A Whiff of Death (1958) by Isaac Asimov

This novel was originally published under the title of The Death Dealers and looking at both titles I think its later one is best. Today’s review is a rare occasion of me reading a detective novel from a writer better known for their sci-fi work and it is my first experience of this author’s work in any genre. So let’s see how I got on…

Synopsis

‘Ralph Neufeld. Research student in chemistry. Found dead in his laboratory. Accident? The police say it is. Louis Brade, his professor, thinks otherwise. But who could have done it? There’s only one other key to the lab, and that belongs to – Professor Brade. [N.B. This isn’t actually the case, there are at least two more.] The only person who knows a murder has been committed is also the most likely suspect. So he sets out to find the murderer himself. Quickly. [Bit of an overstatement]. Before the police realise it couldn’t have been an accident. [He fails on that score miserably.]’

The blurb is taken from the 1970 Sphere Books edition, with some additional comments added.

Overall Thoughts

I would say the opening is relatively low-key in that it begins with Louis Brade, an Assistant Professor of chemistry, mulling over what has happened in one of his department’s student laboratories, now the body of Ralph Neufeld has been removed and the police have gone. The narrative takes a philosophical tone, musing on the many lethal items a chemistry lab contains and how much “Death” resides there. It is through Brade going over in his head the discovery of the body and of his police interview that we find out more about what is going on. There is nothing dramatic or striking but I think the author is effective in building up intrigue in an understated way. The reader gets a growing sense that something is not quite right, that something is not being revealed.  The concluding lines of chapter 1 confirm this:

‘Brade looked at his watch. Nearly seven, and he couldn’t leave even yet. Something had to be done first […] He had work to do quickly, and he badly needed all the privacy he could get.’

Moreover, we do not find out what Brade was doing at this juncture until later in the narrative. Instead, chapter 2 switches focus on to Brade and him considering his life at the university and how he thinks it has buffered him from the pressures of life; an illusion this book will shatter, little does he realise it.

One of the main things that struck me about this mystery is how much it prioritises the needs and concerns of the accidental sleuth protagonist. The book is far more about how Ralph’s death is going to affect Brade’s life, from his dying hopes of promotion to his relationship with his wife. Ralph’s death and finding out who did the deed are only important to the extent that they impinge upon Brade and the big question of the book is whether this murder will destroy Brade’s life also, or if it will provide him with a phoenix rising from the ashes moment.

For a considerable part of the story, Brade and his wife’s fears over his job stability influence Brade’s actions. If he tries to do some amateur detection and if it is decided to be murder by the police, both could scupper his promotion. Yet equally if neither of these options happen then it also increasingly looks like doing nothing is an untenable position, as if it is deemed an accident or even a suicide there is the potential for Brade to be made the scapegoat. Nevertheless, inactivity is the course of action strongly suggested to him by his wife, who is anxious for him to not get involved. The comment is made that Brade and wife were both children during the Depression and that anxiety around money had become a ‘scar [that] marked them both’ and therefore this affects their decision making. The early part of the book builds up a picture of Brade being a very put upon character from whom everybody wants something, regardless of the inconvenience it causes him. I think this is done effectively to encourage the reader to feel sympathetic towards Brade.

All of the factors mentioned above mean that any sleuthing activities Brade does conduct are intermittent, and it is only when he has his “worm has turned” moment that he becomes more determined to find out who did the murder. It is perhaps a shame that this determination mostly entails thinking rather than action. The final quarter of the story builds some momentum up, which helped to engage me further, however the solution reveal was not entirely satisfactory. The choice of killer is a good one and the motive is buyable, but I think I would have preferred there to be more concrete evidence against the culprit. One thing that surprised me about the denouement was its slightly soppy last line. This was not what I expected and this intrigued me as I thought it interesting that my mind assumed that a writer who mostly worked in sci-fi, would not write sentimentally. However, the ending also stuck out as it did not blend in with the rest of the narrative, which is not overly emotional.

My copy of the mystery includes at the beginning many contemporary review quotes and I found it interesting seeing what other reviewers noticed about the book. For example, the firmly established university chemistry department setting was commented on by both the Birmingham Evening Mail and The Times:

‘The maestro of science fiction’s first detection story – a good one, with much laboratory expertise, of course’

Birmingham Evening Mail

‘an excellent puzzle with lashings of authentic (and crystal clear) laboratory lore.’  

The Times

I would agree with their opinions on this specific point as the author does a thorough job of building up the setting of his story in terms of physical objects, but also in including the day-to-day tasks Brade must do as part of job, such as lecturing.

There was also this review quote from Edmund Crispin, which was published in The Sunday Times: ‘Sound plotting, well-assorted suspects, proper hey-presto unravelling at the end’. This was a viewpoint I did not entirely agree with, as whilst there are a variety of suspects, I do not feel we get to know them that well. The story stays with Brade and his experiences and the others are filtered through his eyes. If you enjoy a mystery with lots of detective activity then you might find the plot of this book wanting, but if character development is of a higher priority, then I predict you will think along similar lines to Edmund Crispin. The ending does have a ‘hey-presto’ element to it, but as I said above, I have some reservations about this. Finally, Punch described this tale as ‘a classic whodunnit’ and that it was written ‘exactly to specification, with clues, deductions and a remarkably least-likely murderer.’ I don’t know if I am being a curmudgeon but part of me doesn’t feel like this novel is ‘a classic whodunnit’. For me it has too much focus upon Brade’s feelings and experiences to fit the mould properly. So all in all I think this is an average read. It does some things well, but maybe it was just lacking enough detective activity for my liking.

However, I imagine quite a few of my readers have read this one so I look forward to hearing what you made of it and whether you think this title is representative of Asimov’s other mysteries.

Rating: 4/5