Edited by Martin Edwards
Published by the British
Library,
10 June 2019.
ISBN: 978-0-71235288-8 (PB)
10 June 2019.
ISBN: 978-0-71235288-8 (PB)
As
the title implies, Deep Waters is a collection of short stories set on (or
in) the water. Often these mysteries are focused around boats of various sizes
and descriptions and feature everything from seas and oceans to canals and
pools, although a typically quirky story by H.C. Bailey is mainly centred
around a swimming pool.
The Adventure of the Gloria Scott by
Arthur Conan Doyle tells how Sherlock Holmes first came to consider using his
observational and deductive talents to become a consulting detective. However,
it also describes the horrors of a voyage on a ship deporting criminals to
Australia and the long-term results of a murderous mutiny. In contrast the sea
voyage in E.W. Hornung‘s story, The Gift of the Emperor, is set on a sea
voyage on a very luxurious vessel. Also, out in the sea, but not on any form of
vessel, a strange and evocative tale by R. Austin Freeman captures the
loneliness of life for those serving in a lighthouse. Several of the stories
are by well-known authors and feature their series detectives: Arthur Conan
Doyle and Sherlock Holmes; H. C. Bailey and Reginald Fortune; R. Austin Freeman
and Dr Thorndyke; E.W. Hornung and Raffles; Michael Innes and John Appleby; and
Edmund Crispin and Gervase Fen.
There is a fascinating variety in the
stories, ranging from a clever, claustrophobic tale by Christopher St. John
Sprigg about three friends who fear that one of them is a murderer and intend
to investigate the crime themselves before they reach land, to the eccentric
tale of a haunted pool by Gwyn Evans with a most unconventional detective.
Deep Waters is published by the British Library and all of the stories
are prefaced by informative author biographies researched and written by the
book’s editor, Martin Edwards. A fascinating collection of stories, which I
recommend.
------
Reviewer: Carol Westron
Martin Edwards was born 7 July 1955 at Knutsford, Cheshire and
educated in Northwich and at Balliol College, Oxford University, taking a
first-class honours degree in law. He trained as a solicitor in Leeds and moved
to Liverpool on qualifying in 1980. He
published his first legal article at the age of 25 and his first book, about
legal aspects of buying a business computer at 27, before spending just over 30
years as a partner of a law firm, where he is now a consultant. He is married
to Helena with
two children (Jonathan and Catherine) and lives in Lymm. A member of the Murder
Squad a collective of crime writers. In 2007 he was appointed the Archivist of
the Crime Writers Association and in 2011 he was appointed the Archivist of the
Detection Club. Martin is currently chair of the CWA. For more information
visit:
Carol Westron is a successful short story writer and a Creative Writing teacher. She is the moderator for the cosy/historical
crime panel, The Deadly Dames. Her crime
novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times. The Terminal Velocity of Cats the
first in her Scene of Crimes novels, was published July 2013. Carol recently
gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link
below.
To read a review
of Carol latest book This
Game of Ghosts click on the title.
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