The Water Clock

Reporter, Philip Dryden, stands in the ruins of his childhood home waiting for a killer while the flood waters rise around him. London journalist and first-time novelist Kelly then jumps back a week, introducing Dryden on his way to a watery crime scene in the damp, frozen Cambridgeshire Fens.

He rides in a decrepit taxi driven by the mountainous, mostly silent Humph, kept on retainer by Dryden, who hasn't driven a car since the accident that put his wife, Laura, into a coma two years earlier. Philip was driving. His car was startled off the road into one of the Fens rivers and he remembers little else, except that he was pulled out in time and his wife wasn't. He left his fast-track Fleet Street job and came home to the Fens to become show more senior reporter for the local weekly and visit his wife's hospital room in the evenings.

The police are winching a car out of the water when Dryden arrives. In the trunk is a body. But when a second body - 30 years dead- turns up during some restoration work on the cathedral roof, Dryden's investigative skills prove more adept than those of the local police. He seizes his chance to trade newspaper resources for the sealed file on his accident. But the killer doesn't plan to sit idly by and let Dryden ferret him out.

The cover of The Water Clock boasts impressive blurbs from Colin Dexter, Val McDermid and Donna Leon, which makes for a very impressive debut. I don't want to hype it up too much - it tends to lead to disappointment - but it's an atmospheric, dark and watery book well worth your time. show less

A complex plot with a rich cast of characters is presented in a tight mordant style lightened with a drily sceptical wit. Kelly evokes the unique landscape of the Fens without resorting to descriptive paragraphs; the environment is wrapped around his characters who are characterised in a similar technique by the inclusion of small definitive observations. Only the final chapter weakens the whole; a couple of sketchy pages that lack the assurance of those that preceded it.

This is the first in the Philip Dryden series by British author Jim Kelly. Philip Dryden is a journalist who started out as a big-shot reporter in London but now works for a weekly rag in the Cambridgeshire Fens. His life changed one night when he was run off the road by a reckless driver while driving home with his wife. He was saved but he never forgave himself for leaving the side of his wife. She survived as well but is housed in a long-term care facility where the staff can take care of her needs and monitor her condition, looking for any signs that she is breaking out of her locked-in syndrome. Dryden visits her every night and still refuses to drive a car again; instead, he is chauffered by a taxi driver, Humphrey "Humph" Holt, show more who acts as a sidekick, aiding when necessary and discussing ideas.

In this story, the mystery starts when the police recover a body from a submerged car frozen in a lake. Later, another body is discovered by a repair crew beside a gargoyle on the roof of a church. The facts get further complicated when Dryden, in his investigation for his story, begins to think that these new murders are connected with a decades-old assault and robbery. Dryden attempts to stay ahead of the police in the investigation because any information he has over them can be used as a bargaining tool to get access to the confidential file on the investigation of the unsolved accident that sent his wife into a coma.

I was impressed with Jim Kelly's first book and certainly would have given it more stars if not for his treatment of the ending. His writing style is naturally pleasing and carries an easy rhythm. The main characters are roundly complex and have the signs that they will remain interesting through a following series of books. He gives a well-conceived and believable reason for his non-detective protaganist to become involved and remain entangled in a case that proves very dangerous. However, in the last few chapters, Jim Kelly loses the balance between action and straight dialogue explanation. The last chapter, which attempts to tie up several important loose ends, is a mere footnote. The concept of the ending--the solution to the mystery--is fine, but the author doesn't execute it well in his writing, which is surprising since the rest of the book would seem to contradict any difficulties or awkwardness in writing style. My issue was with only a very small portion of the book, but I don't like to close a book dissatisfied. However, the problems with the writing in the ending aren't enough to turn me off from reading the next one in the series, and I look forward to the treat of reading more from Jim Kelly again. show less

This book had a good mystery plot, interesting characters, and a strong sense of place. Overall it was pretty good, but it was marred by several implausibilities. The "wife in a coma" conceit was a bit much. It seemed unlikely that a murder case would be left in the hands of a Detective Sargeant facing a disciplinary review, and finally the hero having sex within hours of a serious groin injury truly stretched credibility.

Serviceable crime thriller set in the Fens. When a dead body is found in the boot of a crashed car, local journalist Philip Dryden dusts off his Fleet Street investigative skills and sets to work to outwit the local plods and solve the crime first. This suffers from some fairly basic characterisation, too few red herrings, and an awkward climax, but it'll while away a train trip and is entertaining enough.

Jim Kelly's first book,"The Water Clock," was an enjoyable read. His characters were quite deliberately cast in their roles as co-workers, friends and enemies. Their physical traits and tics were part of the charm of each person, including the main character, newspaperman Philip Dryden. Kelly did well making a believable premise for a newspaperman to be following a crime so closely. Dryden's own wife's misfortune during a car "accident" leads him to delve into circumstances that possibly connect a present-day crime with the crash and subsequent comatose condition of his wife. The plot was somewhat convoluted; there were alot of details connecting the crimes perpertrated in the past, and alot of players involved. For the most part, show more though, I enjoyed Kelly's rendering of his newspaper "The Crow" and his interaction with his co-workers. I look forward to revisiting his friend, "Humph" in future novels. Towards the end of the book I felt anxious for the end, I prefer wishing the book NOT to end, so possibly some tighter writing would help the climax of his next book. I would definitely pick up another "Philip Dryden" mystery. show less

The first in a series of crime mysteries featuring journalist Philip Dryden and his taxi-driver sidekick. Set in the Fens, but far from flat. If, like me, you appreciate crime novels with a strong sense of place, you may be impressed. Though sticklers for geographical accuracy be warned, Kelly freely admits to taking some liberties in this regard.