The Waterfall
This cleverly crafted, historical crime novel is made up of four separate stories, each written in a different genre, and placed in chronological order. Each has a tie-in to the previous tale.
The Waterfall a Testament: The first story is set in Elizabethan England and Amsterdam and is the testament of William Shakespeare, who investigates the murder of his friend, and fellow playwright, Kit Marlowe. He discovers a terrible secret that could bring down both the Church of England and the Church of Rome.
The Angel: The next tale is set in 1892, in both India and England and is gothic in nature. A young man travels halfway around the world for love, only to encounter murder, in a creepy sleep clinic based in a ramshackle priory. This is all tied up with William Shakespeare’s forgotten manuscript.
The Venice Murders: The penultimate story is a murder mystery set in 1931, in Venice. Honora Feldman, a private detective on holiday, and Pips, her mechanical whiz sidekick, investigate book theft and murder set against a backdrop of picturesque Venetian islands.
The Waterfall: The final story is set in Hollywood, USA in 1944 and is an American Noir. A serial killer is bumping off locals by recreating murders from the first three stories.
I enjoyed each story individually and was very impressed with the author’s ability to link them all together. I think the author must have had a lot of fun writing these. The changes in genres kept me hooked until the end. I found the ending of the final story a bit of an anti-climax – I think I was expecting an overt reference back to the Shakespeare/Marlowe storyline but all in all, this book is well worth a read. The author is to be applauded for his innovative storytelling.
