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nghia's review against another edition
3.0
I came across a mention of *Dead Men Don't Ski* via *The Invisible Event*, a blog dedicated to old & mostly forgotten mystery books from the early- the mid-20th century. It was given a favorable 4 out of 5 star review and it seemed like an opportunity to try something a little bit out of my normal reading habit.
Having read a few more reviews, I can appreciate the historical place of this book. It appears to be one of the first (possibly the first?) "cosy mysteries" that now are quite commonplace. It is also a "travelogue" mystery -- that is, it occurs in some exotic or unique locale -- which was also uncommon at the time. A large part of the draw to readers at the time would have been descriptions of the Italian ski resort that were both expensive & cumbersome to get to. (It appears to take ~24 hours by train to get there with multiple changes of train to smaller and smaller lines.)
Outside of that kind of historical curiosity, though, I was fairly underwhelmed by the book. You have a standard set up: a dozen or so people in a remote hotel, someone ends up murdered, it turns that nearly every guest has a motive for killing the dead man. Then follows some detection, which largely involves building a time table of who was doing what when. "Mrs Smith had lunch from 12-1" and so on. And then from that the detective can figure out whodunnit.
This has always been my least favorite style of mystery book. The idea that people can remember what they did when with any accuracy, much less that various people with different watches would agree on the exact timing of things, always has struck me as ridiculous.
In this case, it felt even more ridiculous because
a) the most likely murderer seemed obvious to me quite early on and I never felt there was a plausible reason for discounting him
b) it turns out there was a witness who saw the whole thing and would have come forward in another day or two
By about the 50% part the detective claims to have solved the murder. A second murder occurs which doesn't actually add to the mystery much -- the most likely culprit of the second murder is even more obvious than the first -- but does drag out the book quite a bit more.
Like many mystery books, the author engages in poor writing and underhanded tricks in order to sustain the mystery for the reader until the end. The detective explains his suspicions to the Italian police and they formulate a plan of action....but that all happens off-screen for no reason other than to maintain the mystery to the reader. Even worse comes later when they author becomes even more elliptical to maintain the mystery:
"He asked Emmy a question, and very surprised, she answered, "Yes, I suppose so. That morning. But what has that got to do with it?"
or
"He ran downstairs, and out to the ski-lift. There, he commandeered the telephone, and rang Carlo. He asked him two questions—and received the answers he expected."
Having read a few more reviews, I can appreciate the historical place of this book. It appears to be one of the first (possibly the first?) "cosy mysteries" that now are quite commonplace. It is also a "travelogue" mystery -- that is, it occurs in some exotic or unique locale -- which was also uncommon at the time. A large part of the draw to readers at the time would have been descriptions of the Italian ski resort that were both expensive & cumbersome to get to. (It appears to take ~24 hours by train to get there with multiple changes of train to smaller and smaller lines.)
Outside of that kind of historical curiosity, though, I was fairly underwhelmed by the book. You have a standard set up: a dozen or so people in a remote hotel, someone ends up murdered, it turns that nearly every guest has a motive for killing the dead man. Then follows some detection, which largely involves building a time table of who was doing what when. "Mrs Smith had lunch from 12-1" and so on. And then from that the detective can figure out whodunnit.
This has always been my least favorite style of mystery book. The idea that people can remember what they did when with any accuracy, much less that various people with different watches would agree on the exact timing of things, always has struck me as ridiculous.
In this case, it felt even more ridiculous because
a) the most likely murderer seemed obvious to me quite early on and I never felt there was a plausible reason for discounting him
b) it turns out there was a witness who saw the whole thing and would have come forward in another day or two
By about the 50% part the detective claims to have solved the murder. A second murder occurs which doesn't actually add to the mystery much -- the most likely culprit of the second murder is even more obvious than the first -- but does drag out the book quite a bit more.
Like many mystery books, the author engages in poor writing and underhanded tricks in order to sustain the mystery for the reader until the end. The detective explains his suspicions to the Italian police and they formulate a plan of action....but that all happens off-screen for no reason other than to maintain the mystery to the reader. Even worse comes later when they author becomes even more elliptical to maintain the mystery:
"He asked Emmy a question, and very surprised, she answered, "Yes, I suppose so. That morning. But what has that got to do with it?"
or
"He ran downstairs, and out to the ski-lift. There, he commandeered the telephone, and rang Carlo. He asked him two questions—and received the answers he expected."
cmbohn's review against another edition
5.0
Chief Inspector Henry Tibbett is taking a little ski trip to Italy with his wife. His superiors think this is an excellent change to look into the increase in drug smuggling that seems to be connected with the little Italian town. Henry hardly gets a chance to hit the slopes before one of their fellow guests is murdered. Great for fans of English police mysteries with an exciting climax.
marinaluna's review against another edition
4.0
A classical crime story with likeable characters. You absolutely have to keep in mind though that it was written in 1959 and it shows at times. I also had a bit of an issue adjusting to the pov of two main characters as it switched between Emmy and Henry at times (thr book is written in 3rd person pov). Nevertheless, a good book.
michelleful's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun read. Very classic mystery vibes. Good sense of place in a remote Italian ski resort, with some back history from WWII. The use of the ski lift was genius. I generally liked our sleuths, though a bit less the whole "we'll-confer-in-private-so-the-reader-doesn't-know-our-secrets" thing. Will definitely be reading more of this series!
ssejig's review against another edition
4.0
I heard about this book on the Classic Mysteries podcast and was happy to see it was available at my local library. It took me three tries (and renewing it twice both times) for me to finally get it read. Not that it was bad. In fact, it's a delightful story, it just took awhile to get into it.
Henry Tibbet, a well-known detective, is going on vacation with his wife to a remote skiing village. When his bosses find out, they tell him that there has been a problem with drug smuggling coming out of that particular Italian town. While Henry works for Scotland Yard, he is known to Interpol and they want his help.
On the way up, Henry and Emma meet several people on a train, all of whom are going to Santa Chiar with them. There is a trio of young people, an English colonel and his stereotypical wife, as well as a countess getting away from her rather stiff and cold husband.
There are more people that they meet once they get to the hotel, the most notable being Herr Hauser. He seems like a slimy sort who is more than a little interested in the daughter of a German family staying at the hotel. Of course, it should come as no surprise that Herr Hauser is the one to get bumped off. It's just sorting through the myriad characters and each of their motives.
Henry Tibbet, a well-known detective, is going on vacation with his wife to a remote skiing village. When his bosses find out, they tell him that there has been a problem with drug smuggling coming out of that particular Italian town. While Henry works for Scotland Yard, he is known to Interpol and they want his help.
On the way up, Henry and Emma meet several people on a train, all of whom are going to Santa Chiar with them. There is a trio of young people, an English colonel and his stereotypical wife, as well as a countess getting away from her rather stiff and cold husband.
There are more people that they meet once they get to the hotel, the most notable being Herr Hauser. He seems like a slimy sort who is more than a little interested in the daughter of a German family staying at the hotel. Of course, it should come as no surprise that Herr Hauser is the one to get bumped off. It's just sorting through the myriad characters and each of their motives.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book I read by this author and I'm happy I discovered an excellent mystery writer.
Great characters, engrossing plot and a lot of British humour.
It was an enjoyable read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Great characters, engrossing plot and a lot of British humour.
It was an enjoyable read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
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