The Rainbird Pattern

The Rainbird Pattern - Victor Canning

The English police can’t catch the Trader, who has kidnapped two high government officials and traded them back for a small number of uncut diamonds. Working out of an agency whose members have a  license to kill, Inspector Bush and his superior Grandison are convinced the Trader will kidnap a third official – perhaps the highest in the land –  demand a huge number of diamonds and then retire with his female accomplice to live on his extorted gains.

Meanwhile, the elderly, rich, lonely Miss Rainbird hires psychic Blanche Tyler to canvas the spirit world for her long dead sister Harriet. Miss R. desperately wants find out why Harriet is disturbing her dreams. Harriet, it seems, wants Miss Rainbird to locate Harriet’s illegitimate son, adopted out to a humble family 40 years before, and do right by him with the wealth of the family. Wanting information to back up her spirit guide Henry and locate the nephew, Blanche sends her boyfriend George Lumley out to scout around. George collects background from people who are charmed by his happy go lucky nature and willingness to buy drinks.

The astute mystery reader will gladly anticipate how the search for the Trader and the search for the nephew will converge. The less said about the plot twists in this review, the better lest I spoil the surprises. Suffice to say, the ending is so messy and ominous that I found myself haunted for a couple of days.  Canning’s view of malum naturæ  (metaphysical evil) will bring to mind Graham Greene and Chesterton. In fact, in a review of this book the Catholic Herald approved, “The touch of the master becomes more apparent with each new Canning….””

The characters are excellently drawn. With his monocle and hard-won experience, Grandison persuasively argues that prayer and luck will lend a hand in catching the Trader.  The unmetaphysical Bush is inexorable and ruthless, fearing failure will stymie his career and hating the Trader for his cool audacity. Madame Blanche is earthy and shrewd at the same time, while harmless George is believable as the amateur detective. All the Rainbirds – even the dead ones – have plausible roles. The Trader turns out to be gloomy and cold, bent on using the proceeds from precious stones to retreat to a fortress while overpopulation and pollution cause the rest of us to drown in own crap.

Those readers into cognitive psychology will enjoy Canning’s portrayal of the relationship between the spirit medium and her clients. Knowing Miss Rainbird is self-centered, Madame Blanche depends on her client to try to make sense out of whatever vague information she channels from Henry. Canning emphasizes that even the skeptical – and Miss Rainbird is determined never to be fooled – can be manipulated into connecting ambiguous dots because we humans are pattern-seeking beings that search for meaning. Everywhere. With random data. Blanche, however much she fishes for details and sends George to gather intelligence, is sincere: she believes she has The Power.

When this published in 1972, it sold quite well and Alfred Hitchcock made a fair movie version, Family Plot (worth a look for William Devane). It was awarded the CWA Silver Dagger and nominated for the Edgar awards.  Since the Seventies, critics and serious mystery fans have come to regard this one as Canning’s best novel. Speaking of thriller and mystery writers in the Sixties and Seventies, as good as pre-war Eric Ambler, Hammond Innes, Andrew Garve and Geoffrey Household, sorry to say, Victor Canning seems to be joining them in the ranks of Forgotten Thriller Writers.