Bob Adey (1941-2015)

Bob Adey, crime researcher, collector and anthologist, died on 4 January 2015. He was the author of the definitive study of locked room mysteries and impossible crimes, the bibliography Locked Room Murders (1979, revised 1991).

Robert Clive Smith Adey was born in Stourbridge on 17 November 1941,  the son of Ronald Adey and his wife Elsie (nee Smith). He was married to Alison S. Kouwen in 1968

As well as writing scholarly introductions (amongst them The Derek Smith Omnibus), Bob was the author or co-author of the following: Death Locked In: An Anthology of Locked Room Stories, with Douglas G. Greene (1987), Murder Impossible: Miraculous Murders, Fantastic Felonies and Incredible Criminals, with Jack Adrian (1990), Art of the Impossible, with Jack Adrian (1990), the Japanese-language anthology This Locked Room: 18 Locked-Room Mysteries, with Hidetoshi Mori (1997), As It Might Have Been: A Collection of Sherlockian Parodies from Unlikely Sources (1998), the French-language anthology 20 défis à l'impossible, with Roland Lacourbe (2002), and, edited under the Lost Classics Series banner, Deadlines: The Impossible Files of Senator Brooks U. Banner by Joseph Cimmings (2004).

Bob was an incredibly helpful source of information for the crime fiction fan and always generous with his time. Publisher John Pugmire described him as "the epitome of the phrase 'a gentleman and a scholar,' for he was not only possessed of a prodigious memory and a fabulous private collection, but he was the kindest and most generous of men. Despite a debilitating illness in his final years, he was always ready to help."

Update: from the Ledbury Reporter:

ADEY Bob Of Colwall. Passed away on January 4th, 2015. Will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. Funeral Service at St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Church, Little Malvern, on Wednesday, January 28th, at 1 p.m. Family flowers only, however donations, if desired for Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie Cancer Care or Macmillan Cancer Support, may be left in the donation box in Church or sent to Holland Funeral Service, Malvern. WR14 3LS. 

(* Photo: Art Scott via Bill Crider)