Frances’s Comments (group member since Aug 21, 2017)

Frances’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

I remember being annoyed that they interrupted the Christmas concert (although they did at least wait until the police officer had finished his solos) to report the find. If the body had lain for 20+years, surely another hour to allow the community to enjoy their concert wouldn't hurt anyone!

I read this a month or so ago when I got both books in one edition from our library. I hope I remember enough to discuss! I do remember enjoying this one as well.

I am late joining and this is my first ever Hayer-good to be forewarned that it is not her best but having fun with it so far.

Judy wrote: "I was also expecting a more intriguing motive, though it was clever to throw in the prize money, which never struck me as an important plot point!."

I think Christie was also pointing out the stewing jealousy-that Captain Trevelyan had always been just a bit better, richer, more skilled than the Major, even using his name to submit his solutions because his address was less posh (and by implication he was also not clever enough to submit his own solutions).

I really enjoyed this one, a fitting finish to our Christie read.

Emily Trefusis was a great character, my only disappointment was that she is sticking with Jim Pearson who seemed rather too wet for her, but perhaps, as the Curtises suggest, a marriage works better with one strong-willed character and one willing to be led.

The double mystery-the Willett's story and the murder-was a bit if a cheat from a pure mystery perspective, but did make for an interesting plot. Was it a slip up that the women came from Australia and yet the husband was ?already in Dartmoor prison? I also thought more would be made of the invalid husband who didn't seem quite as much of an invalid as his wife believed.

I loved the skiing solution-that was brilliant and made sense and was in character for Major Burnaby.

I’m about half way through and quite enjoying it so far!

I quite enjoyed this, and didn't see the solution at all, nor how cleverly Hilary set up the denouement, through letters and telegrams no less. Quite fun to recall that it was only 30 years ago that people would be writing letters and sending telegrams.

I also liked the sexual role reversal with Julia seducing Ned and then the waiter (although when we hear how Ned brought Julia back for an afternoon tryst in the room with a dead body that rather changes things) but were people that open at the time about same sex relationships?

I do enjoy the humour and style-feels like a modern (or at least a 1980's} Evelyn Waugh or Noel Coward.

I am really enjoying this the second time around (the first must have been over 20 years ago, I remember nothing but enjoying the humour). I fall on the side of those that enjoy the style and find it amusing, and I tend to view Hilary as a tall thin male but no idea where this comes from.

I'm just starting While Justice Sleeps by Stacy Abrams-what an amazingly talented woman she is!

Judy wrote: "I also really liked the twist that Tom's first wife was a brilliant scientist and he stole her work - after we've heard so much in this book about 'geniuses' being male, suddenly a female genius turns up right at the end.
."

This was the one bit I did figure out fairly early on-when it says that Tom had married Mannheim's daughter and then suddenly did brilliant things and then after she died he was "so broken up" he couldn't do brilliant work ever again, I suspected he had used his wife's work and claimed credit-I never suspected him of murdering her.

What about the real Olive Betterton? Clearly she had been invited to join her husband by the organization, but why-since Tom didn't seem particularly upset by her death, why do you think he had asked them to bring her to him?

Again, while I really enjoyed this as a read, I always find there are some holes in the thrillers.

I actually quite enjoyed this one-I found it engaging and a quick read.

I'm still waiting for this from the library as well but will be joining in eventually.

Also agreed on the misogyny-Yseut's miserableness clearly mixed up with her sexual appetites and her being at fault for befuddling everyone, Rachel being "still" lovely at 28 (while Warner is in his late 30's while thinking this), and the throwaway comment about the procurement trade, that the girls are "less sinned against than sinning".

I also quite enjoyed this one, and look forward to reading further Crispin mysteries with this group.

Can anyone explain the Gilded Fly reference to me? What did it have to do with the ring?

I still wasn't clear on what Warner was being blackmailed for-was it that he had used prostitutes in South America, or that he was involved in their procurement/making money from the trade? It was a rather fantastical murder-how could Warner have known that Yseut would be searching the appropriate drawer right at the time that the men were listening to such vigorous music, and that they would be sitting with all the windows open? Including the one in Donald's room?

A fun read nonetheless.

Lady Clementina wrote: "Some of the 'fourth wall' quotes I marked:

I’m the only literary critic turned detective in the whole of fiction.

Really, Gervase. If there’s anything I profoundly dislike, it is the sort of dete..."

Just reading this now after having posted the same ones in the non-spoiler thread-I enjoyed them in this context.

I've just finished this one-it was my second read and I also didn't remember whodunnit! This is the first book in a while that I've read with a dictionary at hand-there were quite a few words I had to look up.

A couple of fun quotations:

"In fact, I'm the only literary critic turned detective in the whole of fiction."

"Really, Gervase, if there's anything I profoundly dislike, it is the sort of detective story in which one of the characters propounds views on how detective stories should be written. It's bad enough having a detective who reads the things-they all do-" (said by Sir Richard).

Also fascinated that Crispin is a pseudonym for a composer, Bruce Montgomery, who was organ scholar and choir master for two years at St John's College, Oxford while a student there.

I also quite enjoyed Insp Littlejohn and the various other policemen of different ranks throughout.

This was one where I did suspect from fairly early on-mainly because Greta was beautiful and controlling/a great organizer and Mike was quite happy to take Ellie's money. Christie has also done the "lovers who arrange for one of them to marry money and then pretend to hate each other until the wealthy spouse gets killed off" plot before (a Poirot in one case) and the unreliable/guilty narrator before (view spoiler)[ The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (hide spoiler)] so I was primed. I did find it very atmospheric and did wonder about how much Santonix knew, and was surprised Mike signed over control of his assets to Lippincott. I also hoped that when he saw Ellie that she/someone had figured out his plan and had prevented it but faked her death until they could find evidence to arrest him, but I guess that would be asking too much.

So...who gets the money?

I'm about halfway through and quite enjoying this, but as it's a Christie I am struggling to figure out what the twist at the end can be, which character I am being completely deceived about. I'll let you know if I guess correctly in the spoiler thread when I get there!

Judy wrote: "It's a few years since I read this and must confess I haven't got round to rereading it as I'm somewhat overwhelmed with books at the moment - all I remember now is the positive elements, particula..."

Thanks for posting that review, Judy, it really sums up how I felt about the novel-I wasn't really captivated, but feel I want to read more to see how Simenon develops both the character and his style over time.