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Man in Queue Discussion-2/2017
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The Man in the Queue discussion
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Ok, I finished last night! Other than saying I enjoyed it quite a bit, I won't go into detail + ruin it for others.I thought for the first in a series, the balance of peeks into his life vs work was good. I think she was finding her way in this book. I found the 'scenes' with his landlady amusing.
The villain question is hard! I think - no. The characters are complex and often their motives are left obscure; which I like.
This isn't a tidy 'cozy' mystery. The book does have uncomfortable (to the modern eye) prejudices on full display, and at the same time there are some very contemporary ideas.
Im just getting started. I am enjoying it so far. I will post later when I can answer the questions. (o:
Just finished The Man in the Queue and thought it was a nice first offering in a promising detective series. I agree that it's more enjoyable to get main character's back story gradually over the course of the book (or series of books). I like Grant's character. His dedication, perseverance and intellectual honesty balanced by the inner voice that reminds him he is a fallible human being. He's similar in that way to John LeCarre's George Smiley (and his history was also introduced gradually over the course of several novels). I couldn't say there was a villain in the classical sense of the word. Normal people did some bad things but they had their reasons; the complexity of the motives and circumstances that drive their actions is what makes the story so fascinating right up to the end. Won't give anything away by going into detail.
Overall I liked the style of the story telling, the pacing and characters enough to try the next of the series.
Rick wrote: "Just finished The Man in the Queue and thought it was a nice first offering in a promising detective series. I agree that it's more enjoyable to get main character's back story gradually over the c..."I read the second one, A Shilling for Candles first (for another group that read classic mysteries). I can't remember any details, but I see I rated it 4 on GR.
Usually I like knowing about the character's background and feel cheated if I don't get that. However, in this case the lack of history works. So far, the focus seems to be on the who and how regarding the murderer/the crime/ the victim. Older crime stories/TV shows were like that (Think Dragnet! Haha!, not that it is in the same genre) but over time stories have become as much about the crime fighters as it is about the crime/criminal. Josephine Tey wants the reader focused on what Grant is doing and thinking to solve the crime without his emotions, personal problems and frailties to consider. I am not too far in yet so I may see something different later on.
How is everyone doing with The Man In the Queue? If finished, what are your final thoughts?To answer the question Marjorie asked about villains, were there any? Yes, I think there was one, indirectly. (view spoiler)
I enjoyed this story and will read more Inspector Grant books I am sure. I never would have chosen it myself though. That's what I love about our member's contributions to our bookshelf.
My favorite part was that Ms. Tey, the author, was able to bring me into Inspector Grant's head and I was able to follow along all of the reasoning and deduction! I have read a couple of mysteries where I don't even know who the murderer is when they are revealed. This book was well done, except for the ending which came a tad too easy. After all of the work our detective put into the case, the answers were just handed to him in the end.This is outta nowhere, but: Beth, are you Brittish? I noticed you said "mum" and spelled Marcable with the ar and a switched (which is how they sound to Brits vs Americans... like when I did the audiobook of Harry Potter and the narrator says Parvati Patil, to American ears it sounds like "Pavarti")
Daniel wrote: "My favorite part was that Ms. Tey, the author, was able to bring me into Inspector Grant's head and I was able to follow along all of the reasoning and deduction! I have read a couple of mysteries ..."I liked that part too, Daniel. I also liked his fishing trip. I agree that the ending was a bit anti-climactic but it makes me want to read another thinking Grant will have learned a lot from this case.
To answer your question...I'm not British. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. (o: I used "mum" because I couldn't remember that her name was Mrs Wallis. Re: Ray Macarble/Marcable, I see the difference now. I should resist posting from my phone app. It will get me in trouble one day. (o:
Beth wrote: "Daniel wrote: "To answer your question...I'm not British. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. (o:..."Ha ha. We've interacted so much I on Goodreads that if you were Brittish, you must have been hiding it really well :)
I currently live in Pennsylvania--Hummelstown, near Harrisburg!
I also want to read another Grant novel, I think Tey will grow as an author over time as well, I've seen some good reviews of her later books in this series. As always, thanks for the discussion and insights!
Daniel, I grew up in Bethlehem. We lived in Mount Joy, PA before moving to VA 25+ years ago.
I finally finished it tonight..after getting it in the mail at the end of February. I thought the beginning was a bit slow. I really liked the part when he want up to Scotland, and from there it kept my interest more. The end was a bit anti-climantic but after all the complexities maybe that was appropriate. I was guessing early on Sorrel might have meant to kill Ray Marcable with that revolver and wondered why it did not occur to Grant. Anyway I enjoyed it, and agree with Beth - if there was a villain it was Sorrel himself, though like many murderers he had some reasons, personal and psychological.
1. We are told very little about Inspector Grant's homelife in this story. Do you like that or would you prefer knowing more about his personal life?
2. Do you think this story has any villains?