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A review by lelia_t
Murder by Matchlight by E.C.R. Lorac
4.0
Of the E.C.R. Lorac mysteries I’ve read so far, this is one of my favorites. Lorac is clearly interested in the characters she creates in this book, which, in turn, makes them interesting to us. And Lorac weaves in the mayhem of the Blitz to great effect - while also celebrating the dauntlessness of some of the regular London citizens, like Mrs. Maloney.
The more I read Lorac’s mysteries, the more I appreciate that Chief Inspector MacDonald is simply a nice guy. Nothing hard-boiled about him. He actually likes people, without letting that muddle his firm conviction that murderers must be brought to justice, or distract him from the problem he's trying to solve. I don't know if that's an oversimplification on Lorac's part, or if I've just been overexposed to the idea that investigating crimes darkens a detective's viewpoint. I imagine MacDonald's uncomplicated steadiness was something readers would have craved as they came out of the daily nightmare of wartime England.
The more I read Lorac’s mysteries, the more I appreciate that Chief Inspector MacDonald is simply a nice guy. Nothing hard-boiled about him. He actually likes people, without letting that muddle his firm conviction that murderers must be brought to justice, or distract him from the problem he's trying to solve. I don't know if that's an oversimplification on Lorac's part, or if I've just been overexposed to the idea that investigating crimes darkens a detective's viewpoint. I imagine MacDonald's uncomplicated steadiness was something readers would have craved as they came out of the daily nightmare of wartime England.