Nine Times Nine by Anthony Boucher

Nine Times Nine by Anthony Boucher

published 1940

 

 

Anthony Boucher is a legendary figure in the US crime & detection fiction world – so much so that there is a conference named after him – but I would suggest not very well-known in the UK. He was a revered writer and critic. This is only the second of his book that I’ve read, and the first I’ve blogged on. I enjoyed it very much.

Matt Turner is a  young impoverished writer in LA, down on his luck. He meets up with Greg, a wealthy fraternity brother, in a bar, and as the two of them get drunk, they decide to go and pursue Greg’s romantic interest – a beautiful, rich young woman who is threatening to become a nun.

Greg passes out, so Matt walks in alone on the Harrigans, a very upmarket family, in their home, and immediately gets caught up in all kinds of goings-on. This family are notable philanthropic Catholics – half Irish, half Spanish – and they have a private chapel. The household is run by two brothers and a sister. One brother is a businessman, one is a crusading writer and investigator looking into religious fraud, and there is an unmarried sister who is devout, takes her religion very seriously.

The next generation consists of Concha (the beloved of Greg) and her brother Arthur.

Boucher is very good at establishing all this very clearly – it’s a complex situation but laid out smoothly.

Wolfe Harrigan says this:

“Religion runs in the Harrigans, and to us religion means the Catholic Church. It comes out in different forms. Ellen believes in charity and intense private devotion. Joseph likes to think he’s the Church Militant in Public Life. And you know how the family religion hit Concha in an adolescent crisis. Well, my career is religious, too. I’m a lay crusader.”

So – there is a weird cult under investigation, and everyone trips off to attend a meeting. Matt has been pulled in to do research for Wolfe and is also, obv, falling in love with Concha. The cult meeting threatens death and destruction to a member of the family. (The cult reminded me of the GK Chesterton Fr Brown story, The Eye of Apollo. Or Ngaio Marsh’s Death in Ecstasy, though that is on a much smaller scale.) The book's title comes from the form of the threat.

A murder follows, in a locked room. Witnesses have seen someone else in the room through the window, but that is sealed, and the only door is under observation throughout the key period.  There is a dying message – the victim has indicated a certain book… but it’s not obvious what it means. (Very slightly more of a clue to a Brit I think)

The cult leader claims to be able to bilocate, but has a very strong alibi. He wears distinctive robes and a beard so would that make it easy for someone else to impersonate him?

Matt needs to hang around and help the police – he makes great friends with the Lieutenant – and generally be a busybody. And go out with Concha to a Mexican restaurant where there are sombrero ashtrays. I hadn't realized what a big thing this was till I searched and pulled up a remarkable collection of images. There is also a few sentences of discussion of what consists of authentic Mexican cafes, dipping into the modern idea of cultural appropriation. (This all took me back to the sombrero jewllery in this post a few years ago)

There is a diversion into types of locked room mysteries – it turns out the Lieutenant’s wife is reading a John Dickson Carr book (fans can guess which one, yes the one with the chapter).

And best of all there is Sister Ursula, a really excellent nun. She belongs to the Sisters of Martha of Bethany, and is round and about all over the place, and often in the Harrigan house. She is determined to do her bit to solve the crime – and she does. (I think someone recommended this book to me because of the nuns…)

Boucher definitely knows his Catholic stuff: he has Sister Ursula explain why their convent isn’t as strict as others:

“We take the usual triple vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience; but we aren’t subject to canon law. You see, we’ve never asked approbation from the Holy See. Mother La Roche wished this community to be a lay one, with only private vows. In the strictest technical sense, I suppose, we’re not nuns at all.”

“I don’t quite follow.”

“People don’t. It’s chiefly a technical distinction, but it does give us a somewhat freer hand in our work….

…And to wander round LA solving crimes.

Concha is (spoiler!) not going to become a nun. We first see her like this

she was slim and dark and wearing a housedress which looked so simple that it must have cost real folding money.

This one is from Paris, described as 'deshabille crepe de chine', so we think it will do.

Later she wears a plaid dress.

 

So a lot to enjoy in this book – I thought it was very Golden Age, very locked room, very American. And also charming and funny, with some very nice dialogue. It combined all that with detail of the world around – politics, the date, the way popular movements work – in a most impressive way.

Top photo from Public record office of Northern Ireland, but the info is skimpy, and they say it dates from 1930 which the clothes do not agree with. (Nuns' habits don't reflect dates nearly so much...)

D1422~B76485_B_006~A | Creator: H.F. Cooper Photographer, St… | Flickr