The Mouthless Dead by Anthony Quinn

Every other Saturday my father, brother and I would go to Anfield to watch Liverpool Football Club do their thing. We would park some distance away from the ground and walk through a few streets as a shortcut. At one street my father always said: ‘The dreaded Wolverton Street.’ There was never anyone in that street and so his words were chilling to me as a twelve year old. What he was referring to was the neat house at the end of the road where a murder had taken place before even he was born. This is the fictionalised story of that case.

​The historic murder took place in Anfield in Liverpool on 20 January 1931 with the trial taking place in April the same year. The victim was called Julia Wallace and her husband was William Wallace. The facts of the case, as far as we know them, are pretty much accurately included and the rumours from the time are also woven into the tale.

The story opens with the now-retired detective in the case on a cruise to America. He meets a couple of women initially and he tells them about the case. The chapters then alternate between his cruise and the investigation to the murder. The wife of an insurance salesman is found brutally bludgeoned to death while her husband receives a message for an appointment while he is at a chess club, ironically a club where the detective is also a member. His alibi seems contrived but as there are no other suspects, he is found guilty. But on appeal he is released from prison as a free man. It is a bit of a mystery who actually carried out the murder as nothing really adds up.

The writing is rather formal as expected from the 1930s. The chapters surrounding the case read like an official text and are different to the more eventful cruise, where there is more dialogue and character development. There are plenty of descriptions of sites around Liverpool such as the old pubs in the city centre and the Philharmonic Hall, but I particularly liked the parts from my childhood, like the garage, which was at the bottom of my road and my primary school, Lister Drive.

A fascinating tale about loss and what might have been, speculation and redemption, secrets and surprises. Captivating because of the location and my own personal memories, especially ‘the dreaded Wolverton Street.’