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A review by shanaqui
Dead Man Control by Helen Reilly
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Dead Man Control is an older crime fiction novel set (and presumably written) across the pond from my usual fare. It's a locked room mystery and a police procedural: we follow each step of the detectives trying to unscramble the case, with some attention to how they do their thing (few technical details, but it's all from their point of view). A young woman is found locked in a room with her dead husband. There are no entrances or exits, and the gun has her prints -- but the detective becomes very sure that she's innocent.
The solution to the locked room mystery is pretty mundane, unlike some authors (John Dickson Carr, for example), who make it ridiculously elaborate. The detective is also less inscrutable; we get insight into his thoughts directly, rather than those of a Watson figure. We don't always get a lot of information about his thoughts, but it's enough to see the direction of them.
There's a lot of moving parts here for such a short book (though of course the text is tiny, which makes it deceptively slim-looking), and they're brought together really well. I'd try another Helen Reilly book if one fell into my hands, I think!
The solution to the locked room mystery is pretty mundane, unlike some authors (John Dickson Carr, for example), who make it ridiculously elaborate. The detective is also less inscrutable; we get insight into his thoughts directly, rather than those of a Watson figure. We don't always get a lot of information about his thoughts, but it's enough to see the direction of them.
There's a lot of moving parts here for such a short book (though of course the text is tiny, which makes it deceptively slim-looking), and they're brought together really well. I'd try another Helen Reilly book if one fell into my hands, I think!