A review by horthhill
De dood van een admiraal by John Rhode, Clemence Dane, Dorothy L. Sayers, Anthony Berkeley, Agatha Christie, The Detection Club, Ronald Knox, G. D. H. Cole, G.K. Chesterton, Henry Wade, Edgar Jepson, Milward Kennedy, Margaret Cole, Victor L. Whitechurch, Freeman Wills Crofts

4.0

The Floating Admiral is the result of a bit of amusement by a number of the leading detective story writers of the early '30s. Agatha Christie, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers and others passed-on each succeeding chapter to the writer next on the list in a sort of writing relay without help of either overall outline or goal except that each succeeding chapter must advance the plot without ignoring the details of the preceding chapters. Of course, the final chapter must tie-up all that went before. All the writers are quite talented and the mechanics of the stories are at a high standard. No clue is left behind. But without an agreed-to outline, the story does meander a bit. The ending does tie-up loose ends, but the overall package is bit bulky and not very elegant. As a mystery novel, it is a bit ho-hum. But as a game, it is fun to follow the ingenuity of writers like Agatha Christie or Ronald Knox. A pretty good read.