A sergeant cribb investigation. "the late victorian atmosphere and dialogue are beautifully and accurately rendered. The characters are done with a masterly hand. But perhaps the best thing about it is the way you feel all the time that this must be an account of a real-life crime, because nothing strikes a false note, nothing seems contrived."—ruth rendell an elementary school teacher in training takes a midnight swim in the thames and witnesses a body being dumped. Cribb and thackerey investigate and uncover strange parallels with the then-popular jerome k. Jerome mystery three men in a boat.