Paula Messina Reviews: The Odor of Violets: A Duncan Maclain Mystery by Baynard Kendrick

 

Please welcome back Paula Messina to the blog today…

  

 

The Odor of Violets

by Paula Messina

 

 

I’d never heard of Baynard Kendrick (1894–1977) and his main character, Duncan Maclain, until I picked up The Odor of Violets (1941). Otto Penzler tells us in his introduction to Violets that Maclain was “[o]ne of the most beloved characters from the Golden Age of Detective fiction and beyond.” Penzler describes Kendrick as “one of the giants” from that period. I asked three well-read mystery writers what they know of Kendrick. Two drew a blank. One had read a few of Kendrick’s short stories.

            How fleeting fame.

Baynard Kendrick was a prolific writer of novels, short stories, and articles. One of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America, he served as its first president. He was also the first American to enlist in the Canadian Army during World War I. It was his experience during that war that led him to an encounter with “a blind British soldier who had the remarkable ability to tell Kendrick things about himself that exceeded what a sighted person might have known.” Kendrick never learned the soldier’s name and never saw him again.

That encounter is described in Kendrick’s foreword. I don’t want to spoil anything but describing it. I’ll let you discover it. I’ll only say that the blind soldier’s accomplishment rivaled—no, make that exceeded—any of Sherlock Holmes’ flights of genius.

As you might have guessed, Duncan Maclain is blind. In his foreword to Violets, Kendrick, who had a life-long interest in blindness and who worked with the blind, tells of a letter he received from Anne Mansfield Sullivan. Well known for her work with Helen Keller, Sullivan said, “You’re a mystery writer…so why not draw on the knowledge that you’ve accumulated and create a blind detective of your own…who would never perform any feat in his detection or deduction that couldn’t be duplicated by someone totally blind—presuming they had the necessary brains and willpower to train themselves to try.”

Kendrick accepted the challenge. Duncan Maclain was born.

Getting back to Violets, Norma Tredwill’s concern about her strained relationship with her step-daughter intensifies when she learns that Babs is dating Paul Gerente, who just happens to be Norma’s ex-husband. She sets off to confront Gerente.

Meanwhile, Gerente visits Duncan Maclain concerning information that must not fall into enemy hands.

Norma arrives at Gerente’s apartment building in time to see Babs fleeing. Norma finds Gerente’s body. Babs goes missing. Did she kill Gerente? Or did the neighbor who confesses to the crime do it? Or was it someone else?

What begins as a straight-forward mystery turns into a story of international intrigue. Maclain suspects the enemy is behind the murder, and he’s worried that information that would devastate the war effort is about to land in the wrong hands. It’s the recurring scent of violets that leads to the murderer.

There are many reasons to read a mystery. If you want a great plot, there’s Agatha Christie. Looking for witty dialogue, try Rex Stout. For humor, Donald E. Westlake never fails. If you’re more interested in something literary, try P.D. James.

Violets doesn’t have a sensational plot. There is little humor, and Kendrick is far from an elegant writer. Ultimately, it’s a mystery writer’s detective that sways readers to pick up a book, and here Baynard Kendrick shines. Think Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, Harry Hole, Jack Reacher. Duncan Maclain is a great detective. It’s easy to understand why he was and should continue to be a much beloved character. There’s nothing special about him. He’s not eccentric. It’s obvious he’s bright and talented, but he’s an ordinary guy who happens to be blind. Everything Maclain does fits Sullivan’s bill. There are no stunts. They could be duplicated by someone who is blind. The real intrigue is inhabiting Maclain’s world, “seeing” it through his “eyes.” It’s those eyes that makes for a memorable read.

 

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Paula Messina ©2025

Paula Messina lives within spitting distance of the Atlantic. When she isn’t reading about Archie Goodwin’s adventures, she’s writing fiction, make that historical, contemporary, and humorous fiction.