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emilyeiges's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted really badly to enjoy his book. The synopsis makes it seem super interesting: a woman gets a call from someone strange, and she's scared for her life.
I just felt myself losing interest after the first 6 chapters or so, and I can't even put my finger on why.
The ending had a cool plot twist, but at that point, I didn't even care for it.
I don't even know. It wasn't boring; something about it just made me lose interest, though.
I just felt myself losing interest after the first 6 chapters or so, and I can't even put my finger on why.
The ending had a cool plot twist, but at that point, I didn't even care for it.
I don't even know. It wasn't boring; something about it just made me lose interest, though.
areadingstan's review
Some parts of this book were intriguing but I just wasn’t taking it in and will come back to it another time.
johannalm's review against another edition
4.0
Beast in View, Margaret Miller
An unknown author to me, but an Edgar Award winner and quite well thought of in her time, Miller was considered a Mystery Writer Grand Master and this book clearly proves why. The twist ending comes as such a complete and unexpected surprise only a master story teller could pull it off.
Helen Clarvoe, an heiress, lives a secluded life alone in a hotel, cut off from the world and her resentful mother and brother. When Helen receives a strange crank call that scares her and interrupts her spinster existence, she turns to her family attorney for help. When Mr. Blackshear agrees to investigate he finds that a troubled young woman is hounding and harassing more people than just Helen, and that the young woman's link to Helen began when they were school girls together.
As his hunt for the young woman intensifies, he finds that her actions have a very sinister intent and her calls seem to deeply effect the people she talks to.
Touching on split personalities, callous uncaring parents, closeted gay men, absurd aspirations, and many twists and turns by this ingenious writer, this 1950's mystery set in LA is ahead of its time, engrossing and quite the find.
An unknown author to me, but an Edgar Award winner and quite well thought of in her time, Miller was considered a Mystery Writer Grand Master and this book clearly proves why. The twist ending comes as such a complete and unexpected surprise only a master story teller could pull it off.
Helen Clarvoe, an heiress, lives a secluded life alone in a hotel, cut off from the world and her resentful mother and brother. When Helen receives a strange crank call that scares her and interrupts her spinster existence, she turns to her family attorney for help. When Mr. Blackshear agrees to investigate he finds that a troubled young woman is hounding and harassing more people than just Helen, and that the young woman's link to Helen began when they were school girls together.
As his hunt for the young woman intensifies, he finds that her actions have a very sinister intent and her calls seem to deeply effect the people she talks to.
Touching on split personalities, callous uncaring parents, closeted gay men, absurd aspirations, and many twists and turns by this ingenious writer, this 1950's mystery set in LA is ahead of its time, engrossing and quite the find.
dsamorodnitsky's review against another edition
5.0
It's a shame that this isn't more widely read. That same gift for language that Raymond Chandler supposedly put in his books is right here. The social mores are dated, to say the least, which is a shame. But there is still crystal clear prose, stupendous turns of phrase (honestly, I'm in awe), and actual suspense.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
A masterpiece: a great book that di not age and keep you hooked since the beginning.
Many thanks to Soho Syndacate and Edelweiss
Many thanks to Soho Syndacate and Edelweiss
emviolet's review
3.0
I’m torn on this one. There are some major parts of this story that I REALLY don’t like (homophobia, sensationalizing mental illness) and that makes me want to rate it lower. But...it was written in the 50s. That doesn’t make it right by any means, but I understand why it was accepted and published. I don’t really think I can fully get past these issues though. The utter horror that Dougie is met with for being a gay man; the idea that he spent his whole life hiding himself, planning his own suicide, and feeling pressured into marrying a woman...it’s awful and sad and heartbreaking. Especially when combined with the idea that people thought it was LOGICAL for his ex wife to want him dead for daring to be gay.
And then we have the use of multiple personality disorder as a “twist”. I think this illness is still pretty difficult to understand and since it isn’t terribly common, it’s not as well studied as some other illnesses, particularly being that this is in the 50s. At the time, perhaps it did seem like a violent/terrifying/devilish thing. But reading it now, 70 years later, this rings untrue. I’m sure there are people who experience violence due to this illness, but I’m also sure that there are plenty who do not, and who are stigmatized as a result of this trope in crime writing and television.
With all that being said, I think this was probably a really thrilling twist for the time. It probably hadn’t been done before. It definitely has the writing style that I look for in older mysteries that’s very approachable and without too much flowery language or dialogue. It was a little slow to start, but it definitely picked up as it went along. If we could get rid of the homophobic storyline and add in some sympathy for a woman who has a serious mental illness, I would have liked it more.
And then we have the use of multiple personality disorder as a “twist”. I think this illness is still pretty difficult to understand and since it isn’t terribly common, it’s not as well studied as some other illnesses, particularly being that this is in the 50s. At the time, perhaps it did seem like a violent/terrifying/devilish thing. But reading it now, 70 years later, this rings untrue. I’m sure there are people who experience violence due to this illness, but I’m also sure that there are plenty who do not, and who are stigmatized as a result of this trope in crime writing and television.
With all that being said, I think this was probably a really thrilling twist for the time. It probably hadn’t been done before. It definitely has the writing style that I look for in older mysteries that’s very approachable and without too much flowery language or dialogue. It was a little slow to start, but it definitely picked up as it went along. If we could get rid of the homophobic storyline and add in some sympathy for a woman who has a serious mental illness, I would have liked it more.
exquisitew's review against another edition
5.0
What A Plot Twist!!!!
While the book takes some time to start up, once it gets started it absolutely takes off. What an insane trip of a book. Its so good! Highly recommended!
While the book takes some time to start up, once it gets started it absolutely takes off. What an insane trip of a book. Its so good! Highly recommended!
waywithwords's review
4.0
Read just like a 50s noir screenplay with a fast-paced story, intriguing characters, and shocking plot developments.
piccoline's review
3.0
This is part of Library of America's collection Women Crime Writers of the 1940s and 1950s. It's a little tough to rate. It's got a nice twist, and some really sharp descriptive and psychological writing. The final image in the final sentence is marvelous. On the downside, it is marked by its time, and some pretty dated views about sexual orientation. (One gay character is written with some sympathy and care, but it's fair to say that, structurally, these characters are not treated very generously. I suppose one should also note, though, that almost no one is presented in anything other than a jaundiced way.)