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A review by shanaqui
The Corpse in the Waxworks: A Paris Mystery by John Dickson Carr
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
John Dickson Carr's The Corpse in the Waxworks was surprisingly in the middle for me -- usually I quite dislike John Dickson Carr's earlier work and books involving Henri Bencolin, though I've later come to enjoy some of his Gideon Fell stories.
This one's not one of his more famous, and isn't a locked room mystery, meaning it actually felt less contrived than some of them. And Bencolin wasn't quite as annoying as I usually find him, though I wasn't a huge fan either; his sidekick (Marle) is just kind of vanilla, really, though he gets his own little action sequence (predictable as it is).
In the end, it felt relatively straightforward as Carr's mysteries go, and without any femmes being too fatale, and it did have an intriguing sense of atmosphere around the masked club and the waxworks -- a little bit creepy, a little bit high-strung.
Not a new favourite by any means, but more enjoyable than I expected.
This one's not one of his more famous, and isn't a locked room mystery, meaning it actually felt less contrived than some of them. And Bencolin wasn't quite as annoying as I usually find him, though I wasn't a huge fan either; his sidekick (Marle) is just kind of vanilla, really, though he gets his own little action sequence (predictable as it is).
In the end, it felt relatively straightforward as Carr's mysteries go, and without any femmes being too fatale, and it did have an intriguing sense of atmosphere around the masked club and the waxworks -- a little bit creepy, a little bit high-strung.
Not a new favourite by any means, but more enjoyable than I expected.