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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Now that’s what I call a good twist!
For as much as the narrator claims the reader has all the facts, that’s not true - I was having serious flashbacks to Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band, even after 15 years - but after the twist snatched my wig right off, I was able to slot in a lot of the pieces. I can see why this is considered the original classic of locked room mysteries.
Typical of the time, it is told in a “heavily researched true story” style. I agree it can be a bit dry and slow down the suspense compared to modern works, but it doesn’t particularly bother me. I couldn’t locate the translator for the Project Gutenberg edition I read, but it was such a weird choice to translate a familiar French honorific (perhaps it was pere?) to Daddy...that was honestly the creepiest thing in the whole thing.
For as much as the narrator claims the reader has all the facts, that’s not true - I was having serious flashbacks to Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band, even after 15 years - but after the twist snatched my wig right off, I was able to slot in a lot of the pieces. I can see why this is considered the original classic of locked room mysteries.
Typical of the time, it is told in a “heavily researched true story” style. I agree it can be a bit dry and slow down the suspense compared to modern works, but it doesn’t particularly bother me. I couldn’t locate the translator for the Project Gutenberg edition I read, but it was such a weird choice to translate a familiar French honorific (perhaps it was pere?) to Daddy...that was honestly the creepiest thing in the whole thing.
Dans une atmosphère de grand mystère, l'écrivain nous présente un cas étrange, confus et original, dont la résolution m’a laissé plus de doutes que de succès, qui, je suppose, a été le but du livre. L’histoire se déroule depuis le début avec de légères nuances de mystère et de fantaisie macabre, mais qui finit par être un roman d’amour et un crime presque naïf. Un grand potentiel qui s’est dilué dans un résultat médiocre.
I struggled with the audiobook on this one. It just couldn't keep my attention. I also struggled with the characters as Joseph Roulatabille was meant to be 18?! A Journalist but also a genius in problem-solving (ie. detecting). I supposed Sherlock Holmes himself wasn't completely likeable and only rendered so from the humanity imposed on him from Watson's perspective but Roulatabille didn't have a Watson as such. The novel's perspective is from a Watson-like character but unlike Watson, he is not a sidekick that he did not accompany Roulatabille as much as Watson did Holmes. And the ending too, kind of annoyed me. At least, Holmes & Poirot kind of work with the authorities but Rouletabille rather snubbed them and even gone so far as to block justice's works for no other reason that I can comprehend other than that he is a better detective despite being only a journalist so it's not his job for justice to be served. 3 stars only because I did like the mystery.
This was a nice audiobook. I knew the story having read it before many times. I wanted to have a comfort listen while at work. This is one of the first locked room novel, 1908. It possesses the flaws and clichés of the genre that it created. Rouletabille is still a wonderful hero. You can find the free audiobook at Librivox.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a fun short mystery book. After reading this I am surprised that Gaston Leroux is mainly known for [b:The Phantom of the Opera|480204|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867727s/480204.jpg|2259720] because this book is much better. His detached writing style with reports, transcripts and diary entries works much better in the mystery genre than in the horror genre where it just took away from the suspense. Here it is appropriate in that it sets out the facts plainly for the reader to interpret and try and solve the mystery.
Joseph Routabille is an endearing protagonist and I would happily read more books featuring him. The mystery itself was a little confusing at times as I didn't feel like the characters were sufficiently distinct however, that may be due to the unfamiliar French names and titles. Is calling old men 'Daddy' a thing in France? The translation was mostly good although I did get a bit annoyed with them constantly referring to the assailant as the 'murderer' when the victim survived. .
All in all this was some good old mystery fun!
Joseph Routabille is an endearing protagonist and I would happily read more books featuring him. The mystery itself was a little confusing at times as I didn't feel like the characters were sufficiently distinct however, that may be due to the unfamiliar French names and titles. Is calling old men 'Daddy' a thing in France? The translation was mostly good
All in all this was some good old mystery fun!
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
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I found the detective and narrator too boring to hold my interest, but the actual puzzle of the story intrigued me enough that I skipped ahead to find out the solution. I found it rather clever, so this one may be worth reading if you only care about the puzzle itself and not the characters.