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Blotto, Twinks, and the Ex-King's Daughter (Blotto and Twinks #1)
by
Simon Brett
Praise for Simon Brett: "Brett is a master at subtle characterization, superb setting, and plotting in which his characters solve themselves in the process of solving murders."--Booklist
When ex-Princess Etheline, daughter of the exiled king of Mitteleuropia, is kidnapped while visiting the seat of the Dukes of Tawcester, the duchess sends her son "Blotto" to rescue her. Bu...more
When ex-Princess Etheline, daughter of the exiled king of Mitteleuropia, is kidnapped while visiting the seat of the Dukes of Tawcester, the duchess sends her son "Blotto" to rescue her. Bu...more
Hardcover, 185 pages
Published
2009
by Constable
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Simon Brett is a master at the mystery novel and in this, the first of a series, he adds comedy. for instance, one of the heros, Blotto - the Right Honourable Devereux Lyminster - says late on when he has nearly sorted out all the problems, 'And if you lot all played cricket, you wouldn't feel so foreign'!
An exiled King, Sigismund, and his daughter, Princess Ethelinde, are domiciled at Tawcester (pronounced Taster) Towers while back in their country of Mitteleuropia the usurper, Vlatislav, rules...more
An exiled King, Sigismund, and his daughter, Princess Ethelinde, are domiciled at Tawcester (pronounced Taster) Towers while back in their country of Mitteleuropia the usurper, Vlatislav, rules...more
May 19, 2011
Author Anna del C. Dye
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lover of british literature
Reviewed for Readersfavorite.com
This totally mysterious book with a twisted plot is a page-turner. I enjoyed the plot and the twisted way that the author keeps you guessing to the end.
The story is that of two siblings who are amateur detectives. One, the man Blotto, is a touch slow and the girl Twinks is very intelligent. They live in a castle with their mother, a very proper and opinioned woman. Their lineage and what their ancestors think of them is at the forefront of their daily lives.
In t...more
This totally mysterious book with a twisted plot is a page-turner. I enjoyed the plot and the twisted way that the author keeps you guessing to the end.
The story is that of two siblings who are amateur detectives. One, the man Blotto, is a touch slow and the girl Twinks is very intelligent. They live in a castle with their mother, a very proper and opinioned woman. Their lineage and what their ancestors think of them is at the forefront of their daily lives.
In t...more
This book is basically imitation-Wodehouse (with a touch of Dornford Yates, I think), but even sillier and more exaggerated than the real thing. Perhaps it was intended as parody. The trouble with trying to parody a comedy is that you run the risk of being mistaken for a bad imitator.
Its saving grace is that, parody or not, it's quite amusing in its own right, and could make an amiable time-passer for a journey, unless you have a low tolerance of silliness.
However, the story is deliberately sill...more
Its saving grace is that, parody or not, it's quite amusing in its own right, and could make an amiable time-passer for a journey, unless you have a low tolerance of silliness.
However, the story is deliberately sill...more
Charming book! The Prisoner of Zenda as written by P G Wodehouse. Again, from Amazon.com:
Ex-Princess Etheline, daughter of the exiled king of Mitteleuropia, has been kidnapped during a visit to Tawcester Towers, ancestral seat of the Dukes of Tawcester, and ducal family honour demands that she should be rescued. The Dowager Duchess entrusts the task to her son, the Right Hon. Devereux Lyminster, known universally as 'Blotto'. He is, of course, terribly handsome, honourable and brave, but as sad...more
Ex-Princess Etheline, daughter of the exiled king of Mitteleuropia, has been kidnapped during a visit to Tawcester Towers, ancestral seat of the Dukes of Tawcester, and ducal family honour demands that she should be rescued. The Dowager Duchess entrusts the task to her son, the Right Hon. Devereux Lyminster, known universally as 'Blotto'. He is, of course, terribly handsome, honourable and brave, but as sad...more
"I will summon the estimable Chief Inspector Trumbull. I like to do these things honourably - level playing field and all that. I must allow the police to have a fair wallop at the investigation ... before I run circles round them and tell them who really committed the murder." - Twinks.
This is the first in a planned series by prolific 'whodunit' mystery writer Simon Brett and introduces aristocratic brother and sister sleuths, Blotto and Twinks. Blotto (The Right Honourable Devereux Lyminster)...more
I have found a new favorite author. It's obvious Simon Brett has a deep and abiding love for P.G. Wodehouse and Agatha Christie and their ilk, but that hasn't stopped him from taking the staples of the English-country-set cozy mystery and skewered them one by one with a red-hot cricket bat. From the amateur sleuth who's always on-scene and can find the answer to any conundrum just by licking the backside of a dust bunny, in this case Twinks, aka Lady Honoria Lyminster: [regarding two pieces of c...more
While the concept is amusing, and this story has its moments, the joke gets a little stale after a while. Brett creates a fun old-fashioned British Aristocrat mystery that is unfortunately too heavy on caricatures- the beautiful, but secretly clever heiress, her handsome and good-natured but ridiculously vacuous brother, the evil foreigners, the dependable but sadly lower class butler, etc. The mystery/adventure plot was slight and barely carried this farce into the three star realm for me.
Basi...more
Basi...more
Witty, funny, feather-light Wodehouse wannabe . . .I must admit I ran out of patience about three-quarters of the way through and skimmed to the end (basically when the action moved out of England). I think I missed the Dowager Duchess too much - she was deliciously stiff-upper-lipped, snobbish, iron-willed - what's not to love?! This is a promising series providing a tongue-in-cheek look at the Golden Age mysteries I love, but the silliness simply began to wear on me - on another day I think I...more
There is a murder at Tawcester Towers, the ancestral seat of the Dukes of Tawcester, then an ex-princess is kidnapped. The youngest son and daughter of the family set out to solve the mysteries.
I found the characters unbelievable and (worse) unlikeable. The plot was not well constructed – I assume it was aiming at farce, but it missed and ended up being unpleasant. Some of the writing was OK.
I haven’t read any other work by this author, but based on this book (unless you are a real fan of the au...more
I found the characters unbelievable and (worse) unlikeable. The plot was not well constructed – I assume it was aiming at farce, but it missed and ended up being unpleasant. Some of the writing was OK.
I haven’t read any other work by this author, but based on this book (unless you are a real fan of the au...more
As good as Brett is, this is rather disappointing. Handsome and brave, duke's son Blotto is not very bright. Fortunately, his beautiful sister Twinks is smart enough for both of them. So when a houseguest in their brother's house is kidnapped, they must save the family honor by finding the woman, even though this involves them in Central European politics in a fantasy-version of the 1920's. Brett acidly etches the self-centered satisfaction of the upper classes, but these characters do not make...more
This was quite a fun pastiche in the style of PG Wodehouse. Brother and sister sleuth team Blotto (the stupid one) and Twinks (the clever one) set about restoring the rightful rule of the ex-King of MittelEuropa, with many cricket analogies and broken biscuits along the way. A quick read, and pretty well written, I'd certainly investigate the other title (so far) in this series. However, although it doffs the cap to PG Wodehouse, it doesn't really compare to him, so approach with caution if you'...more
A great fun, silly piece of summer fluff is how to describe this book. Blotto and Twinks are brother and sister sleuths. Blooto has the brawn, Twinks the brains (and good looks, a dangerous combination in a woman!)and they have the good luck to stumble onto a dead body in the family library. With family honor at stake and a completely inept police department, it's up to the brother and sister team to save the Ex-Kings daughter after she is kidnapped and unmask the murder. A fun read with a few w...more
Simon Brett has created a series (I accidentally read the 2nd one first) that is a satire/spoof of the British cozy. This is quite different from his other mysteries. Twinks is wicked smart and knows something about everything that comes up, Blotto is her brother and is the epitome of every detective's dull witted yet physically superior side-kick, and the police just don't have a clue. Yes, there is a mystery to solve but the real fun from this series comes from the satire.
A tongue-in-cheek mystery about Bright Young Things. Though penned by a contemporary writer, this book has many qualities present in those books from the Golden Age of mysteries, including the funny nicknames, lingo and slightly absurd situations.
Enjoyable read, though I don't think I'd want to make a steady diet of this type of writing. While most was fun to read, it sometimes got tired and on my nerves. But I also had quite a few chuckles along the way as well.
Enjoyable read, though I don't think I'd want to make a steady diet of this type of writing. While most was fun to read, it sometimes got tired and on my nerves. But I also had quite a few chuckles along the way as well.
eh. This was a disappointment. I don't really mind the derring-do overdoneness, or the heavy hand with the period slang, or the xenophobic noblesse oblige-but not all together layered with a trowel on every page. The main requirement for a "send-up" of a style is subtlety. I was hoping for something along the lines of the early Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters-and did not find it. It is just over 200 pages, so I finished it-50 more pages and it would be on the life is too short shelf.
I'm still not quite sure if this is a children's (teenager) book. It was entertaining, but seemed to be trying hard to be so, in an ineffably English way. It was a bit like a weak Terry Pratchett, but set in early 1900s upperclass Europe instead of Discworld. I enjoyed the detective story but found the upperclass sophistry to be a little overplayed. I can't have suffered too much though, because I think I would read a sequel!
Dreadful. A very pale imitation of Rhys Bowen's "royal spyness" series...which themselves are what I consider "bubblegum" reading. Brett is so full of himself and writes in a condescending manner, imparting information he clearly thinks his readers would not know...thank goodness I got this from the local library as I would have been very cross if I had paid cold hard cash for it!
Brett's writing is very much in the style of P.G. Wodehouse, a favorite of mine. It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; while that may be true, he just couldn't pull off the breezy, seemingly effortless humor and gentle mockery of the British upper class like Wodehouse. That's not to say it wasn't enjoyable reading--I even chuckled a few times. It's light and easy. Blotto and Twinks aren't Jeeves and Wooster, though, however much Brett would like them to be.
Normally I just love anything by Simon Brett. He's witty, with a nasty side, and the language is always above a 5th grade level. His books are almost always enjoyable to read. But, and this is a BIG but, I am not enamored of his latest attempt. Set in the period between the wars, Blotto and Twinks are upper class, speak entirely in slang, and the attempt to do a "send-up" failed miserably. That being said, I did enjoy the plot line, that is when I could decipher it.
Think Monty Python does P.G. Wodehouse... The plot, you ask? Irrelevant. Characterization? Irrelevant. What makes this work is the mangling of the English language. As such, best taken in small doses. Although the book is short, it does get old about halfway through. Still, some definite fun spots.
Simon Brett attempts a cross between Wodehouse and the Prisoner of Zenda and fails, but it's somewhat funny along the way. Possibly would improve if read aloud, but there's that same undercurrent of meanness that I felt in The Poisoning in the Pub. Brett must just not be my thing.
British humor...sometimes I get it, usually I don't. Particularly when it features a stupid person as the focus of said humor. I did snicker a few times per chapter, but overall, I have no desire to read more. Sorry, Mr. Brett! Great job reading your own audiobook, though.
Well-written and funny, thought it would be an easy read but turned out it was not suitable for the younger readers... Easy to like the characters but I prefer a storyline with a bit more depth and mystery. This was a comical detective novel so not quite what I expected but very good none the less.
Thoroughly entertaining and British to the core, this delightful concoction is one part p.g. wodehouse, one part agatha christie's tommy and tuppence and 100% simon brett-- master of many genres most notably mystery and satire. Wry, rambunctious and a great deal of fun, i highly recommend this "ripping yarn"!
Though I love Jeeves and Wooster, I realized pretty quickly that this whodunit in the P.G. Wodehouse style was not for me. It felt too forced and the actual plot outlandish, but not in an amusing way. Just not my cuppa.
This was an amusing trifle. I don't mean that in a bad way. Equal parts Wodehouse, Marx Brothers, Palm Court operetta (without the music), John Buchan and Danny Kaye. So depending what you think of that equation, I would or wouldn't recommend this book.
Always game for farce and fun a la Wodehouse and ever on the lookout for a new mystery series, I had real hopes for this book being a lark. It wasn't. The jokes wore thin before the second half. Some of what was supposed to be funny just wasn't. Too bad.
Mar 12, 2011
Sheila Beaumont
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
funny,
mysteries-suspense-thrillers
A hilarious send-up of Golden Age mysteries! Fans of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse especially will enjoy this. Simon Brett is one of the few writers who are adept at Wodehouse-ian humor. Can't wait for the sequel!
This book defies categorization. I can not put it into a genre, or a location ot a type,but it made my day,maybe my week. Around every corner I ran into a little bit of snide ness, subtle wit or lol humor.
Having read many of Simon Brett's mysteries and enjoyed them I thought this one would be great fun. It was for about the first hundred pages at which point the humor started to wear thin.
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Simon Brett is a prolific British writer of whodunnits.
He is the son of a Chartered Surveyor and was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first class honours degree in English.
He then joined the BBC as a trainee and worked for BBC Radio and London Weekend Television, where his work included 'Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and 'Frank Muir Goes Into ...'.
Afte...more
More about Simon Brett...
He is the son of a Chartered Surveyor and was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first class honours degree in English.
He then joined the BBC as a trainee and worked for BBC Radio and London Weekend Television, where his work included 'Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and 'Frank Muir Goes Into ...'.
Afte...more
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4 de Sep 01:45