3.5 stars

I am fond of vintage mysteries and of theater settings, so this was enjoyable. Early psychologist Dr. Basil Willing works with the NYPD to provide a viewpoint that delves into the mental aspects of murder cases. This time out, a play featuring a death on stage sadly turns into an actual murder. And it could only have been committed by a few members of the acting company.

Threaded into the action is a somewhat unsatisfactory love story featuring a friend of Willing's and and old scandal.

Nicely drawn characters and intelligent writing. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dr Basil Willing is an acquired taste, and I have now acquired it. This is the 4th in the series and I was definitely not that excited with the first one. They can seem a bit dated but I prefer crime mysteries from the 20s-40s rather than the rather more modern gory stuff. Good plot with closed number of suspects set in the world of the theatre. Thanks to Agora books and Netgalley.

WWII has begun, and Basil Willing is in New York. The Royalty Theatre is showing a revival of the Victorian show Fedora starring the actress Wanda Morley. Wanda's dresser, Pauline, is an old friend of Basil, and she gives him a ticket for opening night. Willing goes a little early, and notices the knife sharpening shop where someone broke in, didn't steal anything, but let the canary out of it's cage. Then, someone drops a copy of the script from the top of the fire escape. It is Wanda's copy, and a crucial line is underlined. It says "He cannot escape now; every hand is against him!" Willing goes to Wanda's dressing room and "returns" the script. However, Wanda tells him she wasn't on the fire escape.

At the end of the First Act, they realize the actor playing Vladimir who is pretending to die as actually died with a knife in his chest. Inspector Foyle arrives, and he and Willing begin interviewing and trying to solve the murder. There are only three actors who have approached Vladimir, so they are the suspects. While they are questioning the suspects, there is a fly in the room which keeps landing on the handle of the knife instead of on the bloody blade. Willing realizes the handle is sticky, but not why at first. When the canary is let out of its cage again, Willing finally realizes the significance of the canary and the fly and solves the case!

Agora Books are republishing Helen McCloy’s Dr Basil Willing books, apparently in the same order that they were originally published. The latest one is Cue for Murder, originally published in 1941, just as the US was joining the war after Pearl Harbour. There are some aspects that might surprise us in the UK and in the C21st. For example, the concern about practicing the black-out to ensure New York had no lights showing to guide enemy bombers; and whether buildings would withstand a direct hit in a bombing raid. I had no idea that this had been expected.

For my money, Cue for Murder is the best Basil Willing story to date. An actor is killed on stage, in front of the audience, but who did it? It must have been one of the three actors who approached him but, as his role required him to remain motionless, no-one could tell when the murder happened. Thus we have three suspects, but which one did it? Remember these are professional actors so they are quite capable of acting the part of an innocent suspect whilst being guilty of murder. An actor in a play would take care not to appear too obviously innocent because the audience would know they’re faking it.

McCloy is on top form in this book. There are poetic descriptions that I don’t recall in her earlier books, such as “This morning a sun glare as ruthlessly intolerant as youth itself…”. Dr Willing (and we) go round in circles: if it can’t be A or B, it must be C. But it can’t be C or B, so it has to be A. And when Basil does unmask the murderer and explains how he deduced the answer, you think “I could have got that – if only I’d thought a lot harder and put those facts together.”

This is an excellent book – if you like mysteries, you will not be disappointed.

#CueforMurder #NetGalley

Helen McCloy was an author ahead of her time. While her contemporary crime writers were content to churn out endless cozy mysteries she used her characters to delve into the psychology of murder. A decade ahead of the great Patricia Highsmith and two decades ahead of the equally acclaimed P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. The importance of her contribution to the genre is only now being recognized through the efforts of Agora Books to revive her novels.
Written in the months following the attack on Pearl Harbour, McCloy's at her most evocative in the climatic scenes as Broadway plunges into blackout. The tension is comparable to Alfred Hitchcock at his very best.
I think this is the very best of the early Dr Basil Willing and Inspector Doyle mysteries.

Cue for Murder revolves around a death occurring during a Broadway performance in the early 1940s. Dr. Basil Willing, a consulting psychiatrist with the district attorney's office, was coincidentally in attendance on opening night. The play was a romantic melodrama performed by four well known actors and a special guest portraying a corpse. Within sight of the live audience, this make believe corpse is murdered and Dr. Willing volunteers his services.

Helen McCloy has Dr. Willing following in the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes in solving this mystery, looking for physical clues that identify who might the murderer be as well as his/her likely psychological attributes. She herself follows in the footsteps of Ellery Queen in presenting the mystery. Abundant clues are given from the very beginning of the book and throughout to the end that when fit together clearly identifies who the murderer is. But I myself did not solve the mystery before the end. That was likely because that wasn't a priority for me. Instead I was interested in what New York City was like in the 1940's and the underlying culture of the city in general and the acting community in particular. I gave this book a 4 star rating because I don't read mysteries to see if I can outwit the author and figure out who done it before the end. I'd have liked to have given it 4 and a half stars because if I were an outwit-the-author type reader it would have been a 5 star rating.

Thanks to Net Galley and Agora Books for a review copy.

A theatre production of a melodrama is a comfortable setting for us to follow Dr Basil Willing’s skill in applying his considerable psychological skill to yet another murder - or two. It’s a clever plot with the challenge of a severely limited cast of suspects.

The reader is led to identify with Basil Willing, and, to a lesser extent, Inspector Foyle. The suspects, and other supporting characters were less well established and distinguished, broad brush stroke figures, tending to stereotype. It would be a more satisfying read if they were more rounded to engage the reader, rather than part of an intellectual puzzle. It is this factor that stops me giving it four stars.

As it is, I’d put it around 3.7.

Cue for Murder by Helen McCloy is the fifth in the Dr. Basil Willing series.

Willing finds himself in a complicated case, when a murder is committed on stage in the Royal Theater in full view of the audience. At the beginning there are no alibis, no fingerprints, no motives, no tell-tale looks or gestures. The only clues are a canary and a fly. Basil Willing needs his psychological insight, his keen eye and his deductive abilities.
It is a well written crime novel in the classic English tradition, and I enjoyed the reunion with Dr. Basil Willing very much!

I got this e-book from Crime Classics via NetGalley. It is published in the series from Agora Books called Uncrowned Queens of Crime.

"Cue for Murder," original copywrite 1941, is a mystery featuring Dr. Basil Willing. He is a New York City psychiatrist who is a medical advisor to the District Attorney's office. Willing attends the play "Fedora" with a young woman who designed the play's costumes. At the end of Act One, the character "Vladimir" is discovered dead. He's been murdered during the play and neither Willing, his companion, the audience, nor the other actors noticed anything. Only three people were on stage and "Vladimir" was in an alcove with no entry other than double doors facing the audience. The key to solving the crime is a canary and a fly! The plot is intricate with red herrings and misdirection to keep mystery lovers entertained. The book is a product of its time and the psychological assumptions are dated. It's an interesting book and will keep the reader guessing right up to the end. There are typos in the "Persons of Interest" section: Pauline "kindle" for "kind" and "health" instead of "healthy."

This, for me, is definitely the best Dr. Willing mystery that I have read so far. The plot fairly zips along and the characters are extremely well written. The storyline is ingenious and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Let's hope that Helen. McCloy wrote many more and that they are re-published in the near future. I highly recommend this book to all classic crime fans.

A man that everyone denies knowing is murdered on stage during an opening night performance with Dr. Basil Willing in the audience. Important clues include a canary set free from its cage by a burglar that took nothing and a housefly attracted to the handle of the murder weapon. Very small pool of suspects. I suspected the culprit from the beginning for the same reason Willing did (as revealed at the end). Really fun stuff!

Dr Basil Willing has been given a ticket to attend the opening night of the play Fedora. Where in the first act a character dies, unfortunately so does the actor. He has been stabbed. With so few suspects can Willing determine the motive and therefore the guilty party before they kill again. The clues were there to find.
Another entertaining historical mystery, originally written in 1941. A well-written story with its varied and likeable characters. Another good addition to the series which can easily be read as a standalone story.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Could a Golden Age book be more exquisite? Cue for Murder in the Dr. Basil Willing Mystery series contains everything one could hope for in a mystery...suspense, tension, superb secrets, believable and memorable characters, oodles of atmosphere, wonderful descriptions and a clever ending. Plus Helen McCloy wrote with fresh humour and wit which made me chuckle out loud several times. She also included a list of persons of interest (even these are enshrouded in her magical wit) and objects of interest. Love that.

The backdrop and scene of the crime is the Royal Theatre in bustling New York in 1942. Interestingly, the list of suspects is short but each seems unlikely. Or do they? Dr. Basil Willing draws on his psychiatric background and criminal knowledge to analyze and scrutinize which really elevates this character-driven book. Though the murder was committed in full view, no one saw it happen. The descriptions transported me immediately to the stage and I felt I was a witness to a positively smashing murder without knowing it. And then there's the non-human objects of interest...

Please do not miss this superb book. It is my favourite by this author I have read thus far. Each word was arresting and riveting and had me tied up in knots as I was so eager to finish yet did not want it to end! It had that special je ne sais quois I yearn for in books.

My sincere thank you to Agora Books for reviving this enchanting era. It will always be my favourite to read from and about. Thank you to NetGalley for the privilege of reading this treasure. I could not have possibly enjoyed it more and eagerly await the next!

I liked all the Basil Willing mysteries I read and this the best so far. A page turner I couldn't put down featuring a very complex puzzle, a limited number of suspects and plenty of secrets.
The author did an excellent job in developing a plot that never stops surprising as each twist is unexpected.
The descriptions of the theatre environment and the atmosphere in NY at the beginning of WWII are masterful as the storytelling and the character development.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Perfect Murder….?
A murder takes place, on stage, before a full house. Surely that’s straightforward? Despite the clear view no one can tell who the murderer is. An enigma. Cue the enigmatic Dr Basil Willing. With a clever and well crafted plot, red herrings aplenty and a superlative cast this is an engaging and enjoyable mystery with a satisfying denouement.