Archie Cranford, a young medical student, brings his fiancee, Frieda Frey, a night club singer, home to Maryland to meet his mother. Before leaving New York City, Frieda receives a mysterious phone call warning her not to visit. Not long after they arrive in Maryland, Frieda receives another warning call and her room is ransacked. That evening at a dance next door at Senator and Mrs. Lindsay's home, cousin Chalkley Winchester is poisoned. Archie asks Dr. Basil Willing, a psychiatric consultant to the New York district attorney and to the FBI, to visit and investigate the poisoning and threats. Dr. Willing believes the incidents are the work of a poltergeist--not the ghostly kind; but, rather the workings of a troubled subconscious mind. Only a handful of family knew Frieda was coming to visit and it's up to Dr. Willing to identify the poltergeist before more mayham ensues. A different and entertaining mystery. It bogs down a bit with Dr. Willing's psychological analyses. There are also a few typos that need correcting, such as Dummy instead of Duminy. Overall, however, it is an interesting mystery.

This is not the best Basil Willing mystery out there, but still worth a read. While it's not as believable as others, it still holds the attention as the characters develop and wonder "who done it". The author writes well and is a master at describing setting and emotion.

I found the pacing very slow, and most of the characters seemed flat. I feel like it could have done with less characters overall -- it felt like many of them were included just to throw the reader off track.

This is the fifth Dr Willing mystery, published in 1942. I’d already read a couple and liked them enough to be pleased to be offered this one. It makes a change to read a golden age detective story set in America.
An ambitious young doctor has become engaged to a nightclub singer, blinded by her beauty to her true character. His mother and friends back home are horrified but a visit is arranged. Before Frieda makes the trip with her fiancé, Archie, the spooky tricks begin, when she receives an anonymous phone call from a mysterious voice telling her not to go or something dreadful will happen. Not to be put off, the pair travel to Archie’s home but the phone calls and other tricks continue; they are attributed to a poltergeist. Eventually and inevitably, there is a murder.
Enter Dr Basil Willing, the psychiatrist detective who is Archie’s hero. For me, this is where the book goes off. He explains that probably the phone calls, tricks and even the murder are the work of someone with a double personality, a person who has no idea he or she is the guilty one. The section in which each character wonders if he or she might be the ‘poltergeist’ goes on for rather too long. The ending is a good surprise, though and I didn’t guess who the unfortunate character is.
I doubt if modern psychiatrists would support Willing’s theory but it does make for a tense story. I read this as a member of the Crime Classics Review Club.

Someone is trying to frighten nightclub singer, Frieda Frey, from travelling to Willow Spring, to meet her future mother-in-law, Eve Cranford. When she arrives strange events start happening. Who or what is causing this and why. Her fiance Archie Cranford asks Dr Basil Willings for help.
An entertaining mystery with some likeable characters. Another good addition to the series which can easily be read as a standalone story.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Originally published in 1942

Helen McCloy and Dr. Willing have done it again - that is to say they have produced an excellent book with an intriguing plot containing lots of twists and turns. It has the flavour of a classic country house murder story but set in America! I personally really enjoy the Dr. Willing series and eagerly await the republication of many more. Keep them coming!

I am a fan of vintage mysteries, and I have read several Dr. Basil Willing books. The hook for these books is that Dr. Willing is one of the first practicing psychiatrists to help law enforcement and examine the psychological aspects of crime.

But having said that, I found the plotting and action in this one to be too preposterous for words. The solution involves a split personality and unbelievable machinations. It felt a bit dated anyway, with a black dog named Tar Baby, and an effeminate character who lisps.

I'll have to pass on recommending this one. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Agora Books and NetGalley for a review copy.
McCloy tells a good story with credible, rounded, characters. I lived in their world for a few hours. I doubt the science of personality disorders has stood the test of time since the 1930s when this was written but read in context it not only makes sense but is guessable.

McCloy achieves both a light hearted, slightly amused, touch and an expert authority in her writing about Dr Basil Willing. Despite a touch of 21st century cynicism around the psychiatry, I really enjoyed this one. While the tying up and the end is a bit of a cheat, the writing is convincing and the plot gripping.

Kudos Again..
The fifth in the reissues of the Basil Whilling mysteries combines some wonderful writing with an interesting murder mystery in which a poltergeist takes the centre stage. The authors’ handling of prose is simply magical, perfectly placed and laced with delightful humour and sly wit. The murder mystery itself may be somewhat predictable but, nevertheless, makes good reading. Aficionados of the Golden Age of crime will surely not be disappointed. Kudos once again goes to Agora Books for bringing these titles, once again, to life.

I love the Basil Willing mysteries. I had not read this one before so it was a treat to read it. I love the character development. Characters who seemed so benign and innocent, we'll, let's say maybe not so much. And some were courageous and still so human. And although, like most of the mysteries I love, the plot seemed somewhat fantastical, it still kept my attention and I had trouble putting it down. I have read all of these wonderful stories about Basil that I have found on e book format, I keep hoping for more. The ending was predictable but what I hoped for.

I really enjoyed the previous books by Helen McCloy, and I did this one, with lots of twists and turns and jumping from one person to another as suspects. I did find the ending novel, and whilst very surprising, it really did not do it for me.
Will awaite the next book.

I've really enjoyed the Helen McCloy Basil Willing crime novels, mainly for the film noir elements of the stories, the settings, and the glamorous New York in the 40s and 50s vibe. The psychological elements of this novel were a bit far fetched, but it was none the less very entertaining and a page turning read.

I expect when this was first published in the early 1940s it was deemed daring and risque subject matter for a female author. Helen McCloy wrote of psychology and psychiatry long before it was fashionable to do so. She explored the whydunit before revealing whodunit.
This story of a nightclub singer frightened by a poltergeist has always been one of my favourite Dr Basil Willing mysteries. There's a haunting beauty in a concept so perfect for the unraveling of the fragile human psyche. A rare gem of a novel.

An intriguing idea though the plot does require some coincidences to work.

McCloy probably enjoyed writing the character of the middle aged woman writer of romantic pot-boilers. Change the genre and she might be slyly autobiographical.

Not one of her strongest novels in the series but compulsively readable.

Who’s Calling? is the fifth of the Helen McCloy Basil Willing mysteries to be re-published. As usual with the McCloy books, we get introduced to a fairly small set of characters and we can be fairly confident one of them is the perpetrator of the crime. The deliciousness of the plot is working out whodunnit.

In this case, we have a young man, Archie, taking his fiancée, Frieda, home to Willow Spring to meet his mother, Eve, for the first time. It’s fair to say that Eve and Freya don’t hit it off. Eve then tells them that they all have to go to a ball being held that evening by their neighbours. Amongst all that, Eve’s cousin, Chalkley, whom she and Archie haven’t seen for many years, rings up and invites himself for the weekend too. They all go over for dinner with Mark Lindsay; the local senator; his wife, Julia; and their niece, Ellis. Ellis loves Archie – and everyone knows it apart from Archie.

On page 1, we see Frieda receiving an anonymous phone call, warning her she isn’t wanted in Willow Spring, so we know something exciting will happen – and it certainly does. McCloy heads all the chapters with the day and time, so we start off with Friday, 8am and finish with Sunday, 3pm. The plot is condensed and we feel the need to turn to the next chapter. This is definitely a page-turner and I admire McCloy’s skill in making it so.

I didn’t particularly enjoy Who’s Calling? Willing doesn’t appear until half-way through the book and most of the female characters have unpleasant characteristics. I felt this book is similar to McCloy’s first book, Dance of Death, in that the psychology of the perpetrator, whilst possibly scientifically correct (I am really sceptical but I am not a psychologist, so I don’t know), doesn’t really make for a truly satisfying solution. I’m delighted that I received a copy of Who’s Calling? to review – thanks very much, Agora and NetGalley – but I doubt I’ll be re-reading Who’s Calling? as often as I’ll re-read Cue for Murder and The Man in the Moonlight. However, I still consider Helen McCloy was a top-class author and I shall continue to look for everything she’s published.

#WhosCalling #NetGalley.

Helen Mccloy is just so readable. Which reader could not but love a writer who comes away with paragraphs such as this?
"... Long ago Eve had discovered that the small amenities and sensualities of life are more comforting in a crisis than any philosophy. She was fond of saying that there was no tragedy in this world that could not be softened a little by a hot bath, a cup of strong coffee, and a good cigarette, while a couple of cocktails and a well-cooked dinner would mend a broken heart."

In a few words, she not only brings a smile to one's face, but also gives huge insights into the thoughts and feelings of one of her characters.

The quality and clarity of her prose is a major asset as far as I am concerned, as one can easily devour her books at one sitting. However I am less enamoured of the plot and the subject matter here.

The idea of the dual personality is initially quite interesting, but I found it increasingly irritating as the book progressed, especially towards the end, when it led to deadening musings on the part of some of the suspects. With a limited cast and with the nature and direction of the "poltergeist" activity it was too soon obvious who the culprit was for that. So when murder was done, that too was easy to pin down.

Even so this was a terrific read, and highly recommendable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Agora Books for the digital review copy.

Gripping, twisty, and fast paced.
This is very "modern" as some of the topics were not very common when it was written.
It kept me turning pages till late in the night and I was surprised by the solution and the twists.
Great plot and storytelling, excellent character development.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Written in 1942, Helen McCloy's fifth book in the Dr. Basil Wiling Mystery series is superb in every way including the wonderful descriptions, heady wit which made me chuckle out loud, eclectic characters and fun mystery. McCloy must have really enjoyed writing this...I imagine she giggled herself! She wrote with that special je ne sais quois of the Golden Age that just cannot be replicated.

This mystery contains a cast of characters and objects of interest at the front...pay close attention! One of the characters is particularly well described, "His face looked boneless, pale, and a little greasy, like a ball of suet." This young man also had gooseberry eyes. Archie's sarcasm is fabulous! Amongst the objects of interest are yarns (of various sorts!), oily-voiced phone calls and doodling.

Archie's engagement to Frieda is met with mixed emotions. The characters meet at a dinner party/ball during which time a dead body is discovered. Anonymous phone calls, mysterious knocking, gluttony and suspicions of each other lend to the atmosphere. You can't throw a brick without hitting it. Even the puppy has personality! Dr. Willing, a psychologist with FBI experience uses his psychology to delve into everyone's brains to find the killer. I love the inclusion of original meanings of words such as "poppet" and "spit and image" as well as the gorgeous vocabulary.

This book would be a shame to miss out on, especially for Golden Age mystery readers. To me it is the epitome of perfection.

My sincere gratitude to Agora Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this delightful book! I am besotted with it...and with Helen McCloy. Thank you so much for re-publishing this masterpiece.