Help in identifying a novel

Cafe Society
1

Hello all,

Many years ago, in about 1980, I read a novel that I would like to read again. The problem, of course, is that I can remember neither the title nor the author.

The protagonist is an actuary, married to a shrewish wife. One day, he formulates a plan to murder said wife, using his skills as an actuary. He researches accidents in the home and decides to provoke an accident wherein his wife will slip and fall in the bathtub.

His research uncovers that a particular brand of bubble bath liquid is especially slippery, and is involved in a number of home accidents. He further discovers that a specific model of bathtub grab bar is likely to work loose and detach from the wall.

Combining these items, he engineers a situation where his wife, after a stressful day at work, is taking a relaxing bubble bath. He leaves the house, on the pretext of taking a walk. After an appropriate period of time, when he is sure that his wife is suitably ensconced in the bathtub, he heads to a pay phone and calls home. Timing the call precisely, he hangs up just before his wife would be answering the phone. Waiting until she is certainly back in the bathtub, he repeats the process. After several more iterations, he returns home to find his wife dead, with a broken neck. Needless to say, this is a black comedy.

I have tried as many different combinations of search terms as I could imagine, but have had no luck in identifying the book. I realise it might well be out of print by now, but this has become a quest, if you know what I mean.

Can anyone help me find this book? Regardless of the success of the endeavour, thank you for any and all help.

2

This might be wrong, but the plot reminds me of that in a 1984 Michael Caine movie, A Shock to the System. Wikipedia tells me that it was based on a novel by Simon Brett.

3

Thanks. I just finished watching the movie. Not the same story, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

4

The novel was much better than the film, though. For some unknown reason the film omits the ending.

The novel’s protagonist commits a series of murders and then gets his comeuppance in a supremely ironic manner. The film’s protagonist commits a series of murders, and then the film stops. Kinda misses the entire point.

5

I share your pain, because I vaguely remember something similar.

My memory is of a murder where the grab bar was loosened and a woman died in the bath.
Sadly that’s it.

I tried Isaac Asimov’s detective stories (e.g. Black Widowers) and even looked through Colombo episodes.
Sorry, no luck.

6

That was the premise of a CSI episode, only the husband actually drowned his wife and staged it to look like she’d slipped in the tub, grabbed the bar, which broke from the wall, all as a means for an accidental-death life insurance claim and lawsuit.

7

Good spot, that man. :cool:

Perhaps the CSI writers had read the book we’re looking for?