The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanax Holding: A Review by Warren Bull

The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanax Holding: A Review by Warren Bull

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Published in 1947, The Blank Wall inspired a movie Reckless Moment in 1949 and a second film The Deep End In 2001. Raymond Chandler described the author to his British agent as …”the top suspense writer of them all.” I don't disagree.

Of all the heroes and heroines I have encountered in mystery novels over the years, Holding’s Lucia Holley may be the most unusual. That is because she is so ordinary. Holley is a housewife. She married at age eighteen, going from daughter to wife with no stops between the two. She never held a paying job or spent time on her own as a single person. She defines herself in terms of her relationship with first her parents and then her husband.

Now at age thirty-eight with her husband away at war, her lovely seventeen-year-old daughter, Bee, is dismissive of Lucia’s life. But Bea is not nearly as capable and sophisticated she believes she is. Lucia’s son, David, and her father try to be supportive, but each has his limits. Lucia doesn’t want to worry her husband. She writes letters daily that she fills with trivia. She does not admit her fears for his safety or the trouble brewing at home.

The biggest challenges she faces daily are dealing with the limitations imposed by a war economy. When Bee’s new beau, a sinister character roughly twice Bee’s age, shows up at their home, events take an unexpected turn that calls for more decisive action, guts and determination than Lucia has ever shown. Her maid, Sibyl, could be an ally if Lucia can overcome the distance between herself, a white housewife, and an African-American maid who has no illusions about the way of the world.

The author presents a realistic picture of a woman who has to face demands she is totally unprepared for.  I don’t recall any author writing about a heroine like this.

In my opinion the author does a great job and I am happy to recommend this book very highly.