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backpackfullofbooks's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
“The death of a dog may not by some be regarded as a tragedy, but some dogs are more worthy than some men, and can be more justly mourned.”
“A woman may be as old as she feels to herself,” she said “but to a man she is as old as she looks”.
“With no disrespect to art, your picture is a secondary consideration.” Retorted the inspector, rather sharply “I am merely hoping it will give me a line on graver matters.”
~
A British library classic crime novel this classic country house murder has many of the elements that you would expect from this trope. A variety of unpleasant and mysterious characters, an unexpected guest, a blossoming romance, an unwanted proposal, a hunt, a self indulgent creative and more than one murder (though I agree that the death of the dog was the saddest one).
This book has a lot of the elements of a classic mystery with a lot of moving parts.
~
I found this book moderately enjoyable in that I love the country house murder set up and a few of the characters where enjoyable. The problem with this story is that there are to many characters and too many different elements to the story, it was a little like multiple stories happening at the same time. I had to go back on myself to remind myself of who was murdered and in what order, hardly inductive of a highly affecting storyline.
Overall I think that the plot could have used some pruning to make it more effective and streamlined.
However if you enjoy the puzzle element of a murder mystery this might be ideal for you, there is more than one murder and plenty of other crimes to sold besides.
~
I recommend this book for those who enjoy a murder mystery for the puzzle of it and have a good head for names as there are rather a lot of them.
“A woman may be as old as she feels to herself,” she said “but to a man she is as old as she looks”.
“With no disrespect to art, your picture is a secondary consideration.” Retorted the inspector, rather sharply “I am merely hoping it will give me a line on graver matters.”
~
A British library classic crime novel this classic country house murder has many of the elements that you would expect from this trope. A variety of unpleasant and mysterious characters, an unexpected guest, a blossoming romance, an unwanted proposal, a hunt, a self indulgent creative and more than one murder (though I agree that the death of the dog was the saddest one).
This book has a lot of the elements of a classic mystery with a lot of moving parts.
~
I found this book moderately enjoyable in that I love the country house murder set up and a few of the characters where enjoyable. The problem with this story is that there are to many characters and too many different elements to the story, it was a little like multiple stories happening at the same time. I had to go back on myself to remind myself of who was murdered and in what order, hardly inductive of a highly affecting storyline.
Overall I think that the plot could have used some pruning to make it more effective and streamlined.
However if you enjoy the puzzle element of a murder mystery this might be ideal for you, there is more than one murder and plenty of other crimes to sold besides.
~
I recommend this book for those who enjoy a murder mystery for the puzzle of it and have a good head for names as there are rather a lot of them.
clarentium's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The motives of the suspects are revealed too quickly. An important aspect of the murder is intriguing for a while then solved soon after. The conclusion is interesting but a little anti-climactic. There's an enjoyable friendship between Bultin and Pratt, and the book might have been more interesting if they were the main investigators.
jalfraize's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
angela_king's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
missmesmerized's review against another edition
4.0
Ein misslicher Unfall beim Aussteigen aus dem Zug, als er beinahe seinen Halt verpasst hätte, bringt John Foss auf das Anwesen Bragley Court von Lord Aveling, der dort eine illustre Jagdgesellschaft versammelt hat. Zwölf Gäste waren geplant und wie jeder weiß, bringt ein dreizehnter Gast Unglück. Und so kommt es auch, denn nicht nur wird ein Gemälde des berühmten Künstler Leicester Pratt zerstört, sondern auch ein Hund getötet, bevor – wie nunmehr zu erwarten – auch noch ein Mord geschieht. Dem ungebetenen und durch die Fußverletzung immobilen Gast bleibt nichts anderes übrig, als das Treiben im Haus zu beobachten und passiv die Ereignisse zu verfolgen. Doch seinem Scharfsinn entgeht nichts und er kann geschickt die Puzzleteile zusammenfügen.
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon was ein englischer Kriminalautor und Theaterschreiber, der vor allem durch die Geschichten um Detective X. Crook bekannt wurde, die in dem Magazin „Flynn’s Weekly Detective Fiction“ des ehemaligen FBI Chefs William James Flynn erschienen. „Thirteen Guests“ erschien erstmals 1936 und steht in bester Tradition klassischer britischer Krimis wie etwa der Lord Peter Wimsey Serie von Dorothy L. Sayers oder natürlich der Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie.
Der Krimi folgt einem bekannten Muster: ein abgeschiedener Ort im schottischen Nirgendwo; eine geschlossene Gemeinschaft, die sich mehr oder weniger gut kennt, aber natürlich ihre Geheimnisse hat; ein quasi außenstehender Beobachter und natürlich ein Mord, der aufgeklärt werden muss. Dabei leisten Hobbydetetktive wie hier ein Journalist und der Künstler ebenso ihren Beitrag wie all diejenigen, die gerne etwas vertuschen würden. Am Ende kommt der große Showdown, nachdem der Ermittler die Gäste separierte, um sie einzeln zu verhören, und dann alle losen Enden miteinander zu verbinden und den Täter zu präsentieren. Allerdings schenkt Frajeon dem Leser noch zwei Kapitel, die die Geschichte nochmals in einem anderen Licht erscheinen lassen.
Natürlich sind Krimis aus der Entstehungszeit von „Dreizehn Gäste“ nicht mit heutigen zu vergleichen, die Erzählstruktur, das Figurenpersonal, das Erzähltempo und auch die detailreichen Schilderungen von Mord und Leiche unterscheiden sich nennenswert, weshalb es schlichtweg unfair wäre, den Roman daran zu messen. Als Fan auch der alten Storys, die vorzugsweise in der britischen Oberschicht spielen und auf ganz klassischen Motiven basieren, bei denen dem Leser im Laufe der Handlung kleine Andeutungen gemacht werden, die er hoffentlich nicht übersieht, um so seine eigenen Ermittlungen zu leiten, konnte mich Farjeon mit einem sauberen Krimi überzeugen, der auch sprachlich passend etwas angestaubt wirkt und einen subtil-ironischen Ton pflegt.
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon was ein englischer Kriminalautor und Theaterschreiber, der vor allem durch die Geschichten um Detective X. Crook bekannt wurde, die in dem Magazin „Flynn’s Weekly Detective Fiction“ des ehemaligen FBI Chefs William James Flynn erschienen. „Thirteen Guests“ erschien erstmals 1936 und steht in bester Tradition klassischer britischer Krimis wie etwa der Lord Peter Wimsey Serie von Dorothy L. Sayers oder natürlich der Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie.
Der Krimi folgt einem bekannten Muster: ein abgeschiedener Ort im schottischen Nirgendwo; eine geschlossene Gemeinschaft, die sich mehr oder weniger gut kennt, aber natürlich ihre Geheimnisse hat; ein quasi außenstehender Beobachter und natürlich ein Mord, der aufgeklärt werden muss. Dabei leisten Hobbydetetktive wie hier ein Journalist und der Künstler ebenso ihren Beitrag wie all diejenigen, die gerne etwas vertuschen würden. Am Ende kommt der große Showdown, nachdem der Ermittler die Gäste separierte, um sie einzeln zu verhören, und dann alle losen Enden miteinander zu verbinden und den Täter zu präsentieren. Allerdings schenkt Frajeon dem Leser noch zwei Kapitel, die die Geschichte nochmals in einem anderen Licht erscheinen lassen.
Natürlich sind Krimis aus der Entstehungszeit von „Dreizehn Gäste“ nicht mit heutigen zu vergleichen, die Erzählstruktur, das Figurenpersonal, das Erzähltempo und auch die detailreichen Schilderungen von Mord und Leiche unterscheiden sich nennenswert, weshalb es schlichtweg unfair wäre, den Roman daran zu messen. Als Fan auch der alten Storys, die vorzugsweise in der britischen Oberschicht spielen und auf ganz klassischen Motiven basieren, bei denen dem Leser im Laufe der Handlung kleine Andeutungen gemacht werden, die er hoffentlich nicht übersieht, um so seine eigenen Ermittlungen zu leiten, konnte mich Farjeon mit einem sauberen Krimi überzeugen, der auch sprachlich passend etwas angestaubt wirkt und einen subtil-ironischen Ton pflegt.
christopherborum's review
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is the second JJF book I've read, after The Z Murders. this one was a little better, but had the same implausibly rushed romantic element. People are proposing marriage after only a few days. And the structure is also unusual. The story rushes on, with the Inspector ruminating and his Sergeant dusting for prints and then it just, ends. It jumps from the rising action straight to the denouement. To be fair, after the official summation is presented, there's some tidying up to do that may differ from the report submitted by the police that provides some intriguing alternate theories of the crime.
That plus the period-appropriate but unnecessary casual racism brings it down for me. There's a character who is Chinese and who is spoken about as if he might have some sort of defect. And also he's called a "Chinaman" by the Inspector. Strictly speaking, there's no need for him to be Chinese, other than to create an exotic link to one element of the story. He could easily have been Italian, for example, though I assume the Inspector would then have called him a d#go.
This was better than Z Murders, though. I still have Mystery in White on my TBR shelf. I'll give it a try and see how quickly characters fall in love there. And now there seems to be a whole raft of reprints of his work, so I can keep trying, I guess.
That plus the period-appropriate but unnecessary casual racism brings it down for me. There's a character who is Chinese and who is spoken about as if he might have some sort of defect. And also he's called a "Chinaman" by the Inspector. Strictly speaking, there's no need for him to be Chinese, other than to create an exotic link to one element of the story. He could easily have been Italian, for example, though I assume the Inspector would then have called him a d#go.
This was better than Z Murders, though. I still have Mystery in White on my TBR shelf. I'll give it a try and see how quickly characters fall in love there. And now there seems to be a whole raft of reprints of his work, so I can keep trying, I guess.
mariamchld's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
booktwitcher23's review
3.0
Many red herrings in this 1930's whodunnit - although dated, I enjoyed this country house romp.
somesuchlike's review
4.0
I bought The Thirteen Guests because I was craving some old-fashioned murder mystery and for the most part it didn’t disappoint, even if there was surprisingly little murder to be had!
As the introduction notes, it belongs, specifically, to the country house mystery genre. The thirteen guests of the title are at the house, Bragley Court, for a weekend of hunting and dinner parties. There’s a light-hearted, easy-going air to proceedings, even as people start dying.
It’s also enjoyable self-aware. One of the guests is a mystery novelist and, early on, the other characters speculate about what kind of novel she’d write about the events of their weekend away! Later, she thinks she’s solved the mystery based on her expertise – and is, naturally, dead wrong, not to mention entirely out of her depth when talking to a real detective.
The result is a playful tone, without going into the territory of outright parody. It’s a lot of fun to read.
However, there’s just plain too many characters to keep track of. A dramatis personae may have been useful, because I was constantly losing track of who’s who, which is unfortunate in a mystery novel where every detail is made to count.
I was also disappointed by the resolution – the set-up was so intriguing, but then much of the investigation was ‘offstage’ and the result was a whole lot of exposition. It’s unfortunate, because it’s obvious the author really knew his craft.
However, the final twist – which I shan’t spoil – was executed beautifully, and while I’m sure it’s by no means unique within the mystery genre it was certainly unexpected and, ultimately, oddly uplifting.
A good read, anyway, and I’ll probably check out his other, better-regarded mystery novels at some point.
As the introduction notes, it belongs, specifically, to the country house mystery genre. The thirteen guests of the title are at the house, Bragley Court, for a weekend of hunting and dinner parties. There’s a light-hearted, easy-going air to proceedings, even as people start dying.
It’s also enjoyable self-aware. One of the guests is a mystery novelist and, early on, the other characters speculate about what kind of novel she’d write about the events of their weekend away! Later, she thinks she’s solved the mystery based on her expertise – and is, naturally, dead wrong, not to mention entirely out of her depth when talking to a real detective.
The result is a playful tone, without going into the territory of outright parody. It’s a lot of fun to read.
However, there’s just plain too many characters to keep track of. A dramatis personae may have been useful, because I was constantly losing track of who’s who, which is unfortunate in a mystery novel where every detail is made to count.
I was also disappointed by the resolution – the set-up was so intriguing, but then much of the investigation was ‘offstage’ and the result was a whole lot of exposition. It’s unfortunate, because it’s obvious the author really knew his craft.
However, the final twist – which I shan’t spoil – was executed beautifully, and while I’m sure it’s by no means unique within the mystery genre it was certainly unexpected and, ultimately, oddly uplifting.
A good read, anyway, and I’ll probably check out his other, better-regarded mystery novels at some point.