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meganh123's review
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? No
4.0
robinwalter's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
A very enjoyable Golden Age mystery - my second Inspector Collier and my introduction to the fascinating and ever-so-slightly mysterious Mr Glide. I really, really liked the character and personality of Collier in his debut, and that feeling was strengthened in this second outing. A nice guy, pleasant and down to earth, while still good at his job and not immune to normal human reactions to the ups and downs of working life.
This story was one where the series 'lead' Collier took a back seat to Glide, due to office politics. This kind of device tends to predispose me in the book's favour, as it is relatively uncommon, and shows both the author and their primary detective in a good light, trusting capable colleagues who are more than mere Watsons. Some of the early Ludovic Travers series by Christopher Bush did this, and the abandonment of the device in that series was a bit of a blow. It will be interesting to see how smoothly the relationship between Collier and his colleague glides along as the series progresses.
The mystery itself was well laid out, and it was clear that the culprit was a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Dalton threw a decent feint which I fell for, aided by my own poor maths skills, but the revealing and explanation of the crimes were consistent and plausible. Looking forward to more from both Collier and Glide now
This story was one where the series 'lead' Collier took a back seat to Glide, due to office politics. This kind of device tends to predispose me in the book's favour, as it is relatively uncommon, and shows both the author and their primary detective in a good light, trusting capable colleagues who are more than mere Watsons. Some of the early Ludovic Travers series by Christopher Bush did this, and the abandonment of the device in that series was a bit of a blow. It will be interesting to see how smoothly the relationship between Collier and his colleague glides along as the series progresses.
The mystery itself was well laid out, and it was clear that the culprit was a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Dalton threw a decent feint which I fell for, aided by my own poor maths skills, but the revealing and explanation of the crimes were consistent and plausible. Looking forward to more from both Collier and Glide now
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