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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
The Murdoch Mysteries remain one of my favorite feel-good shows - the characters are awesome, the murders always interesting, and the science is fun. I've read critiques that some people object to Murdoch (and even more so, Julia) being so progressive, but wasn't this the age of suffragettes (New Zealand granted women the vote in 1893) and other social upheavals in the wake of the rapid changes in society and technology? In my season 1-3 DVD box there were also the 3 original tv movies with Peter Outerbridge as Murdoch - those are very different (much darker and therefore probably more historically accurate, but with much less humour), and I was interested to see if they were closer to the original books.
Having read the first Murdoch mystery now, I can say that they are - although they are much more graphic. However, while unsurprisingly Yannick Bisson's Murdoch remains my favorite, I was somewhat disappointed that book!Murdoch is actually the one I like least. Not that I actively dislike him. He just remains... bland, as are most of the other characters. Actually, my favorite character was probably Joe, the stable boy, and we only got one scene from his POV. And there is almost no hint of the scientific curiosity and open-mindedness I love about Murdoch (despite him taking his Catholicism much less seriously than either one of the screen!Murdochs).
So this is a lot of words about a book that had a solid mystery at its center but somehow remained colorless, despite the historical detail. I guess I'm ranting a bit because it simply surprised me that I was so disappointed - normally, books are better (or at least different but equal) to their screen adaptations, because they allow for more insights into the characters and give more background and character/relationship development.
I think I'll listen to the second Murdoch novel, maybe he'll grow on me, but so far, for probably the first time ever I'm really glad the adaptations diverge so much from the original.
Having read the first Murdoch mystery now, I can say that they are - although they are much more graphic. However, while unsurprisingly Yannick Bisson's Murdoch remains my favorite, I was somewhat disappointed that book!Murdoch is actually the one I like least. Not that I actively dislike him. He just remains... bland, as are most of the other characters. Actually, my favorite character was probably Joe, the stable boy, and we only got one scene from his POV. And there is almost no hint of the scientific curiosity and open-mindedness I love about Murdoch (despite him taking his Catholicism much less seriously than either one of the screen!Murdochs).
So this is a lot of words about a book that had a solid mystery at its center but somehow remained colorless, despite the historical detail. I guess I'm ranting a bit because it simply surprised me that I was so disappointed - normally, books are better (or at least different but equal) to their screen adaptations, because they allow for more insights into the characters and give more background and character/relationship development.
I think I'll listen to the second Murdoch novel, maybe he'll grow on me, but so far, for probably the first time ever I'm really glad the adaptations diverge so much from the original.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've spent years watching the show and love it so I was really interested in reading the novel. The TV Murdoch vs the novel version seemed quite different imo (e.g. in the book Murdoch has a moustache, smokes, and drinks to name few of the many differences). Even so, when looking at this novel independent of the show it is still overall enjoyable. It is a pretty fun and not too intense read but like others have pointed out it does lose some footing and requires a bit of attention to detail to pick up on the subtleties of some of the explanations. While the overall motive is not really stated I think it is a satisfying enough ending.
This book is not a particularly well crafted mystery but the characters and writing style are interesting. I'm excited to continue to read the series!
This book is not a particularly well crafted mystery but the characters and writing style are interesting. I'm excited to continue to read the series!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
A slow methodical mystery which focuses more on the individual players POVs than the detectives. I'm not saying that is a bad thing. I quite enjoyed the book, however not something I would particularly rave about either. One negative is that it saves every single rap-up to the 2 pages of the epilogue. Not very satisfying and feels like every red herring almost didn't matter.
I found not much tied together very satisfactorily. Especially (SPOILERS) who the murderer was and why it happened. We literally only saw them once beforehand. (SPOILERS DONE).
Overall an enjoyable if not wholly satisfying murder mystery set in a unique, well written, makes you feel the cold in your bones as you're reading it, Canadian Toronto Winter.
I found not much tied together very satisfactorily. Especially (SPOILERS) who the murderer was and why it happened. We literally only saw them once beforehand. (SPOILERS DONE).
Overall an enjoyable if not wholly satisfying murder mystery set in a unique, well written, makes you feel the cold in your bones as you're reading it, Canadian Toronto Winter.
I’m not going to lie, I did pick this book up because my family likes the tv show based off of them, Murdoch Mysteries. And I much prefer the tv show.
I struggle with murder mystery books because there are so many characters to keep straight, so many potential suspects and friends of friends of servants. I never remember who’s involved with who and who did what and who’s where and it all just bleeds together in my mind. I love WATCHING murder mysteries, though, because I’ve got faces to the names, and their character count is low for each episode. The book was confusing, but that’s me. If you can follow all that info, you’d probably like it.
It was pretty sexual, so that was disappointing. Some random things thrown in there so casually, it was awkward to read. And I should have guessed, because they dealt with prostitutes, but I was still hoping for there to be a bit more discretion and subtlety. But nope, there was none.
So the two star rating is largely for the sex and my inability to follow the action.
And yes, the characters were different than how they are in the tv show so my expectations were also just too high. There was no Julia Ogden in the story, or funny and comedic relief constables. Crabtree wasn’t his regular, sweet, quirky self. In fact he was quite the opposite. In the book, he’s described as being a ‘giant of a man’ and he is the athlete of choice when the stations compete against each other, and he has four kids with another on the way. Very, VERY different from the Crabtree I was expecting. And it’s actually explicitly stated, too, that Brackenreid and Murdoch don’t like each other, and Murdoch works hard to tolerate Brackenreid. For most of the book, we only really see Murdoch and the suspects, victims, or witnesses. We don’t get the fun friendships from the station. So if you don’t watch Murdoch Mysteries, or don’t like it, maybe this book is for you.
I struggle with murder mystery books because there are so many characters to keep straight, so many potential suspects and friends of friends of servants. I never remember who’s involved with who and who did what and who’s where and it all just bleeds together in my mind. I love WATCHING murder mysteries, though, because I’ve got faces to the names, and their character count is low for each episode. The book was confusing, but that’s me. If you can follow all that info, you’d probably like it.
It was pretty sexual, so that was disappointing. Some random things thrown in there so casually, it was awkward to read. And I should have guessed, because they dealt with prostitutes, but I was still hoping for there to be a bit more discretion and subtlety. But nope, there was none.
So the two star rating is largely for the sex and my inability to follow the action.
And yes, the characters were different than how they are in the tv show so my expectations were also just too high. There was no Julia Ogden in the story, or funny and comedic relief constables. Crabtree wasn’t his regular, sweet, quirky self. In fact he was quite the opposite. In the book, he’s described as being a ‘giant of a man’ and he is the athlete of choice when the stations compete against each other, and he has four kids with another on the way. Very, VERY different from the Crabtree I was expecting. And it’s actually explicitly stated, too, that Brackenreid and Murdoch don’t like each other, and Murdoch works hard to tolerate Brackenreid. For most of the book, we only really see Murdoch and the suspects, victims, or witnesses. We don’t get the fun friendships from the station. So if you don’t watch Murdoch Mysteries, or don’t like it, maybe this book is for you.
Join Murdoch as he begins a case, attempting to find the cold blooded murderer of an innocent teenage girl... Twist in and out through the turns and flips as the story unfolds and mirror Murdoch as he figures out just who had done the heinous crime.
This is of course, the predecessor to the television series (which I happen to be a massive fan of!), but if you are a fan of the TV series I can safely say that you will most likely enjoy this too - but you must be aware that book Murdoch is slightly less gentlemanly and more callous, less courteous and less bashful - which are some charms that I was looking forward to reading in book form but are sadly missing. That being said, I truly do love the book version of Murdoch, too, and I enjoy them both very much the same! They have formed as two separate characters to me, but I love them both dearly (and I cannot help but see book Murdoch as Yannick, too, even though he's described as having a moustache!) and have formed quite a liking towards the book version.
The appearance of Crabtree was brilliant; though I hope to see more of him in later novels so to get a feel for this version of his wonderful character! The very same goes for Brackenreid; I can't wait to see his and Murdoch's day to day conflicts! The characters are all well rounded and they leave you yearning to see more of them; they don't seem square and boring and each character has a distinguishing feature about them so you don't feel that it's the same sort of character duplicated; even the generic constables at the station house have quite telling differences about them to help you differentiate between them. It's utterly charming how each character also possesses different views and varying dialogues; which adds diversity and further depth to the story.
The back stories are also really good for the characters too and it's so nice to learn about them as we go along!
The mystery in this is strong, it keeps you guessing and completely pulls you in from the first page right until the very end - which, by the end, my heart was hammering and my eyes were wide; which is a sign of a brilliantly formed mystery novel. Jennings writes in such a way that you simply can't guess from the off "who dunnit", but begins to pepper clues here and there so that you can piece them together as Murdoch does - which helps the reader feel truly connected with the story and as if they are working alongside the detective. I felt like another Constable opposed to someone reading some documents about a case; it was written so well that I felt part of it rather than like an onlooker. The whole story was really tense and interesting all the way throughout and there definitely weren't any dull moments throughout - it kept me on my toes and well and truly kept me thinking; there was never a turn of the page whereby a thought hadn't crossed my mind. It was extremely well thought out and there was no plot holes - everything had been covered and sealed with an extremely brilliant turn of events.
I can safely say that the "climax" of the story was incredibly intense and I felt goosebumps, my heart was hammering and I was feeling so pulled into the story that I forgot there was a world surrounding me outside of the book. It was absolutely phenomenal how Jennings made the climax so easy to read, so thrilling without any slight dose of monotony or predictability. Ahhh, it was wonderful!
For me, the mystery was tense, the story was well written, the plot was well thought out and interesting and the writing was superb and kept up with the time era that it was written in; I loved how it was obvious that research had taken place in order to make even minor details like how a gas lamp was lit back then had been looked into in order to get it right! Everything was accurate to the time it was based within - even down to the entirety of the vocabulary - and it was thoroughly exciting to read.
I was honestly stricken by how brilliant this book is and how wonderfully intense the storyline was; I'm definitely excited to continue with the series and would 100% recommend you check this series out for yourself!
This is honestly an all round, great mystery novel - and I would whole heartedly recommend this to anyone (Murdoch fan or not), who is just starting out with the mystery genre or someone who has read plenty!
This is of course, the predecessor to the television series (which I happen to be a massive fan of!), but if you are a fan of the TV series I can safely say that you will most likely enjoy this too - but you must be aware that book Murdoch is slightly less gentlemanly and more callous, less courteous and less bashful - which are some charms that I was looking forward to reading in book form but are sadly missing. That being said, I truly do love the book version of Murdoch, too, and I enjoy them both very much the same! They have formed as two separate characters to me, but I love them both dearly (and I cannot help but see book Murdoch as Yannick, too, even though he's described as having a moustache!) and have formed quite a liking towards the book version.
The appearance of Crabtree was brilliant; though I hope to see more of him in later novels so to get a feel for this version of his wonderful character! The very same goes for Brackenreid; I can't wait to see his and Murdoch's day to day conflicts! The characters are all well rounded and they leave you yearning to see more of them; they don't seem square and boring and each character has a distinguishing feature about them so you don't feel that it's the same sort of character duplicated; even the generic constables at the station house have quite telling differences about them to help you differentiate between them. It's utterly charming how each character also possesses different views and varying dialogues; which adds diversity and further depth to the story.
The back stories are also really good for the characters too and it's so nice to learn about them as we go along!
The mystery in this is strong, it keeps you guessing and completely pulls you in from the first page right until the very end - which, by the end, my heart was hammering and my eyes were wide; which is a sign of a brilliantly formed mystery novel. Jennings writes in such a way that you simply can't guess from the off "who dunnit", but begins to pepper clues here and there so that you can piece them together as Murdoch does - which helps the reader feel truly connected with the story and as if they are working alongside the detective. I felt like another Constable opposed to someone reading some documents about a case; it was written so well that I felt part of it rather than like an onlooker. The whole story was really tense and interesting all the way throughout and there definitely weren't any dull moments throughout - it kept me on my toes and well and truly kept me thinking; there was never a turn of the page whereby a thought hadn't crossed my mind. It was extremely well thought out and there was no plot holes - everything had been covered and sealed with an extremely brilliant turn of events.
I can safely say that the "climax" of the story was incredibly intense and I felt goosebumps, my heart was hammering and I was feeling so pulled into the story that I forgot there was a world surrounding me outside of the book. It was absolutely phenomenal how Jennings made the climax so easy to read, so thrilling without any slight dose of monotony or predictability. Ahhh, it was wonderful!
For me, the mystery was tense, the story was well written, the plot was well thought out and interesting and the writing was superb and kept up with the time era that it was written in; I loved how it was obvious that research had taken place in order to make even minor details like how a gas lamp was lit back then had been looked into in order to get it right! Everything was accurate to the time it was based within - even down to the entirety of the vocabulary - and it was thoroughly exciting to read.
I was honestly stricken by how brilliant this book is and how wonderfully intense the storyline was; I'm definitely excited to continue with the series and would 100% recommend you check this series out for yourself!
This is honestly an all round, great mystery novel - and I would whole heartedly recommend this to anyone (Murdoch fan or not), who is just starting out with the mystery genre or someone who has read plenty!
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Reading this made me not want to watch the show, which is no mean feat
This was a very comforting read for me, it hit me right in my period mystery comfort zone and left me craving more. Not really spectacular, but nothing objectionable either, and exactly what I want right now.
Knowing that the series was inspired by a series of mysteries by Maureen Jennings, I decided to go back to the source and read the books. The first in the series is Except the Dying. As it turns out, this book was done as a TV movie in 2004 with a different cast. I haven't seen it and I'm not sure that I want to.
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2017/comments_03/except_the_dying.html
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2017/comments_03/except_the_dying.html
I wanted to see how the book compares to the tv show, but I have to say I was slightly disappointed. I found the book's slow approach a bit tedious at first, although it later grew on me, and I was quite disappointed by the climax scene. I really liked the writing style and I'm glad that the story keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is.