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fruitkate's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
melissa_who_reads's review
3.0
Enjoyed re-reading it - oddly, remembered who-dun-it but didn't remember who got killed or why. And the first victim turned out to be a bit of a self-absorbed prick, but got folks all upset and "he was such a nice boy" - but the second, female victim had more of my sympathy and I did not understand why many of the main characters didn't like her. So some weirdness when the characters in the book don't react the same way to the deaths as the reader ... and I found the ending "Campion in danger" sequence to push my suspension of belief a bit, given I am not an expert in fine and obscure wines. The premise seemed ... a bit strained.
corvinaq's review against another edition
1.0
Probably one of the worst, most dull and moronic mysteries I've ever read. Even the title makes no sense. From start to finish, the police procedural (?) is lame and plodding. It spends too much time on the most boring characters and none on the ones who might be mildly interesting. It's marketed as a cozy: instead, it's grim and humorless.
*SPOILERS*
The entire half of the book you know who did it: the murderer is a stereotypical flamboyant art dealer. He is annoying. The detective is a very stupid man who allows the villain to get him drunk and almost push him under a train. He is tedious. Why so much attention and fawning over Belle, the famous painter's widow? I kept thinking at the beginning that she had done it, but, no, she just appears to have a melodramatic showdown (words only) with the villain and then sigh about it all at the end.
The plot moves at a molasses pace and the dialogue is insipid. The motive is boring. If I could give it less than 1 star, I would.
*SPOILERS*
The entire half of the book you know who did it: the murderer is a stereotypical flamboyant art dealer. He is annoying. The detective is a very stupid man who allows the villain to get him drunk and almost push him under a train. He is tedious. Why so much attention and fawning over Belle, the famous painter's widow? I kept thinking at the beginning that she had done it, but, no, she just appears to have a melodramatic showdown (words only) with the villain and then sigh about it all at the end.
The plot moves at a molasses pace and the dialogue is insipid. The motive is boring. If I could give it less than 1 star, I would.
meganh123's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
judyward's review against another edition
3.0
A painter left instructions in his will that a decade after his death, a collection of a dozen paintings were to be exhibited and sold at a rate of one a year. During the reception for the unveiling of the latest painting the lights suddenly go out and when they come back on, a young artist is lying dead with a set of bejeweled scissors in his heart. Albert Campion immediately contacts a friend in Scotland Yard and they attempted to discovered the murderer. Unfortunately, there is a second death and then Campion himself becomes the target.
christit11's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
j_squaredd's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Alcohol
ink_and_fury's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
sajiya_khalik's review against another edition
4.0
First book I read of Margery Allingham. Her writing style reminded me a bit of Virginia Woolf, I had to read a sentence multiple times to understand the humour, and the depth of the meaning behind her words. And she writes of human behaviour so very well - like it's mentioned in most reviews, it's a howdunit and not a whodunit, we know who's the murderer quite early in the story, and there aren't any red herrings as such, but the story takes precedence, and the motive.
A pretty good read to get introduced to her writing style, and her detective, Albert Campion. Though my favourite of the characters in this book was Belle Darling! The seventy year old matriarch of the Lafcadio family.
Definitely gonna pick up more from this series!
A pretty good read to get introduced to her writing style, and her detective, Albert Campion. Though my favourite of the characters in this book was Belle Darling! The seventy year old matriarch of the Lafcadio family.
Definitely gonna pick up more from this series!
hooksforeverything's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Brilliant, of course. A really good dowager character.