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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
mysterious
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey was the book selection for my Charlotte book club. Even though I can no longer attend, I am trying to keep up on the reading. I figure it's a good way to ensure I'm still reading for fun during grad school.
I had not read one of Tey's mysteries before, so I am glad I had this opportunity. Tey wrote most of her novels after WWII, so there is something sweet and innocent about her mysteries compared to today's gore and psychotic crime tales.
Brat Farrar is a young man who is convinced to impersonate the presumed dead Patrick Ashby in order to gain access to his estate. His plans are complicated by Patrick's twin brother as well as his confused and curious sisters and Aunt.
It wasn't hard to figure out the mystery, but it didn't take away from the reading of the novel.
I had not read one of Tey's mysteries before, so I am glad I had this opportunity. Tey wrote most of her novels after WWII, so there is something sweet and innocent about her mysteries compared to today's gore and psychotic crime tales.
Brat Farrar is a young man who is convinced to impersonate the presumed dead Patrick Ashby in order to gain access to his estate. His plans are complicated by Patrick's twin brother as well as his confused and curious sisters and Aunt.
It wasn't hard to figure out the mystery, but it didn't take away from the reading of the novel.
An orphan is faced with a dastardly proposal: take advantage of his uncanny family likeness to infiltrate the Ashby family as the returned Patrick Ashby who went missing 8 years hence. Only this orphan, the titular Brat Farrar, might be in for more than he bargained for as he grows attached to the lovely Ashbys and wonders what really happened to Patrick all those years ago.
Great premise, great execution. Brat Farrar is a strong silent type and his internal struggle really makes the novel shine. The world of the Ashby’s is well painted and will be enjoyed by British mystery enthusiasts. There’s nothing particularly unique but Tey is a great writer who sticks the landing to provide five star entertainment.
Great premise, great execution. Brat Farrar is a strong silent type and his internal struggle really makes the novel shine. The world of the Ashby’s is well painted and will be enjoyed by British mystery enthusiasts. There’s nothing particularly unique but Tey is a great writer who sticks the landing to provide five star entertainment.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A pair of twins, one of them a suicide--but the body wasn't found. A doppleganger from across the ocean and a plan to claim him the dead twin, run away rather than dead.
More of a crime novel than a mystery. It's pretty clear what happened and how the book will end. The middle stretch got long--but the ending was great, and made up for it.
Recommend for mystery readers.
More of a crime novel than a mystery. It's pretty clear what happened and how the book will end. The middle stretch got long--but the ending was great, and made up for it.
Recommend for mystery readers.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brat Farrar has passed every test proving that he's really Patrick Ashby, the long-lost heir to a family estate in the British countryside, who had been thought to have committed suicide seven years earlier. Brat shows up just in time to prevent Simon, Patrick's twin, from succeeding to the estate on his 21st birthday. But Brat is NOT Patrick; he's just got a strong resemblance to the Ashby family and has had excellent coaching from a conspirator. Brat's misgivings about his own actions struggle against his conviction that he has truly come home, and his growing concern about whether Patrick might actually have been murdered. The book's plot seems familiar, but this is the masterful Tey writing, so their are many elements that are fresh and unexpected. Very enjoyable.
I enjoyed this one up until the very end. It was predictable in many ways, but that was OK. And then it just kind of ended, and it felt very abrupt. Things resolved, but not very satisfactorily.