I was intrigued as I knew the book
was to be a fictional exploration of the murder of Sir Harry Oates, the
American born mining magnate, who made a vast fortune when he found gold in
northern Ontario and built the Lake Shore gold mine.
While purportedly a work of
fiction the book is not a mystery but a non-fiction narrative of the
intertwined lives of Sir Harry, Harold Christie (Bahamian real estate developer
and promoter), Count Alfred de Marigny (accused of murdering Sir Harry) and the
Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VII serving as the Governor of the
Bahamas).
Minns tossed in a narrator, George
McNeilly, a former Toronto Star newspaper journalist who has left Toronto in
1946 for the Bahamas after the failure of his marriage because of his chronic
alcohol abuse. Sober in the Bahamas McNeilly is a chain smoker who constantly
needs to be holding a cigarette.
McNeilly, drawn to the mystery of
Sir Harry’s death, decides to solve the murder. He makes inquiries into the
1943 murder and trial of de Marigny. He is discreet for he is aware that
individuals investigating after the trial had died.
Unfortunately the narrative is
rather disjointed. It is not easy to follow the information provided about the
quartet at the heart of the mystery.
Sir Harry has led an incredible
life pursuing gold in Alaska, the Yukon and Australia before finding gold in
Ontario. He becomes the wealthiest man in Canada and is singled out for
taxation by the federal government. He leaves for the Bahamas because of the
lack of taxes in the islands.
Christie has been instrumental in
developing Nassau and the rest of the island of New Providence. He is
constantly promoting the Bahamas.
De Marigny, born in Mauritius,
eschews the title of Count. In the parlance of the time he is a playboy who
marries Sir Harry’s daughter, Nancy, when she is 18 and he is in his early
30’s.
The Duke, in exile, after giving
up the throne for the woman he loves, Mrs. Simpson, has been sent to be
Governor as he is perceived as a Nazi sympathizer and being posted to the
Bahamas will keep him out of the way during the war.
Within a couple of days after Sir
Harry’s death de Marigny is charged with murder.
The book covers the trial which
ended in de Marigny’s acquittal and an unusual recommendation from the jury
that he be expelled from the Bahamas.
The trial is the most interesting
part of the book as de Marigny’s skilled counsel, Godfrey Higgs, wreaks havoc
with the sloppy investigation.
McNeilly develops a love interest
in Pat but their relationship is almost an afterthought grafted on to the
factual narrative.
I persevered to the end of the
book as I wanted to find out the facts and see who Mimms had decided killed Sir
Harry
In the unlikely event you might actually read the book do
not read further in the post.
There is dramatic evidence over
fingerprints, usually a routine part of trials. The defence cleverly uses the
science of the day. The skilfully mounted legal defence scientifically shows a
pivotal Crown fingerprint could not have been on the part of the screen the
fingerprint was alleged to have come from in Sir Harry’s bedroom.
The trial is not enough to rescue
the book.
At the end I was just plain
frustrated when a plot twist denied me the chance to know who McNeilly had
identified as the killer. The title is a teaser.
The unique aspect of the book was
a CD in a sleeve attached to the back cover that contains a song, Who Killed Sir Harry, that Minns wrote
and performs. If he was as good an author as he is song writer and singer it
would have been a good book.
Interested readers would be better
off to purchase a non-fiction account of the murder. (Mar. 8/14)
Bill - I really do appreciate your candor about this. On the surface of it it, it seems like a solid context for a book. But 'disjointed' does pull me right out of a story. It's a shame too because it could have been a fascinating story. Well, I think I'll give this one a miss...
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. It is an interesting story and I plan to follow up in my next post.
DeleteHow disappointing! I think that, like you, I would have picked this one up in a minute if I'd seen it: the title, the historical crime, the dramatic trial. But I have been very much warned off....
ReplyDeleteMoira: Thanks for the comment. Not all books work out for readers.
DeleteBill, the lesson in history about Sir Harry Oates might still serve the unsuspecting reader well considering that one wouldn't otherwise go out of one's way and read a nonfictional account of Sir Oates. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeletePrashant: Thanks for the comment. An unsuspecting reader would do better to go with one of the many non-fictional accounts.
DeleteHis name is Eric Minns, not Mimms. I read a few articles on blogs about him after reading yoru review. His life sounds a lot more interesting than his book. He was born in Nassau and has lived jsut outside Toronto since 1950. In the most recent article about him (Dec. 2013) he is described as "a sprightly 83 year old." Looks like he made a name for himself as a songwriter who specialized in writing about island life in the Bahamas.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the book was self-published which once again supports my belief to avoid buying and reading books put out by a vanity press.
John: Thank you! When I read your comment I rushed upstairs startling Sharon as I looked for my copy of the book. I am embarrassed I got the author's name wrong. I have corrected the post.
DeleteI agree with your comment on self-published books.