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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Good fun, better than the radio drama, which had to drop a lot of characters and action.
It was OK. I'm not going to say much... see my progress updates for comments. The writing was technically good, but the storytelling left something to be desired. Something like... action. For a book with 2 murders set in the 1930's in the West End, packed with war survivors and what should have been a heartwrenching familial situation among some of the key players, this book moved slowly and lacked excitement. It would have been something I would have expected of a first draft, not a published novel - especially one which recieved such high critical praise. Now that I'm finally done with this, it's on to something more exciting.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the historical detail and back stage setting. It also introduced me to aspects of Tey's work that I wasn't aware of before. But Tey's voice was somewhat bland and the end of the mystery felt a little contrived.
Just going to call this one done. A historical mystery set in London in the 30s sounded up my alley even though I didn't know anything about the real-life main character or the plays she wrote. I realize that especially in series that there is some getting-to-know-you bits where it takes some time to flesh out the returning characters, but overall this is too dense, too boring, and spent way too much time with the boring character introductions.
I hate not finishing books. It feels like giving up and I guess in this case a mystery unresolved. But there are so many books out there that it seems unproductive to try to finish at this point.
I hate not finishing books. It feels like giving up and I guess in this case a mystery unresolved. But there are so many books out there that it seems unproductive to try to finish at this point.
So tightly plotted that it makes my teeth hurt, and all the characters speak in paragraphs, with profound understanding of their own psyches. Then again, it’s an interesting read, with realistic depictions of queerness in 1930s London theatre. I’ll read the next one.
While a bit slow to begin, this mystery set in the London theatre world between the wars was gripping and enjoyable. I look forward to reading further in the series.
Entertaining old-school murder mystery, nothing spectacular, but an easy fun read. Took awhile to get all the characters straight. 3.5 stars
Rounding up to five stars. I wish I would have discovered this author a little sooner as her style fits my own linguistic style and I found it so easy to read. It was smartly written, the conversations had banter, the author described people talking sort of sarcastically or teasingly which made it easy to follow the mood of the conversation, and the tension between the inspector and Ms Tey was right on target with a great finish. I am seriously considering just turning around and reading the next one in this series to see what happens next.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated