FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE TOFF IN WAX

The Toff in Was by John Creasey (1966)

Since my back decided to go on vacation this week I spent much of the time lying horizontal with a heating pad and reading books.  As luck would have it, the past few weeks brought a plethora of books to my door, including nearly twp dozen books by John Creasey, those nearly equally divided between his characters Scotland Yard Inspector (later Superintendent) Roger "Handsome" West and the well-to-do man about town and detective/adventurer, the Honourable Richard Rollison, aka the Toff.

Let's look at The Toff in Wax, the 50th novel in a series of 59 books (a 60th novel, posthumously written by William Vivian Butler, was published in 1978).

Some background:  Toff is a term used to describe a true gentleman, elegant;ly dressed, and is one of the most elegant men in town.  The description fits Richard Rollison, a handsome upper-crust amateur crime solver who lives in Mayfair but is often more at home in London's rough and gritty East End, where he looked upon as sort of a local hero, and is often referred to as "Mr. Ar.".  One of his closest friend in the East End is Bill Ebbut, the rough and tumble owner of both the Blue Dog Gymnasium and The Sailor's Arm pub; Ebbut often provides men to act as guards or to trail suspects for Rollison.  Unlike Leslie Charteris's the Saint, or Creasey's own the Baron, the Toff has no criminal background, but is not above breaking or bending the law in his investigations.  This can put him at odds with Scotland Yard, although over the year he has managed to earn he trust of Supertintendent Bill Grice, s well as that of many members of the force.  The Toff is assisted by his loyal manservent Jolly, a rather dour-looking gentleman's gentleman, some twenty years older than Rollison; over the years Jolly has become rather adept with his personal forensic laboratory.  When the series began, Rollison was in his twenties; Rollison aged slowly as the series commenced, eventually stopping in his forties.  Rollison appreciates the good turn of a feminine ankle but has never tied himself down to a romantic partner.

As is sometimes the case in Creasey's books, the real world enters The Toff in Wax -- in this case the noted Madame Tussad's wax museum and its famous Chamber of Horrors.   Real-life people such as Bernard Tussaud, the manager of the musuem, and Jim Catlin, the museum's curator.

Some months before this story opens, Rollison was instrumental in capturing and convicting a married couple, the Frankens,  who had murdered a relative for his stash of diamonds and had also murdered a policeman before they were caught.  The couple were eventually hanged but the case was a cause celebre in the newspapers.  The Tussaud decided to add the couple and Rollison to their Chamber of Horrors.  Although the Toff usually decried such publicity, in a fit of pride he agreed to have the museum make a mask of his face for the exhibit.

All well and good, but while the was model mask was being made, he seemed to greatly upset a young Tussaud employee named Daffodil.  She hurled invectives at him and rushed out of  the museum.  According to the other employees, the usually cheerful Daffodil had been acting strangely of late, but no one had an explanation of her animosity to Rollison.  (We later learn that she had been the fiance of on of the children of the Frankens, who had broken off the engagement when his parents were arrested.  The three Franken children insist their parents were innocent and blame Rollison for their execution, as did Daffodil.)   The following morning, Rollison got a call from the museum.  someione had burned a hole through the left eye of the mask Rollison had made.  Later, Rollison received a photograph of him made at the casting session, with the left eye burned out by a cigarette.  A second casting was made and this, too, was destroyed.

A Rollison began to investigate, witnessed the brutal murder of an alcolholic war hero who was going blind.  A number of mysterious and undentifiable characters kept turning up, threatening him.  An accident was arranged that would lay Rollison up for days.  Threats were made to burn down Madame Tussaud's.  A wax head on one of the figures at the museum was melted.  Lifelike was heads of Daffodil and of her four roommates appeared, but no one could tell where they were made.  Then  all four roommates, as well as Jolly and Jim Catney disappeared.   (Spoiler:  all six were rescued by Rollison as they were each at the point of death.)

Why was this happening and who was responsible?  Could this all be a vendetta against the Toff,?  Or against Madame Tussaud's museum?  Or was there a more sinister, hidden motive?

A fast-moving novel with a lot of balls in the air.  As is the case with many of Creasey's novels, the last two more three pages bring things to a thrilling close.

Creasey wrote more than 600 books under at least 28 pseudonyms in his lifetime, sometimes.  In 1937 alone, 29 of his books saw print.  His backlog of books to be published was so great that new Creasey novels kept appearing four years after his death.  Well over 60 million copies of his books have been published worldwide and his workd have been adapted for film, television, and radio.  Although best known for his mysteries, Creasey also wrote science fiction, romance, western, and young adult novels.  Among his best-known detective characters were The Toff, Roger West, Gideon of Scotland Yard, The Baron, Gordon Craige of Department Z, Dr. Palfrey, Emmanual Cellini, Patrick Dawlish, Superintendent Folly, Mark Kilby, and Bruce Murdock.  He also authored several Sexton Blake novels, as well as a dozen nonfiction titles.  Creasey co-founded Birtain's Crime Writers Asscociation (CWA), and their New Blood Dagger (originally the John  Creasey Momerial dagger) is awarded in Creasy's honor annualy to for first books by previously unpublished authors. He was a board member and president o the Mystery writers of America (MWA) and was name a Grand Master by that group in 1969; his novel Gideon's Fire on an Edgar in 1962.  He was also editor and publisher of John Creasey Mystery Magazine.  Creasey was also active in Briotish p[olitics.  In 1946, he was named a Memeber, Order of the British Empire.

Although Creasey may have had the talent for it, he was not a great writer.  He was, however, a rip-snortin' good one.  With his vast output, I can look forward to enjoying many more of Creasey's novels for years to come.