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krobart's review against another edition
1.0
This macabre novel is about two old ladies in a nursing home who create a fantasy that the abuse the old people are suffering is part of a baroque mystery plot. The novel seems to depend solely on its shock value to succeed. I could not finish it.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-dying-of-the-light/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-dying-of-the-light/
nuthatch's review against another edition
5.0
This book started out as a story about a terrible nursing home in England. It is actually a clever satire of the mystery genre. Dibdin must have had fun writing this. The proprietors of the nursing home are incredibly evil and greedy.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘Nothing is more usual, after all, for the principal suspect to become the next victim.’
The scene appears to be an ordinary country house hotel, inhabited by the usual cast of characters, including the Colonel, the playboy, the clergyman, a rich invalid and, of course, the usual murderer. Rosemary Travis and her friend Dorothy Davenport need only find the clues to unmask the murderer’s identity.
Except that, of course, nothing is as it seems at the Eventide Lodge which isn’t even an ordinary country house hotel. No, Eventide Lodge is a truly awful nursing home run by William Anderson and his sister Letitia and dreadful things seem to be happening to the small number of geriatric residents living there.
Why did Hilary Bryant die, and what happened to George Channing? Is another resident involved, or could it be the proprietors?
When Dorothy herself dies, the night before she is due to leave Eventide Lodge for terminal cancer treatment in hospital, Rosemary may have a mystery on her hands. Or perhaps not: Dorothy may have killed herself. Or, if not, who did and why?
‘There is no room for sloppy guesswork or vulgar sensationalism.’
In fewer than 200 pages, Michael Dibdin creates a mystery which I found more interesting for the descriptions of Eventide Lodge and the ways in which the characters interact than for the solution itself. It’s a quick read and an enjoyable one despite its bleak black aspects: any place remotely like Eventide Lodge needs its own Rosemary Travis.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The scene appears to be an ordinary country house hotel, inhabited by the usual cast of characters, including the Colonel, the playboy, the clergyman, a rich invalid and, of course, the usual murderer. Rosemary Travis and her friend Dorothy Davenport need only find the clues to unmask the murderer’s identity.
Except that, of course, nothing is as it seems at the Eventide Lodge which isn’t even an ordinary country house hotel. No, Eventide Lodge is a truly awful nursing home run by William Anderson and his sister Letitia and dreadful things seem to be happening to the small number of geriatric residents living there.
Why did Hilary Bryant die, and what happened to George Channing? Is another resident involved, or could it be the proprietors?
When Dorothy herself dies, the night before she is due to leave Eventide Lodge for terminal cancer treatment in hospital, Rosemary may have a mystery on her hands. Or perhaps not: Dorothy may have killed herself. Or, if not, who did and why?
‘There is no room for sloppy guesswork or vulgar sensationalism.’
In fewer than 200 pages, Michael Dibdin creates a mystery which I found more interesting for the descriptions of Eventide Lodge and the ways in which the characters interact than for the solution itself. It’s a quick read and an enjoyable one despite its bleak black aspects: any place remotely like Eventide Lodge needs its own Rosemary Travis.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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