Originally published in 1936
My copy is the Jove edition, 3rd printing from 1983
Cover art by George Ziel, born Jerzy Zielezinski, a Polish Holocaust survivor, who is most well-known for his crime and gothic paperback covers.
The Fourth in the Inspector Allen series.
Written review below. Video review here:
It’s December, pouring rain and cold in London. We’re in the fictious neighborhood of Knocklatcher’s Row outside the building that contains The House of the Sacred Flame. Our inquisitive and bored reporter Nigel Bathgate decides that tonight is the night he’s going to knock on this door and see what this place is all about.
A man dressed in ceremonial robes answers the door and lets him know that it’s a member’s only club. Nigel is slightly deterred and starts asking what The House of the Sacred Flame is all about. The man gives vague answers and tells him to make an appointment if he really wants to know. A knock on the door sounds behind him. The man quickly turns to open the doors and two men in the same attire exit followed by a man who appears to be a priest. Nigel slips in while the door is open and we get to attend the ceremony.
There are seven attendees of the service, two acolytes and the priest. Everyone is dressed in the robes, esoteric rites are spoken, and Nordic names are dropped. It seems to be an amalgamation of occult ideals and Northern paganism.
The initiates are in a circle around the priest. There is a chalice of wine that is passed around the circle ending with a woman in the middle of the group. She drinks, starts having spasms and falls dead to the floor. Nigel runs up to the body, it looks like murder, so he calls his good friend from Scotland Yard Chief Detective-Inspector Alleyn who arrives with the cavalry. The doctor on scene gives a diagnosis of murder by poison. Now that it is official, Alleyn has started interviewing the members of the House of the Sacred Flame and our investigation begins.
There really isn’t much to the set-up and the mystery, which is what we paid our ticket for, is in full swing by chapter two. It’s the classic whodunit structure of a group of people in a contained area, each with hidden backstory that is unveiled slowly throughout the investigation that throws shade in every direction. Red herrings and possible motives sway the possibilities, but nothing is unfair. It’s all fair play mystery and if you are paying attention Ngaio Marsh puts it all there right in the open as the narrative moves forward.
Atmosphere wise there is a dark thread of heroin addiction to give the story a desperate and gloomy feel. Now add in constant thunderstorms, the cultish occult temple, and a book on how to make poison and this beautiful cover art by George Ziel and you’ve got a perfect mystery setting in your mind.
The suspects include a highly questionable cult like priest, a rich businessman from the US, a French snoot, a young hip couple, a few true believers, a bitter old woman and some servants with an astute attention to detail which make for a great list of suspects.
I don’t know if it was the mood I was in or what, but I did find it a little hard to get into. As the story entered the third act, I was definitely all in but felt the initial kick off didn’t completely grab me. Also, I knew nothing of this series going in. I didn’t even know it was a series. By page fifty I had to stop and google who the principal detective was. It felt like Nigel the reporter was our independent Sherlock Holmes solving mysteries for his own satisfaction. He was a bit eccentric and very inquisitive. But as the narrative progressed, it seemed that Detective Alleyn was the principal. It becomes obvious as it goes on that Alleyn is the main character, but it had a misplaced feeling at the start as I wasn’t sure whose eyes we were looking through.
If I was going with a grade I would give it a C+/B-.
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