Scan barcode
amy_bee's review against another edition
2.0
Lawyer-turned-amateur-detective makes the murder of two people all about him.
wadee23's review against another edition
2.0
Xenophobia and the patriarchy were the real murderers all along :’)
lakecake's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nglofile's review against another edition
4.0
A long-overlooked gem, The Leavenworth Case is a Victorian era mystery that was actually published in 1878. Now newly reissued, modern readers have the chance to enjoy the enigmatic characters and the steady piecing of clues in a classic mystery.
I confess I do balk at the publisher's label of Green as "the mother of the detective novel" who "changed the mystery genre forever" and of its touting of the "first American series detective...published nine years before the debut of Sherlock Holmes". It seems they have conveniently forgotten Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" which introduced (in 1841) C. Auguste Dupin, the detective character that would reappear in two more Poe stories. Hair-splitting, perhaps, but not to dismissed.
Still, the fact I could look past the marketing hyperbole and still very much enjoy and recommend this book is another point in its favor.
I confess I do balk at the publisher's label of Green as "the mother of the detective novel" who "changed the mystery genre forever" and of its touting of the "first American series detective...published nine years before the debut of Sherlock Holmes". It seems they have conveniently forgotten Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" which introduced (in 1841) C. Auguste Dupin, the detective character that would reappear in two more Poe stories. Hair-splitting, perhaps, but not to dismissed.
Still, the fact I could look past the marketing hyperbole and still very much enjoy and recommend this book is another point in its favor.
bubblesofbayla's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
njuska_13's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
ebbie_casuallereading's review
3.0
Listened to it on audiobook.
I don't think I have much to say about this book. It was interesting as what it is in the time it was written and published, as to the specific things that were most likely innovation for the genre. I had a good time overall, though it was peculiar to me that what is supposed to be the main detective isn't that much implicated in the investigation (even through what I think might be a disguise).
It's a book of its time on top of that, so some stuff feel clunky here and there, on top of the general way of talking about people, mainly women (even if the author is one).
I also feel like there was little to no way to find the culprit before the big reveal, though I don't personally care that much about it.
Not sure I'll read more of Mr Gryce, but I'm not against it either.
I don't think I have much to say about this book. It was interesting as what it is in the time it was written and published, as to the specific things that were most likely innovation for the genre. I had a good time overall, though it was peculiar to me that what is supposed to be the main detective isn't that much implicated in the investigation (even through what I think might be a disguise).
It's a book of its time on top of that, so some stuff feel clunky here and there, on top of the general way of talking about people, mainly women (even if the author is one).
I also feel like there was little to no way to find the culprit before the big reveal, though I don't personally care that much about it.
Not sure I'll read more of Mr Gryce, but I'm not against it either.
fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75