The Bag of Tricks Affair

The Bags of Tricks Affair by Bill Pronzini

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is a perfectly good detective novel but if you're looking for a whodunit, this probably isn't for you. The cases are pretty simple, and even though I don't normally read whodunits even I could get to the answer so someone who reads them regularly wouldn't likely be impressed. Still the stories are interesting - basically three novellas held together by a real bad guy who's waiting to strike. The pacing is crisp and there was no time I was bored.

Near the beginning the author slips in a few cliches but once he gets going the story proceeds well. For those who like deep emotional revelations from characters this might not be for you. The two protagonists ponder their feelings for one another but that's about it. Since the setting is the early 1900s they have to be a little stiff because formality was more common back then.

If you don't take the mystery genre too seriously I think I can recommend this one.



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