Reading the Detectives discussion
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Tenant for Death
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June 2019 - Tenant for Death - SPOILER Thread
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message 51:
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Elizabeth (Alaska)
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rated it 3 stars
Jun 10, 2019 02:41PM
Admittedly, it's been over 2 weeks since I read it, so I might be confused, but I didn't think Browne did much except be the corpse.
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Now I'm totally confused, Elizabeth. I thought Ballantine was the dead body, not Browne?I'll be honest, much as I thought the book was OK, it confused the heck out of me at times.
Can anyone explain to me: why did Ballantine pretend to be James for a month or so? I'm afraid I lost or missed an explanation. I struggled to the end but am wary of any more Cyril Hare for me!!
Well, like I said, it's been over 2 weeks since I read it. But I will happily read more Cyril Hare, including this series.It's a lot easier to discuss a book soon after reading and I always try to be on time.
No, I'm not arguing against you at all, Elizabeth!! I totally agree, it's easier to discuss a book you are currently reading or just finished. My problem is I was confused and I just finished it today!!!!
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Ballantine is the dead man, the originator of the Ponzi scheme that ruined Harper's father, and was establishing an alternate identity as James. I assume this allowed him to hide money and set up his escape plan without Du Pine's knowledge.
Du Pine was Ballantine's associate who would be left holding the bag once James / Ballantine disappeared. He had a drug dependency and used the mistress's husband to buy drugs.
Browne was a minor character who owned the realty company that lent the apartment to James and was the boss of Harper and the other young man. I don't remember any connection with the rental and any nefarious characters or business dealings. Was there any reason James / Ballantine chose that apartment?
And I agree with how very quickly the plot points disappear from memory.
Thanks, Sandy. Obviously my memory was flawed. I have never been much good at remembering details about a book, especially character names, for long. Books I liked - like this one - I'll remember situations and my general impression longer (and sometimes even *much* longer).
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Sandy wrote: "One small item that caught my attention. The newspaper seller was adamant that he never saw James with an umbrella and this is entirely contradictory to every picture I have a Londoner. Shouldn't B..."I missed that. It rains a lot here, but almost no one uses an umbrella because umbrellas are useless in wind, so I didn't even think of it.
