Reviews

Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Crofts

naimfrewat's review against another edition

4.0

Loved it! If only he had given George a past...

nithilakumar's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

vondav's review against another edition

3.0

I wanted a gentle mystery to relax my brain and this fitted the bill. Whilst it was written in the 30s it didn't feel outdated and was a pleasant read. George was a gentleman, but it all went horribly wrong. As you read, you know who the intended victim and what will kill them but that is it. The police officers in the story were not your blundering fools and I enjoyed watching them try and solve the case. The execution of the murder was ingenious and I would never have guessed how he did it.
I will look for some other stories published by the British Crime Library

bmip666's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

vsbedford's review against another edition

3.0

I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. A well done character study of a man on a slow descent into trouble - the inevitability of his demise can be a bit of a slog - but picks up once Inspector French enters the story. If you enjoy some of the slower Colombo episodes, this is probably nearer your alley.

verityw's review against another edition

3.0

An interesting take on the detective novel. I thought it was clever and readable - but I think I prefer a more traditional format/structure.

naomi2022's review

mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

andrewcox's review against another edition

4.0

Very interesting, i enjoyed the whole reverse aspect of the story telling....it worked for me.

bookishsteph1's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars. One of my favourite BLCC books so far.

briarfairchild's review against another edition

2.0

I think Freeman Wills Crofts was better at writing the traditional whodunnit than these would-be psychological crime stories. I've come to this straight after 12.30 From Croydon and liked it even less. It doesn't help that the author put a note at the start explaining that he had made "an effort to tell a story of crime positively", an endeavour at which he completely failed. The motive for the murder is that the protagonist dislikes being poor and wants to support his mistress. Not exactly calculated to make the reader feel sympathetic towards him! In addition, he's entirely selfish - it's clear that he is interested only in himself and cares little for anyone else. You can see the author trying to make it look as though he finds himself forced into a corner where the only option is to connive in a murder, but it just isn't convincing. Also there's a really weird religious enlightenment bit at the end which doesn't fit in with the rest of the story, doesn't fit with the protagonist's character, adds nothing to the plot... it's just a bit odd!

I'm hoping Freeman Wills Crofts didn't try too many more of these experiments with the detective novel and stuck with what he was good at!