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A review by tonstantweader
Deep Waters: Murder on the Waves by Martin Edwards
3.0
Deep Waters is an anthology of mysteries from the Golden Age collected by Martin Edwards who has brought together several similar thematic anthologies, This one, if the title is not clear enough, takes place in deep water with one exception that takes place on a tidal river. Edwards introduces each mystery with a short literary bio of the author, putting the story in the context of the author’s career.
There are sixteen stories and most of them are quite good. I did not care for “The Swimming Pool” by H. C. Bailey. I think Edwards acknowledges this by describing his “idiosyncratic prose..” I fell asleep three times while reading it but then stayed up late reading the rest and finishing the book. I didn’t follow my own advice which is to skip a story if it’s not reaching you. Of course, other readers may enjoy the arch tone of the story. Variety is what makes books and life interesting.
My favorite story is “Four Friends and Death” which has a complex murder with a limited number of suspects since there were only four friends on the boat and one of them is dead of poisoning. There is such acute understanding of human nature combined with an interesting exploration of friendship and how far it can bend before breaking.
Deep Waters is a great boatload of stories. I keep my eye out for Martin Edwards anthologies because I like his sensibility. I enjoy his short introductions and deep understanding of the genre. The only thing is when an anthology is focused on a theme as this is, you will read Edwards describing a better story that is not in the book and want to read that one. There are enough recommendations of better stories and novels to keep Poisoned Pen Press busy for a year from just this book.
Deep Waters will be released September 3rd. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.
Deep Waters at Poisoned Pen Press
Martin Edwards author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/08/27/9781464211775/
There are sixteen stories and most of them are quite good. I did not care for “The Swimming Pool” by H. C. Bailey. I think Edwards acknowledges this by describing his “idiosyncratic prose..” I fell asleep three times while reading it but then stayed up late reading the rest and finishing the book. I didn’t follow my own advice which is to skip a story if it’s not reaching you. Of course, other readers may enjoy the arch tone of the story. Variety is what makes books and life interesting.
My favorite story is “Four Friends and Death” which has a complex murder with a limited number of suspects since there were only four friends on the boat and one of them is dead of poisoning. There is such acute understanding of human nature combined with an interesting exploration of friendship and how far it can bend before breaking.
Deep Waters is a great boatload of stories. I keep my eye out for Martin Edwards anthologies because I like his sensibility. I enjoy his short introductions and deep understanding of the genre. The only thing is when an anthology is focused on a theme as this is, you will read Edwards describing a better story that is not in the book and want to read that one. There are enough recommendations of better stories and novels to keep Poisoned Pen Press busy for a year from just this book.
Deep Waters will be released September 3rd. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.
Deep Waters at Poisoned Pen Press
Martin Edwards author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/08/27/9781464211775/