Reviews

Max Carrados Resurrected: The Detective Stories of Max Carrados by Ernest Bramah

fictionfan's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

The superhuman detective…

A collection of short stories about amateur detective Max Carrados, whose blindness has allowed him to develop all his other senses way beyond the norm, and also well beyond the limits of believability. The stories are well written and some of the plots are interesting, though others are pretty dull, but I tired very quickly of Carrados’ superhuman sensory abilities, such as being able to date an ancient coin by touch alone. There seemed to be something of a fad for detectives with disabilities round about that period – the book was published in 1914 – though sadly not in the sense of creating visibility or understanding for people with disabilities, but rather as a form of entertainment for able-bodied people to wonder over. However, it wasn’t the absence of political correctness that prevented me enjoying the book wholeheartedly – that is of its time and Bramah certainly doesn’t disparage his hero. It was simply that I felt Bramah took the concept too far, making it impossible for me to believe in Carrados’ abilities. The stories I enjoyed best were the ones that relied least on the fact of Carrados being blind. Worth a read, though – I certainly found them more enjoyable than some of the books from this very early period of mystery writing.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

slferg's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Max Carrados is one of the Edwardian detectives in the short story collection. I found him interesting. He is blind from an accident, but has trained all his other senses to make up for being unable to see. He also has an assistant who "sees" for him and has trained himself to make note of things his employer might be interested in. A friend has become a private detective and comes to him for information about a coin that may be fake, Carrados' name given to him by a coin dealer. Max asks him to come to him again with a case if he helps him solve this one. So becomes a regular communication between the two and Max helping him to solve cases or solving them for him.
His eplanations and how he learns what he wants to know are quite interesting.

vsbedford's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

A strong opening quickly descends into a lot of "cooey! he's blind, is he!?". If this is your bag I suggest spreading this out over a few days; the writing is competent but the mysteries not strong enough to withstand sustained scrutiny.

I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

peanotsilent's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

A casual dive into classic detective literature has turned into an interesting journey. While this is not one of the best examples of the genre, it has a different take and would probably still make for a decent procedural series on TV.
More...