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littletaiko's review against another edition
3.0
Crofts takes the traditional murder mystery and turns it on it's head in this golden age mystery. The book opens with the death of an elderly man on a plane. The rest of the book is told from the perspective of the person who committed the crime. The readers sees how the idea first came to the murderer, how it was executed, and the repercussions. The tension builds as you wonder whether he's going to get away with it or not.
tracey_stewart's review against another edition
4.0
This was a rather revolutionary book when it came out, I think. For most of the plot there is no doubt who the killer is, but only the exact details and whether he'll get away with it or not. All it will take is a cool head and deliberation, just as he showed in the planning and execution of the murder – but can he maintain it?
It's well-written, gripping stuff – a fascinating look at the other side of the whodunnit.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
It's well-written, gripping stuff – a fascinating look at the other side of the whodunnit.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
iceangel9's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A classic British crime novel by one of the prominent authors in the Golden Age of mysteries. Charles Swinburn murdered his uncle Andrew Crowther. This novel is unique in that you know "who done it;" the novel explains how he did it and how he got caught. It is an interesting take on Golden Age mystery novels.
fictionfan's review
5.0
Through the eyes of a killer...
It's 10-year-old Rose Morley's first trip on an aeroplane so she's excited, despite the fact that the reason for the trip is to go to Paris where her mother has had an accident and is in hospital. With her are her father, Peter, and her elderly and rather ill grandfather, Andrew Crowther, whose manservant and general carer Weatherup is with him too. Before they take off, they get a telegram to say Rose's mother will be fine after all, so they can enjoy the journey with no fear. But when they arrive in Paris, it turns out that grandfather Andrew is not sleeping as they had all thought – he's dead. And it's soon discovered that he's been murdered.
This is an interesting take on the crime novel, and innovative for its time. We may have seen crimes from the perspective of the murderer fairly often now, but apparently this was one of the first when it was published in 1934. Following the rather brilliantly described flight to Paris, at a time when planes were still held together by little more than chewing-gum and prayer, the book flashes back a few weeks in time and we meet Charles Swinburn, nephew of the murdered man. It's from Charles' perspective that the story unfolds from there on.
Charles had inherited his uncle's successful manufacturing business but the depression of the 1930s has brought him near bankruptcy. Unfortunately, he's also fallen hopelessly in love with the beautiful but mercenary Una, who makes no secret of the fact that she will only marry a rich man. So when his attempts to raise a loan meet with failure, Charles begins to imagine how convenient it would be if his rich uncle would die so that Charles can get his hands on the inheritance he's been promised. The reader then follows along as Charles decides to turn this dream into reality.
I found the first section of the book fairly slow. Crofts describes Charles' business difficulties in great and convincing detail, with much talk of profit margins and wage bills and so on. It's actually quite fascinating, giving a very real picture of a struggling business in a harsh economic climate, but after a bit it began to feel a little like I was reading financial reports.
However, once Charles decides to do the deed, I became totally hooked. It carries that same level of detail over into the planning of the crime, and I should warn you all that I now know lots of incredibly useful stuff should I ever decide someone needs to be murdered – just sayin'. In the planning stage, it's almost an intellectual exercise for Charles and he goes about it quite coldly. But in the aftermath of the crime, we see the effect it has on him – not guilt, exactly, but a kind of creeping horror at the thought of what he's done. And when Inspector French arrives on the scene to investigate, we see Charles swaying between confidence that he's pulled off the perfect crime, and terror that he may have missed some detail that will give him away. I won't give any more away, but there are a couple of complications along the way that ratchet up the tension and the horror.
There's a final short section, an afterword almost, when we see the investigation from Inspector French's perspective. To be honest, this bit felt redundant to me – I felt it would have been more effective had it finished before that part. I suspect it may only have been added because French was Crofts' recurring detective, and perhaps Crofts felt existing fans would have felt short-changed if his part in the story didn't get told.
So, a slow start and an unnecessary section at the end, but the bulk of the book – the planning, the crime itself, and the investigation as seen through Charles' eyes – is excellent. I like Crofts' writing style – it's quite plain and straightforward, but the quality of the plotting still enables him to make this a tense read. The question obviously is not who did the crime, but will he be caught. And, like Charles, I found myself desperately trying to see if he'd left any loopholes. In fact, it was a bit worrying how well Crofts managed to put me inside Charles' head – I wouldn't say I was on his side, exactly, but I was undoubtedly more ambivalent than I should have been. The format leads to some duplication as we see the same events from different angles and perspectives, but this was a small weakness in what I otherwise thought was a very well crafted and original novel. Highly recommended – another winner from the British Library Crime Classics series. Keep 'em coming! 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
It's 10-year-old Rose Morley's first trip on an aeroplane so she's excited, despite the fact that the reason for the trip is to go to Paris where her mother has had an accident and is in hospital. With her are her father, Peter, and her elderly and rather ill grandfather, Andrew Crowther, whose manservant and general carer Weatherup is with him too. Before they take off, they get a telegram to say Rose's mother will be fine after all, so they can enjoy the journey with no fear. But when they arrive in Paris, it turns out that grandfather Andrew is not sleeping as they had all thought – he's dead. And it's soon discovered that he's been murdered.
This is an interesting take on the crime novel, and innovative for its time. We may have seen crimes from the perspective of the murderer fairly often now, but apparently this was one of the first when it was published in 1934. Following the rather brilliantly described flight to Paris, at a time when planes were still held together by little more than chewing-gum and prayer, the book flashes back a few weeks in time and we meet Charles Swinburn, nephew of the murdered man. It's from Charles' perspective that the story unfolds from there on.
Charles had inherited his uncle's successful manufacturing business but the depression of the 1930s has brought him near bankruptcy. Unfortunately, he's also fallen hopelessly in love with the beautiful but mercenary Una, who makes no secret of the fact that she will only marry a rich man. So when his attempts to raise a loan meet with failure, Charles begins to imagine how convenient it would be if his rich uncle would die so that Charles can get his hands on the inheritance he's been promised. The reader then follows along as Charles decides to turn this dream into reality.
I found the first section of the book fairly slow. Crofts describes Charles' business difficulties in great and convincing detail, with much talk of profit margins and wage bills and so on. It's actually quite fascinating, giving a very real picture of a struggling business in a harsh economic climate, but after a bit it began to feel a little like I was reading financial reports.
However, once Charles decides to do the deed, I became totally hooked. It carries that same level of detail over into the planning of the crime, and I should warn you all that I now know lots of incredibly useful stuff should I ever decide someone needs to be murdered – just sayin'. In the planning stage, it's almost an intellectual exercise for Charles and he goes about it quite coldly. But in the aftermath of the crime, we see the effect it has on him – not guilt, exactly, but a kind of creeping horror at the thought of what he's done. And when Inspector French arrives on the scene to investigate, we see Charles swaying between confidence that he's pulled off the perfect crime, and terror that he may have missed some detail that will give him away. I won't give any more away, but there are a couple of complications along the way that ratchet up the tension and the horror.
There's a final short section, an afterword almost, when we see the investigation from Inspector French's perspective. To be honest, this bit felt redundant to me – I felt it would have been more effective had it finished before that part. I suspect it may only have been added because French was Crofts' recurring detective, and perhaps Crofts felt existing fans would have felt short-changed if his part in the story didn't get told.
So, a slow start and an unnecessary section at the end, but the bulk of the book – the planning, the crime itself, and the investigation as seen through Charles' eyes – is excellent. I like Crofts' writing style – it's quite plain and straightforward, but the quality of the plotting still enables him to make this a tense read. The question obviously is not who did the crime, but will he be caught. And, like Charles, I found myself desperately trying to see if he'd left any loopholes. In fact, it was a bit worrying how well Crofts managed to put me inside Charles' head – I wouldn't say I was on his side, exactly, but I was undoubtedly more ambivalent than I should have been. The format leads to some duplication as we see the same events from different angles and perspectives, but this was a small weakness in what I otherwise thought was a very well crafted and original novel. Highly recommended – another winner from the British Library Crime Classics series. Keep 'em coming! 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
embey's review against another edition
dark
tense
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
felicitydisco's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.25
Inverted mysteries aren't my favorite, but this was well done.
1mpossiblealice's review against another edition
3.5
I enjoyed this book, particularly the opening chapter on the plane, and the section at the end where Inspector French speaks. The main section of the book is the main character, Charles, planning to murder his uncle, and how he keeps justifying it to himself. At times this was really well done and you definitely see him denying reality more and more, and convincing himself it's justified to murder someone. But at other times it's a bit tedious, and reminds me of those idiots on Grand Designs who just keep ordering more stuff they can't afford and running out of money but convincing themselves everything will be fine - he has been running out of money for ages but instead of trying to deal with it just pretends it's not happening! Also he's totally obsessed with a woman who clearly doesn't have much interest in him.
I'd definitely read more, especially ones with more Inspector French as he is barely in this, and it was a solid novel, but nothing amazing.
I'd definitely read more, especially ones with more Inspector French as he is barely in this, and it was a solid novel, but nothing amazing.
briarfairchild's review
3.0
This was fine, but I prefer others of Crofts's books I've read. The first part's good, where you watch Charles doing his thing. He's quite an interesting character; very self-obsessed and determined to have his own happiness. For example, we know almost nothing about his 'beloved' Una except that she's sure she'll only be happy marrying a rich man. He thinks this is the only obstacle to his marrying her even though it's clear to the reader that while she thinks he's fine, she's not in the least in love with him and not at all interested in marrying him. He clearly isn't interested in her happiness; only his own. Other than his determination to have an nice life, Charles seems very average - he's moderately intelligent; an okay businessman; fairly well liked. We don't really get to know any of the other characters well, even through his eyes, which bears out his self-absorbedness and also means he really does have to carry the whole story, which he does pretty well.
The last few chapters are interesting too, where French explains how he deduced the murder and gathered his evidence. But the middle third or so is frankly dire. I skimmed most of it. It's a description of the trial and the problem is that it gives us almost no new information. We already know what's happened because we watched Charles reason it all out and do it all. Plus, it's really boringly done; there are no interesting character moments, unless you count Charles being really stressed. I'd have much preferred the second half to be a more detailed and dynamic narrative of French solving the case.
The last few chapters are interesting too, where French explains how he deduced the murder and gathered his evidence. But the middle third or so is frankly dire. I skimmed most of it. It's a description of the trial and the problem is that it gives us almost no new information. We already know what's happened because we watched Charles reason it all out and do it all. Plus, it's really boringly done; there are no interesting character moments, unless you count Charles being really stressed. I'd have much preferred the second half to be a more detailed and dynamic narrative of French solving the case.
tonstantweader's review
4.0
The 12:30 from Croydon is the second mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts I have read. Interestingly, they both feature Inspector French and yet could not be more different. Mystery in the Channel is a traditional whodunnit in which French breaks alibis to figure out the culprit. In The 12:30 from Croydon we not only know whodunnit, we are following the murderer from before he even conceived the crime.
Crofts was a founding member of The Detection Club, the venerable gathering of the best mystery writers whose rules for detective fiction still sound good to me. I still judge a mystery on its fairness and feel shortchanged when key information is withheld from us. This is the sort of mystery Crofts excelled at, exactingly fair procedurals. For The 12:30 from Croydon, he was venturing into the psychological thriller genre, a new development in mystery fiction, revealing how Charles Swinburn came to the unwelcome conclusion that his uncle had to die and taking us through the meticulous planning and execution of that and yet another murder.
I was surprised to like this book even more than Mystery in the Channel. I generally prefer mysteries to focus on solving the murder and dislike the mysteries inside the mind of the murderer. Of course, most of the time when a writer puts us inside the mind of a murderer, the killer is a psychopathic serial killer. That is not our Charles. He is, in his view, just a guy trying achieve the greatest good for the most people, really, it’s a service he is doing. Well, not quite. He has pangs of conscience, but they are far less than his narcissism and his determination to “help others” as he persuades himself he is doing.
This is why I like this book so much. So often, when we are allowed into the mind of a killer, he is so very buahhh-haaa-haaa evil that I am turned off. Charles, though, is uncomfortably familiar. He is a person who would never have chosen murder in the ordinary course of events, but when in extremis, could justify anything on utilitarian motives. Isn’t that really what most murderers are like?
Inspector French’s involvement is almost completely off the page. We are with Charles, not French, and we don’t know what French is up to until the final coda, a chapter gathering the lawyers and police to explain how they figured it out. I am not sure that French’s tip-off is one that most police would think of and with a less fictional inspector, it is likely that someone else would have been indicted, but the beauty of these old classics is that all’s well that ends well.
The 12:30 from Croydon will be released on February 7, 2017. I was provided an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/the-1230-from-croydon-by-by-freeman-wills-crofts/
Crofts was a founding member of The Detection Club, the venerable gathering of the best mystery writers whose rules for detective fiction still sound good to me. I still judge a mystery on its fairness and feel shortchanged when key information is withheld from us. This is the sort of mystery Crofts excelled at, exactingly fair procedurals. For The 12:30 from Croydon, he was venturing into the psychological thriller genre, a new development in mystery fiction, revealing how Charles Swinburn came to the unwelcome conclusion that his uncle had to die and taking us through the meticulous planning and execution of that and yet another murder.
I was surprised to like this book even more than Mystery in the Channel. I generally prefer mysteries to focus on solving the murder and dislike the mysteries inside the mind of the murderer. Of course, most of the time when a writer puts us inside the mind of a murderer, the killer is a psychopathic serial killer. That is not our Charles. He is, in his view, just a guy trying achieve the greatest good for the most people, really, it’s a service he is doing. Well, not quite. He has pangs of conscience, but they are far less than his narcissism and his determination to “help others” as he persuades himself he is doing.
This is why I like this book so much. So often, when we are allowed into the mind of a killer, he is so very buahhh-haaa-haaa evil that I am turned off. Charles, though, is uncomfortably familiar. He is a person who would never have chosen murder in the ordinary course of events, but when in extremis, could justify anything on utilitarian motives. Isn’t that really what most murderers are like?
Inspector French’s involvement is almost completely off the page. We are with Charles, not French, and we don’t know what French is up to until the final coda, a chapter gathering the lawyers and police to explain how they figured it out. I am not sure that French’s tip-off is one that most police would think of and with a less fictional inspector, it is likely that someone else would have been indicted, but the beauty of these old classics is that all’s well that ends well.
The 12:30 from Croydon will be released on February 7, 2017. I was provided an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/the-1230-from-croydon-by-by-freeman-wills-crofts/
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