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Coffin on the Water

By: Gwendoline Butler
Narrated by: Nigel Carrington
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Editorial reviews

When newly-promoted detective John Coffin is called to investigate the body of a young woman floating down the Thames in 1946, he is drawn into a grim mystery surrounding a suspicious murder. The victim, who has suffered significant physical trauma, comes bearing a note: "Present for my mother", a sentiment directed at an actress whose son drowned 17 years earlier. A crisp, upright narration from voice actor Nigel Carrington brings a dignity and gravitas to prolific British writer Gwendoline Butler's atmospheric mystery, part of the John Coffin series of crime novels.

Publisher's Summary

British writer Butler has crafted a grim tale that unsuccessfully blends murder with social commentary. In 1946, newly promoted detective-constable John Coffin arrives in Greenwich to take up his post. Soon after, the body of a young woman floats down the Thames to South London. It quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary murder: the victim has been strangled, stabbed and mutilated. Attached to the body is a note reading "Present for my mother," a reference to former actress Rachel Esthart, whose son drowned under mysterious circumstances 17 years previously, and who has just received a postcard promising an imminent gift from the boy, whose death she has never acknowledged. Then two other bodies are found in the river, murdered in the same brutal way.
©1986 Gwendoline Butler (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Police Procedurals
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listenable

Was an easy to listen to story with a reasonable plot and good narration

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