A review of The Case of the Haven Hotel by Christopher Bush – 231204

The thirty-third in Christopher Bush’s long running Ludovic Travers series, originally published in 1948 and reissued by Dean Street Press, sees the amateur sleuth on holiday at the Haven Hotel. His wife is in Switzerland and Travers has taken the opportunity to take a break, ostensibly with his old mukker, George Wharton, although the Old General’s appearance is delayed because of his workload at the Yard. Inevitably, it turns out to be a busman’s holiday for the pair.   

One of the book’s undoubted strengths is its characters. A Hotel allows Bush to assemble a motley collection of individuals including a writer whose face seems familiar to Travers, a former clergyman who seems to have had a colourful past, an ex-Army major who seems to be able to get his hands on luxury goods despite rationing, and a femme fatale. Bush enjoys Much of the humour is provided by Gerald, an over-active child whose mischievous behaviour irritates the guests in general and Travers in particular.

What surprises Travers is the quality and range of food at the Haven Hotel and he begins to suspect that the hotel, amongst others in the area, is the recipient of black market goods and that at least one of the hotel guests is involved. Then death intrudes into the picture in the form of a drowning, that seems, superficially at least, to have been accidental but as investigations proceed it has a more sinister complexion to it. It has been elaborately planned. Curiously, though, the normally publicity seeking author who tries to save the victim is annoyed when his picture is splashed in the local papers.

It is at this point that Wharton joins the guests and he and Travers enjoy their love hate relationship as they investigate the death. It is fair to say that they make heavy weather of sorting it all out, not helped by their habit of concealing vital evidence from each other and withholding the direction of their thoughts and theories about what happened and who the culprit might be. It does add an element of humour and competitiveness to the narrative as each wrestles to get one over the other but it does drag out the story too.

An attempt is made on Travers’ life, there is a second murder, and some revelations give more clarity to the investigations and the roles of the principal suspects. In the end it is a tale of hidden identities, guests not being quite who they seem and leading double lives. What leads to murder is a fear of recognition which would lead to the unravelling of a successful and lucrative tax avoidance scheme. Whether it is a strong enough motive to really drive someone to commit murder is questionable.

Bush plays fair with his reader, although by the time the denouement arrives there are so few suspects that the culprit comes as no surprise. While this might not be the most complex of plots that he has unleashed on his readership, it is an entertaining read with some interesting characters, giving a fascinating insight into the relationship between Travers and Wharton and with enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested.