From Art Scott: Robert Adey, author of Locked Room Mysteries, the definitive
reference, Fan GoH at 1990 London Bouchercon, has passed away. A giant in the mystery field, as scholar, bibliographer and collector. He sussed more rare books out of unlikely spots in the British Isles than anyone, and once his own collection was taken care of, he saw to it that they wound up in good hands. My Hell Bomb Floozies and several dozen other impossibly scarce gems of that sort came out of his garage loft on a memorably hot day in July 1989. Photo by Art Scott.
3 comments:
This was a huge shock when I heard it this morning. I first met Bob & his wife Sue in 1978 and we spent many, many happy times with them, often going on book hunts across England, Scotland & Wales, and once - the ill-fated trip of 1981 - to Ireland. As Art has mentioned, his garage was always packed to the rafters with shelves and endless boxes of books, including all sorts of goodies and rarities. His collection was 30,000+ and he seemed, at times, to have almost everything.
We were able to reciprocate somewhat on a couple of visits to the States, during the first of which they drove with us from New York to the Washington Bouchercon on 1980 in my Volkswagen Beetle.
I spoke to Bob a couple of months ago and though I knew he had stomach problems for decades I had no idea of this final illness. He is indeed a great loss to the mystery world but even more, he is a great personal loss to me and Jackie, Among many other things he introduced us to JONATHAN CREEK, RED DWARF, ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE and many others.
RIP
Jeff
Yes, this is sad news. I knew him mainly through MDM but I had the pleasure of spending time with him at a Bouchercon. His letters to MDM were always handwritten and a real job to decipher, but worth the effort. RIP.
I had the pleasure and honour of having Bob (and Sue) in my life - all my life! My father and Bob were best friends for nearly 60 years and I have many a happy memory of times spent with Bob and Sue as a child and as an adult. I am devastated at his death but memories of him I will never ever forget. RIP Bob I will never ever forget you. Xx
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