Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

In many large houses, especially in bygone days, there would be a staff to cook, do the housework, and supervise the running of the home. Some places still have domestic employees. They’ve served a lot of purposes in crime fiction, so there are plenty of them. And some of them can add to the tension in a story, especially if the house is a little unsettling. Those enigmatic, even creepy domestic employees can make an atmosphere all the more deliciously eerie.

Agatha Christie created several butlers, maids, and so on. Some of them even turned out to be criminals (no, I’m not mentioning titles, or even sleuths. No spoilers here!). Just as one example, in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, retired business tycoon Roger Acroyd is murdered in his study. Hercule Poirot, who’s taken a cottage in the nearby village, is persuaded to clear the name of Ackroyd’s stepson, Captain Ralph Paton. Poirot and the police naturally focus their attention on the household, and they encounter some unsettling employees. There’s the enigmatic Parker, the butler. There’s Ursula Bourne, the housemaid who seems a little too quiet. There are others, too, and Poirot has to peel away several layers of mystery to get to the truth.

Isabel Briggs Myers’ Murder Yet to Come takes place mostly at Cairnstone House, near Philadelphia. In the novel, famous playwright Peter Jerringham, his secretary John MacAndrew, and his friend, homicide detective Carl Nilsson, are persuaded to travel to Cairnstone to help seventeen-year-old Linda Marshall. She never been allowed to leave the house, and her uncle Malachi Trent, who is her guardian, is cruel to her. When Malachi Trent is murdered, Linda comes under suspicion. But the victim’s grandson, David Trent, is sure that she is innocent. That means that Jerringham, McAdnrew, and Nilsson, will have to look elsewhere for the killer. The house is supervised by Trent’s valet/servant Ram Singh. He is respectful and does his job well, but he is enigmatic, and it’s clear he’s got his own agenda. It’s easy to see how he could make someone feel uneasy. The cook/housekeeper is Mrs. Ketcham, who says strange things and gives cryptic warnings. Taken together, they add to the tension in the house.

Mary Roberts Rinehart’s The Spiral Staircase sees middle-aged Rachel Innes renting a country house called Sunnyside for a holiday. With her are her niece and nephew, and her maid, Liddy Allen. It’s supposed to be a restful visit to the country, to escape the city heat and noise, but it turns out to be anything but peaceful and restorative. First, it seems that someone is lurking near the house. There are strange noises and other unsettling happenings, too. Then, there’s a murder. The son of the man who’d rented the home to Rachel is found dead in the living room. The whole series of events rattles the household, especially Liddy, who is given to superstition. Liddy isn’t malicious, but she adds to the gloomy, creepy atmosphere of the house.

In R. Austin Freeman’s The Mystery of 31 New Inn, we are introduced to Dr. Christopher Jervis. As the story opens, he’s serving as locum for a colleague. One night, he’s called out to the home of elderly Mr. Graves, whom he suspects has had a drug overdose. The whole visit, including the carriage trip, is odd. The household seems to be run by a Mr. Weiss, who is polite, but quite enigmatic. There is also Mrs. Schallibaum, the housekeeper, who says very little, but seems to know much more than she will tell. Both of these people add to the strangeness of the situation, and matters get worse when Jervis is called out to Graves’ bedside again. Something unsettling and malevolent is going on, and Jervis works with Dr. John Thorndyke to find out the truth.

There’s also Alexander McCall Smith’s Morality for Beautiful Girls. In one plot thread, Botswana private investigator Mma Precious Ramotswe gets a new client. An important Government Man believes that his sister-in-law is trying to poison her husband. He insists that Mma Ramotswe travel to his family home to find out if his suspicions are justified. At the house, Mma Ramotswe sense that something’s not right. She meets the family members, though, and everyone sits down to lunch. It’s not at all a friendly gathering. There’s a lot of tension, and after the meal, everyone gets sick. It’s clear that someone has poisoned the food. Mama Ramotswe has several suspects, and she’ll have to uncover some secrets to get to the truth. As she looks for answers, Mma Ramotswe speaks to the sullen man who cooks and does odd jobs around the house. She also speaks to the maid, who sees more than she says. In the end, Mma Ramotswe finds out who’s responsible for the poisoning.

Butlers, maids, cooks, and so on aren’t always pleasant, friendly, and helpful. You are so very right, fans of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca! Mrs. Danvers is a perfect example of what I mean!  Sometimes, at least in fiction, they can add to the tension and unease in a household. And that can add an interesting layer to a story.

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin’s I Think I’m Gonna Like it Here.