The Witch of the Low Tide

What a marvelous inventive and talented writer this is. The story, it turns out, is the third in a serious which Carr undertook to write about three distinct eras in the development of the Metropolitan Police. This one, set around 1910, has characterization and settings (including costumes, for which Carr describes his research in an afterword) that very effectively evoke the Edwardian era. It is a mystery writer’s story, with the main character being an emerging psychoanalyst who is also an anonymous author of murder mysteries. The psychological motives are complex, and the plot expertly knotted. Inspector Twigg features prominently, and his clashes with the protagonist are convincing.

Non-series historical mystery set on the English coast, involving Dr. David Garth, a rising young neurologist, and Inspector Twig of Scotland Yard, as well as a woman strangled on the beach with no sign of anyone near her.