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So Pretty a Problem
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July 24: So Pretty a Problem - SPOILER Thread - (Mordecai Tremaine #5) (1950)
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I did enjoy this read, as I liked Mordecai Tremaine in the previous books. This time, he is taking a holiday in Cornwall with his friend from Scotland Yard, who is recovering from an illness. Tremaine is exploring the surroundings of the place he is staying and finds that he is acquainted with an artist who lives in a cliff house. He is disturbed by the wife of the artist, during one of his afternoon sleeps, as she tells him she has killed her husband. Naturally he follows her back to the house and stays with her, waiting for the local police arrive, but finds it difficult to believe the wife's story. The local police are very willing to let Tremaine investigate along with them.We are then taken back in time and shown how Tremaine has been accepted by the artist and his wife, and given reasons why Tremaine just doesn't believe the story the wife is telling. Although quite a few different characters are brought into the story, when Tremaine gathers together these people and does his "Poirot type" explanation, all becomes clear, which completely made sense to me.
I will continue to read this series in time
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Anyway, really enjoyed this and I would like to read the rest of the series as I have read this so haphazardly - maybe I've read two of the series and totally out of order.
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Susan wrote: "Was anyone else surprised that when Tremaine had his 'Poirot' moment, as Jill so rightly says, that there was no twist. I was so expecting him to say it was so and so and then to find that it wasn'..."Me, too - the only other book I’ve read was the one set at Christmas.
Sandy wrote: "As usual with any 'locked room' aspect I was disappointed with the method of entry. My mind shut down once cliffs and ropes were involved."Good point, anytime acts of derring-do and perfect timing are involved, I become a bit skeptical…
Honestly, I’d read on just for Mordechai’s company, and being in his head. He’s one of those amateur detectives where the murder method and motive are really forgettable and much less important, like Miss Marple, Amelia Peabody or Flavia deLuce; I am just here for the characters and adventure!
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Sorry, I keep misspelling his name, I’m not sure if it’s me or autocorrect! Mordecai, Mordecai, Mordecai- with iPad, I find if I use a word repeatedly it’s autocorrect eventually remembers it!
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I did enjoy this and would have given it four stars. The artistic/Bohemian atmosphere was interesting and it was nice to see Mordecai in a setting like this, unsure whether he fits in and whether he likes the people or not.
But I felt the flashback structure, although interesting, slowed the story down and made it slightly confusing at times. I also felt the killer slightly came out of nowhere, although that may just be me... did anyone else pick up any hints about him earlier? I suppose the photograph of his girlfriend was a clue, but I didn't pick up on it.
Judy wrote: "Sandy, I agree about the cliffs and ropes - I always find those sorts of stunts hard to follow, although I suppose at least there was no danger of readers copying the murder and escape methods!I ..."
I missed that, also.
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I ..."
I only wondered why the photo was noted and figured it must have been for a reason.
I really enjoyed this one, mainly because I really like Mordecai as a character. The "cliffs and ropes" solution was definitely so-so for me, because we were told throughout the book that the cliff was impassable, and then - just kidding! Although certainly being sorry for Helen Carthallow, I'm less sympathetic to her than all the men in the story seemed to be! (Roberta Fairham was awful.) Perhaps Duncan was as much of a romantic as Mordecai, but having her wind up with Elton Steele by the end of the book seemed awfully fast!
I thought this was an interesting mystery and enjoyed the relaxed pace. I did think there was going to be another twist at the end though. The only clue I picked up was about the bunch of keys.
Adrian Carthallow, a dramatic and talented artist, is no stranger to controversy. But this time it's not his paintings that have provoked a blaze of publicity — it's the fact that his career has been suddenly terminated by a bullet to the head. Not only that, but his wife has confessed to firing the fatal shot.
Inspector Penross of the town constabulary is less than convinced by Helen Carthallow's story, but has no other explanation for the incident that occurred when the couple were alone in their clifftop house. Luckily for the Inspector, amateur criminologist Mordecai Tremaine has an uncanny habit of being in the near neighborhood whenever sudden death makes its appearance. As he mounts his investigation, Tremaine is quick to realize that however perfect a couple the Carthallows may have seemed, beneath the surface of their perfect life lay something much more sinister...
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