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John Grey Historical Mystery #7
Too Much of Water
1670. Eastwold, once one of the greatest ports in England, has been fighting a losing battle with the sea ever since it was granted its charter by King John. Bit by bit the waves have eaten the soft cliffs on which it stands, until only a handful of houses remain. But still it sends two MPs to Parliament and rich men from London are prepared to pay well for the votes of the dozen or so remaining burgesses of the town.
The voters are looking forward to a profitable bye-election, only for the Admiralty's candidate, the unpopular Admiral Digges, to end up in a fishing net, every bit as drowned as his prospective constituency. Is it an accident, as the coroner has ruled, or has Digges been murdered, as the Admiralty fears? John Grey, Justice of the Peace and former spy, receives a request from the authorities to uncover the truth. With spring edging cautiously towards the windswept east coast, Grey starts to question the remaining residents and other well-paid officials of the non-existent town. He is met with suspicion and polite obstruction from the voters - and then another suspicious death occurs. Will Grey uncover the murderer before the last of the town vanishes beneath the waves?
The voters are looking forward to a profitable bye-election, only for the Admiralty's candidate, the unpopular Admiral Digges, to end up in a fishing net, every bit as drowned as his prospective constituency. Is it an accident, as the coroner has ruled, or has Digges been murdered, as the Admiralty fears? John Grey, Justice of the Peace and former spy, receives a request from the authorities to uncover the truth. With spring edging cautiously towards the windswept east coast, Grey starts to question the remaining residents and other well-paid officials of the non-existent town. He is met with suspicion and polite obstruction from the voters - and then another suspicious death occurs. Will Grey uncover the murderer before the last of the town vanishes beneath the waves?
309 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 2, 2021
7 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
L.C. Tyler
34 books90 followersL. C. Tyler grew up in Essex and studied geography at Jesus College Oxford University and systems analysis at City University in London. During a career with the British Council he lived in Malaysia, Sudan, Thailand and Denmark. More recently he has been based in Islington and West Sussex and is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, of which he was previously Chief Executive. He is married and has two children and one dog.
Series:
* Elsie and Ethelred Mystery
* John Grey Historical Mystery
Series:
* Elsie and Ethelred Mystery
* John Grey Historical Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 5, 2023
Should Read as 4.5 STARS!
This very entertaining tale is the 7th volume of the excellent "John Grey Historical Mystery" series.
Storytelling is witty and wonderful, all figures, whether real historical and likeable fictional, are very lifelike and believable, while also the atmosphere and circumstances in the 1670s are amazingly described and pictured.
At the end of the book you'll notice Notes and some other very useful information concerning this very cunningly told mystery, like voting on water and using bribery to get votes.
This tale is set between February-April AD 1670 during the reign of King Charles II, mainly in and around Eastwold, Suffolk, England, a fictional town that's based on Dunwich in Suffolk, and its there where lawyer and Magistrate of Essex, John Grey, and his wife, the playwright and poet, Aminta Clifford, will head into their next adventure.
This adventure will be wet and windy, and being being election time its also a time of bribery and deceit, and in this circumstances the hated Admiral Digges is trying hard to get himself elected MP for Eastwold, only to end up somehow dead in a fishing net, and this case is declared as accidental drowning by the coroner.
John Grey will start his investigations into the death of this hated Admiral Digges, and while staying at Digby Digges, son of the Admiral, and his wife, Silvia Cavendish's home, he's thwarted at every opportunity and by everyone connected to the now murder of the Admiral, and not before long John Grey is himself a target for death while in the meantime another murder has occurred, that of Tutepenny, former trusted seaman of the Admiral.
What is to follow is a witty and intriguing historical mystery, and although its not as thrilling as its predecessor its still of great quality, it has several real connecting threads and also some loose ends, that will eventually lead to a very satisfactory result in exposing in a clever manner the culprit(s) in the end.
Very much recommended, for this is another great addition to this fantastic series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Compelling John Grey Mystery"!
This very entertaining tale is the 7th volume of the excellent "John Grey Historical Mystery" series.
Storytelling is witty and wonderful, all figures, whether real historical and likeable fictional, are very lifelike and believable, while also the atmosphere and circumstances in the 1670s are amazingly described and pictured.
At the end of the book you'll notice Notes and some other very useful information concerning this very cunningly told mystery, like voting on water and using bribery to get votes.
This tale is set between February-April AD 1670 during the reign of King Charles II, mainly in and around Eastwold, Suffolk, England, a fictional town that's based on Dunwich in Suffolk, and its there where lawyer and Magistrate of Essex, John Grey, and his wife, the playwright and poet, Aminta Clifford, will head into their next adventure.
This adventure will be wet and windy, and being being election time its also a time of bribery and deceit, and in this circumstances the hated Admiral Digges is trying hard to get himself elected MP for Eastwold, only to end up somehow dead in a fishing net, and this case is declared as accidental drowning by the coroner.
John Grey will start his investigations into the death of this hated Admiral Digges, and while staying at Digby Digges, son of the Admiral, and his wife, Silvia Cavendish's home, he's thwarted at every opportunity and by everyone connected to the now murder of the Admiral, and not before long John Grey is himself a target for death while in the meantime another murder has occurred, that of Tutepenny, former trusted seaman of the Admiral.
What is to follow is a witty and intriguing historical mystery, and although its not as thrilling as its predecessor its still of great quality, it has several real connecting threads and also some loose ends, that will eventually lead to a very satisfactory result in exposing in a clever manner the culprit(s) in the end.
Very much recommended, for this is another great addition to this fantastic series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Compelling John Grey Mystery"!
June 12, 2025
This wonderful series is set in Restoration England and features John Grey, a magistrate and former spy, and his wife Aminta who are sent to Eastwold to investigate the death of an admiral, a particularly unpleasant character who had no shortage of people not sorry to see him go. However, Eastwold has problems of its own, and despite once being large enough to field two Members of Parliament, the sea is now reclaiming the town and buildings are disappearing under the waves.
John has to deal with the reduced population, find the killer, but also cope with Samuel Pepys who now fancies himself an MP to replace the dead admiral. As usual the tale is told well, with humour and historical accuracy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
John has to deal with the reduced population, find the killer, but also cope with Samuel Pepys who now fancies himself an MP to replace the dead admiral. As usual the tale is told well, with humour and historical accuracy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
November 21, 2023
Another book in the John Grey series. We are now in 1670 and John and Aminta are on their way to Eastwold in Suffolk. Eastwold is based on Dunwich, a place I went to in 1976 for an Apathy Society barbecue. Best not to ask.
I was tempted to knock one star off as I’d worked out who killed Admiral Digges but I enjoyed the book as much as the other in the series so I decided not to be churlish.
These books are very funny and sneak in a lot of history when you aren’t looking. The characters are well written and very believable. I hope that by now there is at least one more book in this series.
Should I return to the Herring series? A tough one.
I was tempted to knock one star off as I’d worked out who killed Admiral Digges but I enjoyed the book as much as the other in the series so I decided not to be churlish.
These books are very funny and sneak in a lot of history when you aren’t looking. The characters are well written and very believable. I hope that by now there is at least one more book in this series.
Should I return to the Herring series? A tough one.
May 11, 2022
I think this is one the best mystery series set in the age of King Charles II. There's humour, a gripping plot, and a well researched and vivid historical background.
This book is a bit darker than other I read and the setting is fascinating as it's a town falling into the sea.
There's a lot going on and there're twists and a lot of possible culprit.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
This book is a bit darker than other I read and the setting is fascinating as it's a town falling into the sea.
There's a lot going on and there're twists and a lot of possible culprit.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
March 7, 2023
1670 Eastwold, once one of the greatest ports in England, is fighting a losing battle with the sea and is slowly disappearing into the watery depths.
Unpopular, Admiral Digges has been murdered. John Grey, Justice of the Peace must find out who killed him.
A very enjoyable book, which keeps you trying to work out who did it until the end.
Unpopular, Admiral Digges has been murdered. John Grey, Justice of the Peace must find out who killed him.
A very enjoyable book, which keeps you trying to work out who did it until the end.
June 28, 2022
Took a while to get into it. Even with the splendid cast of characters given at the front, I had trouble keeping them from getting mixed up.
September 22, 2022
Very enjoyable reading.
March 31, 2024
I read it all but wasn't gripped. May have been my mood but I didn't like it as much as other historical crime that I have read.
August 10, 2022
Rating: 2.3/5
I have read all of Len Tyler's books and I have been an advocate of his writing for some time. He is a very capable author and I have always felt that it is something of an injustice that his work does not enjoy a higher profile. That said, this latest addition to the John Grey historical mystery series is far from being the best example of his storytelling abilities. It is overly pedestrian and, sadly, I would even have to go as far as describing it as quite dull.
"Too Much of Water" is the seventh book in the series, which is set in the 17th century and features the lead character of John Grey, lawyer, magistrate and sometimes spy. Although each individual book in the series has a self-contained mystery, there are ongoing and developing backstories relating to the key protagonists, which means that you really need to be familiar with the previous novels rather than just dropping in for a standalone read.
As ever, the historical background has been well researched by the author and there are some nice instances of the clever wit that usually makes this series so engaging. Unfortunately, in the 238 pages of this novel there are not enough examples to raise the entertainment value to the expected level. This story was written during the Covid-19 lockdown and perhaps that has had an adverse effect on the author's output. Nonetheless, I will still be back for book eight and will be hoping for a return to form.
I have read all of Len Tyler's books and I have been an advocate of his writing for some time. He is a very capable author and I have always felt that it is something of an injustice that his work does not enjoy a higher profile. That said, this latest addition to the John Grey historical mystery series is far from being the best example of his storytelling abilities. It is overly pedestrian and, sadly, I would even have to go as far as describing it as quite dull.
"Too Much of Water" is the seventh book in the series, which is set in the 17th century and features the lead character of John Grey, lawyer, magistrate and sometimes spy. Although each individual book in the series has a self-contained mystery, there are ongoing and developing backstories relating to the key protagonists, which means that you really need to be familiar with the previous novels rather than just dropping in for a standalone read.
As ever, the historical background has been well researched by the author and there are some nice instances of the clever wit that usually makes this series so engaging. Unfortunately, in the 238 pages of this novel there are not enough examples to raise the entertainment value to the expected level. This story was written during the Covid-19 lockdown and perhaps that has had an adverse effect on the author's output. Nonetheless, I will still be back for book eight and will be hoping for a return to form.
October 31, 2022
I've read and enjoyed all the previous books in the John Grey series, and this is an excellent addition.
The cast of characters at the beginning is a clever way to start the story and a helpful aide memoire too if you forget who's who. I think the author is a master at knowing exactly how much historical detail to include without it becoming overwhelming or even boring. I learned some interesting bits and bobs about the period and the location. Although this book is part of a series I think you could easily read it as a standalone and if you enjoy it you have a great back catalogue to anticipate. To be honest despite being a fan of series books I regularly forget plots, not the characters but the detail of plots. I have frequently borrowed a book from the library and been halfway through before realising my sense of deja vue was due, not to any magical powers, but to the fact that I had already read it. This is an over average historical crime story.
The cast of characters at the beginning is a clever way to start the story and a helpful aide memoire too if you forget who's who. I think the author is a master at knowing exactly how much historical detail to include without it becoming overwhelming or even boring. I learned some interesting bits and bobs about the period and the location. Although this book is part of a series I think you could easily read it as a standalone and if you enjoy it you have a great back catalogue to anticipate. To be honest despite being a fan of series books I regularly forget plots, not the characters but the detail of plots. I have frequently borrowed a book from the library and been halfway through before realising my sense of deja vue was due, not to any magical powers, but to the fact that I had already read it. This is an over average historical crime story.
September 6, 2023
I'm surprised this has hardly any reviews as it's yet anther good book in the John Grey series. I was sometimes confused by the large cast of characters but there were some wonderful depictions of the politics and curiosities of seventeenth century England, including the infamous rotten boroughs. Worth a read if you're enjoying the series. 👍
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews