**spoiler alert** These books are always fairly formulaic and you know what to expect each time - Victor Leming will complain about taking trains and **spoiler alert** These books are always fairly formulaic and you know what to expect each time - Victor Leming will complain about taking trains and being away from his wife for even one night, Tallis will be a blistering bully of a boss and Colbeck will deliver a ¡°relay of punches¡± to a suspect. That being said, I¡¯m pleased to say that Railway to the Grave was actually one of the better ones in the series.
The train itself was mostly incidental and the victim¡¯s death that brought Colbeck to the scene initially was merely the effect, so the actual focus of the investigation is on the cause - why did the colonel choose to die like this?
The ultimate cause was actually somewhat unexpected, enough so that I wish there was more time dedicated to fleshing out the once the ¡°shocking twist¡± was delivered. Most of the story was spent unravelling all the red herrings and uncovering the deep, dark secrets held by various villagers, though the supporting characters were mostly so unlikable that seeing Colbeck take them down one by one was enjoyable in its own way. ...more
Unlike the first two books, I found Unnatural Death a delightfully interesting mystery - really enjoyed this one!
This one is a bit of an unusual caseUnlike the first two books, I found Unnatural Death a delightfully interesting mystery - really enjoyed this one!
This one is a bit of an unusual case, and that¡¯s probably what made it so intriguing. There¡¯s no body, no proof, not even any real suspicions. All there was was a doctor¡¯s discontented rumblings that his excess of caution over the death of his patient proved his downfall because there was no apparent case.
But of course Wimsey¡¯s detective nose twitches with interest, and what follows is a fascinating slow-burn mystery where he works backwards to uncover a trail so well-hidden that no one would¡¯ve truly suspected it had Wimsey not started investigating. It was so exciting seeing Wimsey, Parker and his faithful lady spinster-turned-investigator assistant close the net around the increasingly desperate killer.
Sadly the ending was the only letdown - the mad rush of the climax and what happened after wasn¡¯t worthy of the build up. Desperately hoping the future entries will be better wrapped up. ...more
**spoiler alert** I am well aware of the limitations of this series - one would never pick these up expecting three dimensional characters or stellar **spoiler alert** I am well aware of the limitations of this series - one would never pick these up expecting three dimensional characters or stellar character/relationship development, and certainly not in-depth or unique cases. Its appeal for me lies in its comforting and solid familiarity instead; George and Genevieve will inevitably meet an array of obnoxious passengers, experience danger, sneak along the corridors in search of thieves and murderers and succeed in the end.
But even with my well-adjusted expectations, Murder on the Oceanic still managed to let me down overall. It was a boring retread of plot points that had happened before on previous voyages - we have Genevieve chasing a thief, George chasing a murderer, Genevieve once again has an unwelcome suitor who won¡¯t take no for an answer, etc. NOTHING was new!
The most disappointing aspect was that we returned to the same-old Genevieve and George separate investigation routine, despite their newly-married status. After their relationship finally developed further in the previous book and they reached that crucial turning point at long last, I (and Genevieve) had hoped to see them travel as a couple for a change. But no - George insists they¡¯d be more effective using their tired old method of pretending not to know each other, so we are ¡°treated¡± to a repeat of their previous outings. They barely interact at all and frankly might as well not have been married - if the author didn¡¯t tell us once in a while through their monologues that they¡¯re husband and wife, I wouldn¡¯t even have noticed. It sure wasn¡¯t apparent in their behaviour.
In terms of the mystery, it¡¯s also the same old - there¡¯s a murderer on board and a spate of thefts concurrently. I feel like Genevieve and George seemed less effective than usual as a detective team; Genevieve in particular makes some astoundingly stupid mistakes, one of which nearly gets her almost sexually assaulted AGAIN. What kind of apparently seasoned detective gets so impatient that she ignores good advice to wait for backup and insists on barrelling into the cabin of someone who might be a thief AND a murderer alone?
George isn¡¯t as bad, but does make his own fair share of errors that - again, what kind of seasoned detective clears potential suspects because they¡¯re friends and ¡°he doesn¡¯t think they would do it¡±? (He¡¯s only known these people for a few weeks at most!)
Usually the previous books would have at least one or two likeable passengers, but amazingly enough everyone was either obnoxious or barely tolerable. We don¡¯t even get the pleasure of seeing them taken down a peg - the lady who lost the diamond earrings and nearly gets them killed with her idiocy at the end is never taught a lesson, clingy Blanche gets together ¡°happily¡± with the horrible Mark, Genevieve¡¯s attacker gets away almost scot-free because she once again chooses not to press charges¡ and so on.
I believe there¡¯s only one more book in the series, so I hope it at least finishes off on a higher note than this one....more
**spoiler alert** 2.5 stars. Lord Peter really started growing on me in this second outing; behind his ¡°chatty, air-headed dandy¡± exterior obviously l**spoiler alert** 2.5 stars. Lord Peter really started growing on me in this second outing; behind his ¡°chatty, air-headed dandy¡± exterior obviously lies a good brain and a decent bloke who cares about his family.
And it¡¯s a good thing he cares about his family, because his brother and sister were certainly in need of care! I¡¯ve never seen two people so determined to send themselves to the gallows - it was actually idiotic. It¡¯s a shame neither could be charged with obstruction of justice and just generally being nuisances. Heck, even Parker deserved a slap on the wrist for behaving like a right fool over Wimsey¡¯s sister; I was a bit disgusted at how quickly he lost all semblance of professionalism just because he was sweet on her.
The mystery was honestly quite boring and banked on the aforementioned idiots wasting time with red herrings as much as possible before the author dropped in a last minute twist. The worst part was the tedious use of a courtroom transcript format for both the start and end - it just dragged and DRAGGED on ad nauseum....more
Third try lucky! Desperate for something else in the vein of Agatha Christie¡¯s novels after I¡¯d gone through most of her works years ago, I¡¯d attempteThird try lucky! Desperate for something else in the vein of Agatha Christie¡¯s novels after I¡¯d gone through most of her works years ago, I¡¯d attempted to read this (twice) but never could quite get into it.
Gave it another whirl recently and it was still a struggle at the beginning, but once Lord Peter stopped being so damned whimsical and the murder mystery got fully under way, it was much better.
Lord Peter took time to grow on me, but he did eventually - particularly once I saw that there IS a good brain beneath the empty-headed buffoon act and his nonstop yammering. Thankfully he¡¯s balanced out by his awesome mother, his manservant Bunter and Detective Parker.
The mystery is interesting enough - seemed fairly stock-standard at first but with an interesting twist ultimately. I would have liked more time to soak in the aftermath though; not a fan of mysteries that spend 95% of the word count on setting the scene, 4% on the actual eureka moment and 1% on the unveiling of the culprit¡ leaving no time for us to find out what happens after....more
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