Calamity in Kent (Audible Audio Edition) John Rowland Peter Wickham Soundings Books
Download As PDF : Calamity in Kent (Audible Audio Edition) John Rowland Peter Wickham Soundings Books
In the peaceful seaside town of Broadgate, an impossible crime occurs. The operator of the cliff railway locks the empty carriage one evening; when he returns to work next morning, a dead body is locked inside - a man who has been stabbed in the back. Jimmy London, a newspaper reporter, is first on the scene. He is quick on the trail for clues and agrees to pool his knowledge with Inspector Shelley of Scotland Yard, who is holidaying in the area. Mistrustful of the plodding local policeman, Inspector Beech, the two men launch their own investigation into the most baffling locked-room mystery, a case that could reignite Jimmy's flagging career, but one that exposes him to great danger.
Calamity in Kent (Audible Audio Edition) John Rowland Peter Wickham Soundings Books
The plot starts off as a locked lift mystery. A dead man is found in the locked elevator of a seaside cliff railway by Aloysius Bender, the operator, when he comes to work in the morning. Reporter Jimmy London sees Bender staggering about in shock over the grim discovery. Jimmy offers his help, thus getting in on the ground of the biggest story of his career.Jimmy is also lucky in having friendly relations with Inspector Shelley, sent by the Yard to investigate this murder. Detective and newspaperman form an unlikely partnership, since Shelley finds he can use Jimmy to interview people who might not readily talk to the police.
The plot is a fairly straightforward investigation. Jimmy makes his discoveries and Shelley makes his. With his amiable willingness to do anything for a story, Jimmy ultimately gets into a tight spot, but there's more fact-finding and imaginative theorizing than action. The seaside resort makes a pleasant setting.
Calamity in Kent was originally published in 1950, but it has the vintage feeling of nineteen thirties detective stories. I enjoyed it, but I liked Rowland's earlier mystery, Murder in the Museum, a bit more.
The book is nicely produced by British Library Crime Classics and includes an informative introduction.
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Calamity in Kent (Audible Audio Edition) John Rowland Peter Wickham Soundings Books Reviews
Calamity in Kent presents a variation on the classic "locked room" mystery. A seemingly inexplicable murder takes place in a cliff railway that has been locked for the night. (A cliff railway is a transport that takes visitors from the top of the cliff down to the beach and back again.) I say seemingly because the actual solution is quite simple.
Jimmy London is recuperating after an illness in the seaside town of Broadgate when he stumbles upon a reporter's dream - a newly discovered body. Being first on the scene (after its discovery) enables Jimmy to search the victim for clues before the police arrive. Another strange man, claiming to be a doctor, arrives, identifies the body, and leaves. Fortunately when the police arrive, they are accompanied by Jimmy's friend, inspector Shelley of Scotland Yard. Rather than being viewed as a suspect, he is invited to assist in the investigation.
Jimmy's efforts are more than a bit amateur and clumsy, but Chance favors the bold. Through, luck, coincidence and sheer tenacity he stumbles on a smuggling ring. Inspector Shelley is remarkably obliging considering Jimmy's profession and his tampering with the evidence. Even the villain of the piece is remarkably civil - though his identity comes as a complete surprise.
Calamity in Kent doesn't quite meet the standard set by the other novels that are British Library Crime Classics. Still, it is an entertaining novel that is a good way to pass the time - provided you are willing to ignore the lack of realism and Jimmy's clumsy investigation.
3/5
I received a copy of Calamity in Kent from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
Plodding. lacks excitement. Lack insight to life.
Nice
Wonderful mystery.
I found the writing a bit stodgy and slow moving.
“Calamity in Kent” by John Rowland is set in a Kent (England) seaside village and was written in 1950. The writing style could be described as “stilted,” “out-dated,” or “antiquated”. To a fault, its pace is casual in the extreme with frequent flight into detail.
The story is actually a fairly good murder mystery, but unfortunately it’s agonizingly slow, especially the first two-thirds of the book. In a sense, “Calamity” is a throwback to an older 1930s style British classic “Who Done It”, with an inspector from Scotland Yard teaming up with another fellow to try to solve the mystery of the murders. In this one, the ”other fellow” is journalist Jimmy London, who finagles himself into becoming integral to solving the crimes as Inspector Shelley’s right hand man, as well as taking advantage of his inside position to write headline-grabbing stories for a newspaper about the murders.
The reason the story is slow is that Mr. Rowland sees fit to describe in painful detail every thought, action and observation seen, held or felt by Mr. London. It’s maddening. While the bones of the story line are good with a credible mystery, its execution results in a tortuous read indeed.
The final 20% of the book is relatively good with some suspense, as Mr. London finds himself in definite peril. The denouement is brief, and at the very end, Detective Shelley, explains to Jimmy the details of the solution. The resolution is a bit hum-drum.
The primary characters are moderately well-developed, often however in the extreme of stereotype and caricature. Almost none of the 10 or so main characters is truly likeable, and some are just plain weird.
I rate it a 2.40, due to its very slow pace for the first 75% of the book, rounded down to a 2.0.
Just as described.
The plot starts off as a locked lift mystery. A dead man is found in the locked elevator of a seaside cliff railway by Aloysius Bender, the operator, when he comes to work in the morning. Reporter Jimmy London sees Bender staggering about in shock over the grim discovery. Jimmy offers his help, thus getting in on the ground of the biggest story of his career.
Jimmy is also lucky in having friendly relations with Inspector Shelley, sent by the Yard to investigate this murder. Detective and newspaperman form an unlikely partnership, since Shelley finds he can use Jimmy to interview people who might not readily talk to the police.
The plot is a fairly straightforward investigation. Jimmy makes his discoveries and Shelley makes his. With his amiable willingness to do anything for a story, Jimmy ultimately gets into a tight spot, but there's more fact-finding and imaginative theorizing than action. The seaside resort makes a pleasant setting.
Calamity in Kent was originally published in 1950, but it has the vintage feeling of nineteen thirties detective stories. I enjoyed it, but I liked Rowland's earlier mystery, Murder in the Museum, a bit more.
The book is nicely produced by British Library Crime Classics and includes an informative introduction.
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