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clairethedestroyerofgalaxies's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
3.0
lilvans's review against another edition
It’s a book of essays and I didn’t realise that. It’s not that it’s necessarily a bad book, but I didn’t find it that entertaining and the style of writing felt quite old-timey and convoluted.
izzatiidrus's review
3.0
I bought two books by The Detection Club merely because Agatha Christie and Anthony Berkeley were part of the club. I thoroughly enjoyed Berkeley's style of writing with his approach to the humanity, morality and psychology of murderers in his other works, and figured I'd enjoy these books too, regardless what they're about. Little did I know that these books are not detective novels - they're actual cases as discussed by detective novelists.
See, the biggest difference between the two is that real cases are not often wrapped neatly like presents with pretty ribbons at the end - we don't always know who actually did it and we don't always get justice even if the cases went to court. The reality is that justice very much depends on how the 'game' is played in the court. Berkeley said it best, "The fact that a life is dependent on the way the game is played, and the winning of it, is lost in the game itself."
So it is very interesting to see how these famous novelists discussed the cases that caught their interest. They wrote them in such a way that would interest fiction readers, and inserted their own voices about what they thought actually happened.
But unfortunately for me, the same could not be said about the cases themselves. Personally, I didn't think the cases picked were anything extraordinary, especially compared to the many outrageous cases we've already heard. But then, in a way, the fact that the novelists still managed to retain my interest in the cases shows just how great they were as writers.
See, the biggest difference between the two is that real cases are not often wrapped neatly like presents with pretty ribbons at the end - we don't always know who actually did it and we don't always get justice even if the cases went to court. The reality is that justice very much depends on how the 'game' is played in the court. Berkeley said it best, "The fact that a life is dependent on the way the game is played, and the winning of it, is lost in the game itself."
So it is very interesting to see how these famous novelists discussed the cases that caught their interest. They wrote them in such a way that would interest fiction readers, and inserted their own voices about what they thought actually happened.
But unfortunately for me, the same could not be said about the cases themselves. Personally, I didn't think the cases picked were anything extraordinary, especially compared to the many outrageous cases we've already heard. But then, in a way, the fact that the novelists still managed to retain my interest in the cases shows just how great they were as writers.
julesgou's review
3.0
Not what I was expecting.
This book was a little bit hard to read because it was a book of essays. And, I didn't realize that.
Some of it was interesting, and some of it was slow. It was an interesting idea to have authors comment on real life crimes. The points that they raised were pretty good ones and it was cool to see how the processed the evidence and their take of the criminals that performed the crimes.
But, I didn't realize that it was a book of essays, and so, it was pretty hard to read. It took me a lot longer because I didn't really have time to sit down and read a book. Also, some of it was dry and slow.
However, even with some of the dry stuff, there were some that were good and interesting.
All in all, not a bad book, even for a book of essays. Just not what I was expecting.
This book was a little bit hard to read because it was a book of essays. And, I didn't realize that.
Some of it was interesting, and some of it was slow. It was an interesting idea to have authors comment on real life crimes. The points that they raised were pretty good ones and it was cool to see how the processed the evidence and their take of the criminals that performed the crimes.
But, I didn't realize that it was a book of essays, and so, it was pretty hard to read. It took me a lot longer because I didn't really have time to sit down and read a book. Also, some of it was dry and slow.
However, even with some of the dry stuff, there were some that were good and interesting.
All in all, not a bad book, even for a book of essays. Just not what I was expecting.
theelliemo's review
3.0
A collection of 7 essays, originally published in 1936, on real-life murders, by leading crime writers of the 1930s. The first, Helen Simpson’s essay on the death of Henry Kinder is very dry, as is John Rhode’s analysis of Constance Kent, this story having interest as being about the events that inspired The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. Margaret Cole on Adelaide Barrett is slightly more lively, being more willing to offer opinion and observation. E R Punshon the the Landru case tells an interesting tale that feels like a short story, and perhaps to some extent is, as inevitably there is some element of speculation as to actual events, and in this particular case, no bodies were ever found, making Landru’s conviction all the more remarkable. Dorothy L Sayers’ essay on the still unsolved 1931 murder of Julia Wallace is a tale well told, as on the whole is Francis Iles on the murder of Francis Rattenbury, though it is a little drawn out, and I found myself annoyed at the casual sexism in the final pages examining whether Rattenbury’s wife had influence over her teenage lover, who was convicted of the murder. Women, it seems, could be blamed for most murders in one way or another. By far the most interesting was Freeman Willis Croft on the murder of Samuel and Christobel Lakey, for which Bill Bayly was convicted. The essay details the police investigation and the many pieces of evidence found and analysed. It is interesting as an essay on forensics.
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