A review of Conspiracy at Angel by Brian Flynn – 240120

Conspiracy at Angel, the thirty-second in Flynn’s long-running Anthony Bathurst series, originally published in 1947 and reissued by Dean Street Press, was universally panned by critics and is said to have been the novel that precipitated his fall into obscurity. Flynn was a writer who was unwilling to rest on his laurels by repeating a winning formula, but was always willing to experiment, often with success but sometimes less so. Even at my most charitable, this book falls into the latter category.

There are some unusual features about the book. Flynn is normally inventive with his titles, often picking upon an obscure element of the tale to bring to the fore, but this one is unusually prosaic. The Story is about the unravelling of a conspiracy centred upon the town of Angel, not to be confused with the district in London. All the members of the gang, Messrs Gunter, Layman, Webber, Newman, Miller, and Mann, have anglicised versions of German surnames and at one stage Bathurst suspects that there is on the track of uncovering an international Nazi plot. However, the plot is more mundane, centering around the racecourse in the town, conveniently positioned near a river with a ferry crossing.

Bathurst normally operates in tandem with officers at the Yard, principally assisted by Inspector MacMorran, but here he operates mainly on his own, drawing upon the verbose Colonel Schofield, the archetypical retired military man, and his daughter, Priscilla, for assistance. During the course of Bathurst’s investigations, MacMorran, at telephone length, provides some background information and only appears on the scene as the story moves to its climax. The Colonel never really cuts it as a realistic character and the story misses something without an effective accomplice for Bathurst to spar with. Schofield’s characterisation also adds to the sense that this is an over wordy novel with too much padding and repetition.

The story starts on a bizarre note. Richard Langley, as he arrives in Angel, meets Priscilla Schofield carrying a cat by the name of Ahaseurus, and is asked to deliver it to her father’s house. Langley, who in this part of the story is a blithering idiot straight out of Wodehouse, goes to the wrong house, mutters the phrase “the cat is out of the bag” in jest, only to find that the conspirators around the table take it to mean something else and Langley only just escapes with his life. The rest of the opening section, entitled In the Wings, details Langley’s story as he tries to find out more about the shady characters, the theft of his car which is returned with a body, that of Trimmer, in it, and his own disappearance.

A week later, Priscilla concerned at Langley’s disappearance, calls in Bathurst for assistance and the main part of the book, entitled Centre Stage, details his investigations which leads to his understanding of what the conspiracy is all about and how it is pulled off. Having two post offices at the gang’s disposal allowing them to back time telegrams and a boat with a hooter proves extremely useful. As Bathurst gets warmer, he is increasingly in danger, having to dress in drag to escape some heavies who are dogging him and taking the guise of a mechanic to understand better the role that the ferry plays in the scheme.

This is another Flynn story where a code in the form of an acrostic provides a useful clue that allows Bathurst, who was struggling to make headway, to locate where Langley is or has been. The section ends with the discovery and rescue of Langley. The third section, Curtains, sees the implementation of Bathurst’s carefully worked out plan, which garners enough evidence to put the gang away and, following a confession, solve Trimmer’s murder. However, it is all a little low key, adding to the sense that Flynn never really had his heart in the story.

One saving grace is that setting the tale in a sporting milieu allows Flynn to indulge his enthusiasm for racing, the Colonel’s passion for horse racing form giving him the opportunity to be inventive with names. There is a Brains Trust Q&A session airing the leading sporting topics of the day, only to be rudely interrupted by the lights going out and a shot fired, and I enjoyed MacMorran hustling Bathurst off the phone as he was off to watch Tottenham play Aston Villa in a 2.45 kick off.

There is also one major loose end. What happened to Maddison, a private investigator who dogged Bathurst in the early days but as soon as our hero decamped from his hotel, was never heard of again? And was the saccharine love interest between Priscilla and Langley really necessary?

The moral of the story is beware of strangers bearing cats.