fiction

John Moss – a literary kin of Robertson Davies

Still Waters, the newest addition to Dundurn’s Castle Street mystery line, by noted academic John Moss has been receiving great reviews from mystery critics since its publication last month. The witty verbal sparing between Still Waters’ detective duo David Morgan and Miranda Quin are reminding the critics of Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe and Hammett’s Thin Man duo Nick and Nora Charles. And Moss’ writing has been described as being a la Robertson Davies and Ross Macdonald. Not too shabby! And here’s a neat coincidence for you – this Spring Dundurn is publishing a new biography on Robertson Davies. 

What follows is a round up of what the critics have said so far about this noir crime novel that’s sure to be a hit with mystery readers.

“Mosses’ writing is as lush as the Canadian fall setting and as exotic as the Koi themselves. The book is brimming with imagery and he writes wonderfully clever dialogue between Quin and Morgan. They put me in mind of Reginald Hill’s Daziel and Pascoe, or perhaps the clever cocktail commentary of Hammett’s Thin duo, Nick and Nora Charles … I look forward to another Quin and Morgan mystery …”
- Merrill Young, Reviewing the Evidence, October 2008

“Their relationship is well beyond anticipation, each knowing the other’s interest, inclinations, experiences and thoughts, as much as they know themselves, making for a lot of witty and insightful banter and affecting the investigation of the case.

It’s Ontario Gothic a la Robertson Davies with catacombs and dark passages every bit as foreboding as the familiar rain-slicked streets … Like Davies, there’s enough Jungian psychology and Freudian banter in Still Waters to fill a decent textbook, with ample opportunity to consider the nature of memory, loss and the role of the subconsicious in fateful decisions. Even more chilling is that, like Ross Macdonald, Moss visits the sins and crimes of his characters onto their children, ensuring the doom of succceeding generations, but if you don’t like thinking such thoughts and prefer mysteries as entertaining escapes, Moss provides all the bells, whistles and satisfying endings appropriate to the happiest of Canadian crime fiction. That may be what I find most chilling of all in this dark little tale.”
- Kerry J. Schooley, Murder Out There, October 27, 2008

“Moss spins a mystery that sparkles with dynamic setting – from the Rosedale mansion’s murky basement corridors to a world class collection of koi. The mystery is both simple and chillingly realistic … with vivid pictures, resonant insights and a spin on mystery storytelling that is as multilayered as it is beautiful, Moss teases us down the path to resolutions. Still Waters is a mystery told by a storyteller par excellence and is not to be missed.”
- Don Graves, The Hamilton Spectator, November 1, 2008

© 2008 Defining Canada.