Walking into the ocean

by David Whellams

Paper Book, 2012

Status

Available

Call number

C813/.6

Publication

Toronto : ECW Press, c2012.

Description

Fiction. Mystery. HTML: In the debut mystery featuring veteran Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Peter Cammon, what seems like a simple domestic crime turns out to be a series of murders ravaging a peaceful English coastal community. The semi-retired Cammon is sent to the Jurassic Coast to investigate a case: a woman murdered and her mechanic husband, the likely suspect, drowned in the English Channel. But Cammon soon discovers that his investigation is a sideshow to a string of killings along the cliffs that has stymied local police. The only way to solve this one murder is to figure out the serial killings that terrorize the region. The detective travels from London, Dorset, and Devon to the island of Malta, relentlessly following the overlapping threads of the two cases to their shocking climax. The first installment in a series of three, this cliffhanger sets a chilling tone for the British sleuth's forthcoming mysteries..… (more)

Media reviews

The Toronto Star
An Ottawa first author, Whellams has written the most ambitious Canadian crime novel in years. That’s not fatal but not entirely a good thing either. Chief Inspector Peter Cammon, the central character, 67 and semi-retired from Scotland Yard, is a terrific character, and the plot, combining two
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kinds of murder on England’s southern coast, is baffling in all the right ways. But readers might be more comfortable with 100 fewer pages of detail. The head begins to spin when Whellams piles on obscure data and goes into overdrive on Cammon’s background. Nevertheless, the chief inspector is a character who’ll be welcomed back any time soon.
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User reviews

LibraryThing member AntT
I definitely read more of his work.
LibraryThing member AntT
I definitely read more of his work.
LibraryThing member BrianEWilliams
This book is way too long at 463 pages and tells a complex story with a ultimately satisfying conclusion, that is, the murderer gets caught. It isn't until almost the end that there's any clue as to his identity. Stylistically, the storytelling rambles and goes off track in several places which for
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me caused it to be long-winded and a too chatty police procedural novel.

There's numerous interesting characters that come and go throughout the book. With the protagonist Chief Inspector Peter Cammon it is in some ways difficult to accept that he has reached the exalted status -- he's a lone wolf that doesn't play well with others. (Cammon has a protector in high places which may help). He acts like Ian Rankin's Rebus but the story telling is not as crisp as Rankin or Peter Robinson. It's more like Alexander McCall Smith. My short description of the writing is discursive and prolix.

This book is a good introduction to Cammon because there's much talk of his past exploits and there's material for at least one prequel.

I'm withholding my final decision until I read the next in the series.
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LibraryThing member ladyoflorien
I quite enjoyed this mystery novel. I liked the semi-retired, loner detective theme and the plot that had some twists but enough clues to figure it out.

Awards

Language

Physical description

472 p.; 24 cm

ISBN

1770410422 / 9781770410428
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