Mystery in the Channel

When a book succeeds as spectacularly as Gone Girl, people are eager to replicate the phenomenon. Now we have scores of books with unreliable narrators and plot twists that are supposed to elicit an “I didn’t see that coming” reaction. Of course, now that we know the formula, we always see it coming. The real twist today is no twist. That is why I am glad to see Poisoned Pen Press republishing forgotten mysteries from the Golden Era, when twists were how women wore their hair and unreliable usually referred to the weather. In a surfeit of frying pan to fire personal jeopardy thrillers, these books dedicated to logic and linear reasoning are like as refreshing as a long, tall drink of water.

Mystery in the Channel is just such a show more classic. It was published in 1931 and written by Freeman Wills Crofts, a member of the famed Detection Club. That means he swore his mysteries would be fair and Mystery in the Channel is just the sort of fair, reliable mystery that is a welcome relief from the sometimes overheated thrillers of today.

The mystery begins when a ship transporting rail passengers from England to France discovers a yacht dead in the water—literally dead as the passengers have been shot. The captain is careful and does his job, noting the yacht’s location and the time. He sends the yacht back along with another ship, one that coincidentally carried one of the partners of the murdered men, financiers who run one of the country’s huge investment firms. His name is Nolan and his lucky presence on the scene helps the police with identifying the victims and understanding the situation.

And it is a sticky situation…the victims seem to be scoundrels themselves. Their firm is foundering and they seem to have planned to take the money and run. Inspector French is assigned to the case, and he quickly runs down the list of suspects, painstakingly eliminating them one by one.

Mystery in the Channel is an excellent procedural that never leaves you in the dark while the Inspector is in the know. It is written with humor and passion, restrained and disciplined passion for justice and duty. French and his police associates were rightly outraged on behalf of the people who were victimized by the dead men. There were no bailouts and seventy year old people found themselves impoverished, forced to look for work instead of enjoying retirement. It is not enough to find the killer, he must find the money to help these people.

I enjoyed Mystery in the Channel. Yes, I solved the crime before the end, but then, that is the point. Crofts was not trying to leave us stunned and surprised. He wanted his readers to feel the satisfaction of following the mystery with Inspector French and leaping or casting forward as he did and figuring it out. Crofts provided all the pieces to fit together and trusts us to enjoy the process. I sure did.

Mystery in the Channel will be released on January 3rd. I received an e-galley through NetGalley.

★★★
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I enjoyed this novel, but it's not my favorite in the world. It was written in 1931 and it has a very "vintage" feel about it, which I do love. I adored the atmosphere, as it mainly takes place in small harbour towns on the English and the French side of the Channel, plus a short stint in Swansea in Wales. It's all very maritime with lots of nautical terms, ferries, boats, fishermen and Scotland Yard's nautical expert, and I do love all of this. On the other hand, the story is very "masculine" (or what would traditionally be considered masculine): Men deduct the crime, they meet in the evenings having cigars and whisky, they are the experts, and human emotions play only a minor role in the story. There are a few women, but they usually show more make dinner and leave. I appreciated seeing the methods of the policemen at work because that was very interesting, but there was something lacking to make it more engaging.
I think I would still read more volumes of the series, but rather as an in-between read when I need a quick palate-cleanser. show less

Inspector French of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate the murder of two men on board a yacht left drifting in the middle of the English Channel. That same Channel sees French hopping back and forth to investigate a crime that involves “high-powered banking…and international double-dealing”, to quote the back-cover blurb.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. With the yachts and launches and passenger ferries and all sorts of other ships plying the waters of the Channel, there was lots of satisfyingly boaty description and dialogue (which ticked the main box that prompted me to pick up this book). French himself was a likeable character, and the narration was delightfully pointed in places. I especially enjoyed its commentary on show more French’s friendships with his colleagues, where they expressed their affection by insulting each other, and with one friend he had tested their friendship by going on a 10-day walking tour of Scotland with him (and nine of those days, it rained).

This is #7 in the Inspector French series, and there are a few references to past adventures, but if that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, I would recommend this book. Now I’m off to find more books in the series. show less

Inspector French of Scotland Yard’s C.I.D. isn’t a genius like Dame Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. He’s not flamboyant like Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey or Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion. He’s not colorful and likable like John Bude’s Inspector William Meredith. He’s not a curmudgeon like Gladys Mitchell’s Mrs. Beatrice Bradley, Gil North’s Sergeant Cluff, or Anthony Berkeley’s Roger Sheringham. He’s not debonair like Ngaio Marsh’s Chief Inspector Roderick Allen or Josephine Tey’s Allan Grant. Lastly, he’s not a deceptively timid old lady like Christie’s Miss Jane Marple or Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Maud Silver.

What Inspector French is, is a nondescript but earnest and persistent show more English policeman from the Golden Age of detective fiction and the hero of a series of cozies penned by the Anglo-Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts. First published in 1931, Mystery in the Channel, the seventh in that series, traces French’s investigation of the murder of two financier scoundrels at sea as they were on their way to absconding with £1.5 million (the equivalent of £92 million or U.S.$113.7 million today). Someone somehow climbed aboard their yacht when the two would-be embezzlers, Paul Moxon and Sydney Deeping, were on the English Channel en route to France and shot both of them dead, making off with the loot. The two-dimensional French, with the help of French police, plods through his investigation and eventually gets his man in this pedestrian mystery.

While I chafe at the realization that Patricia Wentworth, John Bude, and Josephine Tey don’t get the attention they’re due, I fully understand why Freeman Wills Crofts, nearly 60 years after his death in 1957, is all but forgotten. Set this one aside for when you haven’t anything better.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review. show less

I like a good police procedural mystery and this book is a really good one.
It is entirely plot driven, dependent on story and atmosphere (British and French seashore towns). No time is spent developing characters and that's OK. Readers learn only that Inspector French (protagonist and narrator) is a hard worker who likes his pipe and drinking the occasional whiskey. He seems to get along with everyone, even the French police who are usually territorial and unwelcoming of outside interference. Poor Sergeant Carter (French's sidekick) is a mere shadow, despite an important role at the end. The villains in the story are really only figureheads. All readers are told about them is that they are bad guys motivated by greed. Boats and ships show more play significant roles in the story. What is important is the whodunit and the howdunit.
There is a total absence of women. Always in the background, wives make supper for the men and leave the room. There is mention of a female officer helping follow one of the suspects, otherwise it's all men doing the detecting and policing.
Martin Edwards' Introduction is a worthy addition to the book. He provides background on the author and the story. I went back and read it again after I had finished the book.
Highly recommended for fans of police detective mysteries and the Golden Age authors. show less

A good mystery novel with all the classic tropes. Manages to portray complex things like banking and English channel crossings so the average reader can understand. One of the pleasant things in this book is that World War 2 isn't on the radar so the French Norman coast still has its quaint charm.

Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts was originally published in 1931 and is an intricate, involved murder case involving two dead men found on an abandoned yacht floating on the English Channel. I had a great deal of trouble both getting into this book or feeling any kind of empathy of the characters. The plot, on the other hand was detailed and had plenty of twists and turns.

Set in the world of finance, the two men are associated with Moxton General Securities, a firm that is about to make headlines for its imminent collapse. The book gives us a variety of settings, including the English Channel, the French coast, London and the English coast. Inspector French of Scotland Yard is tireless in his search for answers, but there show more were a lot of tedious details that caused my eyes to glaze over. As a main character, French is neither colorful, interesting or even overly intelligent, instead he doggedly works his case and follows the trail to it’s successful conclusion.

While Mystery in the Channel is a clever mystery, I doubt if I will be actively hunting for anymore books from this author finding the plodding nature of the story line to be rather boring. show less