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amalia1985's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
‘’It was quite dark now, but lights twinkled everywhere, making bright oath across the black water. And far away on all sides, a red and orange glow covered the sky, shining steadily on the vast labyrinth of London.’’
The San Angelo arrives in the Pool of London and sets a rather peculiar (and exciting for us readers) chain of events in motion. A young boy finds himself in danger and is rescued by a young man who falls in love with a brilliant girl. In the meantime, members of the upper class, corrupted salesmen and striving families complete a puzzle of murders, dark motives and...nightdresses.
Set during the harsh months of November and December, Josephine Bell (Doris Bell Collier) creates a mystery that isn’t just another Crime story but also a poignant and elegant social study within the communities living alongside Father Thames. Families suffering from constant afflictions, cramped inside suffocating rooms, girls who trust the wrong men, corrupted members of a strange society. Fast-paced and developed through a series of mysterious events, this mystery has all the proper ingredients of a good old British Crime novel. A fascinating heroine, a gallant, honest young man, agonising policemen, rich and spoiled young women, unreliable suitors. June and Harry are wonderful characters, but the real protagonist of London and the many forms of its gritty, secretive underbelly.
Beautiful Introduction by Martin Edwards, as always.
I want a BBC/ITV series dedicated to the amazing British Library Crime Classics squad and I want it now!
‘’The side streets are empty except for the piles of rubbish left by the stalls and swept into heaps against the curb. The main road is empty too. A few dirty papers blow backwards and forwards across it, a few people in Sunday clothes walk slowly along the pavement; a few trams clank past bearing visitors to distant families, uncomfortable in stiff collars and unyielding best shoes. The blocks of houses and shops, equally closed and silent, look drearier than ever.’’
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emmasbookishcorner's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
Dockland residents, Harry Reed and June Harvey are thrust together by a riverside accident. On the surface the accident seems innocent enough but it leads to a series of dark events that the pair become embroiled in.
I loved this. I had such huge enjoyment reading this mystery. The story starts off with lots of little threads - a shipping accident, an apparent suicide, a missing policeman, pink nightdresses - slowly they all end up being woven together into a tapestry of murky riverside dealings. It was incredibly pleasing to see how everything came together.
Written in 1938, not only is this a cracking mystery but it also acts as a social portrait. A late 1930’s dockside London is brought to life in all it’s dingy, overcrowded glory. Josephine Bell offers readers a perfect slice of the working class existence, the struggle for food and warmth, the derelict housing and the tearaway youths finding entertainment on the shores of the Thames.
Coupled with a superb cover and an insightful introduction from Golden Age expert, Martin Edwards, The Port of London Murders is a superb addition to the British Library Crime Classics series. It encapsulates everything I love with this series – a splash of social history, colourful characters, tremendous writing, intriguing twists and a jolly good mystery
eloise's review
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse
bvlawson's review
3.0
Josephine Bell was also a physician, so not surprisingly, her novels often feature a strong medical component, not the least of which were two of her doctor-protagonists. She also featured poison and other unusual methods of murder prominently in her plots. Bell and her family were experienced sailors, and the author drew upon this knowledge, too, using many vivid passages in her books that relate to the water and to various nautical details.
Water is certainly at THE PORT OF LONDON MURDERS from 1938, specifically as the title suggests, the port area of London's River Thames. It's a tough neighborhood, but the death of one Mary Holland is still a bit of a shock, even though it appears at first to be a suicide by Lysol poisoning. Tell-tale needle marks on the victim's arm lead Detective Sergeant Chandler to suspect murder tied into a drug ring—which seems even more chillingly apparent when Chandler disappears shortly after he starts to investigate, right before he's due to testify at the inquest. It's up to Inspector Mitchell of Scotland Yard to unravel the layers of deception and addiction that are exploiting rich and poor alike in a way that hasn't changed much in the seventy years since the book was written.
Bell is particularly good with settings, even the squalid ones that pop up in the novel, no doubt witnessed first-hand in her role as a physician who saw people from every walk of life. Her take on the state of medicine in her day was often somewhat bleak, as in this passage from the book—again, as true today as it was in 1938:
"For the great majority of these cases, too poor to have a doctor of their own, there was little he could do...Dr. Freeman could encourage them with a bottle of medicine and help them with a pint of milk a day, but it was not in his power nor that of anyone else to effect a lasting cure of their complaints. There were others, too, not old, but equally hopeless, who attended the dispensary as regular visitors; those struck down in youth or middle age by tuberculosis, rheumatism, heart trouble, and a number of more rare diseases. They had come to the end of their resources, their insurances, and their capacity for earning. The hospitals could do nothing more for them, but they still lived, in the worse possible surroundings, and the Public Assistance saw to it that they did not die too soon."
Water is certainly at THE PORT OF LONDON MURDERS from 1938, specifically as the title suggests, the port area of London's River Thames. It's a tough neighborhood, but the death of one Mary Holland is still a bit of a shock, even though it appears at first to be a suicide by Lysol poisoning. Tell-tale needle marks on the victim's arm lead Detective Sergeant Chandler to suspect murder tied into a drug ring—which seems even more chillingly apparent when Chandler disappears shortly after he starts to investigate, right before he's due to testify at the inquest. It's up to Inspector Mitchell of Scotland Yard to unravel the layers of deception and addiction that are exploiting rich and poor alike in a way that hasn't changed much in the seventy years since the book was written.
Bell is particularly good with settings, even the squalid ones that pop up in the novel, no doubt witnessed first-hand in her role as a physician who saw people from every walk of life. Her take on the state of medicine in her day was often somewhat bleak, as in this passage from the book—again, as true today as it was in 1938:
"For the great majority of these cases, too poor to have a doctor of their own, there was little he could do...Dr. Freeman could encourage them with a bottle of medicine and help them with a pint of milk a day, but it was not in his power nor that of anyone else to effect a lasting cure of their complaints. There were others, too, not old, but equally hopeless, who attended the dispensary as regular visitors; those struck down in youth or middle age by tuberculosis, rheumatism, heart trouble, and a number of more rare diseases. They had come to the end of their resources, their insurances, and their capacity for earning. The hospitals could do nothing more for them, but they still lived, in the worse possible surroundings, and the Public Assistance saw to it that they did not die too soon."
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