A review by retiredlibrarylady
Checkmate to Murder by E.C.R. Lorac

3.0

This book really stirred something in me completely unrelated to the mystery, which was actually well written and plotted. I don't know if other Robert MacDonald mysteries are still available; this was originally published in 1944 in England. What struck me was first on page 19, when a Canadian who was come to fight in WWII is threatened with arrest for his uncle's murder and neighbors intervene on his behalf. He tells them "You folks are white all through! You've been decent to me, by gum you have!" I had a vague memory of the term "white" being a synonym for nice, possibly in books many years ago. But it really struck me now...what a racist phrase!. The internet tells me it originated in the southern US, but I thought it fit perfectly in this English book setting as a colonialist phrase. So although I enjoyed it as a mystery I couldn't recommend it to anyone in today's society.