to the punch.

Trelawney, not unnaturally, asks Pierce to take charge of the investigation (and Pierce’s superiors at the Yard readily agree to the request). Trelawney’s title of Chief Constable is a little misleading - the entire Netherminster Constabulary consists of a sergeant and a dozen constables. And murder being entirely unknown in these parts it is a stroke of luck to have a Scotland Yard man already on the scene.

Walling was an author who was content to operate entirely within the established conventions of golden age detective fiction. His Philip Tolefree novels are fair-play puzzle-plot mysteries, almost entirely plot-driven and without much in the way of in-depth characterisation. Personally I have no problems with any of this. I have no problems with those authors of the era who tried to be a bit more adventurous but I’m perfectly content with a well-crafted well-written thoroughly conventional puzzle-plot mystery. And Walling was perfectly capable of writing such mysteries.

This is a book for golden age detection fans who get very excited by unbreakable alibis and by obsessive details about railway timetables and the length of time it would take Suspect Number 1 to get from Point A to Point B by car compared to the length of time it would take Suspect Number 2 to get from Point C to Point D on foot by talking a short-cut across Farmer Brown’s field. As it happens this is exactly the sort of thing that does excite me so I have no complaints. Of course it goes without saying that no-one ever did this kind of thing better than Freeman Wills Crofts but Walling does a pretty fair job.

The Corpse in the Coppice also includes another much-loved detective story trope - a Secret From the Past that holds the key to the motive of the killer. This is not a spoiler by the way - it’s made very clear right from the start that there is such a secret. In fact there may be quite a few secrets since not only is absolutely nothing known about Mr Robert Pitt before his arrival in the district, absolutely nothing is known about his wife’s past either. They are truly mystery people.

Walling was not a great stylist but his prose is pleasant and lucid, with an occasional flash of gentle humour. Within the strict confines of the genre conventions he is structurally quite sound. Walling lived his whole life in the West Country and all his books are set there. His deep affection for that part of England permeates his work and his feel for the atmosphere of a rural England that is now long gone is one of his strengths as a writer.

Philip Tolefree is, as always, a rather amiable private detective. While he relies a great deal on painstaking calculations of the timing of events before and after the crime he is also inclined to give considerable weight to his own psychological intuitions - he rules out certain suspects on the grounds that they are simply incapable of murder.

Walling might not have been a front-rank writer of golden age detective fiction but he was a solid and reliable writer of the second rank and The Corpse in the Coppice is a  thoroughly enjoyable diversion. Recommended.

I'd also recommend Walling's other Mr Tolefree novels such as The Corpse in the Crimson Slippers, The Corpse with the Grimy Glove, The Corpse in the Green Pyjamas and The Five Suspects.

The Corpse in the Green Pyjamas

The Corpse in the Green Pyjamas is one of R. A. J. Walling’s Mr Tolefree detective novels. Published in 1935, it was in fact the fifth of the twenty-two Philip Tolefree mysteries. It was originally published in Britain as The Cat and the Corpse.

R. A. J. Walling (1869-1949) was born in Exeter and spent his life as a newspaperman, eventually becoming managing director of the Western Newspaper Company. He took up crime fiction quite late in life, being nearly sixty when his first detective novel was published. Walling wrote a number of other books including a biography of Sir John Hawkins, the great if rather notorious admiral of Elizabethan times.

Philip Tolefree is a private enquiry agent (what Americans would describe as a private detective). He is engaged by a man named Stratton but at this stage no actual crime has been committed. While Stratton is staying at Wolborough Castle, the imposing residence of Lord Meriden a rather unsavoury individual by the name of Eric Yves disappears. His exact fate will be a matter of considerable dispute.

Mr Tolefree arrives at the castle on the following day. That night he discovers a secret passageway (not altogether a surprising thing to find in a medieval castle) and in that passageway he finds Eric Yves’ body. Or does he? Both Lord Meriden and his brother, the Honourable John Meriden, are emphatic that Tolefree was mistaken. A day later Yves’ body turns up half a mile from the castle. While Tolefree remains convinced that he saw the man’s body in the castle he finds that, rather to his surprise, no-one is inclined to believe his version of events.

The Meridens have not exactly adapted to the modern world. They see no reason whatsoever why they should. They remain firmly feudal in their view of the world. This feudal outlook will pose considerable problems for Mr Tolefree.

Philip Tolefree is not one of the more colourful of fictional detectives but he isn’t irritating either. He is a man of quiet determination. The fact that nobody believes his story seems to amuse him, and he also seems amused by the feudal pretensions of the Meridens. It’s the somewhat absurd but rather ingenious scheming of the Honourable John Meriden that provides much of the entertainment. He doesn’t really care who killed Eric Yves as long as it doesn’t disturb the grand isolation of Wolborough Castle.

Walling’s style is pleasant with a certain amount of humour. His plotting is precisely what you expect from a successful writer from the golden age of detective fiction.

The Corpse in the Green Pyjamas is thoroughly entertaining and should be highly satisfying to fans of classic English murder mysteries. Recommended.

R.A.J. Walling's The Mystery of Mr Mock

The Mystery of Mr Mock (the US title was The Corpse with the Floating Foot) was written in 1937 by R.A.J. Walling and of course features private detective Philip Tolefree.

Tolefree and his friend Farrar (who narrates the story) have joined another old friend of Tolefree’s, Professor Pye, for a period of relaxation in the country. They have chosen the village of Combe in Wiltshire. Combe’s main claim to fame (indeed its only claim to fame) is the Wheel Inn. This hotel was converted from an old water mill and the water wheel is still in existence. It has to be admitted that the Wheel Inn really is most picturesque as well as being rather comfortable while Combe itself is a thoroughly pleasant little spot.

Pye is a Professor of Moral Philosophy but he is also somewhat obsessed with a much less respectable subject. Pye just loves crime. Had he not been a Professor of Moral Philosophy he would dearly have loved to have been a detective.

The time passes most agreeably with considerable entertainment being provided by two of the other guests at the Wheel Inn, Mr Mock and Mr Annison. These two gentlemen argue constantly and their arguments include an extraordinary leavening of profanity. This attracts the ire of the godly Mr Cornwood who does his best to save the souls of these two reprobates. Mr Mock and Mr Annison might dislike one another but there is one thing that unites them - their mutual detestation of Mr Cornwood.

And then, on Guy Fawkes Night, Mr Mock vanishes. His ancient car vanishes as well. Actually he’s not the only one who vanishes after that night.

There are a couple of odd little details that worry Tolefree. He’s particularly worried by Mr Mock’s hat. These little details will lead to a grisly discovery (which we already know about since the book opens with the finding of a corpse and we then get a flashback that fills in the story of the previous four days).

The discovery of the corpse raises more questions than it answers. Tolefree would love to have a glimpse of a motive but at this stage there’s absolutely no sign of one. He is convinced that no real progress towards solving the case can be made without knowing why the man was murdered.

This is a fine example of making the most of the unusual features of the splendid setting. The water wheel itself plays a part in the story and the old mill building turns out to be a most curious structure with all sorts of secrets hidden within its depths.

Combe itself is quite an entertaining little place with more than its fair share of slightly odd and colourful characters. The landlord of the inn is a retired naval captain who has been known to forget that on land his authority is no longer unlimited. Professor Pye is a genuine eccentric and his philosophical debates with Tolefree are quite amusing. Mr Mock and Mr Annison are likeable old sinners. Mr Cornwood is a bit of a stereotype, the priggish devout sort always seeking to save souls, but he has some unexpected hidden depths. There’s also the village Don Juan, young Calderstone, who may be less empty headed than he appears to be.

While this is a book that is very much in the puzzle-plot mould it’s not just a matter of looking for clues. The personalities of the characters do count as a factor that Tolefree cannot ignore.

Alibis play a vital role and, rather unusually, the alibis have to be remarkably specific since Tolefree is eventually able to fix the time of the murder almost precisely.

Fishing will be important as well, although in this case the fishermen are not necessarily after fish.

This is not one of those detective novels in which the detective settles himself in his favourite armchair, fills his pipe and proceeds to solve the entire mystery without leaving his study. Tolefree will have to do a great deal of tramping about, he will have to display considerable energy and agility and will even have to put himself in harm’s way on occasion. He even has cause to be grateful that he brought his revolver along with them.

In fact in fairness to Walling it should be pointed out that most of Tolefree’s cases do involve quite a bit of leg work and at times some danger.

If you’ve always assumed that Walling was merely one of the more obscure writers of the Humdrum School and therefore of little interest The Mystery of Mr Mock might just change your mind. It’s really a thoroughly enjoyable tale of detection. Highly recommended.