Forgotten Book - The Sea Mystery

My copy of Freeman Wills Crofts' fourth novel about Inspector French, The Sea Mystery (1928) once belonged to Helen Simpson, and although it lacks the original jacket, it bears her ownership inscription, dated 'Christmas 1928'. My guess is that, at the time, she was studying the detective novel prior to co-writing Enter, Sir John! with her friend Clemence Dane. She may also have intended to review it. I say this because she included a few handwritten notes, including one on the very last page, which mainly highlight flaws in the story.

There are only a few flaws, however, because Freeman Wills Crofts was, along with Richard Austin Freeman, the most meticulous detective writer then at work. Interestingly, given that identity confusion is a key part of the story, two mistakes concerned his giving the wrong names to characters. You may wonder how such a mistake can be made, but believe me, it is very, very easy. Good writers check their work endlessly prior to publication - yet still errors creep through. Sometimes it's because one reads what one thinks one wrote, rather than what actually appears on the page. I've done it myself, even with books that have had extensive checks by editor, copy editor, and proof reader as well as me.

To a limited extent this story reworks elements of Crofts' bestselling debut, The Cask. Indeed, we learn that Inspector Burnley, who solved that case, is now retired and is friendly with French. Alas, Crofts does include spoilers about the plot of The Cask, which to my mind is a more heinous mistake than those with Helen Simposn picked up. In this novel, as in the earlier one, human remains are found in a crate (by a father and son out on a fishing trip in south Wales), and the hard-working Scotland Yard man has to trace how they got there. 

Most of the action, it must be said, takes place in Devon rather than at sea, not that it matters too much. There's a lot of pleasure to be had in following French's careful investigative process. I must say that one key deduction of his, early in the story, was foreseeably mistaken, but even so I enjoyed seeing how he finally got on the right trail. Crofts was probably at or close to the peak of his powers when he wrote this one. And it shows.