Hume at his most annoying! Perhaps the victorians liked it, but the absurd drawing of one of the characters (Debby) got so irritating I almost abandoned the book. Good plot but nearly ruined by this characterisation. Very un-Hume-like!!
What a delightful set of stories! Hume at his best. Not the usual 'whodunnit' style but plenty of puzzles and some great character descriptions. Recommended.
Hume at his best....but what a shame he's put a great big spoiler in the title! Not like him at all. Keeps you guessing till the end though - very satisfying.
Good well-paced story with a faintly ridiculous ending: a cop-out in fact! Made worse by the reader not being given the vital clues Ashton-Kirk had found to solve it, so no chance of working things out. Shame - the rest was good.
Very, very dark by Hume's standards - the title is a good reflection of the content. Not so many twists or double identities as usual but the pervading gloom exists right to the end when everything turns out "all right" (an exaggeration - just a little lightening of the gloom). A good read though.
It's like Marmite - you'll love it or absolutely hate it!
Personally I thought it was so deliciously ridiculous (all those parodies and clichés) that I really enjoyed it. It other words it was so bad it was brilliant!!
Glad I didn't read the spoiler (revealing Pratt) above before reading it. Shame on you for that (even the town's name is wrong.....)!!!
But, without the "benefit" of the description above, it's a great story - twists at the start, more in the middle then, when you've got it all sorted near the end, there's another great unexpected twist in the final chapter. Hume at his best. Recommended.
Great first book by Hume. A bit too denigrating on the police perhaps but enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most devious mind. Very well-rounded characters. Fully recommended.
This one outdoes Christie hands down! Even using the 'least likely person' principle you're still left missing the full answer. Totally absorbing. Fully recommended.
phil’s book reviews
Personally I thought it was so deliciously ridiculous (all those parodies and clichés) that I really enjoyed it. It other words it was so bad it was brilliant!!
But, without the "benefit" of the description above, it's a great story - twists at the start, more in the middle then, when you've got it all sorted near the end, there's another great unexpected twist in the final chapter. Hume at his best. Recommended.