tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post7156561581281721052..comments2024-03-11T01:39:11.362-04:00Comments on At the Scene of the Crime: The Return of Mrs. CrocPatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-63274495033207357272016-02-03T05:42:10.636-05:002016-02-03T05:42:10.636-05:00Oh, and you might enjoy St Peter's Finger, whi...Oh, and you might enjoy St Peter's Finger, which is set in a convent - Mitchell's sister was a nun - and has an impressive well clued double solution.Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-55371721282706798242016-02-03T05:38:31.427-05:002016-02-03T05:38:31.427-05:00Patrick, this is a terrific review. You're sp...Patrick, this is a terrific review. You're spot on that the book is a weak detective story but a great piece of characterisation. The second time I read it, I approached oit as a pure detective story - and detested it. Older and wiser, I read it for the third time a decade later, and loved it.<br /><br />I'd like to see you review one of Mitchell's pure detective stories - maybe Brazen Tongue or The Devil at Saxon Wall. Come Away, Death is also terrific, if you know your Greek myths (and, from your Paul Halter reviews, you do!)Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-72557889351212170762016-02-03T05:32:24.426-05:002016-02-03T05:32:24.426-05:00In that case, I'm an accredited miracle worker...In that case, I'm an accredited miracle worker and should be canonized promptly. You can call me Simons Templar.Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-61049660771564176322012-04-11T07:11:04.026-04:002012-04-11T07:11:04.026-04:00Aw. This one isn't in the eight-pack of Mitche...Aw. This one isn't in the eight-pack of Mitchells I bought the other day :( Nice review though!<br /><br />I remember watching the Diana Rigg series when it first came out when I was a kid, long before I'd read any Mitchell. Even then, it seemed obvious to me that the main problem was that you just can't condense a GAD novel's worth of plot into sixty minutes. They were all rushed and confusing.<br /><br />Of course a secondary problem seems to be that they didn't really want to adapt Mitchell in the first place - Now I've actually read some of the source novels, I see that they changed everything: the plots, the tone and Mrs Bradley are completely different. But if even if the adaptations had been in good faith, they still wouldn't have worked. An hour just isn't long enough. (I see they were bought by PBS. Does anyone know if they try to cut them even further to fit adverts in? Or did they do the sane thing and expand the running time to 90 minutes?)richmdhttp://www.completedisregard.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-72551931713119216182012-04-09T17:04:02.327-04:002012-04-09T17:04:02.327-04:00Apologies to everyone for more or less ignoring co...Apologies to everyone for more or less ignoring comments of late, but exam season made me stop discussion for a bit, especially when I tried juggling two exams in terms of priorities.<br /><br />I have to agree that Mitchell is an acquired taste -- very eccentric and just plain odd. I've been pretty lucky with the first two Mitchells I've read, though-- they were both great.<br /><br />I have not seen the TV series yet and am not sure whether I intend to. It sounds like it might be laughably bad or infuriatingly bad. I'm not sure whether to take the plunge.<br /><br />@John<br />A bizarre duel in a kitchen? You've just given me a mental flashback to a hilarious Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, SUDDEN DEATH, a self-aware DIE HARD clone that, at one point, pits JCVD against the Pittsburgh Penguins' mascot in a duel to the death in a kitchen, complete with a cleaver, meat slicer, and industrial-strength dishwasher. :)Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-26815164982404407712012-04-05T21:15:39.808-04:002012-04-05T21:15:39.808-04:00I always describe Gladys Mitchell's books as b...I always describe Gladys Mitchell's books as being an acquired taste, Patrick. As a general rule, I've come to like her, but she can be difficult, particularly for an American audience, in her embrace of extreme (and extremely British) eccentricities and oddities, and she DOES tend to be casual about revealing the killer's identity midway through the book (or earlier). I liked THE RISING OF THE MOON and I agree with you - it works, I think, primarily because of Simon's character.Les Blatthttp://www.classicmysteries.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-31105069310096885002012-04-05T17:45:54.563-04:002012-04-05T17:45:54.563-04:00I have read and enjoyed her books for some time no...I have read and enjoyed her books for some time now, but I tend to agree with those who say that she really ought to be approached as a writer full-stop, rather than as a mystery writer. THE RISING OF THE MOON does excel, as the review says, in terms of character and mood, but it's pretty obvious that she became less interested in formal detectives structure very quickly! That some of the books are properly clued is nice, but it obviously was not her main interest.Sextonblakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-78806295761421659902012-04-05T16:21:51.527-04:002012-04-05T16:21:51.527-04:00Cheers Patrick, great to read such an enthusiastic...Cheers Patrick, great to read such an enthusiastic appraisal. I must admit, I find Mitchell a real challenge - and one that I keep failing! John is right about the TV version, though I actually really liked what they ultimately did with it (in fact it was pretty original in TV terms).Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-9689644116646032262012-04-05T15:46:45.693-04:002012-04-05T15:46:45.693-04:00And this is one of her more coherent books! I lik...And this is one of her more coherent books! I like the story quite a bit. There's another nostalgic one like this she wrote much later, Late, Late in the Evening, one of her best later books.<br /><br />Generally my favorites are the earlier ones from the late 1920s and 1930s, where she took the formal detective structure more seriously (while still satirizing it frequently).The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-28868659550321150772012-04-05T13:15:55.860-04:002012-04-05T13:15:55.860-04:00I have read very little by Mitchell, but I have re...I have read very little by Mitchell, but I have read When Last I Died. I had to force myself through it. She does seem to be very hit and miss. Some books (eg. Watson's Choice) I thoroughly enjoyed. I do own a copy of The Rising of the Moon and will definitely give it a try after such an interesting review. And I will certainly seek out Merlin's Furlong after John's endorsement.Ron Smythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00575735524072816238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-10690371165911947652012-04-05T10:56:59.264-04:002012-04-05T10:56:59.264-04:00I'm convinced she was spoofing the genre in ne...I'm convinced she was spoofing the genre in nearly every book she wrote. Read <i>When Last She Died</i> and tell me that that the bizarre duel in the ktichen in the final pages is meant to be taken seriously. I think it's interesting that she said that John Dickson Carr was a very nice man but she found his books unreadable. I find most of Mitchell's books unreadable and it's a miracle if I manage to finish one. But I did manage to get through this one. If you think this ending is loopy you ought to see the TV version with Diana Rigg. They rewrote the whole story, changed the identity of the killer, and it made even less sense.<br /><br />For me <i>Merlin's Furlong</i> is her best -- nothing comes anywhere near it in terms of lucidity and entertainment.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-17706810201261217882012-04-05T07:58:10.565-04:002012-04-05T07:58:10.565-04:00MItchell is fantastic at atmosphere and her ideas ...MItchell is fantastic at atmosphere and her ideas (and some individual scenes) are brilliant and if you treat her books as children's fiction they're alright.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com