Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our August 24 group read of The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell first published in 1938.

When the San Angelo drifts into port in the Pool of London, telephones begin to ring across the capital and an intricate series of events is set in motion. Beset by dreadful storms in the Bay of Biscay, the ship, along with the ‘mixed cargo’ it carries, is late.

Unaware of the machinations of avaricious importers, wayward captains and unscrupulous traders, docklands residents Harry Reed and June Harvey are thrust together by a riverside accident, before being swept into the current of a dark plot developing on the harbourside.

First published in 1938, this early novel from one of the great Golden Age mystery writers skilfully delivers a compelling tale of murder set against a gritty portrayal of life alongside the Thames.

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

Thanks to whoever nominated this one, so glad to finally get to it! I expected the setting and atmosphere to be authentic, since the author was a doctor who practiced in the area, but it was so much more. Fascinating plot, gritty, realistic setting, great characters. She definitely painted a grim picture of life for the poor along the Thames…

I had never heard of Josephine Bell until reading this, and hope to be able to find more books by her. I really enjoyed this book, and think it deserves to be a crime classic. This was written just after WW2, and so portrays London at the time. I was able to to visualise a lot of the descriptions of the area around the docks . The health care at that time, seemed so basic and true to the stories heard from grandparents.
The book surprised me as it includes so many crimes taking place. The smuggling and uses of drugs and those who played a big part providing them, making this quite a gritty read. The big difference between those who had wealth and the extremely poor, and their accommodation.

Excellent book! Interesting three-dimensional characters and a very realistic setting. The police acted as one would expect. The plot was intricate and engaging as all these various threads came together.

My only quibble was that, in my opinion, the murderer would not risk his safety to return to kidnap June. It made for an exciting conclusion, however. The off-stage arrest of the married (?) couple was more realistic but much less dramatic.

Jill wrote: "I had never heard of Josephine Bell until reading this, and hope to be able to find more books by her. I really enjoyed this book, and think it deserves to be a crime classic. This was written just..."

The book was published in 1938, so pre-WW2.

Very realistic pre-war view of London before the NHS. Agree that the arrest of the couple (although it was suggested by one policeman that they were not in fact married if I remember correctly?) was very well done. I could see a black and white film, with the couple being intercepted, while the camera cut to the more dramatic car exiting the garage.

Also, the murder of the poor policeman and the discovery of the body was very well done.

Agree with Jill - this really is a GA classic. More please - hope they do release more by this author.

Definitely not your typical golden age. The usual upper class characters completely absent. I was sympathetic to the addicted Dr. Ellis until we knew he murdered Mrs. Holland and helped murder Sgt. Chandler. We got to know Sgt. Chandler and I was upset at his murder. This all seemed very real to me. Kept me interested from start to finish.

The storylines involving the doctors were good - especially the warring neighbours at the end! We only usually see doctors visiting the big houses, or people in picture perfect villages, but it is clear that the doctor you received locally differed in how good they were purely based on where you lived. You may have had an elderly doctor, who relied on his old ways, a younger person who was better trained or some old soak with a drink problem. Or, indeed, drug problem, as we have seen...

Yes! It really was fascinating and felt very realistic - and the finding of the body bricked up was horrific and climactic!

I could easily see that as an old, black and white, film. I wonder whether it was ever filmed? I have been unable to find anything online and it seemed something of a missed opportunity as I think it would have made a great movie.

I did really enjoy it but thought it was a bit let down by the drugs plot element, which GA authors never seem to do all that well. The use of pink nighties seemed a bit odd.

Yes, you could think of better ways of smuggling items, but I decided to go with it as I was enjoying the book!

Judy wrote: "I did really enjoy it but thought it was a bit let down by the drugs plot element, which GA authors never seem to do all that well. The use of pink nighties seemed a bit odd."

Yes! How much cocaine could be held in the trim, really.

I did like this one. Bell's medical knowledge shone through & June was a very appealing character.

Susan in NC wrote: "Yes! It really was fascinating and felt very realistic - and the finding of the body bricked up was horrific and climactic!"

I just finished it and agree with all the praise everyone had for the book. So evocative!

I liked June, Leslie and Harry (although he kind of disappeared near the end, didn't he? only to show up and save June at the last moment).

I thought Mrs. Bowerman was a very interesting character because she seemed realistic - not a sweet old lady by any means and you wouldn't want to have to deal with her but very tough.

Ellen wrote

We got to know Sgt. Chandler and I was upset at his murder.

Yes, it was shocking! after he disappeared for a long time I was sure he would show up again safe somehow.

I agree, the characters were intriguing and added so much - Mrs. Bowerman was no lovable old curmudgeon, that’s for sure!

I had a feeling the Sgt might be dead, but was still gobsmacked by the horrific scene of workmen discovering his body. Terrifying, but very dramatic.

I also really enjoyed this one and hope to read more from Josephine Bell. I agree with a lot of the comments-I really enjoyed the (understandable given Bell was an MD) focus on the medical practices of the time and how the poor accessed medical care, and the limitations to what could be done for them given their terrible housing situations. The whole issue of the poor being moved out of their condemned homes into ones that sound equally bad was well illustrated, and the pluses of minuses of the community living which happened then. I also enjoyed the characters of June and Harry and Leslie though it was never clear to me what Harry did (other than have his own boat).

I wasn't so sure of the mystery/thriller aspect-a mix of a drugs/gangs plot and a murder plot-but enjoyed seeing the police work played out, although it seemed to be happening in the background to some extent with June's and her neighbours stories in the foreground. On the other hand, that was a great way to tell their stories and get us away from yet another country house/high society tale.

Does Bell land on a regular detective? When I look at her other books on GR they seem to have very few ratings suggesting they are very hard to come by.

Frances wrote: "Does Bell land on a regular detective? When I look at her other books on GR they seem to have very few ratings suggesting they are very hard to come by...."

I've just had a look at the Fantastic Fiction website, which says there are 14 books in her David Wintringham series.
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/jo...

It doesn't look like there is anything currently in print/on Kindle beyond this book, though - maybe some more will be reprinted, fingers crossed.