The Better to Eat You (1954) by Charlotte Armstrong

Today’s review is for this month’s book group read, with the added pressure that it was my choice. Is it just me who agonises over how everyone else in book group will respond to my pick of book? I have been keen to include Charlotte Armstrong in book group for a while, having enjoyed so many by her and having seen two other members try her and enjoy her too. I had not read today’s read before making the choice, so my fingers (and my cat’s paws) were crossed that it would be a good one. I hated the thought of picking a dud which put everyone else off trying her ever again. So as you can see I had very little invested in this read…

Synopsis

‘History student Sarah Shepherd does not look like a killer. She is shy, but her writing so impresses Professor David Wakeley that he asks her to become his research assistant. Terrified, she begs him to stay away. For Sarah Shepherd is stalked by death, and the professor could be her next victim. For years, people close to her have died: an office colleague, a coworker’s mother, and Sarah’s husband, who dropped dead on their wedding day. David doesn’t believe her until a few days later, when his parked car rolls down a hill, seemingly under its own power, and kills a stranger. Something is tormenting this young girl, and David suspects it may be her family. To Sarah’s relatives, a group of old vaudevillians, deceit and even murder are second nature.’

Overall Thoughts

Allusions to fairy tales in mystery novel titles have been deployed by many crime writers over the years, and I think it is fair to say that some of these deployments are more effective than others. A similar case can be made for nursery rhyme allusions. So I was wondering how well the title for Armstrong’s book would fare and I was keen to discover its link to the text. I think the title gives the story a predatory feel and I was intrigued to see who was in danger. Having now read the book I think the allusion to Red Riding Hood is an appropriate one, summing up one relationship in the mystery very well, a relationship dynamic which I think is a staple of psychological suspense and can be found in other books by Charlotte Armstrong.

The setup for this story initially departs from Armstrong’s more commonly used template, by using an academic milieu. I say initially, as after the opening chapter the majority of the story occurs at a private residence – a location type Armstrong used a lot, in novels such as The Chocolate Cobweb and The Unsuspected. We also have something of an old film style romantic comedy opening with Professor David Wakeley finding his usual charms and beguiling manner wasted upon Sarah Shepherd, a woman he hopes will act as his secretary over the summer. His attempts to converse with her are frequently killed stone dead with a monosyllabic reply. However, this rom-com moment changes tone quite promptly as we begin to wonder why Sarah is so frightened. We get an inkling when she asks the professor:

“Have you ever heard of a Jonah? Someone who brings trouble, bad luck, wherever she goes? […] That’s why I can’t work for you […] And why I shouldn’t even be talking to you now. It isn’t that I don’t want to mingle with the human race. It’s that I mustn’t.”

This is quite melodramatic stuff, a note which interested me as it is not one that Armstrong particularly evokes. However, Armstrong gets beyond high emotions and begins to draw out of Sarah in the first chapter some intriguing information, especially the catalogue of terrible calamities which have befallen those who have come into contact with her over the years. The wide range of disasters raises certain questions. Is it a run of bad coincidences which Sarah is over personalising and someone else is using to their own advantage? Or is someone giving fate a helping hand? It is not clear at this stage and true to form the end game of book is hard to predict, which is something I like about Charlotte Armstrong’s writing style and plotting.

The next two chapters transition this mystery more into an inverted one, in that we get to see who the bad guys are and some of the reasons why they are acting the way they are. I was in two minds about this narrative choice. Had Armstrong revealed her hand too soon? What would the rest of the plot consist of? The answer to that one is an interesting, even if it is not entirely successful in what it tries to do. Whilst David and Sarah in their own ways react to and/or try to find out more about what is going on and why certain bad events are happening, the driving force of the plot is actually located somewhere else in the cast – and that is with the baddies, who are not all singing from the same hymn sheet. They are a divided group, who have different aims and plans which they do not properly communicate to one another. In a way Armstrong’s novel looks at the consequences of poor teamwork, which in those terms might sound dull, but from a psychological point of view is very interesting – well it was to me at any rate. The idea of the weakest link comes to mind and the plot from this angle does well, although it is not as intricately plotted as The Unsuspected.

However, the arena in which this book can be found wanting, in comparison to other mysteries by Charlotte Armstrong, lies in her choice of female protagonist, Sarah. Unlike the female leads of The Unsuspected, The Chocolate Web and even Mischief (which has something of a juvenile antiheroine in it), Sarah is far more weak-willed and passive, a state of being which she has been pushed into and one she struggles to fight against as she is surrounded by lies on all sides (even from those that are wanting to help her). Her personality fits her situation, but I think it made for poorer reading. Armstrong has a more vulnerable and naïve potential female victim in Catch as Catch Can but her passivity and lack of sense is muted due to another more competent female character having a more prominent role. We largely lack that other kind of female protagonist in today’s read. Consequently, I fear Sarah might be a bit frustrating for some readers.

As the plot unfolds, and the stakes get higher, I found the story to be quite Hitchcock-esque and cinematic in tone. The finale gives off this vibe the most, though quite a few of Armstrong’s books work that way. It is perhaps a shame that on paper the wrap up of the novel felt rushed and that we don’t quite get the depth of emotional response to events that is arguably expected, and which I know Armstrong could write. In addition there is some unfortunate characterisation when it comes to the Asian chef Moon. This is not something I have overly noticed in Armstrong’s other books and a small positive is that as the mystery develops this character becomes more independent of his employer and is depicted by the narrator as someone who has a much better idea of what is going on and what dangers are afoot, than many of the main characters.

So not the worst Armstrong novel I read, but alack and alas not the best either, so there might be some nervous nail biting until next weekend. If you are new to this author, I would recommend trying one of the following first: The Unsuspected (1947), The Chocolate Cobweb (1948) and Mischief (1950). I would say these are my top 3 favourites.

Rating: 4/5