{"id":492,"date":"2018-08-07T19:27:41","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T19:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/?p=492"},"modified":"2018-08-07T19:29:26","modified_gmt":"2018-08-07T19:29:26","slug":"a-hymn-to-a-whitstable-christmas-murder-on-sea-by-julie-wassmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/2018\/08\/07\/a-hymn-to-a-whitstable-christmas-murder-on-sea-by-julie-wassmer\/","title":{"rendered":"A hymn to a Whitstable Christmas: Murder on Sea by Julie Wassmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a hidden protagonist at the heart of Murder on Sea<\/em><\/a>, the second book in the developing Whitstable-based series of crime novels by Julie Wassmer, whose identity becomes apparent as the book unfolds; and I\u2019m not giving away anything to do with the novel\u2019s tricksy plot when I reveal that it\u2019s actually the weather. Set against the backdrop of a December-shrouded seaside town, the weather plays a crucial and distinctive role in giving the book its seasonal qualities, creating a suitably wintry atmosphere against which the action unfolds. There\u2019s a wonderfully magical touch right at the very end of the book, too, which reveals the story\u2019s true romantic heart \u2013 well, it\u2019s Christmas (in the book), isn\u2019t it ?!<\/p>\n

\"\"As usual, the novel is deeply rooted in its depiction of Whitstable itself, the book really a hymn to the town\u2019s distinctive qualities; windswept beaches, boutique shops, a decorous high street, and wonderfully-titled alleyways. Forays into Canterbury are equally grounded in the real geography of the city, littered with streets and places which will be familiar to local readers (there\u2019s quite a pleasurable feeling to be able to recognise places you know well in books, somehow\u2026).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The best touch in the novel, which become apparent towards the end, concerns a greater level of meaning behind a series of bitter postcards which have been sent to various residents in Whitstable; suddenly, the antagonistic missives assume a greater significance, and the atmosphere ratchets up a notch; the reader finds themselves suddenly thrust into the world akin to David Fincher\u2019s Se7en<\/em> (for those who know the film), although without the same gruesome episodes. But this gathering-together of the mysterious postcards and elevating them to such heightened overtones is one of the many pleasures the book offers.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, having just finished the novel, it\u2019s not the right season in which to be reading it (especially given the current heatwave), but the book conveys both the atmosphere and the spirit of a suitably wintry Chrismastime, evocatively creating scenic touches of a town bedecked for the festive season, and using the weather as a valuable ally. There are some deft musical touches to enhance the flavour – carolling voices and the chime of church bells filling the town’s high street, Tchaikovsky’s\u00a0Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy<\/em> piping at the church fundraising evening, the Salvation Army band playing Once In Royal (‘<\/em>the horns sounded suitably mournful as though in respect of another death in the town’ is a deft and cheeky touch).\u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter in what season of the year you read Murder on Sea;<\/em> like an Advent calendar, its chapters open onto suitably Christmas vistas that will evoke the season no matter when you read it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a hidden protagonist at the heart of Murder on Sea, the second book in the developing Whitstable-based series of crime novels by Julie Wassmer, whose identity becomes apparent as the book unfolds; and I\u2019m not giving away anything to do with the novel\u2019s tricksy plot when I reveal that it\u2019s actually the weather. Set … Continue reading “A hymn to a Whitstable Christmas: Murder on Sea by Julie Wassmer”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":620,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1201],"tags":[21880,168673,168671,147915],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/620"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":499,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions\/499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/pandora\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}