Scan barcode
bookaneer808's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
An elderly woman dies at her seventieth birthday party; in attendance is Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy. Crystal Balaclava was convinced someone would try to kill her and expected Henry to prevent it, but onstead she expires in his arms.
While her death has the appearance of a poisoning, no trace of anything untoward can be found; neither in her system nor in the foodstuffs she ingested...
An ingenious mystery with roots in a real life case, this is fascinating and gripping.
While her death has the appearance of a poisoning, no trace of anything untoward can be found; neither in her system nor in the foodstuffs she ingested...
An ingenious mystery with roots in a real life case, this is fascinating and gripping.
gwen87's review
4.0
I do love a golden age of crime classic, and this 1970s mystery draws on all of the best elements, which is probably why it works.
Our hero, Henry Tibbett, is asked to go away for the weekend to protect Lady Balaclava who inevitably dies anyway - but then the fun of trying to work out whodunnit begins. And it is fun, it's rather daft, right down to the daughters of the murdered ladies - the main suspects - all of whom are named after garden flowers. Admittedly this did get a little confusing at one point towards the end, but I can happily gloss over that when the mystery itself is clever and has a rather nice element of science added.
The only downside? Our detective drags his poor wife through his investigation (and all around Western Europe in the slightly eyebrow raising lead up to the finale) and she doesn't even get the joy of being his sidekick. This being the 70s is that a rather jolly young female (gasp!) doctor gets to do that instead.
Daft and fun but with a slightly rushed ending, I'd happily look our for more Tibbett mysteries.
Our hero, Henry Tibbett, is asked to go away for the weekend to protect Lady Balaclava who inevitably dies anyway - but then the fun of trying to work out whodunnit begins. And it is fun, it's rather daft, right down to the daughters of the murdered ladies - the main suspects - all of whom are named after garden flowers. Admittedly this did get a little confusing at one point towards the end, but I can happily gloss over that when the mystery itself is clever and has a rather nice element of science added.
The only downside? Our detective drags his poor wife through his investigation (and all around Western Europe in the slightly eyebrow raising lead up to the finale) and she doesn't even get the joy of being his sidekick. This being the 70s is that a rather jolly young female (gasp!) doctor gets to do that instead.
Daft and fun but with a slightly rushed ending, I'd happily look our for more Tibbett mysteries.
More...