A rather short post this time as I am recovering from my second cataract surgery in two weeks and for the moment the computer screen is a bit blurry.

A favorite but frustrating book trail started with The Water Room by Christopher Fowler. It is the second in his wonderful Peculiar Crimes Unit series. The PCU tackles the most unusual crimes, usually murders, leaving the .... more mundane police units to solve the more common crimes. Quirky characters, sometimes strange settings and, well, peculiar crimes make this series one of my favorites, and The Water Room my favorite of the series.

There are rivers running beneath London. They ebb and flow, and change course, mostly confined by a ring-road which routes them around the city. There are overflow routes, too, built at least 100 years ago, that are opened by pressure when the rivers are extremely high. The final chase scene in this book is on foot, underground, and with the water rising.

These gates fascinated me! With regular maintenance to check for debris (and bodies) they function without the need for a key, or, these days, a button in a far away office, opening and closing as needed. I did some searching and found a book which I requested through an inter-library loan. It was enough of a disappointment in the lack of information I wanted that I no longer remember the title. I tried guide books for tourists and found little more.

There is a lot going on under the streets of London! Streams, sewers, Roman ruins, electric and fiber optic wiring, funnels for gas, and, of course, The Tube. Thieves have used the tunnels, as did the citizens of London during the World Wars. There are rats, naturally, a few pigeons who have adapted to a life with little sun, and, so the legends go, a few ghosts. London Under: the Secret History Beneath the Streets, by Peter Ackroyd touches on all these subjects, and was a fascinating read. A recommendation from Constant Reader led me to a mystery novel titled The Great Stink by Clare Clark. It has vivid descriptions of a very dirty, smelly Victorian London. One of the main characters prefers his work in the underground because there is just one stench, not layers of smells.

I still don't know as much as I'd like about the water gates, but it's been fun search (and one that will continue, I'm sure).

Reading Hermit With Dog