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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/04/05/day-878-death-on-the-riviera/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/04/05/day-878-death-on-the-riviera/
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Not as good as a Christie, but very similar. Too many subplots
Per chi come me ama i gialli classici (omicidio --> indagine --> soluzione) il fatto che gran parte di Morte in Costa Azzurra sia dedicata alla ricerca di un falsario e al blocco di un traffico di contrabbando non è esattamente il massimo. In questo lungo percorso, però, piccole molliche di pane vengono abbandonate qua e là, lasciando presagire che prima o poi ci sarà pane per i denti anche per l'amante del giallo ad enigma, ed infatti l'attesa viene infine premiata. Bisogna ammettere che quanto seminato in precedenza fa facilmente intuire quale sia davvero la soluzione, cosa che non rende il "giallo" particolarmente entusiasmante, ma la lettura è comunque piacevole e scorrevole, quindi romanzo promosso anche se con un punteggio non esaltante.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
I liked the plot but he seemed to have changed his writing style which I didn't like.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Death on the Riviera isn't one of the best of the British Library Crime Classics series, but it's a solid one. Bude's plots and writing tend to the workman-like, and his detective is mostly a blank with no real personality (though his subordinate had a bit more of a personality here, with his love affair with someone involved in the case).
All of which is not to say that I didn't enjoy this, because Bude's books are absolutely archetypical for a certain period of crime fiction, and thus very relaxing. You know what to expect, and you get it -- after a fair amount of puzzling things out, a few red herrings, and a dead end.
I have to admit, I missed a couple of the hints here, and had to flip back to see if I thought they were really telegraphed. Maybe not quite, there was one thing that isn't really foreshadowed well (and I don't think it would've given the game away to make it a little clearer), but it all comes together in the end.
If you're looking for the best writing or the best plotting, this won't be it! But it is solid for what it is, and exactly what I wanted (though E.C.R. Lorac delivers a similar experience with a better sense of place and character).
All of which is not to say that I didn't enjoy this, because Bude's books are absolutely archetypical for a certain period of crime fiction, and thus very relaxing. You know what to expect, and you get it -- after a fair amount of puzzling things out, a few red herrings, and a dead end.
I have to admit, I missed a couple of the hints here, and had to flip back to see if I thought they were really telegraphed. Maybe not quite, there was one thing that isn't really foreshadowed well (and I don't think it would've given the game away to make it a little clearer), but it all comes together in the end.
If you're looking for the best writing or the best plotting, this won't be it! But it is solid for what it is, and exactly what I wanted (though E.C.R. Lorac delivers a similar experience with a better sense of place and character).
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No