tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post837068804883265272..comments2024-03-11T01:39:11.362-04:00Comments on At the Scene of the Crime: About the Murder of a NobodyPatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-11711552543238307942012-09-15T15:53:47.412-04:002012-09-15T15:53:47.412-04:00Les, what I loved most about that touch is that in...Les, what I loved most about that touch is that indeed, the whole solution *is* explained in Chapter Sixteen-- and there are one or two more lines in the book about not-getting-any-rest-until-all-is-explained-in-chapter-sixteen. A small touch, but plenty of fun. :)Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-56917778162362668322012-09-15T14:05:29.002-04:002012-09-15T14:05:29.002-04:00Great review, Patrick, and I heartily concur with ...Great review, Patrick, and I heartily concur with your opinion of this book. I reviewed it a couple of years back on my blog. One of my favorite quotes, I must tell you, comes from the police commissioner, when Inspector Hazelrigg decides he needs a "partner" inside the law firm and approaches that newly-hired young lawyer: “It’s quite a good idea. Only for heaven’s sake don’t be like that mug in the detective story who confides all his best ideas to a friendly sort of character who turns out to be the murderer in Chapter Sixteen.” Fine sense of humor - and great mystery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-62529492389361674332012-09-15T13:14:08.821-04:002012-09-15T13:14:08.821-04:00Hope you enjoy it, Nan!Hope you enjoy it, Nan!Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-66074643311415339342012-09-15T13:13:44.808-04:002012-09-15T13:13:44.808-04:00Of course you're right that there are plenty o...Of course you're right that there are plenty of ways of writing satire, but I was referring to a specific instance, where the author showed absolute disdain, if not hatred, for the genre, and didn't bother disguising it.<br /><br />I'm also more a fan of the 'intelligent' (for lack of a better word) satire -- "The Real Inspector Hound" for instance. Although I do confess I laugh uproariously throughout the NAKED GUN trilogy.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-46001854315810624972012-09-15T12:38:19.633-04:002012-09-15T12:38:19.633-04:00Anyone who has worked in an office for most of his...Anyone who has worked in an office for most of his life will easily relate to Gilbert's insightful depiction of how claustrophobic those places become and the backbiting that often develops among co-workers. I enjoyed that part more than the detective story aspect.<br /><br />I think there are many ways to write satire, Patrick. You just happen to have a very constrained view of satire - especially when it happens to attack your love of the genre. I keep wondering what your reading tastes and opinions will be like when you get to be my age. Will you have mellowed and become less uptight about certain things? I hope so. I'd laugh uproariously about a theft of the family jewels. Joe Orton's play <i>What the Butler Saw</i> has scene about the theft of Winston Churchill's...uh..."cigar." I think Orton is brilliant satirist. His ideas are still seen as going too far, but I think he can be hysterically funny.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-63289043760604895942012-09-15T12:27:49.115-04:002012-09-15T12:27:49.115-04:00Thank you!! Just put it on my library list.Thank you!! Just put it on my library list.Nanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-43806657320179645532012-09-15T11:18:30.041-04:002012-09-15T11:18:30.041-04:00The alternate title is DANGER WITHIN, yes? It'...The alternate title is DANGER WITHIN, yes? It's also available via Audible. So that means I might even get around to it this year. But not just yet-- I used my monthly credit to get the newest Bryant and May novel (after the ninth one rekindled my love for the series). And then next month I plan to use it on G. M. Malliet's next novel. Still, at least two months-- that's not a bad time frame for keeping my promises.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-24845132608116332732012-09-15T11:14:59.854-04:002012-09-15T11:14:59.854-04:00I managed to find a number of Gilberts over the su...I managed to find a number of Gilberts over the summer. The most attractive copy I found was a copy of THE NIGHT OF THE TWELFTH. The worst is a copy of FLASH POINT, an ex-library copy that spent a lot of time in a used bookstore where the owner smokes, and thus it still smells of the smoke... Still, I have to admit I'm happy with the investments-- this book is absolutely fantastic and I look forward to more Gilbert soon.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-37347593468252566782012-09-15T11:12:36.539-04:002012-09-15T11:12:36.539-04:00You can also get this one via Audible, which was h...You can also get this one via Audible, which was how I listened to it. A generally okay narrator, but a lot of people gave negative reviews-- I suppose because they found the British accent hard to understand!Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-57480132748944894802012-09-15T08:02:56.882-04:002012-09-15T08:02:56.882-04:00I concur with your laudatory review, Patrick, but,...I concur with your laudatory review, Patrick, but, in my most humble opinion, this masterpiece is still a step below his other monument of a crime novel, <i>The Danger Within</i>, also republished by the Rue Morgue Press. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-62988701819601208642012-09-15T04:45:45.729-04:002012-09-15T04:45:45.729-04:00I wouldn't call Gilbert a forgotten writer exa...I wouldn't call Gilbert a forgotten writer exactly, but he is devilishly difficult to find at a reasonable price. The two books featuring his charming, murderous intelligence agents Mr Calder and Mr Behrens seem to have been out of print for years, and go for a lot on the internet. I recently read this book and DEATH IN CAPTIVITY, both of which I really enjoyed. Gilbert has a number of running heroes (some of whom run longer than others), and Bohun and Hazelrigg appear in their own adventures. One of the engaging things about Gilbert is that one of his characters will suddenly appear in another charactrs book, giving one the feeling of a shared universe as with Marvel or DC comic book characters.<br />I really like the Petrella short stories, and am hoping that at some point a publisher will decide to put them back into print again. Gilbert was writing good stuff even into his 80s, and he deserves more than a footnote in crime writing history.Sextonblakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-22790541789032053812012-09-15T02:06:40.702-04:002012-09-15T02:06:40.702-04:00Sounds intriguing. Going on the tbr list.Sounds intriguing. Going on the tbr list.Puzzle Doctorhttp://classicmystery.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com