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Read The Water Clock (2003)

The Water Clock (2003)

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Author
Series
Rating
3.36 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0312321430 (ISBN13: 9780312321437)
Language
English
Publisher
minotaur books

The Water Clock (2003) - Plot & Excerpts

In the Water Clock Jim Kelly has produced a `comfortable' crime story which implies that any murder happens out of sight with no violence.... Not true, but the style of writing and the wry sense of humour that accompanies it somehow gives a warmer feel . Philip Dryden a newspaper writer whose wife Laura in a coma drives around the fens using his personal cabbie, Humphrey Holt, gathering copy to phone through to the partially deaf copywriter at The Crow.One of the trips leads him to a body in the boot of a car. Local policeman Andy Stubbs has something Philip Dryden wants so he investigates the murder. There are links to a robbery in 1966 on World Cup day which Dryden is determined to unpick.This book was written over a decade ago that adds to the slightly old-fashioned feel. I loved the descriptions of the office workers at The Crow, the long memories of those who live on the Fens and the great writing. A good plot and likable characters has definitely put Jim Kelly as an author to read more of for me.

Having met the author when he judged a local short story competition I bought this book in his home town of Ely. I really liked the story and I think Kelly does a good job of showing how his 'hero' Dryden links the discovery of a decaying corpse on the roof of Ely cathedral to the body of a man found in the boot of a car that has been pulled out of a river. I liked Dryden - the typically cynical damaged protagonist of many a noir-ish detective story, living on a barge on the river and I will certainly read more of his adventures. Kelly does a fantastic job of conveying the bleak emptiness of the Fens (and many of its inhabitants). My only niggles are that he sometimes lets too much of his research show in his descriptions of the landscape and buildings and the "flashback" sections describing the original crime in 1966, and episodes from Dryden's own backstory, sometimes jarred and spoiled the pace of the action. But bring me more Fenland noir!

What do You think about The Water Clock (2003)?

I thought this was a superb novel and I am surprised by the number of negative reviews here. I live in the area where the story is set and the description of the various places and the social life of the fens is spookily accurate. The plot and the various sub plots were cleverly thought through and resolved satisfyingly together. I loved the water theme running throughout the book which is reflective of the preoccupation of most fen dwellers who are engaged in a constant battle against submersion. I only know of one other novel set in the fens - Waterland by Graham Swift - I enjoyed reading a novel by someone who clearly takes a great interest in his home town.
—Ghengis

I'm giving this 4* because I love the sense of place the author evokes. The Fens are a creepy place cross crossed by malignant looking rivers and drainage cuts. I felt the atmosphere throughout the books. The story is a little clunky, true, but I liked the character of the protagonist Philip Dryden. He is a hack, but a likeable one. Not the drunk so often portrayed in fiction. One thing didn't ring true. No local authority private hire inspector would ever licence Humph's car with its bald tyres!
—Cliff

A mystery somewhat reminiscent of P.D. James' works. This is set in the fens near Ely; the location is important because only there would the bogginess of the land mimic the bogginess of people's interior lives. There are mysteries in mysteries here: who rescued reporter Philip Dryden from his car after a crash into a bog, but left his wife to die (although she remains in a coma); what is so important about a crime that occurred 38 years ago; who is visiting his comatose wife and leaving notes under her pillow; is the detective assigned to the current case Dryden is reporting as incompetent as his father and everyone else think? A pretty good story, although the title somewhat gives the game away, if you are paying attention to the descriptions of people's house decor. Still, this is a pretty decent first effort for an author who normally writes for the Financial Times in London! I wonder if he'll bring back Dryden in forthcoming books, or if he'll start anew.
—Cat.

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