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melli80's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to this one on audio, I’m not a fan..! It was a good story but slow and kinda confusing. Maybe if I read this author instead of listen I might feel differently.
jno's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
makennajoy17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jessmanners's review against another edition
2.0
I don't really know why, but this book just couldn't hold my interest. The pacing felt off--too much time focusing on minutiae before we knew why to care about it (or the people involved), and it felt like some of those minor points were explained to death (as it were) more than once.
Eventually, it became clear that the victim was actually a bad dude, but I never cared about any of the suspects, and then, of course, the motive, when it's finally revealed, is, err, problematic.
I think, in theory, Queen (or, the two (!) people who actually wrote the novel, although I confess I forget their names right now) is trying to do something sort of interesting by placing a tough hard-boiled American cop in a formal detective novel, but it doesn't quite gel. It just means that Queen, Sr. is prone to get annoyingly angry.
Oh, also, I was sure that the obsequious apologizing to the beautiful, rich, young lady would be either a feint on their part, or prove to be some sort of clue, but no--she really was just that upset to find that a dead man had her bag, and they really did feel that bad about...telling her?
Eventually, it became clear that the victim was actually a bad dude, but I never cared about any of the suspects, and then, of course, the motive, when it's finally revealed, is, err, problematic.
I think, in theory, Queen (or, the two (!) people who actually wrote the novel, although I confess I forget their names right now) is trying to do something sort of interesting by placing a tough hard-boiled American cop in a formal detective novel, but it doesn't quite gel. It just means that Queen, Sr. is prone to get annoyingly angry.
Oh, also, I was sure that the obsequious apologizing to the beautiful, rich, young lady would be either a feint on their part, or prove to be some sort of clue, but no--she really was just that upset to find that a dead man had her bag, and they really did feel that bad about...telling her?
johnnyb1954's review against another edition
3.0
It’s interesting to see how different Ellery Queen #1 is from later books.
Ellery is much more like Sherlock Holmes, but some of his deductive reasoning is a real stretch.
There are several long and tedious explanations of the logic applied.
The reason that the hat becomes important and the full set of facts around that seem really unlikely.
There are some aspects of this book written in 1928 are objectionable now.
Ellery is much more like Sherlock Holmes, but some of his deductive reasoning is a real stretch.
There are several long and tedious explanations of the logic applied.
The reason that the hat becomes important and the full set of facts around that seem really unlikely.
There are some aspects of this book written in 1928 are objectionable now.
wocytti's review against another edition
1.0
Very tedious, and the characters are very one dimensional. Nothing about this story is gripping. I am a huge fan of detective and mystery literature of the 1920’s and 1930’s, and this one was just clunky and plodding. I had guessed the murderer at the 2/3 mark, as compared to Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie where I am mostly left guessing (and on the edge of my seat) until the big reveal. Disappointed!
stagasaurus's review against another edition
3.0
Decentish plot spoilt by horrible casual racism. I was mostly enjoying it up until the end.
kirstenfindlay'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
henrismum's review against another edition
adventurous
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
First in series
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I was looking for something from the 1920's and this was published in 1929.
Will I read more of the series?Probably Not Maybe Likely Most Likely Definitely It was a long book. I had to listen to the last 4 hours on 1.2 speed. It was a solid story, but I'm not sure if I have the patience to follow this series.
The narrator was Robert Fass. Good reading. I don't think I've listened to him before.
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I was looking for something from the 1920's and this was published in 1929.
Will I read more of the series?
The narrator was Robert Fass. Good reading. I don't think I've listened to him before.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism