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redheadtreefrog's review
Was listening on audio and thought the narrator was excellent.. and I loved the vernacular.. but there just wasn't enough happening to keep me engaged.
lindsaytt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
howiepatootie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
zaisgraph's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Enjoyed this classic detective fiction. Drury Lane was eccentric and larger than life. However, the smoothness of the reveal, as well as how everything came to the place, was a bit of a letdown.
gripyfish's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
3.0
Drury Lane, an actor, solves the case. Regretably not before three men are murdered, but after all it is a murder mystery.
Good
The mystery is intriguing.
Not good
This old book has some offensive sterotypes which would never fly today. The wrap up takes FOREVER!
Good
The mystery is intriguing.
Not good
This old book has some offensive sterotypes which would never fly today. The wrap up takes FOREVER!
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
The Tragedy of X is Drury Lane's debut novel. Lane is a Shakespearean actor who was forced into retirement due to deafness. As compensation for his hearing loss, he has developed an extraordinary skill at lip-reading and his acting background has given him plenty of practice at the art of disguise. He will use both skills as he helps Inspector Thumm and District Attorney Bruno track down a ruthless killer intent on evening old scores.
The story opens with Thumm and Bruno driving up to Lane's fortress estate on a mission to solicit his help with their latest murderous puzzle. Reference is made to the help he gave on "the Cramer case" but we, the reading public, are never enlightened with the details of that mysterious outing. The current victim is Harley Longstreet, a wealthy stockbroker, who has been killed on an enclosed streetcar in the company of his nearest and dearest. The method? A piece of cork stuck with dozens of pins laced with deadly poison. And who did it? One of the people on the that streetcar. But there is no evidence and not even a clue to point the police in the correct direction.
Enter Drury Lane. Like Sherlock Holmes, he sees and "hears" everything that the police do--but he observes all the finer points that the officials miss. He thinks to interview those that the police miss--or give only a brief once-over. Before long, Lane knows who the culprit is, but has no proof. Two more men will die before Lane can help the police put the cuffs on the villain.
The story is an interesting variation on the locked room mystery. The streetcar's windows are all shut and the doors were not opened once Longstreet collapsed. None of the passengers were allowed off the car until the police arrived to question and search them. And yet Lane insists that there is a certain item that must have been found if that is true. How did the murderer kill in full view of a carload of passengers and how did she or he dispose of the crucial item? Solve that and you'll be ahead of the police...and Drury Lane.
An interesting mystery with clues galore and twists and turns throughout. A good fair play story--it's all there, if you're nimble enough to spot it--with (in my opinion) just one weak spot. The wrap-up--Drury Lane gives a marathon session monologue to explain the murders. It would seem necessary to tell us every little thought process along the way--even explaining the bits that the reader was privy to (and the police were not). Twenty-four pages of smallish print is rather a lot of explanation. Three and 3/4 stars...nearly 4
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
The story opens with Thumm and Bruno driving up to Lane's fortress estate on a mission to solicit his help with their latest murderous puzzle. Reference is made to the help he gave on "the Cramer case" but we, the reading public, are never enlightened with the details of that mysterious outing. The current victim is Harley Longstreet, a wealthy stockbroker, who has been killed on an enclosed streetcar in the company of his nearest and dearest. The method? A piece of cork stuck with dozens of pins laced with deadly poison. And who did it? One of the people on the that streetcar. But there is no evidence and not even a clue to point the police in the correct direction.
Enter Drury Lane. Like Sherlock Holmes, he sees and "hears" everything that the police do--but he observes all the finer points that the officials miss. He thinks to interview those that the police miss--or give only a brief once-over. Before long, Lane knows who the culprit is, but has no proof. Two more men will die before Lane can help the police put the cuffs on the villain.
The story is an interesting variation on the locked room mystery. The streetcar's windows are all shut and the doors were not opened once Longstreet collapsed. None of the passengers were allowed off the car until the police arrived to question and search them. And yet Lane insists that there is a certain item that must have been found if that is true. How did the murderer kill in full view of a carload of passengers and how did she or he dispose of the crucial item? Solve that and you'll be ahead of the police...and Drury Lane.
An interesting mystery with clues galore and twists and turns throughout. A good fair play story--it's all there, if you're nimble enough to spot it--with (in my opinion) just one weak spot. The wrap-up--Drury Lane gives a marathon session monologue to explain the murders. It would seem necessary to tell us every little thought process along the way--even explaining the bits that the reader was privy to (and the police were not). Twenty-four pages of smallish print is rather a lot of explanation. Three and 3/4 stars...nearly 4
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
hasegawatiki's review against another edition
4.0
我个人不喜欢雷根的性格，以及莎士比亚戏剧，或者说我不喜欢戏剧，很难想象有人会在现实中那样说话……侦探总是神神秘秘
jayrothermel's review against another edition
5.0
This was a firat-rate Golden Age detective novel. It was also a fine experiment in the Conan Doyle tradition: three men commit a crime and make their millions in the semi-colonial world. More than a decade later, the ramifications of their crime come home with a vengeance.
Amateur detective and acting grandee Drury Lane aids the authorities here. The police and district attorney are glad of his help, and there is none of the cardboard melodrama of the cops hating his "interference."
Amateur detective and acting grandee Drury Lane aids the authorities here. The police and district attorney are glad of his help, and there is none of the cardboard melodrama of the cops hating his "interference."
krikketgirl's review against another edition
3.0
Neat period piece, with a too-good-and-quirky-to-be-true detective and lots of stolid police plodding, but engaging use of words and a little plot twist to make it worthwhile.