To Love and Be Wise

Literary sherry parties were not Alan Grant's cup of tea. But when the Scotland Yard Inspector arrived to pick up actress Marta Hallard for dinner, he was struck by the handsome young American photographer, Leslie Searle. Author Lavinia Fitch was sure her guest "must have been something very wicked in ancient Greece," and the art colony at Salcott St. Mary would have agreed. Yet Grant heard nothing more of Searle until the news of his disappearance. Had Searle drowned by accident or could he have been murdered by one of his young women admirers? Was it a possible case of suicide or had the photographer simply vanished for reasons of his own?

Toby Tullis, an actor, has a place in Salcott. He is so famous he is surprised that Searle has never heard of him. Perhaps Searle, who photographs celebrities, is having him on. Walter and Searle decide to do a book together. Walter is a broadcaster for the BBC. His trademark is an unself-conscious friendliness. Liz is engaged to Walter.

Lavinia feels a wrongness and a fascination with Searle. Liz is clearly fascinated. The book plan is for Walter to do the text and for Searle to provide the illustrations. It is to be a portrait of a particular river its entire length, from the source to the sea. The pair intends to use a canoe. The work is to have the title CANOES ON THE RUSHMERE.

At the start they are to sleep in a cave. Five days later they walk into the pub, the Swan, where they usually drank. The men seemed to have been having a personal discussion and none of the others ventured to their area. Afterwards Searle said that Walter left in order to avoid throttling him. Searle disappears.

Alan Grant arrives to question the BBC commentator, Walter Whitmore. He reported the disappearance the morning following the evening at the pub. Grant thinks the disppearance has an aspect of the sawn lady about it. Grant asks Walter if Searle is the person he purports to be, a photographer of celebrities. Perhaps Searle lost his way in the dark and fell into the river.

The room Searle occupied is devoid of atmosphere. Walter Whitmore seems to be deteriorating, visibly. The press has reached him. Grant's friend Marta functions as a sounding board. The next development is that Searle's shoe is discovered. The solution to the mystery is another instance of Josephine Tey's (Elizabeth McKintosh's) resourceful use of an identity theme.


I'm Left Wondering Why?   April 15, 2003
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

I really didn't care for this story. Tey is a good writer, and this book is superlative when it comes to characterizations, but the mystery(?) is less than exciting. Grant is wonderful, and here we see an urbane Grant who has to go to the country to follow up the disappearance of a young man that he had met once at a cocktail party. He follows all clues, and comes up empty (even to dragging the river twice), but once back at home in London after awhile, the pieces come together and he figures it out. The denouemnet is quite good in this book, but again, the book didn't excite me.


An enjoyable mystery   October 10, 2000
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

This is one of Josephine Tey's lesser known mysteries. "Daughter of Time" and "The Franchise Affiar" are, perhaps better known. This novel is in the Inspector Grant series and concerns the disappearance of a young man whom Grant had met briefly at a party.

The writing and atmosphere of this novel are both excellent. Unlike some other Tey novels, I enjoyed this one more for the characters and setting, rather than plotting. Tey has a fine ear for dialogue and humor and Grant is a pleasure to go detecting with.