Scan barcode
awebofstories's review against another edition
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Grade: C+
This is the first E.C.R. Lorac that I’ve read, which I think plays an important role in my thoughts about this book. While I don’t believe that reading previous books is necessary for the plot of this one, nor do I think this book spoils earlier installments, I do think that my view of this book is more limited than it would be if I had read the previous 37 books.
I have rarely read a mystery that is as intricately plotted as this one. This machine has so many moving pieces, and Lorac keeps them all moving in perfect order. If we think of many mysteries operating in a puzzle box, this one operates in a puzzle dodecahedron. I am not someone who frequently correctly solves a mystery, but I usually have a solution in mind. This time, however, I had no clue going into the end—yet I could still look back and see how things worked.
Here is where my unfamiliarity with the series may come into play. I really felt that the one place that this novel struggles is with character development. The central detective, Robert MacDonald, comes across as generic. He’s not someone who I can picture in my head, and there was nothing about him that made him stand out. Again, had I read the other books in the series, I might not need that characterization in the 38th book. The secondary characters seem to be exactly who you would think they are when you think of “country folk,” the local Vicar, the shepherd, etc.
The character issues here definitely impacted my enjoyment of the book, but I was sucked in by the plot. I’m not done with E.C.R. Lorac—I plan to go back and read at least a few of the earlier books in this series and see how they work for me.
This is the first E.C.R. Lorac that I’ve read, which I think plays an important role in my thoughts about this book. While I don’t believe that reading previous books is necessary for the plot of this one, nor do I think this book spoils earlier installments, I do think that my view of this book is more limited than it would be if I had read the previous 37 books.
I have rarely read a mystery that is as intricately plotted as this one. This machine has so many moving pieces, and Lorac keeps them all moving in perfect order. If we think of many mysteries operating in a puzzle box, this one operates in a puzzle dodecahedron. I am not someone who frequently correctly solves a mystery, but I usually have a solution in mind. This time, however, I had no clue going into the end—yet I could still look back and see how things worked.
Here is where my unfamiliarity with the series may come into play. I really felt that the one place that this novel struggles is with character development. The central detective, Robert MacDonald, comes across as generic. He’s not someone who I can picture in my head, and there was nothing about him that made him stand out. Again, had I read the other books in the series, I might not need that characterization in the 38th book. The secondary characters seem to be exactly who you would think they are when you think of “country folk,” the local Vicar, the shepherd, etc.
The character issues here definitely impacted my enjoyment of the book, but I was sucked in by the plot. I’m not done with E.C.R. Lorac—I plan to go back and read at least a few of the earlier books in this series and see how they work for me.
shanaqui's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Crook O' Lune is very typical of E.C.R. Lorac's books: maybe slower than some, but using a strong sense of place to give the story atmosphere, and to create a mystery that fits into the setting, the lie of the land, the kind of people. It's perhaps even better at that because Lorac based it on a real place, and even on her own house: you can feel the love for the house, the land, the way of life, in all the characters.
Of course, it's a little idealised, and rather anti-urban in sentiment -- even people who come from outside are by and large calmed by the land, connected to it all of a sudden, in a way that doesn't ring so true to me (or maybe it's just the changing times, and everybody was closer to the land then, and more able to be absorbed back into a rural community).
The mystery in this one takes a long time to get going, but it's all necessary set-dressing, and it's all relevant. I didn't 'catch' the killer ahead of time, this time: I suspected someone else, based on details that... I'm not sure whether they were intended as red herrings or just part of the set-dressing. But it all makes sense in execution, and despite some of the sordid deeds and the sense of increasing hurry about figuring out what happened, it was a very relaxing read -- you can rely on Lorac for that!
Of course, it's a little idealised, and rather anti-urban in sentiment -- even people who come from outside are by and large calmed by the land, connected to it all of a sudden, in a way that doesn't ring so true to me (or maybe it's just the changing times, and everybody was closer to the land then, and more able to be absorbed back into a rural community).
The mystery in this one takes a long time to get going, but it's all necessary set-dressing, and it's all relevant. I didn't 'catch' the killer ahead of time, this time: I suspected someone else, based on details that... I'm not sure whether they were intended as red herrings or just part of the set-dressing. But it all makes sense in execution, and despite some of the sordid deeds and the sense of increasing hurry about figuring out what happened, it was a very relaxing read -- you can rely on Lorac for that!
fictionfan's review
5.0
Old Macdonald wants a farm…
Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard is looking ahead to retiring from the police and is searching for a small farm to buy, farming having been his family background. He’s staying with friends in the Lune Valley in Lancashire while he looks around, and they recommend a farm that is likely to come on the market soon, Aikengill in High Gimmerdale. The old owner is recently deceased and his heir, his nephew Gilbert Woolfall, is a businessman in Yorkshire, so the locals expect he’ll want to sell up. At the moment, he’s spending time going through his uncle’s papers – a lengthy task since his uncle was a bit of an amateur local historian. But then there’s a fire at Aikengill, in which the housekeeper dies. The local police know Macdonald of old so ask him to help them investigate and Macdonald soon determines that the fire was deliberate…
In her own short foreword to the book, Lorac tells us that the places in the book are real although she may have occasionally changed the names, and in fact the house called Aikengill in the book is her own home in the Lune Valley. Her sense of place is always one of her major strengths and never more so than when she’s writing about this rural farming area, which she clearly knows intimately and loves. The book is full of wonderful descriptions of the landscape as Macdonald tramps o’er hill and down dale in pursuit of evidence, and we get an authentic inside look at the working lives of the sheep farmers and smallholders who farm the land.
The plot is also interesting, and rests in part on the long histories of families who live in an area for generations – a real contrast to her London-set mysteries, especially the ones set in the war years, when she often uses the mobility and impermanence of urban living to build her plots around. She has to be one of the most versatile writers from that period, handling rural and urban with equal knowledge and insight, and her skill in this gives her novels an authenticity of atmosphere whatever their setting.
First published in 1953, this one also gives a picture of a Britain still struggling to recover from the war, with the remnants of rationing still lingering and the nature of farming having changed with the drive to increase food production and food security. We also hear about the young men being called up for National Service, and how not all of them were happy to go. She’s excellent at setting her novels in their own time and showing a gradually or sometimes suddenly changing world, and like a lot of vintage fiction her books give a real picture of a period, more authentically than all but the best historical fiction.
We learn more about Macdonald as a person in this one too, because of the element of him looking to move to the area. We already knew from previous books about his love for this hilly country and his background in farming, but Lorac takes us deeper into his thoughts this time. He also interacts with friends – I only remember him with colleagues and suspects before, so this aspect makes him seem more human, as having a life beyond work.
Another one that I thoroughly enjoyed, so I’ll say it again – how can it be that Lorac became “forgotten” when other writers of equal or less talent have remained in print all these years? An injustice that the British Library deserves thanks for putting right. Highly recommended, as always!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard is looking ahead to retiring from the police and is searching for a small farm to buy, farming having been his family background. He’s staying with friends in the Lune Valley in Lancashire while he looks around, and they recommend a farm that is likely to come on the market soon, Aikengill in High Gimmerdale. The old owner is recently deceased and his heir, his nephew Gilbert Woolfall, is a businessman in Yorkshire, so the locals expect he’ll want to sell up. At the moment, he’s spending time going through his uncle’s papers – a lengthy task since his uncle was a bit of an amateur local historian. But then there’s a fire at Aikengill, in which the housekeeper dies. The local police know Macdonald of old so ask him to help them investigate and Macdonald soon determines that the fire was deliberate…
In her own short foreword to the book, Lorac tells us that the places in the book are real although she may have occasionally changed the names, and in fact the house called Aikengill in the book is her own home in the Lune Valley. Her sense of place is always one of her major strengths and never more so than when she’s writing about this rural farming area, which she clearly knows intimately and loves. The book is full of wonderful descriptions of the landscape as Macdonald tramps o’er hill and down dale in pursuit of evidence, and we get an authentic inside look at the working lives of the sheep farmers and smallholders who farm the land.
The plot is also interesting, and rests in part on the long histories of families who live in an area for generations – a real contrast to her London-set mysteries, especially the ones set in the war years, when she often uses the mobility and impermanence of urban living to build her plots around. She has to be one of the most versatile writers from that period, handling rural and urban with equal knowledge and insight, and her skill in this gives her novels an authenticity of atmosphere whatever their setting.
First published in 1953, this one also gives a picture of a Britain still struggling to recover from the war, with the remnants of rationing still lingering and the nature of farming having changed with the drive to increase food production and food security. We also hear about the young men being called up for National Service, and how not all of them were happy to go. She’s excellent at setting her novels in their own time and showing a gradually or sometimes suddenly changing world, and like a lot of vintage fiction her books give a real picture of a period, more authentically than all but the best historical fiction.
We learn more about Macdonald as a person in this one too, because of the element of him looking to move to the area. We already knew from previous books about his love for this hilly country and his background in farming, but Lorac takes us deeper into his thoughts this time. He also interacts with friends – I only remember him with colleagues and suspects before, so this aspect makes him seem more human, as having a life beyond work.
Another one that I thoroughly enjoyed, so I’ll say it again – how can it be that Lorac became “forgotten” when other writers of equal or less talent have remained in print all these years? An injustice that the British Library deserves thanks for putting right. Highly recommended, as always!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
fern17's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
More...