A Crime Remembered

A murder in the present and a death at sea during World War II are brought together in this evocative and skillfully written British mystery. A middle-aged homosexual is found murdered with a lot of unaccounted-for cash, the source of which could possibly be blackmail. The only clues are the name of a town, Glinton, and a set of initials, E.P.D.T. Detective-Constable Pete Noyes, on the make with a chip on his shoulder, is detailed to find the person to whom the initials refer. His investigations lead to one of the oldest families in the area and its head, Edward Pierre Darcy Tourkville, who is trying desperately to keep his estate intact in the wake of Common Market agricultural policies. It turns out that the dead man and Tourkville had both served on the same ship in the Merchant Marine during WW II and had been two of the four survivors of the ship's sinking. At first Noyes tries to prove a case against Tourkville but gradually and grudgingly comes to admire him, particularly after seeing him through the eyes of Tourkville's wife, Charlotte, who begs Noyes help in clearing her husband. Flashbacks of a ghastly life at sea for a young cadet are interspersed with scenes of the modern investigation. Ashford ( A Question of Principle ) does a beautiful job of limning the gradual humanization of the tough, self-centered Noyes. ( September )