DEATH AT THE BBC

by John Sherwood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1983

An oddly constructed little they-dunit with a 1930s BBC-radio background: the first half sets up a promising mystery; in the second half, the culprits are revealed to the reader, the alibis fall apart, the police close in. Someone, it seems, is taking shots at Tony Chatham, charming features organizer at the 1937 BBC. Is it an Irish terrorist? Or his unhappy wife Angela, who wants a divorce (which would kill his career)? Or is it his rival, slimy producer Peter Warren? That's the puzzle--till Warren's secretary, long-ago debutante/party-girl Lavinia Mannerton, is shot while at Chatham's desk. Was short-haired Lavinia shot by mistake, instead of Chatham? So it seems, for a few pages. But then we learn that Lavinia (a blackmailer) was indeed the intended victim, that three of the main characters have together concocted the killing-with-alibis (echoes of Christie's Death on the Nile). And, while the police figure it all out--with rather implausible speed--the killers quarrel among themselves, with one fatal result. . . but with no punishment for the other two, thanks to a BBC coverup. If Sherwood had told the story from the criminals' viewpoint throughout, he might have developed some sympathy for them--and steady suspense. If he'd been able to keep the plot secret till the end, he might have had a nifty whodunit. As it is, this is a neither-here-nor-there disappointment--but it's short and fast, with the satirized BBC atmosphere (staid, Victorian, oppressive) a strong element throughout.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1983

Categories: FICTION