Moonflower Murders: A Novel

The author of the successful Atticus Pünd novels, Alan Conway, is murdered in Magpie Murders. However, in the novel’s sequel, he continues to haunt the other characters through a secret message he embedded in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case. He stayed at Branlow Hall following a murder that took place there, and he discovered that the man who was put away for the murder—Stefan Codrescu—was innocent while the killer roamed free. However, instead of taking this discovery to the authorities, Conway placed clues to the real killer’s identity in the novel. Cecily Treherne read the novel and discovered the true murderer was her husband, Aiden MacNeil, but Aiden killed her, too, before she could reveal this to anyone else. Conway enjoyed playing malicious intellectual games in his novels, and the ongoing damage his fiction causes in the real world highlights The Power of Storytelling.

While fans of Golden Age detective fiction, such as Susan, admire his detective series, Conway himself despised the genre that made him wealthy and successful. As his editor, Susan had a conflictual relationship with him, finding him arrogant, unpleasant, and stubbornly resistant to changes to his work. Susan’s love of Atticus Pünd and intense dislike of Alan highlight how literature can take on an autonomous life from its creator.

Susan initially describes Cecily Treherne’s husband as “a very handsome man, fair-haired, blue-eyed, in great shape” (91). However, his charm and good looks are shown to be superficial, concealing a ruthless desire for wealth and social status. Aiden’s identity lies at the heart of the secrets hidden in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, revealing him to be the former sex worker known as Leo and Frank Parris’s killer.

Through Aiden’s character, the narrative addresses a popular theme of golden age fiction: the class structure of British society. A working-class interloper, he insinuates himself into the upper-class Treherne family and destroys it. Aiden’s letter to Cecily’s father, describing how he murdered his wife, conveys a deep-seated resentment and hatred of the family that embraced him.

Stefan Codrescu is Branlow Hall’s former Romanian maintenance man. When the narrative begins, he is serving a life sentence following his wrongful conviction for Frank Parris’s murder. Stefan’s marginalized social status as an immigrant with a criminal record makes him the target of ruthlessly exploitative characters. Lisa Treherne abuses her power as his employer, coercing him into a sexual relationship. Meanwhile, Aiden MacNeil perceives him as the ideal scapegoat for Frank’s murder. After promptly arresting Stefan, based mainly on xenophobic prejudice, DSI Locke bullies him into a false confession, completing the chain of abuse he suffers. His wrongful incarceration highlights The Limits of the Criminal Justice System.

Stefan appears late in the narrative when Susan visits him in prison. The encounter leads to an investigative epiphany for Susan as she realizes that Stefan is the biological father of Cecily’s daughter, Roxana, providing a motive for Aiden to frame him.

Atticus Pünd is the fictional private detective created by author Alan Conway. A homage to Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, Pünd shares his logical deduction methods, observational brilliance, and profound understanding of human nature. Like his Belgian inspiration, Pünd is also a foreign national in England: a German with Greek ancestry. His status as an outsider allows him to regard British society from the perspective of an objective observer.

Alan Conway’s creation of Atticus Pünd illustrates the often contradictory aspects of the creative process. The author brings to life a sympathetic and compassionate character despite his own callous and unlikable traits. The survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, Pünd empathizes with the oppressed and downtrodden. The detective’s belief “in the sanctity of life, even the life of a criminal” (310), highlights the novel’s exploration of The Limits of the Criminal Justice System.

DSI Locke is another character who first appeared in Magpie Murders. Despite the professional ineptitude he displayed while investigating Alan Conway’s murder, Susan discovers that he has been promoted since her last unpleasant encounter with him. Susan’s description of Locke as looking like he is “searching for a wall to bulldoze his way through” reflects his bullish attitude to crime solving (78). He fulfills the trope of the bungling police officer in his aggressive pursuit and arrest of Stefan Codrescu. Locke’s eagerness to convict a Romanian for Frank Parris’s murder demonstrates xenophobia and a lack of objectivity. The wrongful conviction highlights the novel’s exploration of The Limits of the Criminal Justice System.

Atticus Pünd believes he has employed the ideal secretary in Madeline Cain. A 45-year-old Cheltenham Ladies’ College graduate, she is efficient and seems dedicated to the job. Her conservative dress sense and “horn-rimmed spectacles” echo her earnest temperament (312).

Miss Cain’s manipulation of Atticus Pünd from the beginning of the case demonstrates his fallibility. Her prim, sensible manner belies an obsessive admiration of Melissa James and determination to avenge her death. Disagreeing with Pünd’s belief that the death sentence should be abolished, Madeline Cain ironically proves his point when she kills Francis Pendleton, mistaking him for Melissa’s murderer. As the second killer in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, she provides a clue to the real-life killer. Her name is an anagram of Aiden MacNeil and also references James M. Cain, the author of crime novels including Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Although absent from the novel’s action, Cecily Treherne is integral to its plot. She is the manager of Branlow Hall and disappears after discovering a clue in Atticus Pünd Takes the Case. Thirty-three-year-old Cecily is described as having a “rather babyish face, pursed lips, [and] round cheeks” (49), reflecting the innocent naivety exploited by her husband, Aiden MacNeil. Alan Conway’s book is directly responsible for her death, which highlights The Power of Storytelling.

Cecily’s sister, Lisa, is visually distinctive due to a scar at the side of her mouth. Noting how Lisa does not attempt to soften the scar’s appearance with makeup, Susan observes that “she [has] allowed it to define her” (49). The remark also reflects Lisa’s lack of gentle or agreeable personality traits, as she is unwaveringly hostile, abrasive, and aggressive.

Lisa embodies The Harmful Impacts of the Abuse of Power in her relationship with her employee, Stefan Codrescu. She remorselessly admits to exploiting Stefan’s financial dependence on his job to coerce him into having sex with her. Her character also demonstrates how Alan Conway reflected and distorted reality in his fiction. In Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, Conway satirizes Lisa’s unattractive physical appearance by giving beautiful actress Melissa James her distinctive scar.