A suspicious death is the instigating factor in a chain of events leading to not one, but two inexplicable murders. An esteemed detective is on the caA suspicious death is the instigating factor in a chain of events leading to not one, but two inexplicable murders. An esteemed detective is on the case and Houdini gets involved and despite being published in 1988, this is certainly a vintage murder mystery in every sense of the word.
I originally thought that this was published in the 50s and that speaks to both the strengths and weaknesses of its writing. Author Paul Halter has made a career out of impossible crimes and he throws down with two corkers in this one - a flat-out locked room murder and another that might as well be.
The real issue is that the “characters� in this one make me long for the rich characterization of Agatha Christie’s stockpile. Which is to say, this bunch is wafer thin and then some. The spirit mediums, uh, the� other guys� some generic females� there’s very little meat on those particular bones.
It actually starts out like a domestic/romance and then eventually veers off to the supernatural before it settles down for the murder, which is clearly where Halter’s passion lies. I don’t hate locked room mysteries - they’re a genre staple - but I do confess that they often hinge on ludicrous solutions and precision timing.
That proves to be the case here, where this brisk read introduces a fairly amusing skewering of the ‘quirky detective� trope, who proceeds to get things utterly wrong with a fake answer that would actually make sense if the story wasn’t jonesing to have an even more unlikely result later.
My main issue with this one is that it piles crazy twist upon crazy twist, pretty much every chapter has a shock ending, until it takes a maddening swerve into a meta-narrative that on the one hand is clever but on the other is borderline obnoxious.
It tries to right the course at the very end, but leaves with a vaguely unsatisfying denouement that feels like after drilling holes in its own boat it tried to patch those up, but then set the masts on fire as well just for good measure (the sofa is probably a bridge too far and that’s all I will say on that front).
Coupled with the underwritten characters and an explanation that is clever but nevertheless feels patently insane and you have a book that’s certainly fine if you like the genre but I don’t know if it would do much to attract anyone new.
3 stars - it’s quick enough that you can excuse its more obvious failings and I admit that part of the fun is the utter lunacy of the solutions. I don’t think that this will be my last encounter with Halter’s work, but I also won’t be rushing back for another with any speed....more
Much as I don’t love Miss Marple to the same extent as Poirot, this is very good Christie and no mistake. Even having read this one a few years back IMuch as I don’t love Miss Marple to the same extent as Poirot, this is very good Christie and no mistake. Even having read this one a few years back I completely thought the wrong person had done it and the mystery has an elegant solution that beautifully fits the facts at hand.
It also plays a lot more fairly than some Christie novels where key facts are omitted or not revealed until the end. This one has a fairly plausible solution that you could probably put together with a minimum of guesswork and only a couple suppositions.
Even better, less of the casual racism I always complain about. None, really. Indeed, some hilarious pseudoscience and fun turns of phrase we don’t see any more are actually a plus for me. A very cozy book worth enjoying....more
I couldn't stop reading this book, but at times it felt like that was in spite of the book. The 80's nostalgia is well-researched and layered on thickI couldn't stop reading this book, but at times it felt like that was in spite of the book. The 80's nostalgia is well-researched and layered on thick but sometimes it felt like it was just sitting on the surface as decoration rather than meaning anything.
The treasure hunt aspect and riddles were a lot of fun and it was an addictive read. And I completely recommend reading it, but I am still not 100% sure why that is, so there you go.
This was one of the hardest books, in terms of just getting through it, that I've ever read. I found the first 20-30% a confusing, numbing slog that hThis was one of the hardest books, in terms of just getting through it, that I've ever read. I found the first 20-30% a confusing, numbing slog that had me almost put the book down permanently several times.
I wouldn't say that the effort was completely worth it; I still found this a denser read than I like and it took a lot longer to read it than my usual fare.
That said, I did finish it, enjoyed it, and shockingly didn't completely reject the idea of another trip to this series. There are some superb ideas on display here and the ending is interesting and the antagonist is certainly unique. I may see what else happens here, but it will be a while....more
Loading...
