tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post8037579228521314369..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Snow BlindTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-29313951777631581682018-01-17T06:12:00.140+01:002018-01-17T06:12:00.140+01:00I'm more than a third through this, but not en...I'm more than a third through this, but not engaged. I respect Strahan's efforts to write a character-driven crime story, but the story doesn't grab me. Reminds me of Mary Fitt.Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-63189389802062536462012-01-07T23:14:48.551+01:002012-01-07T23:14:48.551+01:00Time for another shameless plug, this time of the ...Time for another shameless plug, this time of the fact that I reviewed THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X:<br /><br />http://at-scene-of-crime.blogspot.com/2011/06/oh-theres-just-one-more-thing.html<br /><br />Was it good? Well, it was good enough to make my list of the best books I read in 2011. So yes, I suppose you could call it good.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-27932832472702061022012-01-07T19:52:09.671+01:002012-01-07T19:52:09.671+01:00@Patrick: Yes, it definitely lacked that final pus...@Patrick: Yes, it definitely lacked that final push needed to cross the finish-line. The letters that told the story of the 28-year-old unsolved murder case made for an engrossing read, but went to pieces when the time had come to wrap things up. This could've easily become one of those (unsung) classics, if more attention had been given to the final chapter or stated from the beginning that this was going to be a case without a (clear) solution. <br /><br />@Ho-Ling: And that knowledge makes for an altogether different reading experience. Oh, and I had to shake my head sadly at the comment I left on your review of <i>I Killed Him</i>, back in May of last year, saying that I had not yet read <i>The Devotion of Suspect X</i> because I was taking a look at the locked room genre. Well, I'm back at that point... less than a year later. ^_~;TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-18220674344166785262012-01-07T18:22:09.127+01:002012-01-07T18:22:09.127+01:00Hey, Higashino Keigo didn't even give the read...Hey, Higashino Keigo didn't even give the readers <i>a name</i> in <a href="http://ho-lingnojikenbo.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-post_28.html" rel="nofollow"><i>One of the Two Killed Her</i></a> and <a href="http://ho-lingnojikenbo.blogspot.com/2011/05/b-c-were-certainly-relying-on-basics.html" rel="nofollow"><i>I Killed Him</i></a> ;)<br /><br />Of course, those books are famous <i>because</i> they don't have any kind solution at the end, leaving it all up to the reader to solve the case himself.Ho-Linghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673330638260132388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-81490199053978709972012-01-07T18:07:00.112+01:002012-01-07T18:07:00.112+01:00It sounds like one of those books where the author...It sounds like one of those books where the author just needed one... little... push! And it's so frustrating because everything else is so brilliant! Am I at all right? That's what I felt when I read PANIC PARTY...Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-89657675428666856642012-01-07T17:35:30.134+01:002012-01-07T17:35:30.134+01:00John, your comment on the solution of The Hobgobli...John, your comment on the solution of <i>The Hobgoblin Murder</i> makes me wonder if the solution of this novel was deliberately left open for interpretation. Like an ultimate challenge to the reader.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-40847305382115956442012-01-07T16:19:25.950+01:002012-01-07T16:19:25.950+01:00We'll have a little Strahan tribute going on f...We'll have a little Strahan tribute going on for a while. I have her first book lined up later this month - THE DESERT MOON MYSTERY. It was the very first Doubleday Crime Club book. I read portions of THE HOBGOBLIN MURDER a few years ago but it was so dull and convoluted I gave up and did the unthinkable -- I jumped ahead to read the ending. Let's just say it is deserving of inclusion in Bill Pronzini's Top Alternative Classics for her brazen rule breaking. I laughed aloud at what she did. Naughty Kay!J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-4318949344505548572012-01-07T00:38:20.433+01:002012-01-07T00:38:20.433+01:00Curt, if you read this book for yourself you can s...Curt, if you read this book for yourself you can sort of understand why she attracted some attention in her day and even received a prize for this novel – in spite of its flawed ending.<br /><br />Not that there weren't any good or original detective stories before Strahan took up a pen, but there seem to have been far less of them during the 1910/20s than during the 1930/40s.<br /><br />I also have her other impossible crime novel, Death Traps, which will hopefully have a more rewarding ending to go with the story.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-48966618118132239222012-01-07T00:20:14.981+01:002012-01-07T00:20:14.981+01:00I was glad to read this review because this author...I was glad to read this review because this author, as you say, attracted some attention in the day; but I have not yet read anything by her.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.com