A great book. It lets you see the European History of the XVII-XIX centuries in a different light.
It's not a speedy reading, the text is dense. I read a chapter per week and it was a right amount of information.
You get a history of crime, of police and its acceptation and corruption in different countries, their balance with the personal liberties, the great judicial errors, the detectives and the famous criminals, the most notable crimes.
An ample casuistic and good commentaries, sometimes biaised according to some dated concepts.
But all in all, you see that the crime detection, even with the DNA, didn't evolute as grandly as they say, while the public freedom has greatly suffered.
It's one of the earliest Tracy's books.
The writing isn't as nimble as in his later novels and the main character is a bit too much lovesick for my taste.
The worst of the book are the lengthy and reiterative explanations with which the personages fill the pages, in most cases, needlessly.
The plot isn't very solid, doesn't create many expectations finishes in somewhat hurried and unconvincing manner.
The strong points are: a pleasant narrative atmosphere, noble feelings, some good humouristic moments and at least two interesting personages.
The first third part of total text extension is dedicated to dull political discussions typical of the last century's fifties, always in a very British flegmatic manner.
The criminal intrigue begins in the second third part of the novel.
The crime plot is of a traditional and simplistic kind, the detectives aren't too bright and sometimes are frankly dull and their interrogation dialogues are plainly wooden.
The worst of it are the uninteresting characters.
The victims and the suspects don't awake a minimal empathy so the crimes' solution doesn't really matter.
Another great L.White\'s book.
The author is a really notable storyteller.
The characters are specially good, some portraits are unique, masterfully created, the author knows how to make you want to follow them.
The plot is mostly the unexpected actions of these personages seemingly dominated by a powerful mobster.
The story isn\'t of a most popular kind, the usual ending is just the opposite, and you know that it isn\'t going the usual way, but I couldn\'t put the book down.
It\'s artfully plotted and the author is great putting his personages in risky circunstances.
Suspense and magnificent style, very visual, harsh and sardonic.
Another great L.White's book.
The author is a really notable storyteller.
The characters are specially good, some portraits are unique, masterfully created, the author knows how to make you want to follow them.
The plot is mostly the unexpected actions of these personages seemingly dominated by a powerful mobster.
The story isn't of a most popular kind, the usual ending is just the opposite, and you know that it isn't going the usual way, but I couldn't put the book down.
It's artfully plotted and the author is great putting his personages in risky circunstances.
Suspense and magnificent style, very visual, harsh and sardonic.
I don't know if this is the best Oppenheim's book as is said in one review, but the story is interesting, as most stories of impersonators are, and the final surprise makes it even very interesting.
The beginning is a bit slow, that's the only minus I see in it.
As in other Oppenheim's books, there is a shadowy espionage theme present, but this time there is also something else: in one of the final chapters you'll find a curious premonition of Hitler's Blitzkrieg and his Third Reich phantasy, with its frontiers nearly exactly drawn.
And a truthful mention of Germany's promoting the Russian revolution and an acrid irony about the freedom the revolution will bring to Russian people (the book was written three years after the revolution).
It's a second book by Hornung that I've read.
I loved "Dead Men Tell No Tales" and wanted to read something with the Raffles personage, which made Hornung famous.
But I didn't choose well. This is the last Raffles novel and if you don't already love Raffles and his friend the narrator, you don't get to love them reading this book.
The famed Raffles doesn't seem too brilliant and if you don't play cricket you'll be sleeping after the first fifty pages.
Sure, there are some good moments but nothing that'll really impress you.
A good, suspenseful, fast-paced page-turner.
A story is that of a minimal thriller, but there are also some other things.
I've read some other book by Oppenheim, The Amiable Charlatan. It was a pleasant read but it didn't impress me.
This one, though, is a masterful piece of mystery fiction.
As a small curiosity, it's interesting how the author stresses the different way of seeing things by the young people, "young" meaning "unexperienced" but the old people's statements are given with a humble sympathy.
An author that merits to continue exploring and to be remembered.
This is the second book by the author I've read, the first one being the latest one in Manybooks' catalogue, "A Mysterious Disappearance", while this one is the earliest one.
It isn't as fun and as fast-paced as the other one and the main character seems a bit too dull in comparison.
On the contrary, the plot consists of only one argumental line, not overly interesting, and the story advances slowly, sometimes there are good unforseen twists and turns, but mostly the action just offers an almost mechanical succession of small complications and their solutions.
The author is obviously a fan of Émile Gaboriau, the creator of the first deductionist detective, LeCocq, who was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
The author mentions frequently Gaboriau and LeCocq, and it seems that he also tries to imitate the French writer's narrative style, too XIX century for my taste, but he lacks Gaboriau's passion that would let him fill pages with more drama than action.
As a result, the story is too short and the novel too lengthy.
An abolitionist and all his family are murdered; a strange white learned child wanders around asking about his father Jacob, himself being Joseph hoping to get out ot Egypt after having quarrelled with Pothifar; a white baby is abandoned on the porch of the murdered abolitionist brother's
house.
The murdered abolitionist's brother, abolitionist himself, is the novel's
main character.
He has liberated all his slaves, who wouldn't think of leaving his plantations because he treats them so well.
The Civil War begins and separates the two abolitionist's sons, who go to fight on the opposing sides, the demented boy gets to live with the
abolitionist's family and recovers his wits thanks to the love and attention with which he is treated.
The war ends, the two brothers reconcile and the baby grows up and marries one of them.
A very bland, slow narrative centered on repeating the atrocious points of
view of the obtuse slavers and their reasons for keeping their slaves enslaved, alternating their discourses with those of the abolitionists.
Even understanding that the book was written in 1875 it seems very feeble
and simplistic.
Lena’s book reviews
It's not a speedy reading, the text is dense. I read a chapter per week and it was a right amount of information.
You get a history of crime, of police and its acceptation and corruption in different countries, their balance with the personal liberties, the great judicial errors, the detectives and the famous criminals, the most notable crimes.
An ample casuistic and good commentaries, sometimes biaised according to some dated concepts.
But all in all, you see that the crime detection, even with the DNA, didn't evolute as grandly as they say, while the public freedom has greatly suffered.
The writing isn't as nimble as in his later novels and the main character is a bit too much lovesick for my taste.
The worst of the book are the lengthy and reiterative explanations with which the personages fill the pages, in most cases, needlessly.
The plot isn't very solid, doesn't create many expectations finishes in somewhat hurried and unconvincing manner.
The strong points are: a pleasant narrative atmosphere, noble feelings, some good humouristic moments and at least two interesting personages.
The criminal intrigue begins in the second third part of the novel.
The crime plot is of a traditional and simplistic kind, the detectives aren't too bright and sometimes are frankly dull and their interrogation dialogues are plainly wooden.
The worst of it are the uninteresting characters.
The victims and the suspects don't awake a minimal empathy so the crimes' solution doesn't really matter.
The author is a really notable storyteller.
The characters are specially good, some portraits are unique, masterfully created, the author knows how to make you want to follow them.
The plot is mostly the unexpected actions of these personages seemingly dominated by a powerful mobster.
The story isn\'t of a most popular kind, the usual ending is just the opposite, and you know that it isn\'t going the usual way, but I couldn\'t put the book down.
It\'s artfully plotted and the author is great putting his personages in risky circunstances.
Suspense and magnificent style, very visual, harsh and sardonic.
The author is a really notable storyteller.
The characters are specially good, some portraits are unique, masterfully created, the author knows how to make you want to follow them.
The plot is mostly the unexpected actions of these personages seemingly dominated by a powerful mobster.
The story isn't of a most popular kind, the usual ending is just the opposite, and you know that it isn't going the usual way, but I couldn't put the book down.
It's artfully plotted and the author is great putting his personages in risky circunstances.
Suspense and magnificent style, very visual, harsh and sardonic.
The beginning is a bit slow, that's the only minus I see in it.
As in other Oppenheim's books, there is a shadowy espionage theme present, but this time there is also something else: in one of the final chapters you'll find a curious premonition of Hitler's Blitzkrieg and his Third Reich phantasy, with its frontiers nearly exactly drawn.
And a truthful mention of Germany's promoting the Russian revolution and an acrid irony about the freedom the revolution will bring to Russian people (the book was written three years after the revolution).
I loved "Dead Men Tell No Tales" and wanted to read something with the Raffles personage, which made Hornung famous.
But I didn't choose well. This is the last Raffles novel and if you don't already love Raffles and his friend the narrator, you don't get to love them reading this book.
The famed Raffles doesn't seem too brilliant and if you don't play cricket you'll be sleeping after the first fifty pages.
Sure, there are some good moments but nothing that'll really impress you.
A story is that of a minimal thriller, but there are also some other things.
I've read some other book by Oppenheim, The Amiable Charlatan. It was a pleasant read but it didn't impress me.
This one, though, is a masterful piece of mystery fiction.
As a small curiosity, it's interesting how the author stresses the different way of seeing things by the young people, "young" meaning "unexperienced" but the old people's statements are given with a humble sympathy.
An author that merits to continue exploring and to be remembered.
It isn't as fun and as fast-paced as the other one and the main character seems a bit too dull in comparison.
On the contrary, the plot consists of only one argumental line, not overly interesting, and the story advances slowly, sometimes there are good unforseen twists and turns, but mostly the action just offers an almost mechanical succession of small complications and their solutions.
The author is obviously a fan of Émile Gaboriau, the creator of the first deductionist detective, LeCocq, who was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
The author mentions frequently Gaboriau and LeCocq, and it seems that he also tries to imitate the French writer's narrative style, too XIX century for my taste, but he lacks Gaboriau's passion that would let him fill pages with more drama than action.
As a result, the story is too short and the novel too lengthy.
house.
The murdered abolitionist's brother, abolitionist himself, is the novel's
main character.
He has liberated all his slaves, who wouldn't think of leaving his plantations because he treats them so well.
The Civil War begins and separates the two abolitionist's sons, who go to fight on the opposing sides, the demented boy gets to live with the
abolitionist's family and recovers his wits thanks to the love and attention with which he is treated.
The war ends, the two brothers reconcile and the baby grows up and marries one of them.
A very bland, slow narrative centered on repeating the atrocious points of
view of the obtuse slavers and their reasons for keeping their slaves enslaved, alternating their discourses with those of the abolitionists.
Even understanding that the book was written in 1875 it seems very feeble
and simplistic.