Dr Gareth Burton - Another Question of Murder Sam McCarver, The Case of Cabin 13 (1999)

Cover of my copy of the book

The Case of Cabin 13 by Sam McCarver was first published in 1999. I cannot help wondering whether the book was part of the wave of publications that wanted to profit from the renewed interest in the Titanic in the wake of the huge success of Cameron's film. And why not? It is, of course, possible that Sam McCarver had been working on the story before, and the success of the film only made it easier to find a publisher. Though by far not as bad as Murder on the Titanic the book would have profited from more thorough proof-reading as a few rather odd sentences can be found in the text: 'He closed his eyes to block out the sounds' [of the people in the water] p. 173. The original title does not include the word 'Titanic' but both the blurb on the back of the book and the picture on the cover showing a life belt inscribed with Titanic informs the reader where the novel is set. It has been re-released in 2012 as an e-book with the title Deadly Crossing. A Titanic Adventure. It is not the only book that has been renamed to include the name of the famous ship. (Other examples are Titanic. A Love Story which was originally published as Ice Falls and Patrick Stanson’s biography of C.H. Lightoller which originally was called Lights. The Odyssey of C. H. Lightoller and was republished as Titanic Voyager. The Odyssey of C. H. Lightoller.)

Like several other novels (Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Tragedy or Murder on the Titanic) The Case of Cabin 13 is a murder mystery set on the doomed ship. In this case John Darnell, investigator of the paranormal, is employed by the White Star Line, in the shape of J. Bruce Ismay and Captain Smith, to find out whether there is a curse on Cabin 13. On three different ships of the White Star Line, the occupants of Cabin 13 had apparently committed suicide. Darnell agrees to make the next trip travelling in the allegedly cursed cabin, and this of course takes him on the Titanic. - In fact, according to the deck plans printed in Eaton and Haas, Titanic. Triumph and Tragedy there was no cabin 13 on any of the decks of the Titanic. One of the aspects that always fascinate me is to read a historical novel from the perspective of trying to find out how much research the author has done, where he let his imagination fill in the gaps or deviated from facts to suit the storyline. McCarver has been studying the Titanic in some detail, but he also makes some really odd mistakes. He rightly mentions the near collision with the New York in Southampton, though the New York was not moored to the wharf as described in the novel but alongside another ship. Nitpicky, I know, but as this is seen as a contributing factor of the near collision it is always mentioned in descriptions.

The books McCarver consulted either had no illustrations or he did not feel inclined to pay attention to them. His description of Ismay is a case in point: In real life, Bruce Ismay did not sport greying brown mutton chops but a neat moustache, nor does he look to be 6'4". Captain Smith refers to Chief Officer Wilde as a 'junior officer.' While Wilde was obviously junior in rank to Smith, he was a senior, i.e. watch-keeping officer. The junior officers were third to sixth who did their watch under a senior officer.

Another error is outright creepy: Among several wireless messages Captain Smith looks at is a greeting from Chief Officer Wilde's wife. Sadly, Wilde’s wife, Mary Catherine, had died more than a year earlier from complications of childbirth. In this instance it is worth remembering that in the late 1990s, it was much more difficult to find out particular facts like this about the Titanic or any other thing for that matter. The internet was still in its infancy, and research was based almost entirely on books. As John Darnell seeks to find out the reason behind the mysterious deaths in Cabin 13, he has a chance to explore the ship and meet with several real and fictional persons aboard. Among the first is John Jacob Astor and his wife Madeleine, the wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride and several officers including 2nd officer Charles Herbert Lightoller. Since McCarver obviously tries to create an authentic 1912 atmosphere, it is rather strange that he seems to have no idea that in 1912 one did not call people one hardly new by the first names, unless they were lower ranking servants. One would definitely not call a ship's officers one barely knew by his first name. For Darnell to address Lightoller as 'Herbert' would have been rude in the extreme.

Darnell’s relationship with his love interest Penny also strikes me as inauthentic for this time. Penny behaves like no well-brought up woman could behave without losing her good reputation. Among the fictional characters Darnell encounters is the ship's surgeon, Gareth Burton. The Titanic actually had two surgeons, the senior surgeon Dr William O'Laughlin, and the junior surgeon Dr Edward Simpson, who both died in the sinking of the ship. Considering McCarver's generally good knowledge of the ship's personnel the renaming of the surgeon was no mistake.

The reason for the presence of fictional Dr Gareth Burton becomes clear as the story progresses: he is the villain of the tale, having murdered the three hapless passengers travelling in Cabin 13 to revenge the rape and murder of his daughter when she travelled to American on another White Star Ship in (obviously) Cabin 13. Burton, an increasingly deranged drunk, also attempts to kill John Darnell, but is - naturally - foiled in his attempt. However, since the capture of the villain occurs almost immediately before the Titanic's disastrous encounter with the iceberg, there are other matters more pressing to attend. While Darnell heroically helps saving passengers, putting his love interest in a lifeboat and fetching steerage passengers to the boat deck, Burton escapes and can board a boat dressed as a woman, cementing his status as a bona fide villain. Darnell, as the hero of this story, survives the disaster in one of the few ways any self-respecting hero can: on top of the upturned lifeboat, also rescuing his long-suffering Chinese servant Sung.

Reaching the last part of the tale set on the Carpathia, McCarver obviously ran out of time or energy for further research. The only person who is given the correct name is Captain Arthur Henry Rostron. All other people including the Carpathia's officers are not given their real names. While it is correct that Harold Bride took up his job as wireless operator on the Carpathia this was not to help the wireless operators (plural), but the one wireless operator Harold Cottam. Needless to say, John Darnell dispatches the villainous doctor, hindered by his love interest and assisted by the surviving officers of the Titanic and a few oddly named officers of the Carpathia.

The reason for the fictional doctor's existence in The Case of Cabin 13 is obvious: rather than turning one of the real ship's surgeons into a lunatic murderer, Sam McCarver decided to invent a fictional doctor. A course that can only be recommended, rather than picking a historic person and blacken their names (the fate suffered by J. B. Crafton in The Titanic Murders). Altogether, The Case of Cabin 13 is an entertaining enough novel. For me it was a bit too full of stereotypes. I am particularly tired of the trope of the love interest endangering her own life and making the heroes life more difficult because she does not do as she is told. Instead of helping her lover, as she foolishly tries to do, she has to be rescued by him. Yawn.

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