Die All, Die Merrily

Die All, Die Merrily, first published in 1961, is by Leo Bruce.  I was eager to read another in the Carolus Deene series -- this is the eighth.  The title is a quote from Shakespeare's Henry IV Part One: 

Come, let us take a muster speedily:
Doomsday is near; die all, die merrily.

Nice cheery quote, hmm?  Fortunately, the emphasis in the book is not on doomsday but on traditional detection.  Unfortunately, this book just isn't as good as the last Leo Bruce I read, Our Jubilee Is Death.  Here, Carolus has his arm twisted into investigating a possible murder described in an audio recording.  The recording was found at the bedside of a man who then committed suicide.  According to the tape, the dead man went out, strangled a woman with a silk cord, left her dead  on a "green ground," and then went home, recorded his confession, and shot himself. The problem is that no body has been  found. The relatives ask Carolus to investigate because they can't believe he would kill anyone.  I won't say more than this to avoid spoilers, but really this story has a lot of potential.

Sadly, though, the full plot when revealed was wildly improbable.  The motive is weak and the murderer's actions seemed completely crazy, which otherwise the character isn't.  While I usually have no trouble with the inherent probability of amateur detective stories, this one just did not work for me at all. 

I also found that while this mystery had its moments, and probably could be enjoyed by the diehard reader of traditional British mysteries, it was not as witty as Our Jubilee Is Death, and ultimately a bit of a slog.