Undertow: An inscpector Stride Mystery

Inspector Stride mysteries #1

by Thomas Rendell Curran

May 1947 in St. John’s, a woman is brutally murdered in her bath. In the same neighbourhood, in 1943, a young American soldier was also murdered, a crime that was never solved. Two murders, four years apart. One killer or two? Inspector Eric Stride of the Newfoundland Constabulary uncovers a complex web of evidence and circumstance, following a trail that goes back more than twenty years. Along the way, Stride finds that his own life is in danger. Undertow is set against the backdrop of wartime and post-war Newfoundland, in a time of social and political upheaval.

Genres: Mystery, Canada

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Thomas graduated with honours from Memorial University of Newfoundland (biology, chemistry) in 1961, and received his doctorate (plant pathology) from the University of Toronto in 1966. Following graduation, he worked in various capacities with Agriculture Canada, and for more than 20 years he was a senior researcher and writer with the Library of Parliament in Ottawa. He lives in Ottawa, but his roots remain in Newfoundland. He visits the island frequently for both research and for personal renewal.

Reviews

[Richard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the Goodreads Blurb: May 1947 in St. John’s, a woman is brutally murdered in her bath. In the same neighbourhood, in 1943, a young American soldier was also murdered, a crime that was never solved. Two murders, four years apart. One killer or two? Inspector Eric Stride of the Newfoundland Constabulary uncovers a complex web of evidence and circumstance, following a trail that goes back more than twenty years. Along the way, Stride finds that his own life is in danger. Undertow is set against the backdrop of wartime and post-war Newfoundland, in a time of social and political upheaval.

The Stride backstory was interesting. Interesting Newfoundland history and settings. A complicated plot and a large cast of characters, but we Curran kept us on point. Maggee and Lutrecia deducted a star for "too complex"; I gave the book four stars because Stride sometimes displayed a lack of common sense in both his relationships with women and in his risk taking when confronting danger. THE ROSSITER FILES (Eric Stride #2) is on our Read-aloud Shelf.

This book was book #3 on both our own 2025 Read-alouds List and our 2025 Read-alouds With Lutrecia List.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

In post-war, pre-confederation Newfoundland, when men acted like men and everyone smoked all the time, a woman is brutally murdered in her bath. The investigating officer, the mysterious Inspector Stride, soon learns that his former girlfriend is the victim's stepdaughter and a suspect. But in those days no one cared about conflict of interest, and Stride stays on the case.
What makes Stride tick? Unmarried, wealthy, and very tough, the book follows Stride
up and down the hills of St. John's, to Middle Cove, Bay Bulls, Portugal Cove and back as he follows the evidence and his instincts to the killer. But as much as he interacts with his friends, colleagues, suspects, and lovers, Stride remains essentially detached and inaccessible to the reader - an unfortunate weakness of this book.
Like other books of the mystery genre, the story is told in great detail - what everyone wore, what they ate and drank, how many cigarettes they smoked, which roads were driven and so on, evoking a wonderful nostalgia of bygone times.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read because of the setting in a well-realised just post-WWII 1947 Newfoundland, where Inspector Stride and DS Phelan investigate the murder of Edith Taylor, the 4th wife of a wealthy local, mother-in-law of Stride’s ex-girlfriend. The Taylor family has a host of gradually unveiled secrets and the main suspect might be connected to the murder of a US serviceman in 1943. This is an always interesting 380 pages with even minor characters rounded, no trite love affair or anachronistic attitudes and Stride is a very believable lead

[Tarah Jakubiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A post World War 2 book set in Newfoundland of all places! A thrilling read. I can see why it was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the book because I was travelling in Newfoundland at the time and wanted to read something set in the area and historically interesting. This story takes place in St. John's, partly in the neighbourhood where the author grew up. It is a very entertaining thriller/mystery, and it was shortlisted for an award for Best First Novel.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of a slow moving story, not much in the way of action and not what I would call a thriller. But it's a good police precedure story with a few interesting side plots.

[Sean Gillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly interesting book. Normally, I don't read fiction but the subject matter was intriguing. There were lots of plot twists and a few surprises which left me guessing in spots.