I'll begin my review of this challenging book with the explanation that my three-star rating -- generally indicating a solid, enjoyable, recommended read -- is in this instance a rating arrived at by adding and averaging Sunset Over Soho's storytelling accomplishments and shortcomings. Parts of this book I found first-rate; other parts I found difficult to engage with. It also happens to be truly unique from other Gladys Mitchell stories on a number of points: tone, structure, setting, and narrative style are all noteworthy and admirably executed (if not always successful). Each element bears examination, and I'll tackle them in turn.

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Tone -- Deadpan and determined, Mrs. Bradley sees to her duties and makes herself useful as the bombs overhead continue to fall. The book adopts a similar business-first attitude; there is little time for the high-spirited comedy that can be evidenced in earlier (The Saltmarsh Murders, e.g.) or later (The Devil's Elbow) tales. The story allows for occasional color and relaxes at certain times, but the stakes are higher here. David Harben is not a ridiculous or comic narrator in the tradition of Noel Wells or George Jeffries; his predicament is grave, and it disturbs his dreams and threatens his life. Later in the book, David and a nun navigate the boat to Dunkirk, where they silently work around the clock as a rescue and salvage craft to save the wounded and sea-tossed Allied soldiers. This is a serious and selfless act, and it adds to the character of David, a murder suspect on land, a gravitas rarely found in light mystery books.

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Structure -- This is one of Sunset Over Soho's most intriguing elements. The book is divided into seven sections, each one aptly named ("Rest Centre;" "Sleuth's Alchemy"). Because the book alternates between present and past scenes, and jumps storylines from Mrs. Bradley's investigations to David Harben's adventures, the section and chapter headings become necessary tools with which readers can orient themselves. And then there are structural pitfalls of which the reader must be wary. Most of the past incidents are capped with a brief sequence where Mrs. Bradley and D.I. Pirberry comment on the story thus far; therefore Mrs Bradley is relating her version of David's tale to the inspector. This becomes tricky when, in one chapter, the story of David's fate as he spent months at sea is recounted. Then in the following chapter, we backtrack and watch Mrs. Bradley as she looks into David's disappearance. But keep this in mind: David's story of his sea voyage was told to Mrs. Bradley by David, who may not be telling her the truth. By the end, it's still comprehensible, but just barely. Also, owing greatly to structure, this is not really a fair-play puzzle. The reader has to allow the characters to give up the story pieces in their own time.

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Setting -- The setting is unique and vividly drawn: war-torn London during the Blitz. I can't imagine what it felt like to write during such a grim and uncertain time, or to write about the frightening things that are happening around you. This novel also contains two excellently rendered seafaring stories. The first relates David's trials at sea when he's knocked unconscious and left for dead on his tub, which has drifted out into the ocean. His rescue and attempts to return to the now mined and patrolled coast of England make for a thrilling and absorbing tale. The second account follows the action on his volunteer rescue boat at Dunkirk. I found these naval adventures quite engrossing, and surprisingly they worked well to move the story along and add detail to the rather enigmatic figure of David Harben. Finally, the nightly visits to that strange, silent house where the dead man was found take on the resonance of a fever dream. There's a feeling of dread, the sense that this house contains souls if you only know where to look.

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Style -- Here's another barrier to light reading. Some (not all) of the narrative style here is terribly baroque; the first section was by far the most troublesome for me. Entire paragraphs are composed of sentences that don't manage to convey clear meaning. Here's an example from page 11, suggesting that two (unnamed) people work well together: "their characters showed some amazing resemblances as well as sharp differences. But even the differences were not divergent in their nature; they were co-operative, and the resemblances never had the unfortunate effect of producing competition, jealousy or any of the lesser and meaner vices, but merely enhanced and deepened the first impression of solidarity of purpose and essential comradeship of these two people so fortunately in juxtaposition." The writing does become more soluble, but the book never matches the enjoyment of Mitchell's four- and five-star work. Narrative style definitely contributes to the book's difficulty.

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To sum up, here's what I liked most about Sunset Over Soho: an imaginative story (a Mitchell hallmark), a darker-than-average central character, well-done moments of adventure, a unique setting, and an unconventional nonlinear structure. Here's what I didn't like: the confusion caused by said unconventional nonlinear structure, an occasionally impenetrable prose style, the relative lack of humor, and clues and theories that only hold meaning for Mrs. Bradley. And this is what I admire: an endlessly resourceful writer who adapted to her times, constantly tried new story and structure ideas, and gave her appreciative readers a library full of stories -- celebrated masterpieces, interesting failures, and everything in between.

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Sunset over Soho was chosen as a Mitchell Mystery Reading Group title in April 2021! See what readers had to say about the book by visiting these links:

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