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A review by anjana
Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr
4.0
This is the second book by the author that I picked up and from trusted sources, that there are better ones out there. Despite that fact, I must say I liked the book.
Our detective is requested on a very strange case of a man shot and then set on fire. There is a lingering shadow of a man who died mysteriously from a train years earlier. They set out to the home of the most recently deceased and end up facing a party of possible suspects. There are more misdirections that I could keep track of. Each time I thought I was being clever in spotting a particular anomaly, it turned out that I was being played each time. There is a lot of melodrama, not least because there were to detectives vying for the crowning glory of being the one with the solution. In both the books I have read by the author, there has been a feverish mood with people in mild hysterics almost all the time.
one of the characters was introduced using this very profound line:
‘a Matterhorn in white lace, glaring down over the icy slopes of herself.’ It is probably the first time I felt the description of someone being fat was seen in a more reverent manner.
I was utterly taken in by who the culprit was because I was not focused on that thread of narration. After this, I look forward to reading more by the author.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publisher but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience. For a conversation on the topic:
https://superfluousreading.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/the-case-for-three-detectives-anjana-kate-and-laurie-discuss-john-dickson-carrs-castle-skull-1931
Our detective is requested on a very strange case of a man shot and then set on fire. There is a lingering shadow of a man who died mysteriously from a train years earlier. They set out to the home of the most recently deceased and end up facing a party of possible suspects. There are more misdirections that I could keep track of. Each time I thought I was being clever in spotting a particular anomaly, it turned out that I was being played each time. There is a lot of melodrama, not least because there were to detectives vying for the crowning glory of being the one with the solution. In both the books I have read by the author, there has been a feverish mood with people in mild hysterics almost all the time.
one of the characters was introduced using this very profound line:
‘a Matterhorn in white lace, glaring down over the icy slopes of herself.’ It is probably the first time I felt the description of someone being fat was seen in a more reverent manner.
I was utterly taken in by who the culprit was because I was not focused on that thread of narration. After this, I look forward to reading more by the author.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publisher but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience. For a conversation on the topic:
https://superfluousreading.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/the-case-for-three-detectives-anjana-kate-and-laurie-discuss-john-dickson-carrs-castle-skull-1931