Loosely based on the author’s own experiences, The Riddle of the Sands takes readers back to the early days of the twentieth century, when Britain shared a tense rivalry with the Kaiser’s Germany. Tempted by the idea of duck shooting, Carruthers is lured by his friend Davies into a yachting expedition in the Baltic, only to discover that the itinerary involves more than killing fowl. Soon they’re on a wild journey of intrigue, meeting danger at every turn, and ultimately unraveling Germany’s secret plans to invade England. Tautly written and full of unexpected twists, this is a timeless work of espionage fiction.
Reviewed by Jim Ring in Slightly Foxed Issue 27.
Well Done, Carruthers!
JIM RING
In the depths of last winter the bathroom, if by no means warm, was the least glacial room in the house. Ever since the children were born it’s also been the only place in our North Norfolk home in which there is sufficient freedom from interruption to read . . . There was a rattle of rain on the bathroom window. It was an evening for Erskine Childers. I closed the door firmly on the children, drew the bath and settled down to read.
At once I was immersed in the pleasingly familiar plot. The riddle of the title is the motive behind an apparent attempt to wreck Arthur Davies, the hero of Childers’ Edwardian thriller, in the treacherous shoal waters of the German Frisian islands . . .
Extract from Slightly Foxed Issue 27, Autumn 2010
Well Done, Carruthers!
In the depths of last winter the bathroom, if by no means warm, was the least glacial room in the house. Ever since the children were born it’s also been the only place in our North Norfolk home in...
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