January Mystery Kit: Water

Welcome to the January Mystery Kit! Our theme this month is water - read a mystery that features water in some form: in the title, setting, geographic feature, a method of dying, a storm . . .

Please remember to add items to the wiki.

Below is a list of several books that qualify, feel free to add your own. (Touchstones aren't working tonight.)

Anthologies
Deep waters, ed. Martin Edwards, (British)
Dead in the water: an anthology of Canadian crime fiction, ed. Therese Greenwood & Violette Malan

Cozies
Live and let chai, Bree Baker, beach setting
By book or by crook, Eva Gates, lighthouse series (island setting)
Southern sass and killer cravings, Kate Young, island setting

Detectives
(Police, P.I. or amateur)

Black water rising, Attica Locke
Borrowed time, Tracy Clark (body in Lake Michagan)
Canal Pushers or River Rats, Andy Griffee (canals in England)
Deep blue goodbye, John McDonald (Travis McGhee novels set in Florida)
Down the river and into the sea, Walter Mosley
Garden of Lamentations (rowing) or Water like a stone (canals), Deborah Crombie
Lady in the lake, Laura Lippman
Murder at cape three points, Kwei Quartey
Total Chaos, Chourmo, or Soeal, Jean-Claude Izzo (Marsielles setting, translated from French)
Unnatural causes, P. D. James
Any of Dona Leon’s Inspector Brunelli series, set in Venice, Italy

Historical
The body in the Thames, Susanna Gregory (17th century)
The drowning king, Emily Holleman (Egypt, 51 B.C.)
The woman in the water, Charles Finch, prequel to Charles Lennox series (1850s London)

Other
The marsh kings’ daughter, Karen Dionne
Skinnydip, Carl Hiaasen

Have fun!

If we are allowed islands, I will think about And There Were None by Agatha Christie or Death on Delos by Gary Corby

I spotted Murder on the Lake by Bruce Beckham in my Kindle to be read list. I may find others that qualify, but I will tentatively pencil that one in. I may regret it since it is the 4th in series, but I wanted to try it.

This one's on an island, sounds like there might be a storm... But I can't get it from my library for a while. I'll put a hold and hopefully it will come in January:

The Guest List / Lucy

I’m crossing my fingers that someone buys me Devil and the Dark Water for Christmas so that I can read it for this challenge.

If not then maybe I’ll read Murder on the Enriqueta.

I have Murder at Chateau sur Mer (A Gilded Newport Mystery) set for January.

I have Death by Water on my TBR. (Sometimes referred to as Appleby at Allington.

I've set aside a Maigret for this challenge: L'Écluse No. 1, by Georges Simenon, published in English as The Lock at Charenton

I can also recommend the Deep Waters anthology posted in >1 markon:.

I will probably read a book from the Cruise Ship mystery series by Hope Callaghan, since I cannot go on an actual cruise now! I have a bundle of them on my Kindle.

I'll be reading a Morse, The Riddle of the Third Mile. It features a body dumped in the Oxford Canal.

I'm planning to read Into the Water by Paula Hawkins.

One possibility for me is Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay.

I might read Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts for this if I can fit it in! I‘ve been meaning to read it for a long time, so I might just do it in January.

I also have two suggestions of mysteries that I enjoyed a lot and that definitely fit the challenge:

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

>13 MissBrangwen: Oh! Glad to hear "The Crossing Places" will fit. I think that should be my next audio coming from the library (but I suppose it might be a bit too early!)

Glad to see no one is having trouble thinking of things for this category. Now the only problem is waiting until January to read them . . . or not.

Here is a link to the wiki

>14 LibraryCin: That's great! I loved that book and in fact the series has become one of my favorite ones, I read the first four books within a year. It absolutely fits the water theme!

Ah. I finally found something that will fit. The Body on the Beach by Simon Brett

I'm planning to read No Mark Upon Her by Deboarah Crombie - the victim is found in the Thames.

If I can lay my hands on a copy of Riviera Gold I'll read it for this challenge.

Years ago (15 to 20?), I read all eight of the books in Conrad Allen's Shipboard Mystery series and enjoyed those. The first one was Murder on the Lusitania and the last was Murder on the Celtic.

For myself I'm thinking of Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay or maybe the Martin Edwards anthology, Deep waters.

I'm planning on Miracle Creek for starters and then Long Bright River if I can get to it.

My hold for Murder on Brittany shores (Jean-Luc Bannalec) came in, so it's my bedtime reading tonight.

I've put The Woman In Cabin 10 on hold at the library.

I'm going to read In The Name of Truth, next in the Sandhamn Murder series for me.

I ended up with A Christmas Resolution by Anne Perry, which features the River Thames.

I'm reading River of Darkness by Rennie Airth. Also hoping to get to The Body in the Castle Well by Martin Walker.

I started early and just finished Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It takes place on boats and at harbours and is a very good fit for this prompt. It's not my favourite mystery ever, but I did enjoy it.

>22 markon: That series is one I would like to read one day, too!

>26 Crazymamie: - I read that ages ago (like at least 15 years), Mamie, and loved it. I plan to re-read it soon and then continue with the series.

It's from your Dirty Dozen list - you had mentioned it on someone's thread at some point, and I made a note of it. I started it on Tuesday, and I am liking it.

I obviously need to pay more attention to "my" Dirty Dozen(s) *grin*

Ha! I mean, it is from several years ago, so...

COMPLETED The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin

One death occurs when a woman falls or was pushed off a bridge into a river. Also a severed head floats down the river to the sea on a makeshift raft.

Yay! The first completed book - congratulations Robert.

I'm enjoying Murder on Brittany shores, set in an area I hadn't heard of, the Glenan Islands off Brittany's coast. (haven't figured out diacritical marks.) The deaths take place at sea, and Commisaire Dupin hates traveling by boat.

I'm listening to Land of Careful Shadows by Suzanne Chazin, which starts out with a body found in a lake. Good so far.

>33 markon: I have to admit, I started it on New Year's Eve so it wasn't fully completed this year.

>35 Robertgreaves: I started mine before New Year's Day too.

>27 MissBrangwen: Just realized today that you completed your read too. Sorry I missed that.

It also looks interesting, as I like police procedurals, and it's from the golden age.

>37 markon: No worries! There are so many threads and posts to keep up with, I think it's impossible! Yes, it was definitely an interesting read!

I finished The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter. It's the sixth in the Inspector Morse series but would be fine as a read-alone.
This is Morse and Lewis investigating a torso pulled out of the Oxford Canal. It leads them to the university, then to the seedier places of London. I recommend it, as it's a bit complex and full of Morse's surliness.

Read a quick novella, Murder on the SS Rosa which is a prequel to the Ginger Gold series. Nice setup involving a man's murdered body discovered in the pickle barrel and only a day or two to figure out who did it before they land.

I finished reading Mavis Doriel Hay's Death on the Cherwell. The bursar of an Oxford women's college is found dead (drowned) in a canoe floating down the Cherwell. The river and its banks figure prominently in the investigation. I enjoyed this Golden Age mystery and was happy that I'd recently read Gaudy Night -- another mystery set in an Oxford women's college, published in the same year!

I finished River of Darkness, which is the first in a series. Set in post WWI England and featuring a Scotland Yard detective. Very well done.

>41 christina_reads: I'm just starting Death on the Cherwell. About 5 years ago, I read Mavis Doriel Hay's Murder Underground and The Santa Klaus Murder and enjoyed both of those so I am looking forward to getting into this one.

>43 lindapanzo: I also liked Murder Underground but haven't gotten to The Santa Klaus Murder yet. Maybe for Christmas 2021!

I read Peter May's The Blackhouse. Set in the Hebrides, the ocean and its storms play a big role.

ETA: I would have had no idea this had anything to do with water until the end when I noticed some mention of it! I still questioned including it here, but >13 MissBrangwen: was quite sure it fit! It was only upon reading other reviews that I learned the bones were discovered on a beach, and that it was set by a watery-area! LOL! I had no idea - I missed all of that!

The Crossing Places / Elly Griffiths
3 stars

Archaeologist Ruth is called in to help identify the bones of a child found. That is - how long have the bones been there? It is determined the bones have been there for a very long time, much longer than the police feared, thinking it might be Lucy, a little girl who had disappeared ten years earlier. Ruth then goes on to help the police with their investigation.

I listened to the audio. It was ok. I missed a lot of it at the start, as the audio just wasn’t holding my attention. It picked up part-way through and I was more interested, but I still missed a few things. I really didn’t like two particular characters, but it might have – in part – been due to the voices/accents by the narrator. Those accents (and/or the voices for them) really annoyed me! When they revealed who the killer was, I couldn’t even figure out who that was! Not sure when he was mentioned earlier in the book, but I obviously missed it. There was something else from the end I wanted to mention that wasn’t a spoiler, but I’ve already forgotten what it was. I don’t plan to continue the series.

I've read A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler. A body found in the Bosporus River (Turkey) carries an ID belonging to the leader of a Greek drug ring so it might be him. Or not.

>46 LibraryCin: I‘m sorry you didn‘t enjoy it that much. To me, the setting of that story was so intense from page one. Ruth‘s home on the marshes is one of my most favourite settings of any novel ever. The sinister landscape, the dark, the loneliness, the rough beauty, just the deep natural power of the area where she chooses to live. It‘s one of the main reasons why I love that series. It‘s sad that it didn‘t come across like this in the audiobook, but it‘s there, from the first chapter on when they walk across the mudflats.

I agree about some of the characters being annoying. In every book of the series there are some I don‘t like! But I just enjoy the other aspects so much that I don‘t care ;-)

>48 MissBrangwen: Yeah, I was going to say that the issue may very well have been the audio. I guess if I decided to try the 2nd book, I'd have to remember to try the print or ebook, instead. Can't promise, though! ;-)

ETA: I should add that I do appear to be in a minority on this one. 3 stars for me is "ok", but there are a lot of 4 and 5 star ratings on this book!

>48 MissBrangwen: >49 LibraryCin: I will add my voice to the watery setting in the Ruth Galloway series. When I saw you list this I thought the same as >16 MissBrangwen:. It absolutely fits. Sorry you didn't get the ambiance that comes through in the books. I have never been able to understand why a single person would choose to live in such an isolated space, but it really works in this series!

I finished Miracle Creek. The creek plays a supporting role in this mystery thriller. It was the setting for solitary contemplation and secretive meetings leading the reader to find the whodunnit. I liked the book but didn't love it as much as some people. I settled on 3.5 stars.

I read Murder on Brittany Shores. I was interested to learn a bit about the Glenan archipelago, but found myself not connecting with any of the characters. Will probably not try another one in this series.

>51 markon: That one has been on my TBR list forever. Your comments don't push it up at all!

I read Hush Now, Don't You Cry, a Molly Murphy Mystery by Rhys Bowen. It is set in Newport, Rhode Island, at a mansion backing onto the Atlantic Ocean, and water plays a big part in the story.

The Guest List / Lucy Foley
4.5 stars

Jules and Will have planned their wedding on a deserted (except for the newly created wedding “pavilion”) island in Ireland. The wedding party is expected to arrive the day before and spend two nights there, while the rest of the guests will arrive the day of. A bad storm is coming the night of the wedding. And things go horribly wrong…

It’s told from different points of view, but at the start of each chapter, we are given the name of that character’s POV for that chapter, as well as who they are. Some of them include Jules, the bride; Hannah, the plus one (her husband Charlie, is Jules’ best friend); Aoife, the wedding planner; Johnno, the best man (and long-time best friend of Will’s from way back in boarding school); Olivia, the bridesmaid (and Jules’ much younger sister).

The atmosphere is done so well – this deserted, dangerous, boggy island with a storm coming. The opening chapter starts with things going wrong during the wedding, then backs up to everything leading up to what happened at the wedding. Parts were creepy, and I was kept wanting to read. There were not very many likeable characters in this book, but there were a couple. No surprise here, but everyone had secrets.

I'll begin Murder on the Lake by Bruce Beckham shortly. It's on my Kindle. I think I downloaded it sometime for free or 99 cents with an intent to give the series a try. Since it fits the category, it's a good time to give it a try! If it's horrible, I'll find an alternate selection.

I read another book fitting this category: Aunt Bessie Assumes by Diana Xarissa. A body is found on the beach, there are beach walks and the tide is frequently mentioned. In addition, rain also plays a role in the plot.

This was a BB from LittleTaiko!

I finished Million Dollar Staircase. It was basically a murder mystery with a conscience. The hero and chief snoop lives on a houseboat in Florida. It is about an eminent domain fight to save a marina. It’s loosely based on a real eminent domain abuse in South Carolina.

I finished Murder on the Lake by Bruce Beckham. It's the fourth in the Inspector Skelgill series. I have not read the previous three. I have #7 on my Kindle also. The book needed an editor. The mystery itself is a cross between a locked-room country house murder and police procedural. (He lets the people off the island.) He's out fishing on the lake when summoned to the house. His boat disappears while inside the house. His colleagues find his boat and then him. I was a little disappointed he allowed all the people to leave the country house so that's when the police procedural part takes over.

I'm reading The Devil's Cave by Martin Walker, the fourth in the Bruno Chief of Police Series. I've got to get to Memorial Drive soon, its a bookclub read.

I read Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. It's a fast read because you can't put it down! Exciting and creepy with a nice twisty ending.

I am reading The Royal Wulff Murders by Keith McCafferty. A body is pulled out of the Madison River while fly-fishing.

>61 lowelibrary: - oh I did enjoy that one. Hope it works for you.

I have finished Die rote Stadt, a historical mystery set in Hamburg in 1886 when the Speicherstadt (now one of Hamburg's most famous landmarks) was being built. The harbour front looked completely different after that.

I finished another book fitting this category, without thinking about it beforehand: The Blackhouse by Peter May. The ocean is very important in this novel, both because of the setting and the mood, and for the plot.

JeanneD has read this book as well, before I did, and I just added my name behind her name in the wiki, I hope it's ok like that! Or should I leave my name out altogether if someone else has already read the same book?

>64 MissBrangwen: It's OK to have more than one entry for the same book, it shows how appropriate and/or popular the book is for the category. It might be better if yours was on a separate line (right below JeanneD).

>65 VivienneR: Thank you, I'll change it then!

I have completed my read of Mystery in the Channel and although the actual plotline and setting was interesting, I found the characters undeveloped and there were too many tedious details to read through.

I've read a second book that fits the theme, The Devil's Cave by Martin Walker. In St. Denis, a village in France, a flat boat drifts down the river into town. On it is a nude woman, dead, maybe a suicide or maybe not.

Thank you everyone who has read for this January Kit! We've had quite a variety of stories posted. Please remember to add to the wiki.

Look forward to seeing people on February's pastiche thread.

I finished rereading Watery Grave for this. I had tried several new-to-me books but none of them clicked so I returned to a tried & true series...

This book is the 3rd in the Sir John Fielding series by Bruce Alexander, set in 1769 London. Sir John, magistrate of Bow Street Court and former naval lieutenant, is asked to help investigate in a court marshal for the Royal Navy. Great historical fiction as well as above average mystery but this is a series that benefits from being read in order so if it is new to you, start with Blind Justice.

I finished Photo Finish by Ngaio Marsh. This is an Inspector Alleyn mystery which takes place in a lavish manor on an island in New Zealand, and not unexpectedly, a terrible rainstorm cuts the inhabitants off from the rest of the world while Alleyn tracks down a murderer.

Intended to read the Deep Waters anthology listed, but never got around to it (just wasn't in the mood for short stories, I guess). Squeezed in a last minute quick read instead - By Book or By Crook (Lighthouse Library Mystery) by Eva Gates - also one of the books listed above.

(wiki updated!)

>62 LittleTaiko: I found the actual story interesting and well written. I did learn more about fly-fishing and trout than I ever wanted to know.