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69th out of 76 books
—
21 voters
Crime of the Century
When a series of murders performed by a killer with a peculiarly thin blade take place in London, Detective Superintendent Bill Barry is recalled from retirement. Doctors, psychologists, lawyers and politicians join in the hunt, but the biggest crime is yet to come. First published as a six-part serial in "The Sunday Times" newspaper in 1975, readers were encouraged to sen...more
Mass Market Paperback, 176 pages
Published
November 1st 1990
by Warner Books
(first published 1975)
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I had a difficult time keeping the facts straight, and that's probably precisely how the die-hard crime fans want their stories to be presented: as something to untangle. I much prefer my body count novels to take place in an isolated and decrepit Victorian instead of the urban London we see here, but it's difficult for me to truly knock any stylistic decision made by Mr. Amis.
Hard to follow, not much plot, really no reason to read this book. I love British mysteries, but not this one. Luckily, it is short.
The weakest Amis outing I've read. The characters in the political and law enforcement institutions are indistinguishable.
A bit hard to follow at times, but it left me with a good impression.
Apr 22, 2010
J.
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
students of how-not-to
Shelves:
mystery,
amis-and-son
Way too many characters and hardly any characterization; this kind of error alone has caught up much better mysteries than this one. Lots of unresolved / dangling plot threads.
Amis did this as some kind of serialization & contest arrangement with a brit magazine or newspaper; underdeveloped, unedited and blatantly generic come to mind as descriptors. I guess if you were ever a famous author, publishers retain the right to preserve even obvious mistakes as long as the copyright holds.
A serial killer on the loose in London, being pursued by what seems like a committee of the most unlikely characters you could put together in one room. Why would Scotland Yard enlist the help of a crime fiction writer and a pop singer to help them find the killer. A huge cast of characters, some introduced then never heard from again. This book confused me enough to not even realise when the killer was unmasked.
Apr 19, 2013
Poppy
marked it as to-read
Dec 23, 2012
Katherine
marked it as to-read
Dec 22, 2012
Thea Klapwald
marked it as to-read
Sep 18, 2012
Emily
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Jul 31, 2012
Emily Lucas
marked it as to-read
Apr 04, 2012
Jc
marked it as to-read
Jan 05, 2012
Alicia
marked it as to-read
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Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than twenty novels, three collections of poetry, short stories, radio and television scripts, and books of social and literary criticism. He fathered the English novelist Martin Amis.
Kingsley Amis was born in Clapham, Wandsworth, Couty of London (now South London), England, the son of William Robert Am...more
More about Kingsley Amis...
Kingsley Amis was born in Clapham, Wandsworth, Couty of London (now South London), England, the son of William Robert Am...more
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