A steamer, the Chichester, is crossing the English channel when it comes across a yacht in which they find the bodies of two dead men..
Inspector French investigates which leads him to uncover financial irregularities within a firm. Who out of all the suspects is the mastermind behind the scheme.
A very detailed accounts of the procedures which leads French to his conclusions, sometimes a bit too detailed, but an interesting mystery anyway.
A NetGalley Book ( )

Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts was originally published in 1931 and is an intricate, involved murder case involving two dead men found on an abandoned yacht floating on the English Channel. I had a great deal of trouble both getting into this book or feeling any kind of empathy of the characters. The plot, on the other hand was detailed and had plenty of twists and turns.

Set in the world of finance, the two men are associated with Moxton General Securities, a firm that is about to make headlines for its imminent collapse. The book gives us a variety of settings, including the English Channel, the French coast, London and the English coast. Inspector French of Scotland Yard is tireless in his search for answers, but there were a lot of tedious details that caused my eyes to glaze over. As a main character, French is neither colorful, interesting or even overly intelligent, instead he doggedly works his case and follows the trail to it’s successful conclusion.

While Mystery in the Channel is a clever mystery, I doubt if I will be actively hunting for anymore books from this author finding the plodding nature of the story line to be rather boring. ( )

I enjoyed this novel, but it's not my favorite in the world. It was written in 1931 and it has a very "vintage" feel about it, which I do love. I adored the atmosphere, as it mainly takes place in small harbour towns on the English and the French side of the Channel, plus a short stint in Swansea in Wales. It's all very maritime with lots of nautical terms, ferries, boats, fishermen and Scotland Yard's nautical expert, and I do love all of this. On the other hand, the story is very "masculine" (or what would traditionally be considered masculine): Men deduct the crime, they meet in the evenings having cigars and whisky, they are the experts, and human emotions play only a minor role in the story. There are a few women, but they usually make dinner and leave. I appreciated seeing the methods of the policemen at work because that was very interesting, but there was something lacking to make it more engaging.
I think I would still read more volumes of the series, but rather as an in-between read when I need a quick palate-cleanser. ( )

A good mystery novel with all the classic tropes. Manages to portray complex things like banking and English channel crossings so the average reader can understand. One of the pleasant things in this book is that World War 2 isn't on the radar so the French Norman coast still has its quaint charm.

In all fairness, not all the books of the "golden age " are still enjoyable in the 21st century.But this book definitely does stand the test of time. Good story, likeable characters and a twist at the end.
The pace is perhaps somewhat slower but it doesn't interfere with the pleasure of reading.Just perfect for a rainy weekend. ( )