''Murder in Trinidad'' is a 1933

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

by the British-born American writer John Vandercook. It was the first in series of four novels by Vandercook featuring Bertram Lynch, a British investigator working for the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. It was followed by ''Murder in Fiji'' in 1936 and two further entries in the 1950s. The novels are narrated by Robert Deane, a professor of history from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

who Lynch befriends on board ship.

Synopsis

Lynch is called to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, a British colony, to investigate

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

smugglers based on the island. The previous man on the job has been killed, and Lynch and his new friend Deane go undercover to infiltrate the criminal's base in the middle of a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

. Lynch also uncovers the truth about the murder of a past governor of the island several years before.

Film adaptations

In 1934 it was adapted by

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

into a film of the same title starring

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock H ...

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, the successor studio, used it as the basis for two more films: ''

Mr. Moto in Danger Island ''Mr. Moto in Danger Island'' is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Herbert I. Leeds and starring Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt and Amanda Duff. It is part of the Mr. Moto series of films. The film was based on the novel ''Murder in Trinidad' ...

'' (1939) part of the

Mr. Moto Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the ''Saturday Evening Post'', whi ...

series starring

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

and ''

The Caribbean Mystery ''The Caribbean Mystery'' is a 1945 American film noir mystery film which marked the directorial debut of Robert D. Webb. It is the third film adaptation of the 1933 novel ''Murder in Trinidad'' by John W. Vandercook to be produced by 20th Centur ...

'' (1945) featuring James Dunn.Goble p.474

References

Bibliography

* Backer, Ron. ''Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood''. McFarland, 2012. * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. 1933 American novels American thriller novels American mystery novels American detective novels Doubleday (publisher) books The Crime Club books Novels set in the Caribbean American novels adapted into films {{1930s-mystery-novel-stub