Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Our sixth read of the British Library Crime Classics is Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts

The Chichester is making a routine journey across the English Channel on a pleasant afternoon in June, when the steamer's crew notice something strange. A yacht, bobbing about in the water ahead of them, appears to have been abandoned, and there is a dark red stain on the deck ... Two bodies later, with no sign of a gun, there certainly is a mystery in the channel.

Freeman Wills Crofts was one of the most popular writers of detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s but fell out of the public attention in the decades that followed. Part of the reason for this is surely his dismissal as one of the ‘humdrum’ writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction – that is to say a writer who is focused more on the creation of puzzles than developing characters or rich themes in their crime fiction.

What a time for a mystery on the water! Anyone in?

I've read this and a number of his other books. I enjoy his style.

I just read this last month, so am looking forward to this discussion. I chose it for a different group's game because I saw it on our list.

I’ve started the book and am finding this book as well as the others in the series, just the thing to read on tube journeys. This is partly due to size and genre.

I finished the Freeman Wills Crofts some time ago. I liked particularly that French is not an angst-ridden cop, staring into the bottom of an empty bottle, at odds with his ex-wife, his ex-son and his present boss.

But since I was looking for another mystery to read, I fell upon Ethel Lina White's 'The Wheel Spins,' which forms the basis for the 1938 Hitchcock film 'The Lady Vanishes,' which marked Hitchcock's earliest success as a director of suspense films.

Unfortunately, it is not part of the British Crime Classics selection, but it falls in the same time period, and adheres to the other general qualifications for a Golden Age mystery.

I hope I like it, and that you do too!

I just started this book recently. I love ships and especially murders on ships. I can tell it's going to be good.

Mbuye wrote: "I finished the Freeman Wills Crofts some time ago. I liked particularly that French is not an angst-ridden cop, staring into the bottom of an empty bottle, at odds with his ex-wife, his ex-son and ..."

I also liked the fact that he wasn't an alcoholic at odds with everyone, but the type of mystery it is isn't my favourite. That said, I liked it. I grew up by the Pacific Ocean around boats, so loved that part of it, even though the Georgia Strait is a far cry from the English Channel as far as water temperature, current and other things go :) Plus we had so many lovely inlets (our inlets were fjords, but it's what they are called in BC.)

I started today!

I finished it yesterday and I liked it. (view spoiler)[The investigations are conducted with great patience by Inspector French and it is discovered one by one that all the suspects are innocent. The investigation seems to have stalled but the twist comes at the end and within a second everything is solved. I must say I had completely forgotten the character who is the murderer. It was brilliant, in my opinion, to have him excluded from the list of suspects; then the reasons why he was excluded are no longer valid as the investigations proceed but the reader doesn't realize it. (hide spoiler)]

Glad you enjoyed the read Daniela!!

I only got into the first chapter before switching over to Women in Love by DH Lawrence. I thought I would try reading two books at one but found myself favoring the one over the other :)

I picked up my copy from the library yesterday. I’m really enjoying these British Library Crime Classics. They are a lot of fun. Excellent choice for this year, Lesle! I’ll get to this one next week.

I am thrilled that you Chad are liking the choice for this year!

I’m maybe 100 pages into it. I like it, but our detective French hasn’t really grabbed me yet.

I finished this one back on May 27th and thought I had commented here but apparently not! I liked this one. I liked the technical detail, the characters, the plot. I had trouble with the Inspector's name being French given the fact that a lot of the story took place in France and I was often confused for a second or two as to whether we were talking Inspector French or something French! I enjoyed all of the red herrings - I'm not very good at figuring out the murderer, so I generally just go with the flow. I did have an inkling early on in this one but was surprised when I was right! Loving these British Classics.

Happy to see you like this one Karen!!

Just finished this today. I'm trying to catch up to the reading schedule but have so many other books I'm reading too.
I really liked this one. And I agree Daniela, French is very patient, as well as thorough.
I liked that the more French investigated, the more complex the mystery became. It had great tension and pacing.
(view spoiler)[And the guilty party not being a suspect for a good portion was clever! (hide spoiler)]

So happy you liked this one Natalie!!
This series is really good.