The Blood-Dimmed Tide (John Madden Mystery Trilogy 2)
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Product Description
Independent on Sunday
'If only every golden age crime novel could be as good as this.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Times Literary Supplement
‘Rennie Airth has an emotional and sensual precision.’
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found River of Darkness to be a reasonable read and picked up Blood Dimmed Tide in a second hand book store for some holiday reading. It's very much the same style and suffers from the same weaknesses. The plot is quite engaging and well paced - at a period between the World Wars, the similarity in the murders of some school girls starts off a hunt for a serial killer. The trail of detection is interesting, involving Scotland Yard, Home Office, police and retired detective John Madden who gets involved when he helps discover one of the bodies. The eventual resolution is rather telegraphed and fails to maintain the menace or tension that it should. Much of this is down to Airth's writing style which is flat and rather old fashioned. While this works at times, it makes much of the dialogue stiff, stilted, humourless and unconvincing. Even close friends and working class characters talk in clipped, formal lines. The characters are too one dimensional, Boy's Own, black and white creations - as if before WW2 people were naive, innocent and sexless. It doesn't help that Airth's hero Madden himself, although marginalised during most of the action, is a bit wet. References are made to the rise of Nazism in Germany with the implication even in 1932 that the British authorities and even citizens like Madden were already predicting WW2. Without wishing to spoil the enjoyment of future readers - this makes Airth's choice of villain rather interesting. I won't rush to read the final chapter of the trilogy ... but you never know.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Three and a half stars really: the book is a little slow moving, but mainly because it stops to savour the period detail of psychologically wounded WW1 veterans, the depression and the rise of Nazism, which add richness to the depth of the book but get in the way of the actual story-telling. The plot itself is a quite straightforward police procedural, and the identity of the murderer is known relatively early, but catching him is not so easy. Madden himself is both clever and sympathetic, the other detectives not quite so bumbling as is sometimes the case when the 'hero' is actually outside the force, though Helen Madden rings a little too good and sugary sweet to be true.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I really looked forward to this book. I read the authors' River of Darkness and enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed this work a great deal as well. All of Rennie Airth's characters (in Blood-Dimmed Tide as well as River of Darkness) are very well drawn and enjoyable. I especially liked Topper. He is a hobo of few words but with a great deal to say. The way that Rennie Airth describes the way in which Topper and other hobos live is fascinating.
One of my favorite themes from this book is the Depression of 1929. Here in the U.S., we envision long lines of out-of-work folks waiting for food hand outs as a characteristic of the Depression. I enjoyed reading about Eddie Noyes a great deal. His story encapsulates many expriences world wide of the depression. Here is this decorated WWI veteran having to work odd jobs to support his family after being laid off. I also liked Sam Watkin, a fellow veteran willing to help someone down on his luck.
The mystery in this book is appealing and horrendous at the same time. Solving the crime is so important because children are being brutally assaulted and murdered. Angus Sinclair and Bennett reprise their earlier roles at Scotland Yard and are particularly enjoyable.
Finally, I thought the descriptions of England to be wonderful. I can really see those places due to the author's excellent prose. Rennie Airth has crafted a splendid book here that I hope others will enjoy as much as I did.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
fantastic reading
This trilogoy is very interesting. I got the third one from a friend so had to buy these two before I could read it. Great books. Great service and very speedy delivery
Published 7 months ago by zanylady
A trilogy of good stories
I love detective novels and it is always good to find an author I didn't know. I bought the trilogy on other reviewers recommendations and was not disappointed. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mrs. Elizabeth E. Higgs
Consistently outstanding.
Even though this is the second book to have John Madden as a major character I didn't see this book as being a sequel of River of Darkness: A John Madden Mystery. Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. Lesley
a book to savour
an excellent copy of a book i have wanted for some time. in very good condition,and with prompt and efficient service.
Published 23 months ago by C. Bellingham
An enjoyable if simple thriller
This is an enjoyable book, there are no twists of any consequence and the so the storey is very straightforward. No more than two plot treads persist at any one time. Read more
Published on 23 July 2006 by G. Melia
Disappointing
I thoroughly enjoyed Airth's first novel "River of Darkness" and was anticipating this one with great excitement. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2005 by Gordon A Barkaway
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