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A review by davidwemyers
The Hanged Man: A Mystery in Fin de Siecle Paris by Gary Inbinder
2.0
Frankly I think two stars is a bit generous. I did enjoy the setting, turn of the century Paris was an interesting place, and one the author clearly has knowledge of. I also enjoyed that it was brief.
Call me old-fashioned, but I like to get to the end of a mystery and have the mystery be... you know, solved. Ideally through some combination of doggedness and brilliance by the protagonist. Without getting too much into spoilers we know pretty much the same amount about the motivations of the antagonists on page 10 as we do on page 210. Their plot is simplistic and obvious, and our hero discovers it basically by having lowlifes follow them around and snitch on them. Perhaps the book was trying to subtly make some larger point about the day to day tedium and banality of police work...
Call me old-fashioned, but I like to get to the end of a mystery and have the mystery be... you know, solved. Ideally through some combination of doggedness and brilliance by the protagonist. Without getting too much into spoilers we know pretty much the same amount about the motivations of the antagonists on page 10 as we do on page 210. Their plot is simplistic and obvious, and our hero discovers it basically by having lowlifes follow them around and snitch on them. Perhaps the book was trying to subtly make some larger point about the day to day tedium and banality of police work...