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A review by backpackfullofbooks
Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
“The death of a dog may not by some be regarded as a tragedy, but some dogs are more worthy than some men, and can be more justly mourned.”
“A woman may be as old as she feels to herself,” she said “but to a man she is as old as she looks”.
“With no disrespect to art, your picture is a secondary consideration.” Retorted the inspector, rather sharply “I am merely hoping it will give me a line on graver matters.”
~
A British library classic crime novel this classic country house murder has many of the elements that you would expect from this trope. A variety of unpleasant and mysterious characters, an unexpected guest, a blossoming romance, an unwanted proposal, a hunt, a self indulgent creative and more than one murder (though I agree that the death of the dog was the saddest one).
This book has a lot of the elements of a classic mystery with a lot of moving parts.
~
I found this book moderately enjoyable in that I love the country house murder set up and a few of the characters where enjoyable. The problem with this story is that there are to many characters and too many different elements to the story, it was a little like multiple stories happening at the same time. I had to go back on myself to remind myself of who was murdered and in what order, hardly inductive of a highly affecting storyline.
Overall I think that the plot could have used some pruning to make it more effective and streamlined.
However if you enjoy the puzzle element of a murder mystery this might be ideal for you, there is more than one murder and plenty of other crimes to sold besides.
~
I recommend this book for those who enjoy a murder mystery for the puzzle of it and have a good head for names as there are rather a lot of them.
“A woman may be as old as she feels to herself,” she said “but to a man she is as old as she looks”.
“With no disrespect to art, your picture is a secondary consideration.” Retorted the inspector, rather sharply “I am merely hoping it will give me a line on graver matters.”
~
A British library classic crime novel this classic country house murder has many of the elements that you would expect from this trope. A variety of unpleasant and mysterious characters, an unexpected guest, a blossoming romance, an unwanted proposal, a hunt, a self indulgent creative and more than one murder (though I agree that the death of the dog was the saddest one).
This book has a lot of the elements of a classic mystery with a lot of moving parts.
~
I found this book moderately enjoyable in that I love the country house murder set up and a few of the characters where enjoyable. The problem with this story is that there are to many characters and too many different elements to the story, it was a little like multiple stories happening at the same time. I had to go back on myself to remind myself of who was murdered and in what order, hardly inductive of a highly affecting storyline.
Overall I think that the plot could have used some pruning to make it more effective and streamlined.
However if you enjoy the puzzle element of a murder mystery this might be ideal for you, there is more than one murder and plenty of other crimes to sold besides.
~
I recommend this book for those who enjoy a murder mystery for the puzzle of it and have a good head for names as there are rather a lot of them.