tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post7246003897320292529..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Sequence of EvilTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-37402958739042555052015-11-07T09:07:34.505+01:002015-11-07T09:07:34.505+01:00I think you could call it fair-play, but perhaps n...I think you could call it fair-play, but perhaps not a puzzle such as was the case in the previous books. <br /><br />The emphasis on the character's action and their pyschology are there to draw attention away from the obvious suspect and motive. It was, however, done as well as the puzzle-plot from <i>Bleeding Hooks</i> and the ending was really good and fitting of the overall tone of the story. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-4835077298484728942015-11-07T08:58:16.047+01:002015-11-07T08:58:16.047+01:00If you want an English whodunit, Bleeding Hooks is...If you want an English whodunit, <i>Bleeding Hooks</i> is your book! Funnily enough, I've been recently thinking of giving Josephine Tey finally a try. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-50683279862475060112015-11-07T08:49:49.790+01:002015-11-07T08:49:49.790+01:00It's an interesting idea, but it would take so...It's an interesting idea, but it would take someone with a broad and deep scope of the genre to create an accurate picture of such transitions. I might throw your comment to the GAD group, because I wouldn't be surprised if someone already wrote something like that. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-41666191808377079292015-11-07T04:20:29.655+01:002015-11-07T04:20:29.655+01:00Thanks for the review - you've made me want to...Thanks for the review - you've made me want to read 'Bleeding Hooks'! :) Regarding 'Blue Murder', would you say that there is still a fair-play puzzle at its heart, amidst the emphasis on psychology? Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-89093989353253429472015-11-06T22:45:57.404+01:002015-11-06T22:45:57.404+01:00As Josephine Tey recently re-whetted my appetite f...As Josephine Tey recently re-whetted my appetite for English whodunnits, you have my attention here. Rutland, eh? I say! Mathew Pausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06157135006791553019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-55088299773445568592015-11-06T15:36:47.339+01:002015-11-06T15:36:47.339+01:00It seems to me that the concept of punctuated equi...It seems to me that the concept of punctuated equilibrium does not just apply to biological evolution, but also to transitions in cultural artifacts as well. For instance in transitions in musical styles, a very interesting article was recently published: Matthias Mauch, et al., "The Evolution of Popular Music: USA 1960-2010, arXiv:1502.05417v1 [physics.soc-ph] 17 Feb 2015. It would be interesting for someone to apply this concept to the detective field as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-66106305365991023982015-11-06T09:10:30.255+01:002015-11-06T09:10:30.255+01:00You'd be pretty much correct about Blue Murder...You'd be pretty much correct about <i>Blue Murder</i>, Anon. In combination with the previous two books, <i>Knock, Murderer, Knock</i> and <i>Bleeding Hooks</i>, it can be regarded as a "transitional fossil." <br /><br />The book departed from everything that was established in those two books. Even the series-character, Mr. Winkley, was ditched by the side of the road and the psychology of character took over from the physical clues. <br /><br />I just wished most post-WWII character-driven crime stories played that game as well Rutland did here. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-46035427061390860002015-11-05T23:52:50.894+01:002015-11-05T23:52:50.894+01:00This one sounds very interesting. I will have to g...This one sounds very interesting. I will have to get a copy. The change in focus of the type of mystery from what had gone before does not surprise me. A lot of mystery authors at this time (1942) were transitioning from the Golden Age fair play mystery, but there was not yet a new dominant mode of telling a mystery story until the ascendance of the hard-boiled private eye in 1947. This period is the type of interregnum we see between two dominant modes of telling a story. I note that the mystery writers at this time either did away with their usual series detective, or had him detect in a different manner. So instead of the usual clues we see psychological reasoning. This book seems like an instance of that to which I am referring.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com