Scan barcode
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
Dudley Wolff was not making friends on the night the book opens. First, he threatened to cut his daughter out of his will. Then he fired her suitor. After that, he threatened to cut off the two scientists he'd been funding. And now a mysterious stranger has appeared in his study demanding to see him. A stranger demanding blackmail money. A stranger that Mr. Wolff kills. A stranger who seemingly returns as a ghost.
His daughter decides to hire the Great Merlini (not knowing about the dead man) to help discover what is going on at the Wolff escape when there start to be strange sounds and valuable vases that suddenly fall over when no one is nearby. Then Dudley Wolff ends up dead and the girl's suitor (our third person narrator) is tipped out the window and then blamed for the death.
It was an interesting solution but somewhat convoluted. I liked the Great Merlini and will hopefully have the chance to read some more.
Heard about this one on the Classic Mysteries podcast.
His daughter decides to hire the Great Merlini (not knowing about the dead man) to help discover what is going on at the Wolff escape when there start to be strange sounds and valuable vases that suddenly fall over when no one is nearby. Then Dudley Wolff ends up dead and the girl's suitor (our third person narrator) is tipped out the window and then blamed for the death.
It was an interesting solution but somewhat convoluted. I liked the Great Merlini and will hopefully have the chance to read some more.
Heard about this one on the Classic Mysteries podcast.
expendablemudge's review
3.0
Rating: 3-ish stars of five
I read this loose old paperback after I found it in The Bin from Hell. It's got wisecracks, gimcracks, and a couple asscracks for characters. The "heroine" is a Mary Sue from the get-go, flipping out as the stupidest things. The wicked stepmother is Mrs. Danvers' bully big sister with dimwitted lines galore. The millionaire is about as stock as stock gets.
The sleuth? The sleuth. Merlini! *snort* Cutesy-poopsie-charmy-warmy.
The 1942 film replaces Merlini (whew) but with some goofball character I've never heard of before, Mike Shayne, who also bugged the snot outta me. Not the happiest of experiences all the way around, honestly not one I'd recommend on *either* medium.
I read this loose old paperback after I found it in The Bin from Hell. It's got wisecracks, gimcracks, and a couple asscracks for characters. The "heroine" is a Mary Sue from the get-go, flipping out as the stupidest things. The wicked stepmother is Mrs. Danvers' bully big sister with dimwitted lines galore. The millionaire is about as stock as stock gets.
The sleuth? The sleuth. Merlini! *snort* Cutesy-poopsie-charmy-warmy.
The 1942 film replaces Merlini (whew) but with some goofball character I've never heard of before, Mike Shayne, who also bugged the snot outta me. Not the happiest of experiences all the way around, honestly not one I'd recommend on *either* medium.
More...