Alice Ormond Campbell (1887-1955) was an Atlanta native. She was an expatriate, living in France for many years and setting several of her books there. Dean Street Press reissued the first 10 volumes of her crime fiction earlier this year. While DSP states she published 19 books, the Golden Age Detection website and Fantastic Fiction list more titles than that. Some of her books were published under one name in the UK and another in the US; possibly these lists are mistakenly representing these title variations as being distinct and different books.
Keep Away from Water (Collins, 1935; Dean Street Press, 2022) offers a comprehensive introduction to Campbell by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans. It also introduces Sarah MacNeil on her way to the Metropolitan Hotel in London to apply for the position of companion to a Miss Venables who advertised in the morning newspaper. Miss Venables decides that Sarah will meet her requirements; she then explains why she needs a companion. Miss Venables has been receiving anonymous letters threatening her life for a year. The police have been unable to identify the source of the letters, and Miss Venables has decided that she can never be alone. Hence her decision to hire a companion.
She is planning to return to the south of France, where she previously stayed in a hotel largely given over to English citizens living abroad. Miss Venables is distressed to receive yet another letter before she leaves, telling her that she can go to France if she likes but that she must avoid water. Neither Miss Venables nor Sarah can make sense of this admonishment, and the local police are beginning to believe Miss Venables is sending the letters to herself.
Their trip across the Channel to Ste. Brigitte-la-Mer is unremarkable, and there the greater part of the story’s events take place.
Campbell has a gift for conveying suspense. Sarah suspects first one character, then another of being the anonymous letter writer but she never quite makes up her mind and ends up mistrusting nearly everyone. Her vacillation and fear are sharply and convincingly drawn.
The body count is surprisingly high for a Golden Age mystery. Campbell does not shy away from killing off her characters. Nothing cozy here.
The exposition of how the murders were committed at the end of the book is quite detailed and unusually long, it essentially recaps the plot from the criminal’s perspective. I don’t know that I needed to read the story over again.
Campbell was held in high regard by critics and readers on both sides of the Atlantic during her lifetime. It will be interesting to see if contemporary readers are of the same opinion.
Many thanks for your review!
And thank you for reprinting all these books that I otherwise would never be able to read!
Thank you for this very informative review. The first Campbell I read was “The Death of Caroline Bundy”, which I found underwhelming I then read her debut ‘Juggernaut” and really, really enjoyed it. I will add this one to my ‘maybe’ list on the strength of your review, thanks!
Definitely worth keeping in mind, although it is not one of my all-time favorites. The culprit is concealed well, Campbell kills people off with a cold-bloodedness not usually seen in the stories of the time. The main character’s inability to decide who she can trust, flipping back and forth is finely conveyed. The background characters at the residential hotel are lifelike. Not the usual mystery/thriller of the time.
Nineteen titles is the correct tally.
The FF site has two duplicates:-
Murder in Paris/Spiderweb
The Cockroach Sings/With Bated Breath
And the GAD site has the latter duplicate.
Thank you!