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A review by iphigenie72
The Plague Court Murders by Carter Dickson
3.0
This was my first time reading a book featuring Sir Henry Merrivale. I have a suspicion, I have read short-stories with him before because the name and description was very, very familiar. I thought starting by the first book written with him was the right place to begin my exploration.
I thought the mystery took a little time setting up. I guess the first chapters before the first murder (I think with the title being what it is this is not a spoiler!), where there's a lot of set-up which pays off at the end of the story, had difficulty keeping my attention. Once that part was over and we were in the investigating, I became more interested; but the best part of the book is when we finally meet Sir Henry Merrivale. I definitely loved the character and wish he had been in from the start, I like his way of investigating which does remind me a little of Poirot: he's all in his head and a little of Sherlock Holmes: he can deduce a lot from physical clues.
The Plague Court Murders is a locked-room mystery. Sometimes those can me very interesting or very contrived. This mystery was interesting, made sense at the end (big bonus!) and introduced a well loved character. I'll be reading some more stories featuring Sir Henry Merrivale.
I thought the mystery took a little time setting up. I guess the first chapters before the first murder (I think with the title being what it is this is not a spoiler!), where there's a lot of set-up which pays off at the end of the story, had difficulty keeping my attention. Once that part was over and we were in the investigating, I became more interested; but the best part of the book is when we finally meet Sir Henry Merrivale. I definitely loved the character and wish he had been in from the start, I like his way of investigating which does remind me a little of Poirot: he's all in his head and a little of Sherlock Holmes: he can deduce a lot from physical clues.
The Plague Court Murders is a locked-room mystery. Sometimes those can me very interesting or very contrived. This mystery was interesting, made sense at the end (big bonus!) and introduced a well loved character. I'll be reading some more stories featuring Sir Henry Merrivale.