GA crime fiction and Martin Edwards

The last year or two have been somewhat turbulent for me with a lot of challenges, not least the house move which I have written about in earlier posts. For comfort reading I have turned to Golden Age crime fiction and have read vast amounts of writers like Freeman Wills Crofts and George Bellairs. They were both satisfyingly prolific writers and are readily available as e-books. I still haven’t quite got to end of either of them. I have also been reading everything by E C  R Lorac that I could get my hands on. And then there is Clifford Witting, recently republished by the splendid Galileo Publishers. Among female writers new to me there have been Sheila Pym and – thanks again, Galileo – Joan Coggin and, confusingly similar, Joan Cockin.

You’ll guess from this that I have not been reading much contemporary crime – and you’d be right. However there are some writers for whom I’ve made an exception and one of them is Martin Edwards whose highly enjoyable novels, without ever becoming a pastiche, are a tribute to the great Golden Age of crime fiction. I am always ready to spend time in the company of Rachel Savernake and her companions, soaking up the 1930s ambiance – which in the new novel, Hemlock Bay, includes seaside resorts, nudist beaches, surrealist art and much more. Ideally I should have reading it on the deck of an ocean liner, sipping a cocktail, preferably one of those described in the novel, but I managed to make do with a garden in Sheffield.

The story is told from a number of viewpoints. We follow the efforts of mild-mannered accountant Basil Palmer to track down and murder the man he holds responsible for his wife’s death. Daily Clarion journalist Jacob Flint is visited by a fortune-teller who predicts that a murder will take place in Hemlock Bay. Meanwhile Rachel is intrigued by a mysterious death that has already occurred in Hemlock Bay, coincidentally the subject of a surrealist painting she has just bought. Soon all paths converge on the newly developed seaside resort and it is not long before the predicted murder does take place.

As with the earlier novels in the series there is a clue finder at the end, so that you can pit your wits against the author. I didn’t do very well! There was a twist that I didn’t see coming – and that is how I like it. As a bonus here are also a couple of maps – one of my favourite Golden Age features. All in all, a great read.