The Man from the Sea

by Michael Innes

Richard Cranston meets a mysterious man on a secluded section of the Scottish coast, tries to discover his identity, and becomes involved in a dangerous espionage plot

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Michael Innes was the pseudonym of John Innes MacKintosh (J.I.M.) Stewart (J.I.M. Stewart).

He was born in Edinburgh, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford. He was Lecturer in English at the University of Leeds from 1930 - 1935, and spent the succeeding ten years as Jury Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.

He returned to the United Kingdom in 1949, to become a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast. In 1949 he became a Student (Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, becoming a Professor by the time of his retirement in 1973.

As J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of works of non-fiction, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as about twenty works of fiction and a memoir, 'Myself and Michael Innes'.

As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective John Appleby.

Reviews

[Carl Brookins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This paperback is out of print, as is the original hardcover which was published by Dodd, Meade, an outstanding publisher lost in the mists of corporate amalgamations. The novel was originally copyrighted in 1955, which is instructive. Readers will need to recall the world of that time, in order to put this book in proper context.
The Man from the Sea recalls a time when the world was locked in what we called the cold war, a titanic struggle between something called the Soviet Union and the United States of America, the two great superpowers of the world. This thriller contains all the high adventure of a Dirk Pitt and the tension of a Tom Clancy, but without the complex technical equipment of either. Richard Cranston is a young lad intimately involved with the wife of a local Scottish peer.
During a late-night liaison on the beach, Cranston is astounded to see a man appear from the sea, a man who obviously has just come off a freighter off the Scottish coast. The man tells Cranston an incredible story of espionage, treason and looming death. In the process he captures Cranston's interest and enlists his aid in making his way to London.
Innes' style is somewhat unusual and mannerly for our time, for all his literary polish, but astute readers will quickly find themselves enthralled with the brisk pace, urgency and excitement which pervades the pages of this novel. Ultimately, of course, there is resolution, but what a conclusion, as the story turns back on itself in a masterful tale, well-told by a fine writer.

[Lyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across this in a box of random books that I hoped to one day read. This was a brisk romp that made me think of the Hitchcock film North by Northwest.

[Thomas Burchfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good thing this wasn't the first Michael Innes novel I read, because I found it to be quite a mess. An adventure tale in the manner of John Buchan, it crashes around in a sea of convoluted tangled prose, stopping and starting and sputtering along. Mr. Innes' celebrated wit and erudition aren't as well displayed here and the dialogue seems clumsy and arbitrarily placed. It's a cool story idea, but not as well executed as other books of his I've read. Curiously, I read this in an exquisitely bound Franklin Mystery edition, but why they picked this one and not, say "The Case of the Journeying Boy," is puzzling.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

spy chase, period piece

[Lemar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you help someone on the run if you were their only hope? Innes, a master of suspense, adds the psychological roots of his characters' motives in this gripping thriller.

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dickie Cranston, a young man carrying on with his older married lover at the Scottish seaside, sees a man come out of the water followed shortly by a boatful of gunmen and finds himself in a classic Cold War, Hitchcockian web of intrigue. It's a really enjoyable, schizophrenic adventure - the first and last parts lean heavily on Cranston's internal thoughts and complicated sexual guilt (queer theorists would have a field day with Dickie's fascination with a naked man from the sea and the strange, unexpected feelings and actions he provokes, and I can't imagine Innes didn't know what he was doing with this, and the ending has some genuine shocks), but in the middle it's pure thriller, a chase through the country as sinister forces pursue Dickie, the mysterious man, and their new friends (a dour Scotsman, an Amazonian Australian). There's some whiplash as we move from dark internal monologues to potboiler adventure, but it's a lot of fun and it makes me want to read more of Michael Innes.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a used book store and got it because it was a Michael Innes that I had not read. I love the Appleby series, but found this one disappointing. Half the time I found it difficult to follow the seemingly arbitrary twists and turns and the weird meandering of the characters. A tale of duplicity and compulsion needs to be a little more fleshed out than this story is. Also, the fair play factor is not operational in this story. Too many things like "What she saw was [blank] and then she knew" and we don't get to know what the character saw. I recommend sticking with Appleby, particularly "Appleby's End".

[Nita Wilkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, quick and easy read. My only complaint was the use of Scottish dialect in parts. It made it very difficult to understand.

[Tom Kopff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems pleasantly dated, hearkening back to the early days of the cold war and the waning days of the British aristocracy's comfortable assumption of being in charge.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, a man emerges from the sea. Another man who happens to be on the beach assists him which results in a lot of complication and adventure. An unusual and interesting thriller. I found it sometimes hard to follow.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in April 2001.

On a beach in northern Scotland, a night time assignation is interrupted by the emergence of a fugitive from the sea. This turns out to be one-time defector John Day, who claims to have returned to the country to see his wife again before he dies (a nuclear physicist, he has been fatally careless). The young man on the beach agrees to help him and they begin to try to travel south without being caught by Soviet agents or revealing Day's identity to the British authorities.

The novel is basically a latter day John Buchan thriller, with especial closeness to The 39 Steps. Being Michael Innes, the writing is frequently tongue in cheek, and so The Man From the Sea is a knowing homage. Even for a thriller, it has an abrupt ending, and could actually be improved by expanding the last three or four chapters by twenty pages or so. Fast paced and enjoyable, it sweeps the reader along for the most part, which is good; it is only if you stop and think that it becomes clear just how silly it all is.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This certainly isn't a "classic British mystery," but rather a tale of pursuit, with planty of Innes' quirky, unexpected plotting. I happened to have read Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer" right before this, and there is a striking parallel to that story's premise: a man on the lam appears out of the sea to appeal to a stranger who helps him due to a strange, unexplained affinity. As in Conrad's tale, the helper (Cranston) turns out to need help himself, which he gets by aiding the stranger (John Day) to escape his pursuers. The novel would be much stronger if the help he got were more decisive and of more universal significance (as in "Secret Sharer"). The ending is strictly conventional, but on the way there are plenty of enjoyable adventures and delicious characters.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A generous 3. The plot and characters will be familiar to fans of John Buchan or Geoffrey Household. In fact, I was reminded of the storytelling style, pace and use of journey/chase with many episodes of Dr Who without cybermen or daleks; just mysterious anonymous mirky figures from elsewhere keeping pace at an unlikely speed. Parallels too with James Bond but the food isn't as good (and neither are the one-liners). Worth reading but not worth spending too much time seeking out.

[joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 39 Steps, but with Hannay and Pamela replaced with a moody teenage boy and a thigh-slapping Australian.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt like an hour-long episode of a TV show rather than a film. The language felt a bit stilted, but was likely more "hip" in its time.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: a man swims to shore from a freighter and interrupts a rendezvous between Richard Cranston and Lady Blair. Is he a spy?