tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post5967672563214736181..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Packed for Shipping TomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-5085630736691357602015-09-06T11:12:16.372+02:002015-09-06T11:12:16.372+02:00The Deadly Truth and The Hog's Back Mystery ha...<i>The Deadly Truth</i> and <i>The Hog's Back Mystery</i> have both been added to my neverending wishlist, which dwarfs my TBR pile. Once again, thanks for the recommendations. <br /><br />And the next Crofts I'll be reading will most likely be <i>The Sea Mystery</i>. The plot details seems too perfect not to read right after <i>The Cask</i> and someone on the GAD group called it superb. A review of that one will appear here sooner than later. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-14733804331465917252015-09-05T02:24:27.927+02:002015-09-05T02:24:27.927+02:00I haven't read 'Mr Splitfoot', but wil...I haven't read 'Mr Splitfoot', but will do so, hopefully, by the end of the year. Based on the reviews I've read, though, I would suspect that 'The Deadly Truth' isn't in the same league. I think 'The Deadly Truth' deserves 3 to 4 stars (out of 5), while my impression is that reviewers tend to give 'Mr Splitfoot' 4 to 5 stars. <br /><br />As for 'The Hog's Back Mystery' - it certainly has some convoluted moments, but it thankfully avoids the trap of feeling like 'homework'! :PJonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-82417114330629233162015-09-05T02:23:57.016+02:002015-09-05T02:23:57.016+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-19537087028949455622015-09-03T09:01:11.717+02:002015-09-03T09:01:11.717+02:00Well, it's apparently been too long since I re...Well, it's apparently been too long since I read <i>Through a Glass, Darkly</i>, because I didn't remember the killer pulling that stunt. <br /><br />Thanks for the tip for <i>The Deadly Truth</i>. Hopefully, I'll find one other McCloy novel that's in the same league as <i>Mr. Splitfoot</i>, which I really loved. <br /><br />I'll admit that the reason for putting off Crofts for so long was his reputation for timetables. A mystery novel shouldn't feel like homework, you know. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-10011768270189070362015-09-03T01:00:44.863+02:002015-09-03T01:00:44.863+02:00It's Helen McCloy's 'Through a Glass, ...It's Helen McCloy's 'Through a Glass, Darkly', which I found to be a good - but not necessarily great - read. I think it was slightly more entertaining than 'The Hog's Back Mystery', but less charming in tone/ feel, and less convoluted in puzzle. In terms of dipping my toe into Crofts's writing, I'm glad I started with 'Hog's Back' as it didn't feature his dreaded preoccupation with train timetables. :P <br /><br />Back to McCloy, I think 'The Deadly Truth' was a more flattering demonstration of her talents for constructing a surprising mystery puzzle on the basis of subtle clues. In any case, better than 'Through a Glass' did. Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-69483080834134437622015-09-02T10:45:08.935+02:002015-09-02T10:45:08.935+02:00You know, this really was more of a police procedu...You know, this really was more of a police procedure than a detective story and should've made that observation myself, but I started and finished this book with a gap of more than a week in between. I also read it with my mind mainly on auto-pilot. So that's my excuse, but thanks for the comment. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-23731057300440738192015-09-02T10:44:08.477+02:002015-09-02T10:44:08.477+02:00I haven't read all of McCloy's work, but s...I haven't read all of McCloy's work, but such a story by McCloy sounds like a must read. If anyone has a title, I’d love to know it. <br /><br /><i>The Hog's Back Mystery</i> and <i>Sudden Death</i>, a locked room mystery (of course!), are high on my wishlist, and <i>The Sea Mystery</i> is on my TBR-pile. It sounds like a wonderful companion piece to <i>The Cask</i>, but with Inspector French. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-5818008793794506172015-09-02T07:51:58.682+02:002015-09-02T07:51:58.682+02:00I'm glad you picked up something by Freeman Wi...I'm glad you picked up something by Freeman Wills Crofts. :) I recently read a British Library Crime Classic reissue of 'The Hog's Back Mystery', which was certainly charming and clever, and made me want to read 'Inspector French's Greatest Case'. <br /><br />Talking about dark endings - "if the murderer had laughed in Le Touche's face and wished him luck with proving his case in court" - did this not happen in one of Helen McCloy's novels? Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-34934754964664989792015-09-01T20:20:55.616+02:002015-09-01T20:20:55.616+02:00Although there are a few precursors, it appears to...Although there are a few precursors, it appears to me that The Cask was the first full-scale successful police procedural. The book is, in fact, nothing but procedure. It does not surprise me that there is a reference to R. Austin Freeman, because Crofts essentially belongs to the factual detective school Freeman pioneered.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com