Book Review – The Mouthless Dead by Anthony Quinn

About the Book

One night in 1931 William Wallace was handed a phone message at his chess club from a Mr Qualtrough, asking him to meet at an address to discuss some work. Wallace caught a tram from the home he shared with his wife, Julia, to the address which turned out, after Wallace had consulted passers-by and even a policeman, to not exist.

On returning home two hours later he found his wife lying murdered in the parlour. The elaborate nature of his alibi pointed to Wallace as the culprit. He was arrested and tried, found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang, but the next month the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the verdict and he walked free.

Fifteen years on, the inspector who worked the case is considering it once more. Speculation continues to be rife over the true killer’s identity. James Agate in his diary called it ‘the perfect murder’, Raymond Chandler said ‘The case is unbeatable. It will always be unbeatable’. And on a cruise in 1947, new information is about to come to light.

Format: Hardcover (288 pages) Publisher: Abacus
Publication date: 6th March 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

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My Review

The Mouthless Dead is inspired by a real case – the murder of Julia Wallace in 1931. It’s a crime which remains unsolved to this day. Quite a few people, including the author P. D. James, have had a go at trying to identify the culprit without ever coming up with a definitive answer. I had never heard of the case but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. Frankly, the author could have invented the case and the book would still have made a gripping read.

Although many of the characters are real and events such as the trial follow the historical record, the author has created a fictional character, Detective Inspector Key who was involved in investigating the case many years before but has now retired from the police force. It is from his point of view the story unfolds as he ponders writing a memoir about the case, for his own personal satisfaction rather than with any intention it should be published.

What is particularly brilliant is the detailed back story the author creates for Key. The cruel treatment he suffered whilst a pupil of a Jesuit college. His traumatic experiences during the First World War during which he lost comrades in the most dreadful fashion. His personal life, that has been a series of disappointments, leaving him living alone. He misses the camaraderie of the police force and, although a keen member of a chess club, he has time on his hands. Hence his decision to take a transatlantic cruise to New York.

On board he meets a young woman, Lydia Tarrant, who is travelling with her rather over-protective mother and they strike up a friendship. Two becomes three when aspiring film maker, Teddy Absolom, joins their conversations around the swimming pool. Discovering Key’s involvement with the celebrated Wallace case, both Teddy and Lydia are eager to learn more about it. It soon emerges that Key has an unique perspective on the case. But how much of what he reveals is the truth and how much the product of his imagination born out of a desire to impress Lydia or provide Teddy with the perfect screenplay for a suspense film?

It’s difficult to say more for fear of spoilers but safe to say the author will keep you guessing until the end. Possibly even after that.

The Mouthless Dead is an imaginative and compelling take on a true crime story. It’s also a fascinating social history of middle-class life in Liverpool in the 1930s.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of Abacus via NetGalley.

In three words: Gripping, atmospheric, clever
Try something similar: The Dublin Railway Murder by Thomas Morris

About the Author

Anthony Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1964. From 1998 to 2013 he was the film critic for the Independent. His novels include The Rescue Man, which won the 2009 Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award; Half of the Human Race; The Streets, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Walter Scott Prize; Curtain Call, soon to be a feature film starring Ian McKellen and Gemma Arterton; Freya, Eureka, Our Friends in Berlin and London, Burning. He also wrote the recent Liverpool memoir Klopp.