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The Witch of the Low Tide
This murder admits of no solution said Doctor David Garth. "But she was strangled to death. And the murderer had to leave after he had killed. He's not here now. But in some fashion, explain it how you like, he or she or some damnable witch of the low tide managed to leave without a footprint in all that wet sand!"
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
John Dickson Carr
436 books530 followersAKA Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn.
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 28, 2008
In addition to being the acknowledged master of the “locked-room” mystery story John Dickson Carr also wrote a number of historical detective novels. The most interesting is The Devil in Velvet, a wonderfully entertaining concoction that combines crime fiction, horror and science fiction. He also wrote three more conventional detective novels with period settings, as a kind of tribute to the evolution of the Metropolitan Police. Fire, Burn! was set in 1829 and The Scandal at High Chimneys takes place in 1865. It’s the third and last of these books, set in 1907, with which we are concerned however - The Witch of the Low-Tide.
Dr David Garth is a prominent London doctor, a pioneer in the fields of neurosurgery and psychiatry. He’s also a man with a secret. He is in love with a young widow, Betty, and she’s a woman with a secret. In fact everybody in this novel has something they’re trying to hide. Garth’s friends Marion and Vince and Marion’s former guardian Colonel Selby are no exception.
These interlocking webs of deception lead to murder, and to a battle of wits that pits amatuer sleuth against professional police detective (in this case the hard-bitten Scotland Yard man Inspector Twigg). Carr manages to insert two locked-room puzzles into the novel, as well as plenty of satisfyingly obscure plot twists.
Not everybody enjoys John Dickson Carr’s style, but I find him to be consistently entertaining and I particularly like his historical mysteries, although I’ve yet to track down a copy of Fire, Burn!. Carr wrote The Witch of the Low-Tide in 1961, and it’s a nice combination of Edwardian period detail with juicy sex scandals, which makes it even more fun. I liked this one quite a bit.
Dr David Garth is a prominent London doctor, a pioneer in the fields of neurosurgery and psychiatry. He’s also a man with a secret. He is in love with a young widow, Betty, and she’s a woman with a secret. In fact everybody in this novel has something they’re trying to hide. Garth’s friends Marion and Vince and Marion’s former guardian Colonel Selby are no exception.
These interlocking webs of deception lead to murder, and to a battle of wits that pits amatuer sleuth against professional police detective (in this case the hard-bitten Scotland Yard man Inspector Twigg). Carr manages to insert two locked-room puzzles into the novel, as well as plenty of satisfyingly obscure plot twists.
Not everybody enjoys John Dickson Carr’s style, but I find him to be consistently entertaining and I particularly like his historical mysteries, although I’ve yet to track down a copy of Fire, Burn!. Carr wrote The Witch of the Low-Tide in 1961, and it’s a nice combination of Edwardian period detail with juicy sex scandals, which makes it even more fun. I liked this one quite a bit.
September 18, 2021
Set in 1907 England. Dr. David Garth, middle-aged medical man, has fallen in love with a young widow, Lady "Betty" Calder. He has been reluctant to let his friends know that the "confirmed bachelor" has become susceptible to Cupid's darts--but events outside his control lead to sudden revelations. For Inspector Twigg of Scotland Yard is on Betty's trail--claiming that she is woman of low-repute and a blackmailer in the bargain and Garth is determined to prove Betty innocent. We soon discover that Betty has a sister named Glynis who has taken to dressing like Betty and even going about under her name.
When Glynis is found dead in Betty's own bathing pavilion, Garth's lady-love is the primary suspect. After all, we only have Betty's word that Glynis is the woman behind the blackmail. But, given the fact that there were no footprints on the surrounding sand, Twigg is hard-pressed to prove how Betty did it. Garth uses his knowledge of the up-and-coming practice of psychoanalysis and detective literature to solve the questions of who and how...and save his lady from the hangman.
This is another historical mystery by the king of locked rooms and impossible crimes. Unfortunately, Carr and his historical mysteries & I don't get along very well. I thoroughly enjoy his Dr. Gideon Fell and Sir Henry Merrivale books, but something about the books that slip into another time period just doesn't work for me. In general, I do like historical mysteries--particularly those set in the Victorian or Edwardian period. This time round, Carr has chosen the latter. I don't know if it's the fact that he needs to pay so much attention to the details of his impossible crimes and has less attention to give to the time period or what. But the time period setting just doesn't feel right. Certainly, it's somewhat necessary for Carr to set his story earlier than when he was writing. After all, the little private bathing pavilions (changing rooms) are very much of the time period and the fact that there is one on the beach for our victim to be murdered in is kind of important to the plot. Swimmers of the 1960s weren't nearly as concerned with modesty and didn't need these private bathing "machines" when they ventured to the beach.
The antagonism between Garth and Twigg was fairly well-played--especially at first. It did drag on a bit, though. And, for Garth supposedly being able to analyze character so well, you'd think it would have twigged (yes, I went there) the inspector's commitment to finding the truth (and not just wanting to pin it on Betty) a lot sooner.
A decent impossible crime (two, actually!) but I have to say I prefer Carr's series books to his stand-alones.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
When Glynis is found dead in Betty's own bathing pavilion, Garth's lady-love is the primary suspect. After all, we only have Betty's word that Glynis is the woman behind the blackmail. But, given the fact that there were no footprints on the surrounding sand, Twigg is hard-pressed to prove how Betty did it. Garth uses his knowledge of the up-and-coming practice of psychoanalysis and detective literature to solve the questions of who and how...and save his lady from the hangman.
This is another historical mystery by the king of locked rooms and impossible crimes. Unfortunately, Carr and his historical mysteries & I don't get along very well. I thoroughly enjoy his Dr. Gideon Fell and Sir Henry Merrivale books, but something about the books that slip into another time period just doesn't work for me. In general, I do like historical mysteries--particularly those set in the Victorian or Edwardian period. This time round, Carr has chosen the latter. I don't know if it's the fact that he needs to pay so much attention to the details of his impossible crimes and has less attention to give to the time period or what. But the time period setting just doesn't feel right. Certainly, it's somewhat necessary for Carr to set his story earlier than when he was writing. After all, the little private bathing pavilions (changing rooms) are very much of the time period and the fact that there is one on the beach for our victim to be murdered in is kind of important to the plot. Swimmers of the 1960s weren't nearly as concerned with modesty and didn't need these private bathing "machines" when they ventured to the beach.
The antagonism between Garth and Twigg was fairly well-played--especially at first. It did drag on a bit, though. And, for Garth supposedly being able to analyze character so well, you'd think it would have twigged (yes, I went there) the inspector's commitment to finding the truth (and not just wanting to pin it on Betty) a lot sooner.
A decent impossible crime (two, actually!) but I have to say I prefer Carr's series books to his stand-alones.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
June 8, 2017
This was a solid historical puzzler, set in the early 1900’s. The cars had to be started with handles and cranked, the homes had gas lights. Betty Calder wore a wool bathing suit! Can you imagine how heavy that must have been wet! Quite atmospheric. Carr did a nice job of describing the clothes the ladies were wearing and the houses, put you right there.
There were two puzzling crimes to solve. Attempted murder with the classic all doors and windows locked from inside and a murder on the sea shore with no footprints in the wet sand.
“Oh, yes. It doesn’t matter who made the tea or who drank it or who didn’t drink it. But at any time that woman could possibly have been killed, at any time within any medical limits, the tide was almost as far out as it is at this minute. Now look round you. Look back up the beach. Look out towards the sea. Look down under the piles of the pavilion.”
‘The inshore breeze, further ruffling Betty’s hair, smoothed at her skirt as well. She glanced quickly over her shoulder, looking round her, and then just as quickly back again.
“There are your footprints,” Garth continued, “coming out here from the grass slope where you left the bicycle. There are my footprints,” he moved his arm to point, “coming out here from the back of the cottage. There’s not another mark anywhere. You see that?”
Two old mystery novels were brought into the conversation when speaking of clues. I always love it when they do that! The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux and The Thinking Machine by Jacques Futrelle. I have The Mystery of the Yellow Room and have heard a lot about on blogs, but Jacques Futrelle (not a Frenchmen but an American!) is new to me. Of course like all Dickson Carr mysteries it was excellently plotted and well characterized. A good read.
There were two puzzling crimes to solve. Attempted murder with the classic all doors and windows locked from inside and a murder on the sea shore with no footprints in the wet sand.
“Oh, yes. It doesn’t matter who made the tea or who drank it or who didn’t drink it. But at any time that woman could possibly have been killed, at any time within any medical limits, the tide was almost as far out as it is at this minute. Now look round you. Look back up the beach. Look out towards the sea. Look down under the piles of the pavilion.”
‘The inshore breeze, further ruffling Betty’s hair, smoothed at her skirt as well. She glanced quickly over her shoulder, looking round her, and then just as quickly back again.
“There are your footprints,” Garth continued, “coming out here from the grass slope where you left the bicycle. There are my footprints,” he moved his arm to point, “coming out here from the back of the cottage. There’s not another mark anywhere. You see that?”
Two old mystery novels were brought into the conversation when speaking of clues. I always love it when they do that! The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux and The Thinking Machine by Jacques Futrelle. I have The Mystery of the Yellow Room and have heard a lot about on blogs, but Jacques Futrelle (not a Frenchmen but an American!) is new to me. Of course like all Dickson Carr mysteries it was excellently plotted and well characterized. A good read.
June 9, 2016
Good, but not the best Dickson Carr. For me, it was "cinematic" in the sense that as I read I could see the action and characters as if in a film. Dickson Carr's descriptions of settings and locales are vivid. The dialogue seems odd at times, perhaps because the author is trying to present speech of the early 1900s with a 1950s ear. The plot was convoluted, but no more so than some of Agatha Christie's.
December 1, 2017
Ah, John Dickson Carr! Even when the master of closed room mysteries takes the reader to a different era (in this case, the post-Victorian but still repressed Edwardian era), the mystery will turn on what is, in effect, a closed room mystery. And, in the style of Hamlet’s play-within-a play, there is a mystery-within-a mystery in The Witch of the Low-Tide. Indeed, there is more than one and most of them turn on the “closed room” designation.
Clues to the “actual” murder in The Witch of the Low-Tide are to be found in novels presented in the story in which the murders appear to be committed by supernatural elements but, of course, in Carr’s usual vein, prove to be clever but mundane. In The Witch of the Low-Tide, the non-existence of footprints leading away from the scene of the crime makes one think of a supernatural force doing the impossible. Yet, matters are entirely possible according to the astute investigators of the crime.
In this case, two competing sleuths—a lower-class version of Sherlock Holmes’ Inspector Lestrade and an upper-class quasi-professional amateur who is suspect vie to determine the guilty culprit(s). The former is determined to pin the blame on the suspect and another of whom he cares much while the latter is determined to protect that other (and others). It is a matter of probability versus propriety and the resolution where both are only partially correct is rather interesting (even if the epilogue takes as many pages as the most annoying Agatha Christie wrap-up).
The Witch of the Low-Tide is billed in its subtitle as “An Edwardian Melodrama” and melodrama it is. It is the peculiar Edwardian setting and some of the rather, dare I say, Freudian proclivities of some of the characters which makes this fascinating. Characters deny what they know essentially to be true. Characters assume the pompous facades and privileges of their class in order to avoid unpleasantness. And the actual motivation for the murder is as real as today’s headlines and the #MeToo movement. Yes, horrible things happened back then, too. Carr touches on nearly every possibility of Edwardian social deviance except for drug abuse in the course of this story and these vivid, but oh so imperfect characters (including the rival protagonists as I prefer to think of them) are the better for them.
I have to confess that, in the midst of the melodramatic perambulations, I was so far away from the correct solution to the mystery that I’m ashamed to call myself a mystery reader. On the other hand, I am delighted that the warp and woof of such a story can force me to filet and barbeque a host of “red herrings.” Have an Edwardian fish fry anyone? The Witch of the Low-Tide may need to be placed on your mystery menu.
Clues to the “actual” murder in The Witch of the Low-Tide are to be found in novels presented in the story in which the murders appear to be committed by supernatural elements but, of course, in Carr’s usual vein, prove to be clever but mundane. In The Witch of the Low-Tide, the non-existence of footprints leading away from the scene of the crime makes one think of a supernatural force doing the impossible. Yet, matters are entirely possible according to the astute investigators of the crime.
In this case, two competing sleuths—a lower-class version of Sherlock Holmes’ Inspector Lestrade and an upper-class quasi-professional amateur who is suspect vie to determine the guilty culprit(s). The former is determined to pin the blame on the suspect and another of whom he cares much while the latter is determined to protect that other (and others). It is a matter of probability versus propriety and the resolution where both are only partially correct is rather interesting (even if the epilogue takes as many pages as the most annoying Agatha Christie wrap-up).
The Witch of the Low-Tide is billed in its subtitle as “An Edwardian Melodrama” and melodrama it is. It is the peculiar Edwardian setting and some of the rather, dare I say, Freudian proclivities of some of the characters which makes this fascinating. Characters deny what they know essentially to be true. Characters assume the pompous facades and privileges of their class in order to avoid unpleasantness. And the actual motivation for the murder is as real as today’s headlines and the #MeToo movement. Yes, horrible things happened back then, too. Carr touches on nearly every possibility of Edwardian social deviance except for drug abuse in the course of this story and these vivid, but oh so imperfect characters (including the rival protagonists as I prefer to think of them) are the better for them.
I have to confess that, in the midst of the melodramatic perambulations, I was so far away from the correct solution to the mystery that I’m ashamed to call myself a mystery reader. On the other hand, I am delighted that the warp and woof of such a story can force me to filet and barbeque a host of “red herrings.” Have an Edwardian fish fry anyone? The Witch of the Low-Tide may need to be placed on your mystery menu.
May 29, 2020
Trojrecenze na věci vyšlé v knize 3x Záhady starého Londýna
Tři klasické kriminálky… a z toho vlastně jedna dobrá.
Ohni, hoř mě v mládí bralo, protože to je v podstatě fantastika alá Life on Mars. Hlavní hrdina se ze „současnosti“ přesune do roku 1825, kde sir Robert Peel zakládá policejní sbor, jemuž se posměšně říká „peelicajti“. A samozřejmě, dojde tam i na neproveditelnou vraždu. Tady je řešení poměrně laciné a příběh stojí spíš na atmosféře.
Druhý příběh, Démon odlivu, má zajímavější zápletku, ale je to označené jako melodram – což znamená, že se všechny ženské postavy chovají tak hystericky, že by to zasloužilo návštěvu u doktora Freuda. Díky tomu je čtené téměř nesnesitelné. Zábavné je, že jen tak mimo hlavní zápletku je tam zmíněný sex starého lorda s čtrnáctiletou dívkou… a je to branné jako něco lehce nezdvořilého, co se gentlemanovi nesluší dělat, ale proti gustu…
Případ se točí kolem pláže a absence stop vraha. Záhada zajímavá, řešení spíš neuspokojivé.
A pak je tu třetí věc, Tři rakve, se kterou přichází na scénu Gideon Fell. Tenhle román mě v mládí uchvátil tím, že hlavní postava na férovku přiznává, že jsou v románu, a že pokud čtenáře téma debaty nezajímá, ať klidně přeskočí na další kapitolu.
Ostatně ústy hrdiny promlouvá sám autor, když celou jednu kapitolu věnuje záhadám zamčeného pokoje a jejich řešení. A v další se pak tak trochu obhajuje, když popisuje kouzelnické triky a to, jak jsou lidi zklamaní z řešení… i když přece museli vědět, že je to podfuk. Myslím, že hlavní fór je v tom, že lidem nevadí být podfouknutí, když je to uděláno zajímavě.
Což tady je. Máte tu hned dva neřešitelné zločiny navíc odehrávající se téměř zároveň.
Autor se tu mnohem víc baví a hned na začátku nastaví pravidla a řekne vám, kdo určitě mluví pravdu. On tenhle skoro akademický přístup je asi taky jediná možnost, protože se tu hodně pracuje s náhodami a šílenými triky, které by v životě nemohly fungovat. Ovšem Carr ani nepředstírá, že by mu šlo o zachycení reality. Jeho knížky jsou prostě kouzelnický výstup… a ty nejlepší vás dodnes dokážou překvapit.
February 5, 2017
This is the second of Carr's i've read and I will definitely continue to read more. His style is a little different than i'm used too - so much of it taking place with dialogue and euphemisms and nuances I don't always pick up on because of when it was written (and taking place - early 1900's). Speaking of which the setting felt more 30's or 40's despite the fact the author made a point to emphasize the time period...
Anyway the mystery - a double take on the locked room variety - was particularly good and I really enjoyed the complexity of the characters in this one. This was the sort of story and plot line, along with good characters, that I could have done with at least another 100 pages flushing it all out. All in all great murder mystery/detective fiction.
Anyway the mystery - a double take on the locked room variety - was particularly good and I really enjoyed the complexity of the characters in this one. This was the sort of story and plot line, along with good characters, that I could have done with at least another 100 pages flushing it all out. All in all great murder mystery/detective fiction.
June 30, 2020
This is another of Carter Dickson/John Dickson Carr's historicals. Not nearly as bad (bombastic, repetitive, insulting to women and decent men) as The Burning Court, but I still don't recommend it. He did write some pretty good stuff, but this is not it. I first read it when I was in Jr. High and thought I might like it better now, but vain hope. I don't think I can force myself to read any more of his historicals but will move on to the Gideon Fell mysteries. I remember them as being less silly.
December 29, 2020
This one was let down by some stock JDC characters written a bit too broadly, too melodramatically. The effect being that four of the main characters were annoying as hell. I also wished the titular witch and the haunted house played a greater role, especially in the way of atmosphere. Same goes for the main character being a writer of impossible crime novels. These things weren’t maximized. Setting this in the Edwardian era didn’t really do much except add a little color. Still, a mediocre JDC is still very much worth reading.
[Residence Inn, Miami, 12/29/20)
[Residence Inn, Miami, 12/29/20)
October 23, 2023
It Was Okay
You can never criticize John Dickson Carr. However that doesn’t always mean you liked all of his books. This book is well plotted and I think it would be very difficult for most readers, if any, could be sure of who the murderer was until the end. I found it hard reading because I truly disliked the central character, the doctor. He was so arrogant and so sure he was always right. Other readers might not be bothered by this as I was.
You can never criticize John Dickson Carr. However that doesn’t always mean you liked all of his books. This book is well plotted and I think it would be very difficult for most readers, if any, could be sure of who the murderer was until the end. I found it hard reading because I truly disliked the central character, the doctor. He was so arrogant and so sure he was always right. Other readers might not be bothered by this as I was.
February 11, 2024
ARRRRRRRRGH! I have read and enjoyed some Carr books. Not this one. Oh no! Not this one. It would have made an interesting short story, but as a book it is about 200 pages too long. He describes the same rooms over and over and over again—I’m sick to the back teeth of that stupid Diana lamp!. The characters never really ‘say’ anything. The plot would have been good if it had moved even a bit faster than a glacier.
DO. NOT. READ. THIS. BOOK.
DO. NOT. READ. THIS. BOOK.
November 26, 2023
I'm a fan of JDC but this one didn't do it for me. Love the idea of the murder in the beach pavillion where the footprints in the wet sand indicate an impossible situation. Choppy, seemed like it was written in a hurry, don't really care about the characters... really struggled to get to the end. :( Relieved this is not part of the Dr. Gideon Fell series.
December 5, 2024
I enjoyed my first John Dickson Carr !! This my second not so much!!
The book itself is a struggle. When the crime is solved we have another sixty / seventy pages of explanation. I believe the detective ( Garth a physician) was used only the once. Twigg was more interesting than our hero , another silly ass amateur detective.
The book itself is a struggle. When the crime is solved we have another sixty / seventy pages of explanation. I believe the detective ( Garth a physician) was used only the once. Twigg was more interesting than our hero , another silly ass amateur detective.
August 14, 2026
I've read most of Carr's work, but have steered away from the later books. These are largely historical mysteries set in various time periods and various countries. This one surprised me by being quite entertaining and enjoying the Carr virtues of great atmosphere and that something-bad-is-about-to-happen feeling. Good denouement as well. Not among his best but creditable.
December 15, 2017
A pleasurable read for its prose and atmosphere, but containing too much veiled and cryptic conversation (what Dr. Fell might call "mystification") – and almost as confusing once everything has been "cleared up."
June 22, 2019
Romanzo affascinante di Carr. Mi è piaciuto molto, soprattutto per la presenza (insolita in Carr) dell'approfondimento psicologico dei personaggi. Bellissima la camera chiusa atipica, ovvero una spiaggia su cui non ci sono le impronte dell'assassino. Assolutamente consigliato.
July 12, 2020
My first exposure to this writer, except for the Holmes pastiches
Densely plotted period piece in an Edwardian setting. Lots of psychology involved. Good story with lots of period detail showing.
Densely plotted period piece in an Edwardian setting. Lots of psychology involved. Good story with lots of period detail showing.
April 4, 2022
This is the 4th Dickson Carr book I have read and I haven't liked any of them. I give up. I'm not going to attempt another book of his even though he is considered an excellent classic mystery writer and I felt I should like him. I don't get the love. I think his plotting is muddy and unclear, his characters unpleasant and unrealistic, his writing style turgid and overblown....just no.
April 30, 2026
Would have given a higher rating had Carr not spoilt locked-room classic, The Yellow Room. Unpardonable. More here: https://ahotcupofpleasureagain.wordpr...
December 22, 2019
A successful author in his day but the writing style is not to my taste.
August 31, 2021
Fast paced
And surprising to me. I did not guess the murderer in this particular story. The characters are interesting and there are a number of surprises along the way.
And surprising to me. I did not guess the murderer in this particular story. The characters are interesting and there are a number of surprises along the way.
March 8, 2023
Hard to follow but good Arthur Conan Doyle vibes
December 15, 2025
This was highly enjoyable with lots of twists, turns, and melodrama. I was also completely surprised by the culprit! Good stuff.
February 18, 2017
Enjoyable later standalone novel from Carr,no Merrivale or Fell appear in this one.
This is a variation on the superior White Priory Murders,sand replacing the snow this time.
So we have lots of red herrings,people leading double lives and 2 impossible crimes.
First 2/3 of the book are excellent but it starts to get dragged down in the final 1/3.
Also if you intend reading The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux,read that first,as one of the characters here gives away the ending to it!
This is a variation on the superior White Priory Murders,sand replacing the snow this time.
So we have lots of red herrings,people leading double lives and 2 impossible crimes.
First 2/3 of the book are excellent but it starts to get dragged down in the final 1/3.
Also if you intend reading The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux,read that first,as one of the characters here gives away the ending to it!
January 24, 2016
John Dickson Carr crafts an astonishing and masterful tale of mystery and deception. Before this, I hadn't read any mysteries, nor had I even heard of Carr. It is unbelievable that he isn't more popular because he certainly deserves more praise. He can be somewhat didactic at times, but I feel that is common within his superb Edwardian melodrama. Every chapter ends with a wonderfully designed cliffhanger, which are some of the best I have ever read. The dialogue is fascinating; conversations introduce new facets of each character and do exactly what they are supposed to do: force the story along at a reasonable pace. The protagonist, David Garth, follows the mystery detective archetype and yet is not a detective in a strict sense. He is Doctor, and an author - possibly a form of the Carr himself guiding his readers along.
June 25, 2016
Although disappointingly lacking in any sort of proper witch, John Dickson Carr's 1961 novel (subtitled "An Edwardian Melodrama") is set in the first decade of the 20th century, against a backdrop of respectability and restraint. Dr David Garth is confronted with strange happenings surrounding his immediate circle, including the woman with whom he has fallen in love, Lady Betty Calder. Unsavory realities lie just beneath the surface, though, when a dead woman is found in Lady Calder's bathing pavilion, and Dr Garth must overcome the suspicion of the unpleasant Inspector Twigg that the doctor himself played a role in the body's appearance... A solid pseudo-historical romance from Carr, but sadly, with only the vaguest hints of supernatural agencies.
Full review here.
Full review here.
October 1, 2021
Impossible murder involving strangled woman, footprints, and wet sand. Variation on Carr's superior The White Priory Murders (published under the pseudonym Carter Dickson, and with snow instead of sand) but this time weighed down by some only slightly convincing Edwardian period trappings & the leering misogyny typical of late Carr--you feel like you are being close-talked to by a dirty old man. Murky prose -- I had to read the explanation of the footprints trick three times before it sort of made sense.
October 23, 2014
Marvelous novel, with a locked room at a pavilion on the sea; around, the sand, which are only visible fingerprints of the victim and of his discoverer
If you want know more and more, read my article about, to:
http://deathcanread.blogspot.it/2014/...
If you want know more and more, read my article about, to:
http://deathcanread.blogspot.it/2014/...
May 6, 2015
I didn't hate it; I just didn't find it particularly memorable.
Observation: it takes more to create authenticity in a novel set during the Victorian/Edwardian age than just throwing in a reference to a hansom cab every few pages.
Observation: it takes more to create authenticity in a novel set during the Victorian/Edwardian age than just throwing in a reference to a hansom cab every few pages.
July 22, 2015
Kindle Unlimited Free Trial | packed with awful people, an absolutely disgusting dated acceptance of a crime against a child, difficult to read but I'll give the author another try.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews