tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post1354783353836033897..comments2024-03-11T01:39:11.362-04:00Comments on At the Scene of the Crime: Murder has no language barrierPatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-56170698869668478022013-03-27T07:02:55.514-04:002013-03-27T07:02:55.514-04:00John, I can understand your criticism. It's pa...John, I can understand your criticism. It's particularly bad with the death by dehydration, surely the most outlandish murder method of all-time. (Although I shouldn't say that, I still have plenty of Keeler to plough through.)<br /><br />However, I like this killer's over-the-top preparations, paintings and all. It's thoroughly theatrical and not particularly compatible with the time period, but I was willing to swallow it and it gave me a good story. I suppose that's the reason I come to Halter first and foremost, and other stuff like characters I can either take or leave.<br /><br />This is not my favourite of his novels, but Owen Burns is my favourite of his series characters. My favourite is the DEMON OF DARTMOOR, and I love the impossible crime of THE CRIME OF DAEDALUS (which is set inside of a rather flawed 1930s plotline, but if you took the Ancient Greece parts and turned them into a short story it would be brilliant).Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-86974633927509054982013-03-26T11:27:21.613-04:002013-03-26T11:27:21.613-04:00Finally read this one after purchasing it two year...Finally read this one after purchasing it two years ago. Frankly the more I read of Halter the more disappointed I become. The killer's motive is out of the pages of bad pulp fiction and the special manipulative power the killer has over many of the victims would outrage 50% of 21st century readers. I thought the whole thing ridiculous and put a huge strain on what is usually my very flexible suspension of disbelief. Naturally, I have to be ambiguous here, but I think you know what I'm referring to. Halter once again shows his inability to capture the flavor of his chosen time period (circa 1905 if one pays close attention to references to time passed) which is the most off putting part of all his books for me. Despite all the talk of hackney cabs and top hats it felt like it was the 1990s to me. Only the sun worshipping cult felt like it was part of the era. I agree that several of the crimes were lame and the impossibilities were far from impossible. There was also too much ornamentation in the killer's methods: those messages in framed paintings, the anagrams, the props at the scene of each crime, the overall theatricality of the murders. None of it seemed like the mindset of a person living in the Edwardian age at all, but rather the product of a writer who has seen a lot of movies or read a lot of books about 20th century serial killers who create themed murders. In the end this book owes more to <i>The ABC Murders</i> than anything by Carr.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-16521135462897189752011-12-26T09:12:26.395-05:002011-12-26T09:12:26.395-05:00As soon as my outstanding orders are filled, I wil...As soon as my outstanding orders are filled, I will chuck this one in my digital shopping cart. Thanks for whetting my appetite, Patrick, and I hope to return the favor with at least one of those books I expect in the next few weeks or so. ;) <br /><br />Oh, and flaws are to be expected when attempting to juggle with no less than seven impossible crime scenarios in one plot. The confidence to do it alone is worth at least one or two points.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-53425410744467097492011-12-24T10:58:13.707-05:002011-12-24T10:58:13.707-05:00I'm afraid that there are flaws in several of ...I'm afraid that there are flaws in several of the murders, but the book as a whole is most enjoyable.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-41253874592595683232011-12-24T10:40:10.694-05:002011-12-24T10:40:10.694-05:00Crikey - "extremely silly", "frankl...Crikey - "extremely silly", "frankly laughable" "obvious" - it sounds awful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com