Vile Spirits by John MacLachlan Gray

(11. - 1150.) Vile Spirits by John MacLachlan Gray - In 1925, British Columbia Attorney General, Gordon Cunning, is comfortably ensconced in a wingback chair in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hotel Vancouver. Attentive servers deliver Martinis. While not feeling well, he is not going to miss the reception for “The” Prince George. He fades away. Awkwardly for the evening staff, they assume he is sleeping, morning cleaning staff find he is dead.

Detective Sergeant Calvin Hook attends with Constable Quam. Hook continues to conduct himself as if he were still a training officer in World War I. Somewhat imperious, edging on pompous, he cannot decide if Quam suffers from “mental impairment” or “mental inertia” or both conditions.

DS Hook investigates while constantly smoking Ogden cirgarettes. 

Reporter Ed McCurdy is swiftly on the scene adroitly gathering information about the deceased politician. Cunning was considered a strong prospect for becoming leader of the provincial Liberal Party and becoming Premier.

Hearty breakfasts of “coffee, bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and buttered toast” sustain McCurdy.

The dominant political issue in B.C. is alcohol. Prohibition has been ended by a plebiscite and the provincial government controls the lawful sale of alcohol. Hotels have been allowed to have beer parlours with separate sections for Women with Escorts and Men Only. Opportunities for graft are abundant. When I was growing up in our small prairie community the local hotel had a beer parlour until the end of the 1960’s.

Cunning was a moderationist. He was reviled by Wets and Drys. 

English customs, pretensions and class structure dominate Vancouver and Victoria. Woe to the man or woman who follows not the English way.

The Ku Klux Klan is expanding in the province. It preaches racial purity and temperance.    

Many Drys, virulently opposed to drinking alcohol, imbibe regularly, often daily, medicines with a significant alcohol content. Great health claims are made on behalf of these potent elixirs.

The investigation takes a startling turn with another death of a prominent man. 

There is an interesting use of newspaper stories by McCurdy and other journalists to end chapters. Transcripts of phone calls including the use of operators to make the connections are another uncommon feature in the book.

As inevitable, the vast amounts of money involved with a government wanting a monopoly on the sale of alcohol lead to large scale corruption.

Sergeant Hook is an honest man which makes investigations related to alcohol difficult.

It is a good book but a little heavy on history.