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A review by tombomp
Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Crofts
3.0
Pretty good book. Nothing super exciting but it messes with the traditional format in a neat way while still having a satisfying and interesting actual mystery.
It's set up sort of like a "reverse whodunnit" but even stronger - it takes a long time for you to find out who's going to get murdered with multiple false hints as to who the victim will be and things only really get going like... halfwayish through? It works well, things get set up nicely and the build-up is well done. His character writing is hardly Nobel Literature level but the characters make sense and you get a good idea of their distinct personality and motives - they're more than flat stereotypes. The mystery itself is built around a single conceit but it's pretty ingenious and I liked it
MASSIVE ending spoiler
It's set up sort of like a "reverse whodunnit" but even stronger - it takes a long time for you to find out who's going to get murdered with multiple false hints as to who the victim will be and things only really get going like... halfwayish through? It works well, things get set up nicely and the build-up is well done. His character writing is hardly Nobel Literature level but the characters make sense and you get a good idea of their distinct personality and motives - they're more than flat stereotypes. The mystery itself is built around a single conceit but it's pretty ingenious and I liked it
MASSIVE ending spoiler