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betanonuser's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bookeared's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
2.75
bananatricky's review
1.0
DNF at 35%.
[b:The Scarlet Pimpernel|136116|The Scarlet Pimpernel|Emmuska Orczy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1406764899l/136116._SX50_.jpg|750426] is one of my favourite novels so when I saw a book by Baroness Orczy available on NetGalley for request I immediately clicked the button.
This is very different to The Scarlet Pimpernel, set in the post World War One era this is a series of short stories featuring 'The Man in the Corner' who sits fidgeting with a piece of string in a teashop in Fleet Street, London and expounds his theories on various unsolvable mysteries of the day including thefts of a valuable painting, locked-room murders, stolen jewels and murdered Russian Princes. In the strain of Hercules Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, the teahouse detective can solve mysteries that baffle the Police.
I read the first five short stories (of 13) but I found the teahouse detective's solutions to be no more plausible than others, particularly in The Mystery of the Russian Prince, and the casual racism of the era was distasteful to read, eg referring to a Jewish woman having 'the mistrust of her race for everything that is frivolous and thriftless'.
Overall, I wasn't engaged by the character, the plots or the writing, I much prefer [a:Dorothy L Sayers|20466194|Dorothy L Sayers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] or even [a:Georgette Heyer|18067|Georgette Heyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336748892p2/18067.jpg] for 1920s/1930s detective mysteries, and I gave up after five short stories.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
[b:The Scarlet Pimpernel|136116|The Scarlet Pimpernel|Emmuska Orczy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1406764899l/136116._SX50_.jpg|750426] is one of my favourite novels so when I saw a book by Baroness Orczy available on NetGalley for request I immediately clicked the button.
This is very different to The Scarlet Pimpernel, set in the post World War One era this is a series of short stories featuring 'The Man in the Corner' who sits fidgeting with a piece of string in a teashop in Fleet Street, London and expounds his theories on various unsolvable mysteries of the day including thefts of a valuable painting, locked-room murders, stolen jewels and murdered Russian Princes. In the strain of Hercules Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, the teahouse detective can solve mysteries that baffle the Police.
I read the first five short stories (of 13) but I found the teahouse detective's solutions to be no more plausible than others, particularly in The Mystery of the Russian Prince, and the casual racism of the era was distasteful to read, eg referring to a Jewish woman having 'the mistrust of her race for everything that is frivolous and thriftless'.
Overall, I wasn't engaged by the character, the plots or the writing, I much prefer [a:Dorothy L Sayers|20466194|Dorothy L Sayers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] or even [a:Georgette Heyer|18067|Georgette Heyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336748892p2/18067.jpg] for 1920s/1930s detective mysteries, and I gave up after five short stories.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
linyarai's review
3.0
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review here and on my blog Samwise Reviews. It was my first introduction to the Teahouse Detective, and going into it I had no idea what it was about and had never heard of this character or author before. It was definitely light, simple reading, nothing too deep or complicated. I enjoyed it, but the cases weren't gripping or passionate. The characters sat at a table and discussed 13 different cases, and while they were different and had unexpected endings, I found this lacked the excitement you would find in Sherlock Holmes. It was a good way to pass the time, but I'm not sure I would seek out other books in this series.
This also worked for the "Character Who Wears Glasses" part of my 2020 reading challenge.
This also worked for the "Character Who Wears Glasses" part of my 2020 reading challenge.
annarella's review
5.0
I love Baroness Orczy's mysteries and these were excellent.
I was happy to read it and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I was happy to read it and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
stephbookshine's review
3.0
*I received a free ARC of this novel, with thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
This is my first acquaintance with Baroness Orczy’s Teahouse Detective, and I found it a bit of a mixed experience.
The format of these short stories is the same in each case: the first-person narrator, a journalist, comes across her old acquaintance, ‘The Old Man in the Corner’ at a café, where he plays incessantly with a piece of knotted string and casually solves big murder cases, apparently using only information gleaned from newspaper reports and similar.
There is quite a bit of the casual racism and classism you might expect for the time period in which these stories were written – lots of “those sorts of people” commentary and stereotypes. This is likely to be offensive to many in this day and age, however, I don’t feel it fair to try to hold older books to modern standards of morality.
The armchair detective himself is described in unappealing terms – physically and in his boastful, gloating mannerisms. His method of solving cases also lacked some of the excitement of other similar detective stories (such as the cases of Sherlock Holmes), as he merely recites the facts of the case that are known to him from popular accounts (and some which I couldn’t see how he could possibly have known just from the papers!), then provides his inquisitive chronicler with the solution to the mystery. By just telling the story from his chair, with none of the customary interviewing of suspects or assessing of clues, makes the stories feel rather passive for the reader.
On the other hand, if you treat the narrator and the detective as simply a framing device, not necessary to the story itself, then this is a really fun collection of short Agatha Christie / Conan Doyle style murder puzzles. For each story we get the scene set, then are presented with a murder or robbery victim and 3-5 suspects from which to choose. We can then try to spot the significant clues amongst the many red herrings to try to beat the reveal as to how-, why- and who-dunnit.
I quite enjoyed this foray into classic detective fiction, and whilst The Old Man in the Corner is never going to replace Poirot or Holmes in my heart, this collection certainly holds some knotty little puzzles for your little grey cells!
“You were thinking of the disappearance of the Australian millionaire?” he asked blandly.
“I don’t know that I was,” I retorted.
“But of course you were. How could any journalist worthy of the name fail to be interested in that intricate case?”
“I suppose you have your theory—as usual?”
“It is not a theory,” the creature replied, with that fatuous smile of his which always irritated me; “it is a Certainty.”
Then, as he became silent, absorbed in the contemplation of a wonderfully complicated knot in his beloved bit of string, I said with gracious condescension:
“You may talk about it, if you like.”
He did like, fortunately for me, because, frankly, I could not see daylight in that maze of intrigue, adventure and possibly crime, which was described by the Press as “The Mystery of the White Carnation.”
– Baroness Orczy, Unravelled Knots: The Teahouse Detective
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/unravelled-knots-the-teahouse-detective-baroness-orczy/
This is my first acquaintance with Baroness Orczy’s Teahouse Detective, and I found it a bit of a mixed experience.
The format of these short stories is the same in each case: the first-person narrator, a journalist, comes across her old acquaintance, ‘The Old Man in the Corner’ at a café, where he plays incessantly with a piece of knotted string and casually solves big murder cases, apparently using only information gleaned from newspaper reports and similar.
There is quite a bit of the casual racism and classism you might expect for the time period in which these stories were written – lots of “those sorts of people” commentary and stereotypes. This is likely to be offensive to many in this day and age, however, I don’t feel it fair to try to hold older books to modern standards of morality.
The armchair detective himself is described in unappealing terms – physically and in his boastful, gloating mannerisms. His method of solving cases also lacked some of the excitement of other similar detective stories (such as the cases of Sherlock Holmes), as he merely recites the facts of the case that are known to him from popular accounts (and some which I couldn’t see how he could possibly have known just from the papers!), then provides his inquisitive chronicler with the solution to the mystery. By just telling the story from his chair, with none of the customary interviewing of suspects or assessing of clues, makes the stories feel rather passive for the reader.
On the other hand, if you treat the narrator and the detective as simply a framing device, not necessary to the story itself, then this is a really fun collection of short Agatha Christie / Conan Doyle style murder puzzles. For each story we get the scene set, then are presented with a murder or robbery victim and 3-5 suspects from which to choose. We can then try to spot the significant clues amongst the many red herrings to try to beat the reveal as to how-, why- and who-dunnit.
I quite enjoyed this foray into classic detective fiction, and whilst The Old Man in the Corner is never going to replace Poirot or Holmes in my heart, this collection certainly holds some knotty little puzzles for your little grey cells!
“You were thinking of the disappearance of the Australian millionaire?” he asked blandly.
“I don’t know that I was,” I retorted.
“But of course you were. How could any journalist worthy of the name fail to be interested in that intricate case?”
“I suppose you have your theory—as usual?”
“It is not a theory,” the creature replied, with that fatuous smile of his which always irritated me; “it is a Certainty.”
Then, as he became silent, absorbed in the contemplation of a wonderfully complicated knot in his beloved bit of string, I said with gracious condescension:
“You may talk about it, if you like.”
He did like, fortunately for me, because, frankly, I could not see daylight in that maze of intrigue, adventure and possibly crime, which was described by the Press as “The Mystery of the White Carnation.”
– Baroness Orczy, Unravelled Knots: The Teahouse Detective
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/unravelled-knots-the-teahouse-detective-baroness-orczy/
pvn's review
3.0
A nice collection of old fashion mysteries. Pretty good quality overall, but not great. This is my first book by this author (although I know her PIMPERNEL story), and like the rather unique approach of the detective being based in a teahouse. These are not terribly sophisticated stories or crimes, but their still pretty interesting most of the time, and the author's talent is pretty obvious.
I really appreciate the review copy!!
I really appreciate the review copy!!
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