Joseph Zizza
I get the historical significance (especially as relates to Agatha Christie) but this is less a mystery than a social comedy, with more devoted to commentary on the public, the politicians and the characters's behaviour than to the mystery elements. It also reads like a penny dreadful, with high (melo)drama every time there is anything of significance to relate. Yes it is nearly 130 years old, but it feels every day of those 130 years. Interesting historical artifact, but not a great mystery, nor a very accomplished novel.
I made the foolish mistake of delaying reading this because of memories of the silly Charlie Chan movies I had seen as a kid. This was fun from start to finish; the “wildness” of Hawaii versus the staid conservatism of the mainland, the multi-layered plot, multiple red herrings and Charlie Chan's amusing (if faintly racist) turns of speech, with the consequent underestimation of his sagacity. Manged the unusual feat of making an entertaining mystery and a fun story in one book. Recommended.
A quaint period piece, very much of the year 1940. Breezily written, it nevertheless never mentions Germany or Hitler, while referring to both indirectly. Its hero, the blind Duncan Maclain, has a bit of The Shadow about him, and having read many of those when I was a kid, I found myself sceptical of his “powers” as well as the last minute, slightly incredible rescues. Entertaining, but requires an ENORMOUS suspension of disbelief.
A fabulous surprise: I loved this. Loved the characters, loved the pace, loved the dialogue, loved the story. Read it a very short time and will now look to read all of Craven's books. An exciting, fun, gripping and completely absorbing crime novel with a great pair of main characters and a well-researched and completely believable story. Loved it!
This really didn't do anything for me. It's more a domestic comedy than a mystery, about three overly precocious kids whose mother is a mystery novelist. It was breezily written and there was a murder to be solved, but most of the book is taken up with smart-alec dialogue and the kids putting one over on adults. Might have made an entertaining 1943 movie, but as a mystery novel it doesn't really cut it.
Important for historical reasons, but must be read in the context of being 140 years old, and as such, more akin to The Moonstone than any 20th century detective/mystery novel. It has the melodrama and faintly incredible aspects of the period. Enjoyable, and well-crafted, but must be read in a historical context in order to avoid seeming slightly ludicrous.
I don't understand what all the fuss is about. Successor to Hammett and Chandler? Has neither the toughness of Hammett nor the wisecracking wit of Chandler. Just one unpleasant and seedy event after another, with a “surprise” revelation of the obvious killer. It isn't terrible, just not exceptional.
Cleverly reasoned working out of a murder from a coroner's inquest testimony alone. It is brief, and benefits from its brevity, as it's hardly gripping fare reading testimony from the residents of the house in which the murder takes place. But there are sly injections of insight into the characters, and although there are one or two less than politically correct issues with the way the testimony is conveyed, it is from 1932, so some allowance must be made. Philip MacDonald is a neglected writer, and this is odd, as the books of his I've read have been very satisfying.
Dreary, dated and lame, this “thriller” is a lacking in both narrative drive and credibility from the start. Set in two unnamed Eastern European countries in the 70's, it features a totalitarian country where everything is “District 33” and Town “N” and Road 132. Felt like a seventies British TV show. Dull and lifeless. Anderson's Inspector Wilkins pastiches of Golden Age mysteries were fun, but this is below even the Murder She Wrote novelizations he did. Dreadful.
Surprisingly entertaining mystery from 1932 that showed little sign of its age and kept me interested all the way through. It helps that it's set mostly in a castle in western Scotland and there is an emphasis on the “old ways” versus modern ways, but it's more down to the skill of Anthony Wynne, who is virtually unknown, and whose books (apart from this one, recently published in the US) are all out of print and VERY hard to find. Recommended.
I really don't understand the status of this book as a “classic” mystery. The culprit is identified five pages in (not necessarily a showstopper; see Malice Aforethought), the credibility of the Svengali hold the villain holds over his household is VERY questionable, the people in that household are as dumb as rocks, and the denouement in an incinerator plant is hard to take seriously and is very sketchily presented, presumably to allow readers to imagine the worst. This is a very dated and largely suspense-free suspense novel with little to recommend it beyond some capable writing. Great for your 68 year old maiden aunt.