The Woman Who Walked into the Sea

This is the second in the sea detective series, and a fine read it is too. Mrs Anderson, housekeeper, attends the funeral of her mistress and fully expects the respect of the children and consideration in the will. Instead, she is snubbed and required to pay a substantial amount for the cottage she has been living in rent-free for years.Violet Wells is a troubled young mother. She was abandoned as a baby and throughout her life she has struggled to understand how a mother could ever do such a thing. She has constantly thought about meeting her and finding out why. Mr Anwar arrives with an anonymous letter indicating that Violet’s mother is dead and more can be found about her by visiting Portdown on the west coast of Scotland. She cannot resist, but why was the letter sent?On arrival, Violet is befriended by the sea detective, Cal – an oceanographer who studies currents, wind and tide to predict where objects in the sea traveled. A romance could blossom, but Violet is apparently not interested – she is totally absorbed by her daughter, being determined not to treat her in the same way that she was treated. With Cal’s help she concludes that her mother cannot have drowned as the story goes. Her things were ‘washed ashore’ at a place where it would be impossible. Perhaps she did a Lord Lucan in order to escape the shame of an illegitimate birth, but when Violet discovers that the father was the well-to-do pillar of the community, then something more sinister is suspected. There is another sinister element too. The Turnbull’s are the local thugs who deal in drugs and anything else. They seem determined to shut Violet up.Eventually the mystery is solved, but even at the end doubt remains. The plot is gripping and the characters engaging, but the strength of the book is the style. It is subtle and nuanced. A fine example is the visit of Mr Anwar to Violet early in the book. His character is perfectly drawn in a touchingly sympathetic style. In fact, the whole book lacks the graphic violence of many detective stories, and there isn’t a postmortem in sight. Well done, Mr Douglas-Home – an author to watch.

Mark Douglas-Home is a former journalist who, following a distinguished career, has now switched to writing crime novels. The Woman who Walked into the Sea is his second novel and also features the eponymous Sea Detective, Cal McGill, of his first book. Cal is an oceanographer who uses his knowledge of the tides and currents to locate objects, including bodies, lost or missing at sea.The story is set in north-west Scotland near Ullapool in the fictional coastal village of Poltown and opens with a memorial service for Diana, a widow whose husband William Ritchie QC owned the local Big House. Her former housekeeper, Mrs. Anderson, attends the service and chooses to seat herself in a fairly prominent pew feeling quite certain that she will be ushered to the top pew by in view of herdevoted service to the family and to Diana in particular. However, far from being exalted, she is very publicly and brusquely asked tomove to the back of the church by Diana's son-in-law. Now we have a woman with a mission and in her desire for revenge she sets in train a chain of events that she knows will reverberate on Diana's daughter and son-in-law.Twenty six years ago on the local beach a young woman walked into the sea and disappeared; her body was never retrieved. Today Violet Wells lives with her four year-old daughter in a Glasgow tenement flat and she is aware she was abandoned on the steps of a hospital as a baby. During a visit from a social worker she is handed an anonymous letter naming her birth mother and also the beach where her mother had walked into the sea after giving birth to Violet. She immediately off for Poltown leaving her daughter in the care of her best friend.This is a classic detective story reminiscent of PD James or Ruth Rendell and it is so refreshing to find such a well-written crime novel among the infestation of badly written, inane and violent thrillers flooding the market today. It is not without significance that Douglas Homes had a career as a very distinguished journalist since this is reflected in his clear straightforward prose. I loved the remote Scottish Island setting and the story's rather old-fashioned feel. The plot is interesting but it is the quality of the writing that earned the fourth star in my case. I look forward to Cal McGill's next outing which I believe is in the pipeline.I now tend to eschew all new Gone Girl and Girl on a Train wannabees and find the Penguin logo most reassuring.

Not a bad book, very evocative of the Highland scenery and atmosphere. The tale was interesting enough but not a "page turner". Disappointingly, the characters never really grew and the sea detective didn't really do much detecting. I'm keen to see if any further instalments improve.

This is not an easy book to read in that, the writing style is very descriptive, much of the early book bring devoted to character development (a traditional style). You need to persevere to get into it, personally I like that - it's not instant gratification and, murder is not a pleasant subject - perhaps it shouldn't be easy to read. Nevertheless, I like the Sea Detective books, they are good, well crafted tales - stories you could read again in a year or so. That for me is the mark of a really good story teller - you know you will enjoy the tale again.

Good follow up to his first Sea Detective novel. The Sea Detective was so good that a comparable follow up was always going to be a challenge. Mr Douglas-Home has almost achieved a rating equal to his first. This, like the first, is very well written with a likeable and credible leading character, and an endearing "client" with a dreadful personal history. She comes across as totally convincing in her behaviour and dialogue. A sub character, Mrs Anderson, nursing malice and resentment, convinces on the page and in her internal, mental dialogue. Her delusions in what "good" she has done, and in what is owed to her in gratitude is highly persuasive, and I bet most readers will have encountered someone with her ethical delusions.Well above average in its writing, plot and characterization. Roll on April for the publication of his third novel.

Awesome read

This was a riveting story about sea detective Cal and how he unravels the mystery of Megan's walk into the sea. I loved Megan's daughter, Violet, her daughter, Anna, and their friends.I wanted Violet and Cal to get together, but there was too much going on. Great book to read at the beach!

the book is extremely well written. great plot for a movie, although the middle of the book was a little long winded

I have found this to be one of those books you to which you become attached. There is nothing spectacular, no guns, high adventure or profound sex, just a story about a woman who discovers who her mother was and why she committed suicide, and yet it holds you.Northwestern Scotland with its wild coast and Atlantic seas, the landscapes and the people are easy to go along with as slowly the story and the mystery unfolds.I enjoyed it very much, and would recommend​ it for a quiet pleasant read in bed or over a solitary meal.

This book is the second in a new series centering around oceanographer Cal McLain. The plotting and dialogue are good and the story is solid.However, the book is not as dazzling and unique as the first book.There was not as much focus on Cal and a potential relationship with Detective Jamieson was not pursued. I am interested to see the direction of the third book in the series.