The Cornish Coast Murder is Bude’s first mystery novel. I’ve previously read some of his Inspector Meredith series, without realising that he had this earlier book that is a standalone story featuring an amateur detective. It’s an entertaining, easy to read mystery that I mostly enjoyed, with one big reservation: I did not like the ending. I had no problem with the deductions, just who the murderer turned out to be.

The victim is Julius Tregarthan, local magistrate and wealthy owner of Greylings, an isolated manor house built on the Cornish Coast. There’s a cliff path directly next to a sheer drop to the water, with Greylings built next to the path. Julius Tregarthan is alone in the house, except for his two servants, having quarrelled with his niece who has rushed out of the house, into a fierce storm and down the cliff path. When she eventually returns to the house, she finds her uncle dead from a gunshot wound. Holes in the window show that he was shot by someone outside, either in the garden or perhaps on the cliff path.

There aren't many suspects – the niece, the servants (a married couple) and a young man who has no known motive but who was known to be close friends with the niece and who had rushed out of his house earlier in the evening and had vanished without a trace. There’s also a local poacher who was seen near the house earlier in the day and who is known to have a grudge against Tregarthan. That’s it. The police detective concentrates on the missing young man as his main suspect, but investigates all the others as well. He is disappointed when he eventually clears them all of suspicion, as he has no idea what other leads there are to follow.

This is where the Vicar steps in and proves himself a capable amateur detective. He and his closest friend, the local doctor, have, for many years, enjoyed a shared pleasure. They meet for dinner once a week at the Vicar’s house, then divide up a box of mystery novels delivered by the local library. Half way through the week they dine at the Doctor’s house and swap books. The Vicar takes great pleasure in his ability to spot obscure clues and he generally solves the mysteries in the books each week. So, when he learns that Ruth (the niece) is under suspicion of murder, he feels compelled to conduct his own investigation to prove her innocent.

And this is the reservation I had about the ending. The Vicar's observations and deductions are spot on, his logic is really good. But the murderer turns out to be someone who had no known connection to the victim and who had only been mentioned in passing as one of the locals. I don’t think it was fair play on the part of Bude to introduce a relatively unknown character as the murderer, and for the clues to be things known only to the Vicar that weren’t shared with us as readers. In the later Bude stories I've read, he does play fair and shares everything. Even in this one, the police detective shares all he learns with us. It’s just the Vicar who doesn't share, and his information is the information we need. I don’t think there is any way that a reader could reasonably guess who the murderer was, and no way for a reader to guess the motive. The first time we learn about the motive is when the Vicar reveals his reasoning to the Doctor.

Apart from this quibble I have with the ending, I really enjoyed this mystery. I like Bude’s style. His books are gentle and light-hearted. This one was quite fast paced, and I flew through it when I had the chance to read. I don’t think the actual murder method would work, but I don’t actually care about that. I’m generally reading these for these for escapism, not as a textbook on forensic criminal investigation. As John Dickson Carter says in The Hollow Man, “Now, it seems reasonable to point out that the word improbable is the very last which should ever be used to curse detective fiction in any case. A great part of our liking for detective fiction is based on a liking for improbability.” The murder method certainly seems improbable here!

Bude creates a believable world with his village on the Cornish Coast, with its small village concerns and intrigues. His descriptions of the Cornish Coast and the surrounding areas is a strong point of the book. My impression is that Bude’s writing about the areas in which he sets his books is one of his strong points, based on the four books of his I’ve read so far. So, I’d recommend this book as a good solid murder mystery, but not for someone who likes the ‘fair play’ style of murder mysteries that make it possible for the reader to also be a detective.