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reianb's review
So apparently I borrowed this book from the library in school and didn't have the time to finish it before classes ended..yeah.. i only got to 123 pages of it. Although at first I did have a hard time getting into this book because of the writing which was a little too deep and complex for me (sorry y'all, my brain just can't handle those) I mostly read books which are an easy read but after a while i was able to get accustomed to the writing style of this book. This was a really interesting mystery novel and I do intend to finish it one day because i really want to know what happens. I do hope I find a copy of this book somewhere.
abbiestorr's review against another edition
2.0
only reason the rating is so low is bc i bought it thinking it was a modern day whodunnit not a 1980s mystery so i just couldn’t get on with it :/
rellimarual's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.0
I read this because it is said to be one of the great locked-room mysteries. It is very puzzle-driven, and I did like the way the author would anticipate who the reader had begun to suspect and then deftly cancel out that suspect. But otherwise the book is rather unpleasant. The detective is less a character than a collection of grotesque eccentricities and the other characters, especially the women, are depicted with a misanthropic cattiness that gave the whole thing an off flavor. Also, there's an edgelordy focus on ghastly details like blood and gruesome stories from Transylvania that come across as a bit weak sauce in this day and age but that the author clearly thinks is daring. The mystery is solidly handled but everything else put me off and made me unlikely to read another of Carr's novels.
merrysociopath's review against another edition
3.0
Il migliore di quelli che ho letto di Carr. Come al solito la soluzione del mistero è eccessivamente macchinosa per i miei gusti, ma non tanto da bucare la sospensione dell'incredulità.
anothernicole's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gogglor's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
3.75
Pretty great as far as mysteries go. Definitely way too complicated for me to follow or be able to visualize, though. Would recommend to a mystery-lover though.
ichirofakename's review against another edition
3.0
The first what I would call "successful" locked room mystery that I've read, beating out near miss Ten Little Indians. Resolution is ludicrously complicated and unlikely, and wonderfully clever. Not for those expecting verisimilitude or believable dialog or scintillating prose.
Man is murdered inside a locked room with an open window revealing untrodden snow. 15 minutes later another man, possibly the murderer of the first, dies in the middle of a snowy road from a point-blank shot with no other footprints than his nearby.
While it is true that there are many hints as to what has happened, it's a stretch to claim anyone could completely figure it out, as key facts are not disclosed till the explication. Fun, though. All the fun comes in the last few pages, but the cost of the build-up is minimal.
Man is murdered inside a locked room with an open window revealing untrodden snow. 15 minutes later another man, possibly the murderer of the first, dies in the middle of a snowy road from a point-blank shot with no other footprints than his nearby.
While it is true that there are many hints as to what has happened, it's a stretch to claim anyone could completely figure it out, as key facts are not disclosed till the explication. Fun, though. All the fun comes in the last few pages, but the cost of the build-up is minimal.
halibut's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the mystery, a twisty enough locked room story. But I found the style pretty frustrating.
It's extremely reliant on dialogue, There were points where the dialogue felt absurd, that it was filling the role that would be better performed by straightforward narration: at one point that the police detective Hadley is told "that's the bathroom" as he is entering, as though the detective would walk in and be confounded by what this odd porcelain chair and man-sized trough could possibly mean. The narrative needs to say this is a bathroom, so we know, but it sounded very strange spoken by one of the characters. Outside dialogue, some seemingly simple observations or descriptions get assigned apparently arbitrarily as characters thoughts, though I never found this gave us any particular insight into the character that they specifically were thinking these things, the style just has a reliance on reported though or speech.
The repetition of descriptions, particularly for Dr Fell (lumbering, growling) became grating quickly as well. Why is he always growling? In general everyone seems to constantly furious at each other through most of the book.
Fell seems intended to be a pretty annoying character, constantly announcing he has solved things, but showing no inclination to tell anyone the solution or how, and there are points where the expressed frustration of Hadley was funny and cathartic for the reader. It is extremely funny to put in a chapter lecturing your readers, in advance of the conclusion, about how if they're unhappy with the resolution of the story they are not only wrong, but unreasonable. That was probably my favourite chapter.
It's extremely reliant on dialogue, There were points where the dialogue felt absurd, that it was filling the role that would be better performed by straightforward narration: at one point that the police detective Hadley is told "that's the bathroom" as he is entering, as though the detective would walk in and be confounded by what this odd porcelain chair and man-sized trough could possibly mean. The narrative needs to say this is a bathroom, so we know, but it sounded very strange spoken by one of the characters. Outside dialogue, some seemingly simple observations or descriptions get assigned apparently arbitrarily as characters thoughts, though I never found this gave us any particular insight into the character that they specifically were thinking these things, the style just has a reliance on reported though or speech.
The repetition of descriptions, particularly for Dr Fell (lumbering, growling) became grating quickly as well. Why is he always growling? In general everyone seems to constantly furious at each other through most of the book.
Fell seems intended to be a pretty annoying character, constantly announcing he has solved things, but showing no inclination to tell anyone the solution or how, and there are points where the expressed frustration of Hadley was funny and cathartic for the reader. It is extremely funny to put in a chapter lecturing your readers, in advance of the conclusion, about how if they're unhappy with the resolution of the story they are not only wrong, but unreasonable. That was probably my favourite chapter.
8797999's review against another edition
4.0
Took me a few chapters to warm to Dr Fell and his mannerisms and way of speaking, once I did I found this to be very enjoyable and certainly was puzzling and very interesting how it was all set up and the explanation.
A highlight for me is Chapter 17 when fell outlines the various ways and mechanics of 'locked door' fiction.
I can see why this novel and author are held in high regard today as the pinnacles of locked door fiction. I believe this is the sixth Gideon Fell novel and I will seek out the others. I do have the huge volume of locked door stories to get through containing 60+ including one by John Dickson Carr.
I would recommend this for lovers of crime novels and mystery authors like Agatha Christie. Though some of the dialogue is a bit dated and of it's time, especially in regard to a man being henpecked by his lady lol.
A highlight for me is Chapter 17 when fell outlines the various ways and mechanics of 'locked door' fiction.
I can see why this novel and author are held in high regard today as the pinnacles of locked door fiction. I believe this is the sixth Gideon Fell novel and I will seek out the others. I do have the huge volume of locked door stories to get through containing 60+ including one by John Dickson Carr.
I would recommend this for lovers of crime novels and mystery authors like Agatha Christie. Though some of the dialogue is a bit dated and of it's time, especially in regard to a man being henpecked by his lady lol.