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Inspector French #4
Inspector French and the Sea Mystery
When a dead body is found at sea, the case can only be solved by the astute Inspector French, and his most discerning readers, in this Golden Age mystery. A mysterious shipping crate is hauled ashore off the coast of Burry Port in South Wales by two fishermen, who find a brutally murdered, decaying corpse inside. Stumped by the lack of clues, the local police call in Inspector French of Scotland Yard, one of the Criminal Investigation Department’s finest detectives. With his meticulous pursuit of leads, it’s only a matter of time until Inspector French finds the killer. Praise for the writing of Freeman Wills “One of the classics of modern crime fiction.” —The New York Times “The soundest builder of them all.” —Raymond Chandler
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1928
57 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Freeman Wills Crofts
140 books88 followersBorn in Dublin of English stock, Freeman Wills Crofts was educated at Methodist and Campbell Colleges in Belfast and at age 17 he became a civil engineering pupil, apprenticed to his uncle, Berkeley D Wise who was the chief engineer of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR).
In 1899 he became a fully fledged railway engineer before becoming a district engineer and then chief assistant engineer for the BNCR.
He married in 1912, Mary Bellas Canning, a bank manager's daughter. His writing career began when he was recovering from a serious illness and his efforts were rewarded when his first novel 'The Cask' was accepted for publication by a London publishing house. Within two decades the book had sold 100,000 copies. Thereafter he continued to write in his spare time and produced a book a year through to 1929 when he was obliged to stop working through poor health.
When he and his wife moved to Guildford, England, he took up writing full time and not surprisingly many of his plots revolved around travel and transport, particularly transport timetables and many of them had a Guildford setting.
In retirement from engineering, as well as writing, he also pursued his other interests, music, in which he was an organist and conductor, gardening, carpentry and travel.
He wrote a mystery novel almost every year until his death and in addition he produced about 50 short stories, 30 radio plays for the BBC, a number of true crime works, a play, 'Sudden Death', a juvenile mystery, 'Young Robin Brand, Detective', and a religious work, 'The Four Gospels in One Story'.
His best known character is Inspector Joseph French, who featured in 30 detective novels between 1924 and 1957. And Raymond Chandler praised his plots, calling him "the soundest builder of them all".
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
In 1899 he became a fully fledged railway engineer before becoming a district engineer and then chief assistant engineer for the BNCR.
He married in 1912, Mary Bellas Canning, a bank manager's daughter. His writing career began when he was recovering from a serious illness and his efforts were rewarded when his first novel 'The Cask' was accepted for publication by a London publishing house. Within two decades the book had sold 100,000 copies. Thereafter he continued to write in his spare time and produced a book a year through to 1929 when he was obliged to stop working through poor health.
When he and his wife moved to Guildford, England, he took up writing full time and not surprisingly many of his plots revolved around travel and transport, particularly transport timetables and many of them had a Guildford setting.
In retirement from engineering, as well as writing, he also pursued his other interests, music, in which he was an organist and conductor, gardening, carpentry and travel.
He wrote a mystery novel almost every year until his death and in addition he produced about 50 short stories, 30 radio plays for the BBC, a number of true crime works, a play, 'Sudden Death', a juvenile mystery, 'Young Robin Brand, Detective', and a religious work, 'The Four Gospels in One Story'.
His best known character is Inspector Joseph French, who featured in 30 detective novels between 1924 and 1957. And Raymond Chandler praised his plots, calling him "the soundest builder of them all".
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 6, 2018
This is about the tenth Freeman Wills Croft novel I have read and reviewed in the last year or so. I enjoy his puzzle, timetable & alibi busting element to his stories - although I think this may irritate some readers as some of the novels over do it a bit. This novel is a much better version of The Cask which was excessive in it's verbiage and showed Crofts up as a new writer (his first novel) - in the Cask we have a body found in a Cask! in the Sea Mystery we have a body found in wooden crate. Crofts has Inspector French doing amazing feats of deduction in this story as he only has a badly damaged corpse (with his face smashed in) wearing only his underwear in a common wooden crate (with no markings) that has been found sunk near the coast some 5 or 6 weeks after the person was murdered. As ever - in this novel - Crofts writing is fluid and easy to read and his plotting is almost perfect which is backed up by a continual stream of investigation by Inspector French (who unusually in this story doesn't whizz off left right and centre to a multitude of locations and countries - this time only to South Wales & Devon!). I did think the solution to mystery was about 70% guessable from about the middle of the book whereas other novels kept me guessing quite some time. Inspector French does have a habit of doing things that would be considered illegal or gaining evidence that wouldn't be permissible in court even in the 1920s (this novel was published by Collins in 1928) e.g. he goes into a private garden and removes a grill from a well to inspect it without a warrant - he also opens a private letter while waiting for the inhabitant to return - although I consider that both are forgivable errors in a classical crime novel. What I didn't find forgivable in this novel can be found on page 53 where a police officer and Inspector French manage to locate the firm at Swansea where the crate was delivered - this is brushed over extremely quickly in the book (even though it is the crux of the investigation) - as the chances of finding an employee remembering a specific wooden crate from 5 or 6 weeks ago (a thing they deal with every day of their lives) based on it's size (remember that there are a lot of firms dealing with transporting crates in the area) is impossible. Also in the novel is a taxi driver remembering (some time back) a couple who matched the a description from a police radio broadcast and going to Scotland Yard of his own volition and perhaps without renumeration - these are some of things that Crofts wants us as readers to believe in - incredible but true! However, even though there are obvious faults (make believe issues) in his story - it still makes for an interesting read and for the reader - Crofts always has Inspector French overlooking some facts or having him occasionally mis-directed - whereas we the readers know better and this puts us at an advantage and helps us to enjoy the story better and overlook the faults! This isn't the best Crofts book I have read - and I would recommend to other readers that they start with The Box Office Murders & The Hogsback Mystery. I would give this book 7 out of 10.
June 8, 2018
Not an awful lot of 'sea' in this story - more estuary ... I guess "The Estuary Mystery" might not have been so marketable. Early parts of the book plod (excuse the pun) as readers are slowly taken through Inspector French's (every, it seems) thought process. Perhaps the author was paid by the word?
Might not be his best, but the story gets through to a satisfying conclusion.
Entertaining early version of a detective procedural - Inspector French gets it wrong and ignores useful clues but gets a result in the end. The author has a good writing 'voice' and his Inspector French is an engaging character.
Might not be his best, but the story gets through to a satisfying conclusion.
Entertaining early version of a detective procedural - Inspector French gets it wrong and ignores useful clues but gets a result in the end. The author has a good writing 'voice' and his Inspector French is an engaging character.
November 25, 2023
A marvelous example of a novel of pure detection.
Superb !!
Superb !!
December 14, 2022
Fun plot full of puzzles.
October 29, 2024
I'll start by saying this: you don't read a Freeman Wills Crofts book for the characters.
In particular, you don't read one to enjoy the quirky antics of an unusual detective. This is not Poirot with his little moustache and his tisanes, or Lord Peter Wimsey with his monocle and his collection of rare books, or even Holmes with his indoor target practice and his shag tobacco kept in a Turkish slipper. In an earlier review, I've referred to Inspector French as more of a plot device than an actual character, and while this is perhaps too harsh, it contains a lot of truth. The author was an engineer, and he designed French as a crime-solving machine, with no extraneous parts.
French's appearance is never described, at least in this book. We don't learn his hair or eye colour, the style of his clothes, his height, what he likes to eat, drink, or smoke. He appears to have no interests outside his work, and no distinctive possessions or non-professional associates. The existence of his wife is referred to in a single sentence, but she plays no role (in one of the other books, she does act as his sounding board in one scene). He is Everyman, if Everyman is a dogged policeman who solves crimes perpetrated by criminals more clever than him by systematically following every clue to its absolute end.
Except that, in this case, he rebukes himself for not doing so sooner with one key line of inquiry, which almost leads to disaster. It also takes him quite a bit longer than it took me to click to a key point about the evidence (). The author did at least know that watching a perfectly efficient machine work flawlessly is not interesting for very long.
What is interesting in a Freeman Wills Crofts story is the intricate and original crime and how it's unravelled, and this book is no exception. Starting with a body found in an estuary inside a packing case of unusual dimensions, it progresses rapidly via a combination of sound logic and thorough investigation by French; he figures out where and when the case must have been put into the water, how that was done, where the case came from, finds a disappearance of two men at the appropriate time that would account for the body (but where is the other man?), rounds up a set of suspects and investigates each of them thoroughly. Because he isn't quite thorough enough, there's a scene of considerable risk and tension before he brings the case to its conclusion.
If the thing you enjoy most about a detective story is the bits that aren't the detective story, this one will disappoint you. But if you enjoy the puzzle aspect, with a judicious amount of detail about the beauty of the locations, a few technical details and some clever work by both the criminal and the detective, those parts are excellent of their type.
In particular, you don't read one to enjoy the quirky antics of an unusual detective. This is not Poirot with his little moustache and his tisanes, or Lord Peter Wimsey with his monocle and his collection of rare books, or even Holmes with his indoor target practice and his shag tobacco kept in a Turkish slipper. In an earlier review, I've referred to Inspector French as more of a plot device than an actual character, and while this is perhaps too harsh, it contains a lot of truth. The author was an engineer, and he designed French as a crime-solving machine, with no extraneous parts.
French's appearance is never described, at least in this book. We don't learn his hair or eye colour, the style of his clothes, his height, what he likes to eat, drink, or smoke. He appears to have no interests outside his work, and no distinctive possessions or non-professional associates. The existence of his wife is referred to in a single sentence, but she plays no role (in one of the other books, she does act as his sounding board in one scene). He is Everyman, if Everyman is a dogged policeman who solves crimes perpetrated by criminals more clever than him by systematically following every clue to its absolute end.
Except that, in this case, he rebukes himself for not doing so sooner with one key line of inquiry, which almost leads to disaster. It also takes him quite a bit longer than it took me to click to a key point about the evidence (). The author did at least know that watching a perfectly efficient machine work flawlessly is not interesting for very long.
What is interesting in a Freeman Wills Crofts story is the intricate and original crime and how it's unravelled, and this book is no exception. Starting with a body found in an estuary inside a packing case of unusual dimensions, it progresses rapidly via a combination of sound logic and thorough investigation by French; he figures out where and when the case must have been put into the water, how that was done, where the case came from, finds a disappearance of two men at the appropriate time that would account for the body (but where is the other man?), rounds up a set of suspects and investigates each of them thoroughly. Because he isn't quite thorough enough, there's a scene of considerable risk and tension before he brings the case to its conclusion.
If the thing you enjoy most about a detective story is the bits that aren't the detective story, this one will disappoint you. But if you enjoy the puzzle aspect, with a judicious amount of detail about the beauty of the locations, a few technical details and some clever work by both the criminal and the detective, those parts are excellent of their type.
January 28, 2024
Killing is easy, but getting rid of the body can be murder.
Some credit American writer Hilary Waugh with creating the "police procedural" genre in 1949. I'm a great fan of Waugh, but Englishman Freeman Wills Crofts was cranking out his popular mysteries almost thirty years earlier and they were certainly police procedurals.
Of course, not everyone enjoys following the laborious details of police work. One critic called Crofts and others like him the "humdrum" mystery school. They are in sharp contrast to the dramatic methods of private detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Still, Crofts' books sold well enough that he was able to quit his day job (as a railroad civil engineer) and write full time. He was an honored member of the Detection Club and his Inspector French is a well-known name to readers of Golden Age mysteries.
This fourth book in the series was published in 1928 and revolves around the startling discovery of a body which has been folded into a wooden shipping crate and dumped into a bay. A father and son out for an afternoon in their small boat have little luck catching fish, but hook the crate and return it to dry land. Inspector French is soon on the scene.
One of the most appealing things about Inspector French is the sense that his creator was his greatest fan. French combines intelligence with common sense and hard work to achieve his successes. Not for him the flashes of brilliance of Holmes or Poirot. He follows tried-and-true investigative methods. If one lead doesn't pan out, he follows another. He starts with a theory, but is flexible enough to change his mind if the evidence doesn't support it.
He's confident in his powers, but never egotistical. He's pleasant and respectful to everyone and it pays off in the cooperation he receives from local officers and civilians alike. It's hard NOT to like Inspector French, although the murderers he brings to justice probably manage it.
The author's engineering background shows in French's methodical efforts to determine where and how the crate was placed in the water. Once he determines that, the trail leads to a manufacturer of office equipment which has recently had the misfortune of losing two key men in a tragic accident.
But was it an accident or was it murder? Are both men really dead or only one? Inspector French must dig into the personalities of the staff and their families to find possible motives. A common motive for murder is two men wanting the same woman. In this case, a pretty charmer has FOUR men interested in her, so French has a wide range of possibilities of who might have wanted to kill whom and how they went about it.
One of the men is the lady's husband, but he doesn't seem to enjoy an advantage on that score. Most observers think she's sick of the guy, but a man can be capable of murderous jealousy even if his wife doesn't return his love. Two others are the husband's work colleagues and the fourth is the cousin of one of them who's visiting from The Argentine. Relatives from the Colonies were still abundant in the 1920's and were of great help to mystery writers.
I like old mysteries for the look at every day life in the past. A "novel" can spend most of its time describing the scenery or the emotional states of the characters, but solving a mystery involves details of who was doing what, when, and how. Like all good mystery writers, Croft gave his readers a leper's squint into the lives of even minor characters, which I find fascinating.
I also like not having to read about the multiple personal problems of the detectives - divorces, failed romances, addictions,career disasters, tragic deaths of friends or relatives. Modern fictional detectives have so many personal problems it's a wonder they ever solve a crime.
Inspector French is of the old school of men who get down to the job. Late in the book there's a passing reference to Mrs French, but he doesn't seem in any hurry to get home to her. It was a time when men concentrated on their work, while their wives raised children and tended to their houses. It wasn't a perfect system or it wouldn't have been swept away, but it simplifies things for the reader, leaving us able to concentrate on the investigation.
When the investigation is going badly, Inspector French gives a fleeting thought to his desire to be promoted to Chief Inspector, but we aren't burdened with departmental politics and in-fighting. The Inspector's pride in his work doesn't depend on external rewards.
The end is anything but "humdrum." Like Inspector Burnley in Crofts' first book ("The Cask") Inspector French knows there's no more dangerous animal than a cornered killer. Every day, a police officer balances safety against speed and efficiency. Sometimes waiting for sufficient back-up would allow the guilty party to escape, something no cop wants to have on his conscience.
If you need "spine-tingling" or "heart-stopping" or "gut-wrenching", stick to thrillers. Crofts' books are well written and meticulously plotted. He had a great talent for creating characters who are believable and interesting. Some are more admirable than others, but that's life.
The author's love of the English countryside and of English life in general come through. I suspect that the likable personality of Inspector French was probably very similar to that of his creator. Today, the hero of a book must be a tortured soul and it's nice to remember a time when simply being a happy, productive human was good enough.
Now I'm going to go back to the beginning of this series and read them in order. Most are available in Kindle editions, although the prices vary. I count myself fortunate to live in a time when old mysteries like this one are readily available. Thanks, Jeff.
Some credit American writer Hilary Waugh with creating the "police procedural" genre in 1949. I'm a great fan of Waugh, but Englishman Freeman Wills Crofts was cranking out his popular mysteries almost thirty years earlier and they were certainly police procedurals.
Of course, not everyone enjoys following the laborious details of police work. One critic called Crofts and others like him the "humdrum" mystery school. They are in sharp contrast to the dramatic methods of private detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Still, Crofts' books sold well enough that he was able to quit his day job (as a railroad civil engineer) and write full time. He was an honored member of the Detection Club and his Inspector French is a well-known name to readers of Golden Age mysteries.
This fourth book in the series was published in 1928 and revolves around the startling discovery of a body which has been folded into a wooden shipping crate and dumped into a bay. A father and son out for an afternoon in their small boat have little luck catching fish, but hook the crate and return it to dry land. Inspector French is soon on the scene.
One of the most appealing things about Inspector French is the sense that his creator was his greatest fan. French combines intelligence with common sense and hard work to achieve his successes. Not for him the flashes of brilliance of Holmes or Poirot. He follows tried-and-true investigative methods. If one lead doesn't pan out, he follows another. He starts with a theory, but is flexible enough to change his mind if the evidence doesn't support it.
He's confident in his powers, but never egotistical. He's pleasant and respectful to everyone and it pays off in the cooperation he receives from local officers and civilians alike. It's hard NOT to like Inspector French, although the murderers he brings to justice probably manage it.
The author's engineering background shows in French's methodical efforts to determine where and how the crate was placed in the water. Once he determines that, the trail leads to a manufacturer of office equipment which has recently had the misfortune of losing two key men in a tragic accident.
But was it an accident or was it murder? Are both men really dead or only one? Inspector French must dig into the personalities of the staff and their families to find possible motives. A common motive for murder is two men wanting the same woman. In this case, a pretty charmer has FOUR men interested in her, so French has a wide range of possibilities of who might have wanted to kill whom and how they went about it.
One of the men is the lady's husband, but he doesn't seem to enjoy an advantage on that score. Most observers think she's sick of the guy, but a man can be capable of murderous jealousy even if his wife doesn't return his love. Two others are the husband's work colleagues and the fourth is the cousin of one of them who's visiting from The Argentine. Relatives from the Colonies were still abundant in the 1920's and were of great help to mystery writers.
I like old mysteries for the look at every day life in the past. A "novel" can spend most of its time describing the scenery or the emotional states of the characters, but solving a mystery involves details of who was doing what, when, and how. Like all good mystery writers, Croft gave his readers a leper's squint into the lives of even minor characters, which I find fascinating.
I also like not having to read about the multiple personal problems of the detectives - divorces, failed romances, addictions,career disasters, tragic deaths of friends or relatives. Modern fictional detectives have so many personal problems it's a wonder they ever solve a crime.
Inspector French is of the old school of men who get down to the job. Late in the book there's a passing reference to Mrs French, but he doesn't seem in any hurry to get home to her. It was a time when men concentrated on their work, while their wives raised children and tended to their houses. It wasn't a perfect system or it wouldn't have been swept away, but it simplifies things for the reader, leaving us able to concentrate on the investigation.
When the investigation is going badly, Inspector French gives a fleeting thought to his desire to be promoted to Chief Inspector, but we aren't burdened with departmental politics and in-fighting. The Inspector's pride in his work doesn't depend on external rewards.
The end is anything but "humdrum." Like Inspector Burnley in Crofts' first book ("The Cask") Inspector French knows there's no more dangerous animal than a cornered killer. Every day, a police officer balances safety against speed and efficiency. Sometimes waiting for sufficient back-up would allow the guilty party to escape, something no cop wants to have on his conscience.
If you need "spine-tingling" or "heart-stopping" or "gut-wrenching", stick to thrillers. Crofts' books are well written and meticulously plotted. He had a great talent for creating characters who are believable and interesting. Some are more admirable than others, but that's life.
The author's love of the English countryside and of English life in general come through. I suspect that the likable personality of Inspector French was probably very similar to that of his creator. Today, the hero of a book must be a tortured soul and it's nice to remember a time when simply being a happy, productive human was good enough.
Now I'm going to go back to the beginning of this series and read them in order. Most are available in Kindle editions, although the prices vary. I count myself fortunate to live in a time when old mysteries like this one are readily available. Thanks, Jeff.
June 11, 2018
Originally published in 1928, this fourth outing for Inspector (ever hopeful of promotion) French finds him in fine form, conjuring up theories as regularly as the tides which play a vital part in the first stages of his investigation.
Most experienced GA detective readers will have much of the solution worked out and the culprit fingered well before French ditches his first major idea. However, the entertainment comes from following his thought processes and use of procedure to work his meticulous way through the clues, and sniffing out the red herring.
The writing and plotting are pretty good in this one and French can be addictively endearing.
Most experienced GA detective readers will have much of the solution worked out and the culprit fingered well before French ditches his first major idea. However, the entertainment comes from following his thought processes and use of procedure to work his meticulous way through the clues, and sniffing out the red herring.
The writing and plotting are pretty good in this one and French can be addictively endearing.
June 12, 2016
Inspector French is confronted by a mutilated dead body and no clues. There seems to be no way to identify the dead man, who was put in a nondescript crate and dropped into the sea. Through tireless efforts, he does find two men who disappeared together and tentatively identifies one of them as the victim. The quest for the murderer gets more complex, and also more dangerous. The conclusion is perhaps a bit far-fetched, but short, stout, pleasant-spoken Inspector French is entertaining.
December 12, 2018
A complex mystery that leaves you guessing to the end. This book goes into the thought processes of the investigator so you get a very logical progression. However, the characters didn't inspire me and I'm not in love with the style of writing. It is a solid mystery and nothing wrong with it just not enough for me to rate it more.
February 16, 2018
A good old fashioned detective romp. You can tell author was an engineer - logical and methodical. The reader is guided through French's thought process and investigation and move with him towards the conclusion. Terribly middle class as most crime of this era is, but hugely entertaining.
April 28, 2025
Spoilers: My first Crofts mystery with Insp French. Enjoyed it very much, especially his different angle than most. Most have the official police/Scotland Yard as a bunch of dumbo's, that get out-sleuthed easily by professional private detectives, or even amateurs who get involved. French and the Yard are shown in positive light here. But, especially, you get to go through the mystery in the detective's shoes, seeing his actions and being privy to his thought processes. This is a very refreshing change!
Having said that, this is far too complex and some aspects beggar credibility. The shortest path between two points is a straight line, and a lot of apparently complex crimes are just simple straight lines. Here we have an Eternal Triangle. Wife convinces her lover to murder her husband. Story over.
As French points out, every action lays a trail of clues. If you're gonna stuff the body in a box, why not steal the box - instead of ordering machinery, getting it packed and unpacked, etc etc. Then shipping the box, and retrieving it and dumping it, on and on. Maybe murder the guy and dump his body somewhere, or bury it, or dismember it?
The dumping it in the river and figuring the sink rate, the right tides etc, is pretty far fetched and fraught with danger for the bad guy, altho it makes a good story. The timing of the wife's activites on the evening of the murder really begs all credibility. No, I don't think she could have done all those things in the short time allowed! All in all, they left an amazing string of clues scattered everywhere.
Here's a simple question: Why didn't the lovers just run off with each other somewhere? Lots of people do - without complex scheming ending in murder.
Another recurring problem in some of these: Way too many identical twin brothers and sisters, or other relatives, to muddy the waters to suit me. And way too many make-up artists and actors that convert their persona's back and forth.
Anyway, a good read and I've now worked on some other Crofts. I prefer a common thread - i.e. detective - Holmes, Poirot, Charlie Chan, etc than a whole new cast of characters each time - like Fletcher.
P.S. English detectives all seem to need their three squares a day, and would starve if they missed a meal. Even when they're hot chasing somebody down, there's always time for a nice meal, tea, and a smoke. Reminds me of Bernard Montgomery on his road from the Normandy beaches to Caen.
Having said that, this is far too complex and some aspects beggar credibility. The shortest path between two points is a straight line, and a lot of apparently complex crimes are just simple straight lines. Here we have an Eternal Triangle. Wife convinces her lover to murder her husband. Story over.
As French points out, every action lays a trail of clues. If you're gonna stuff the body in a box, why not steal the box - instead of ordering machinery, getting it packed and unpacked, etc etc. Then shipping the box, and retrieving it and dumping it, on and on. Maybe murder the guy and dump his body somewhere, or bury it, or dismember it?
The dumping it in the river and figuring the sink rate, the right tides etc, is pretty far fetched and fraught with danger for the bad guy, altho it makes a good story. The timing of the wife's activites on the evening of the murder really begs all credibility. No, I don't think she could have done all those things in the short time allowed! All in all, they left an amazing string of clues scattered everywhere.
Here's a simple question: Why didn't the lovers just run off with each other somewhere? Lots of people do - without complex scheming ending in murder.
Another recurring problem in some of these: Way too many identical twin brothers and sisters, or other relatives, to muddy the waters to suit me. And way too many make-up artists and actors that convert their persona's back and forth.
Anyway, a good read and I've now worked on some other Crofts. I prefer a common thread - i.e. detective - Holmes, Poirot, Charlie Chan, etc than a whole new cast of characters each time - like Fletcher.
P.S. English detectives all seem to need their three squares a day, and would starve if they missed a meal. Even when they're hot chasing somebody down, there's always time for a nice meal, tea, and a smoke. Reminds me of Bernard Montgomery on his road from the Normandy beaches to Caen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2025
A detective story from the 1920s which is very much focused on the puzzle. It apparently is very similar to Crofts# first novel, The Cask, which I haven't read: it, too, stars a dead body found in a crate. This body is badly damaged, with a clear attempt to hide the identity of the victim. It's clearly meant to be a police procedural, but there are places where things are a bit slipshod, particularly the way that witnesses remember more than is likely or where evidence is obtained without warrants, which would be a serious problem for a successful prosecution. It's very much from the days when long distance relatively quick telegraph communication made life easier for this type of investigation: questions and answers flash between Tavistock, where the body was found, all across England and some overseas. It's a lot of fun, but could perhaps have benefited from another draft to get five stars.
February 27, 2021
Well ,it starts at sea or rather an estuary and quickly moves onshore and up to the moorlands thanks to an incredible piece of logical deduction by French .Another of those early Crofts where we get no suspects immediately and here even the corpse is unidentifiable .But French again solves it in the end but what a journey deduction wise !!
This one is right up there with the best (Starvel,Magill,Hogs,Channel ) .Right till the end there is mystery about the identity of the victim and the killer ..
The killer has all my sympathy for hatching such a intricate plan and yet getting caught in the end .. what else could have been done to fool French!!!
This one is right up there with the best (Starvel,Magill,Hogs,Channel ) .Right till the end there is mystery about the identity of the victim and the killer ..
The killer has all my sympathy for hatching such a intricate plan and yet getting caught in the end .. what else could have been done to fool French!!!
April 20, 2022
Not the best of the series, which has been very good so far. This one has a plot that gets incredibly convoluted and seems to be flying in several directions at once. All of those directions turn out to be not really pertinent. And there's one large mistake having to do with the number of parts in stock for a copier model.
I'm sure the next one will be back to the better plotting.
And I'm noticing that the e-pub editions are missing on nearly all the books I read lately. What's happening with that?
I'm sure the next one will be back to the better plotting.
And I'm noticing that the e-pub editions are missing on nearly all the books I read lately. What's happening with that?
September 22, 2022
Inspector French starts with a mutilated body found in a crate dragged up from the sea. Doggedly following a trail of entertainingly laid clues, he uncovers an identity for the deceased and eventually the crimes that put the poor man in the sea.
I am not familiar with the author — and found his approach entertaining for one book. It’s the entertainment one gets in watching someone put a jigsaw puzzle together. Characterization is minimal — the puzzle is the thing, up to the climax, which is suspenseful in a decorous, golden age mystery way.
I am not familiar with the author — and found his approach entertaining for one book. It’s the entertainment one gets in watching someone put a jigsaw puzzle together. Characterization is minimal — the puzzle is the thing, up to the climax, which is suspenseful in a decorous, golden age mystery way.
November 2, 2022
Similar to my previous Inspector French read, this story also has French beginning his investigation with seemingly very little clues to go on. Slowly and painstakingly he deconstructs the entire crime successfully linking minuscule bits of evidence while simultaneously straddling two countries. And it is the mark of a truly brilliant author that throughout this entire process readers interest hardly wanes. The atmosphere has a truly noir feel to it and is fully realised, puzzle is also very tantalising but character development leaves something to be desired. Magnificent effort leading me to rank Inspector French series as one of the best police procedurals certainly of the golden age, if not of all time.
May 28, 2023
Inspector French goes darting off all over creation - I gave up trying to follow where he was at any given moment. BUT - It never got boring. The reader doesn't have to wait for French to go on to the next step - he was already there doing it.
Not really a typical cozy/puzzle type mystery, more of the procedural type. Nicely done step-by-step detective work. Just seemed a little flat in general, the rather stilted dialogue being one of the contributing factors.
My first Inspector French; I will probably read more.
Not really a typical cozy/puzzle type mystery, more of the procedural type. Nicely done step-by-step detective work. Just seemed a little flat in general, the rather stilted dialogue being one of the contributing factors.
My first Inspector French; I will probably read more.
December 14, 2022
Inspector French of Scotland Yard is called in to solve the mystery of an unidentified body in a crate pulled out of an inlet off the coast of South Wales by a fisherman. He is soon making lists, checking alibis and calculating journey times.
This is the first Freeman Wills Croft book I've read, although I have another three to read. I found it rather dry but enjoyable, and I will persist with the others.
This is the first Freeman Wills Croft book I've read, although I have another three to read. I found it rather dry but enjoyable, and I will persist with the others.
September 9, 2024
a well done mystery
This is a police procedural with a likable character as the Scotland Yard Detective. It is nicely put together, with plenty of red herrings and a surfeit of clues. I was able to guess the culprits about 2/3 of the way through but found the story of how the detective figured it out fascinating enough that I was happy to finish the book. Many of the side characters are well fleshed out and entertaining in their own rights.
This is a police procedural with a likable character as the Scotland Yard Detective. It is nicely put together, with plenty of red herrings and a surfeit of clues. I was able to guess the culprits about 2/3 of the way through but found the story of how the detective figured it out fascinating enough that I was happy to finish the book. Many of the side characters are well fleshed out and entertaining in their own rights.
July 12, 2025
Very much a police procedural, as Inspector French doggedly pins down every possible clue and shred of evidence. The central mystery itself is interesting, although the method in which the murder is committed and subsequently concealed is rather far-fetched. The story contains very little drama or wit, and there are no interesting characters to speak off. The book did hold my interest, but wasn't sufficiently entertaining to make me want to read any more installments in the series.
October 29, 2025
A chance discovery by a man and his son fishing leads to an ingenious puzzle for Inspector French in this classic mystery novel from Freeman Wills Croft.
The two men discover a large crate which is found to contain a dead body. Inspector French tracks the body and the crate and it soon becomes clear that a clever plot has been constructed involving a clandestine relationship and some clever disguise.
The two men discover a large crate which is found to contain a dead body. Inspector French tracks the body and the crate and it soon becomes clear that a clever plot has been constructed involving a clandestine relationship and some clever disguise.
August 7, 2022
Freeman Wills Croft never fails to deliver a clever twist to finish an enjoyable read. It's difficult not to dislike Inspector French. He carefully goes through an evidence looking for the clues to find the murderer and is not afraid to admit falibility. One of the better Golden Age Mystery writers.
March 27, 2024
A complicated murder plot takes Inspector French on a frustrating investigation. It shows his determination to solve the case.
It's a plot driven story in the English countryside. The characters do not get developed but the complexity of the plot makes up for that.
Good reading for fans of traditional English detective stories.
It's a plot driven story in the English countryside. The characters do not get developed but the complexity of the plot makes up for that.
Good reading for fans of traditional English detective stories.
October 6, 2024
Inspector French is extremely thorough when he investigates the mystery behind the dead body found in a crate at the bottom of an outlet of water, by two fisherman
The author uses great detail when explaining French's theories and it's a good whodunit plot.
Recommended reading for fans of classic detective novels.
The author uses great detail when explaining French's theories and it's a good whodunit plot.
Recommended reading for fans of classic detective novels.
October 25, 2025
What an opening! absolutely chilling. Then what a tangle of suspects, motives, and alibies! Inspector French has his hands full with this one. I couldn't figure it out. Was it the wife? The partner? The mysterious stranger? After all of that - just what did happen? It was wonderfully complex. If you are in the mood for a long complex detailed investigation, this is the perfect book for you.
July 22, 2024
Good but inexperienced writing
A clumsy detective, but not in a humorous way. The writing is also second rate, he needs to read books written by more experienced authors. Lots of trite statements that have nothing to do with the story.
A clumsy detective, but not in a humorous way. The writing is also second rate, he needs to read books written by more experienced authors. Lots of trite statements that have nothing to do with the story.
March 12, 2020
A painstaking, absorbing and thoroughly enjoyable procedural from Crofts.
April 11, 2020
3.25 stars
June 6, 2020
Great story! I couldn’ t put it down!
December 1, 2022
Very methodical. Math included. Good mystery for being almost a hundred years old.
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