Tara ’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2017)

Tara ’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

I am about half-way through Laura by Vera Caspary. I adore the movie so; it's impossible not to imagine those actors when reading it. I'm surprised at how differently Waldo is described physically, although Clifton Webb is so wonderful, it's easy to overlook.

I just finished up The War of the Worlds, a quick read by H.G. Wells and am about to embark on a much longer one with The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. To date I have only read A Christmas Carol, so I am excited to find out my true thoughts on this classic author.

I constantly struggle with the push and pull of reading new books from my teeming shelves, or revisit old friends that I know and love. I'm determined this year to do both!
On the new front, I'll be doing a buddy read with a friend of The Return of the Pharaoh: From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. by Nicholas Meyer. Great Holmes pastiche---I have enjoyed all of the other books in his series. Plus, I love everything about ancient Egypt, so it's a win-win.

I liked that the victim was ultimately the killer, as he was a detestable man, but the solution really relied too heavily on coincidences and perfect timing to be able to be pulled off. Given the frenetic nature of Grimaud needing to change his plans at that last minute, how did he have time to communicate to his confederate what her role needed to be? She seemed to know just what she had to do without being told. This would have been more plausible had she been his assistant in a magical act they had perfected together, and then twisted around for their sinister ends, but it doesn't really work otherwise. And if they both assumed false identities, why couldn't she have been his wife rather than his housekeeper? That seemed cruel and unnecessary.

It seems to me, at least from the very few locked room mysteries that I've read, that the genre is in and of itself a bit ridiculous. I mean, how else do you construct a mystery that appears by all signs to be impossible? And while the solution is highly coincidental and convoluted, the atmosphere of the book is what saves it for me. I think this is really the key point that either leads people to love or hate the book--its gothic style and overtones. I personally think such style works perfectly in a mystery setting (I agree with Dr. Fell that these stories belong in ruins and old graveyards rather than lemonade stands). But if that's not your bag, you probably aren't going to connect with the story.

Listening on audiobook to Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, about Orwell's experience fighting in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. So fascinating.

I haven't quite gotten to as many Christmas themed mysteries as I've wanted to, but I am enjoying Golden Age Detective Stories , edited by Otto Penzler. I have already found one or two new authors I'd like to read more of, particularly Mignon G. Eberhart.

I'm reading The Devil's Novice, another excellent outing in the Brother Cadfael series. This one focuses on the children in the monastery, some of whom were shipped off at the tender age of four! Makes you really think how blessed we are to live in an age when children lower in the birth order ranking are no longer subjected to such a life without choice.

I'm about a third of the way through Cold Warriors: Writers Who Waged the Literary Cold War. An interesting look from a different perspective of many famous writers, particularly the ones who got themselves embroiled in the Spanish Civil War.

I just started The Case of the Gilded Fly and found the character information dump in the beginning a bit hard to distinguish, but I hope I'll be able to sort everything out once the plot gets going.

It seemed pretty obvious early on that Mort was Pamela's father. Why that was revealed as a shocking revelation is beyond me. However, despite him being a coward, I did feel sorry for him, and did not think that he deserved justice of any kind, although I suspect his guilt was more about his daughter than the death of her aunt. The characters were the best bit for me, and I did not feel that they were any more immature than today's college kids (if anything, recent generations stay more infantile into their 20s than older ones).

Wow, I didn't realize how far behind I had fallen with the buddy reads here, I have so many more books to catch up on! This was a bit of a slow start for me (I picked it up and read a few chapters, and then didn't read it for a long spell), but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. The best part was the atmosphere and characters; certainly there was no Christie level mystery going on. Who was where and doing what on the river got so muddled for me, I just stopped paying attention and skimmed through those bits. But otherwise it was a fun, breezy read. I also own Murder Underground, but it seems like reviews on that are mixed. Has anyone read it and care to share thoughts?

After being very much disappointed with The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books, I am riveted by Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. The various activities and amusements that the men used to engage in as a way to kill the long hours is so fascinating.

I'm about to start reading the next book in my American Mystery Classics reprints, The Wall by Mary Roberts Rinehart. I've read a few of her books and enjoyed them, so I am excited to tuck into this one.

I'm not sure if this would be considered a mystery, but I am mostly done with My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. The writing is elegant and beautiful, but good lord, Philip can be really insufferable at times!

Susan in NC wrote: "Colin wrote: "I see the British Library have more Carr on the way next March according to Amazon- The Seat of the Scornful, which is a bit of an underrated novel in my opinion.
And there's another ..."

Cornell Woolrich was the same--too prolific to get all his work published by one house, so he used pseudonyms such as William Irish.

I was struck in my re-read with the supernatural elements of the book, particularly in the last section after we learn Michael is the killer. It seems as though Mrs. Lee truly had some psychical powers in the sense that she instinctively knew that Ellie was in danger, although it was from her husband and not the land directly. I also found it interesting that when Michael saw Ellie's ghost, he kept saying that she couldn't see him because he wasn't there. You would expect the normal reaction to such an occurrence to assume that the ghost isn't really there, and therefore can't look at you. Has his mind just snapped, or does that have some other meaning?

Susan in NC wrote: "Kimberly Reads Books wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Wow, Kimberly, you’re able to read two mysteries at once? I would get totally muddled amid the clues and characters!"

I usually listen to one on audio ..."

The wrong narrator can really ruin a book, but the right one can truly elevate it.

Susan in NC wrote: "Tara wrote: "Michael comes across as bitter and angry at the world, but I don't think I necessarily saw him as being evil in my first reading. I probably should have figured out the back-stabbing l..."

Perhaps she was so desperate to break away from what she felt was a prison, that being along with the man she loved seemed ideal. Assuming he was telling the truth, Michael does mention that Ellie got as much pleasure from a simple baguette and cheese from the grocer as expensive meals at fancy restaurants, so perhaps there was an appeal for a simpler life that she felt she had more control over.

I've wanted to read Carr for so long, its great to finally get to one of his books. According to the intro in my edition, Merrivale was based on Sherlock's brother Mycroft, Winston Churchill, and the author's father. Quite the combo.