The Mouthless Dead
This novel centres around the strange real-life murder case known as the Wallace case which took place near Liverpool in the 1930s. William Wallace, not the Scottish freedom fighter but rather a deeply ordinary man, is summoned by phone message to meet a Mr Qualtrough at a particular address at a specific time to discuss possible work. The only problem is that Wallace has never heard of Mr Qualtrough. When he goes to the rendezvous, the address doesn`t exist, and when he returns home, he discovers his wife, Julia, brutally murdered in the parlour. Surely such an elaborate alibi cannot be fake? And yet Wallace still finds himself under suspicion.
The novel focuses on the character of the detective Mr Key who, fifteen years later, is taking a cruise to the US. In discussions with an aspiring filmmaker who has become intrigued by the case, does Key reveal more knowledge than he should have? What is the real story? Twists and turns abound in this psychologically fascinating tale. Any crime fan will find this story very compelling, and I could certainly envisage it as a noir style film made by the late, great Hitchcock.
