No plotlines have been spoiled in the writing of this review.
I’ve been discovering some of the recently reprinted ‘Golden Age’ detective stories and thrillers. They are celebrated for their ingenious plotlines, but score less highly when it comes to characterisation; modern writers in these genres are much better at avoiding stereotypes.
Trouble on the Thames, set shortly before the Second World War, is no exception in this respect, as the baddies in particular might as well be going around with BADDY written on a placard round their necks. It’s not as if Bridges’ writing is wooden in all respects; he had a deft touch when setting scenes and a knack for social comedy, and it’s a shame he didn’t indulge these skills rather more.
Our hero has been invalided out of the Navy with the sudden onset of colour-blindness during a voyage. Setting aside the medical implausibility, I kept waiting for a plot twist which turned on his failure to distinguish two colours, but it never arrived, though his handicap does generate the final line of dialogue in the book.
Much of my enjoyment came from the period detail (boggling for example that a woman might invite her male companion to choose what she should eat in a restaurant). If you enjoy vintage spy capers, this will pass the time – just don’t expect deep psychological insight.