The Documents in the Case
Registered by LittleSuz of Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on 7/31/2021
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
I never knew my mother-in-law. She died before I and my husband first met. But there are still some of her possessions in our house, and amongst them, a great stack of paperback books. I have my husband's permission to read whichever ones I wish to, and to release them on afterwards. It feels like I'm getting to finally know her slightly!
Gosh what an odd crime novel! It breaks most conventions of the genre in a very intriguing way. Apparently Sayers was never satisfied with it, and I get that (the sections where the science is explained are mostly really dull despite the plot hinging on them), but it's still a satisfying read overall.
Instead of a classic detective figure interviewing potential suspects, we have a collection of letters and statements collated by the dead man's son who is convinced from the start that this was no accidental death. The beauty and tension of the novel comes from the fact that neither he nor any other character who appears is particularly sympathetic from the reader's perspective. All have obvious prejudices, and none seem like reliable witnesses (or amateur sleuths).
In most stories I find the lack of any likeable characters a grind, but it really works here somehow. I won't go through them here for fear of giving away any spoilers, but I did find myself wondering about all sorts of potential plot outcomes whilst reading their words. Some characters appear in a very different light from document to document, and trying to piece together people like Mrs Harrison in my mind was an interesting task. She divides opinion shall we say!
I definitely should read more Sayers in future. She has an unusual and clever imagination.
Instead of a classic detective figure interviewing potential suspects, we have a collection of letters and statements collated by the dead man's son who is convinced from the start that this was no accidental death. The beauty and tension of the novel comes from the fact that neither he nor any other character who appears is particularly sympathetic from the reader's perspective. All have obvious prejudices, and none seem like reliable witnesses (or amateur sleuths).
In most stories I find the lack of any likeable characters a grind, but it really works here somehow. I won't go through them here for fear of giving away any spoilers, but I did find myself wondering about all sorts of potential plot outcomes whilst reading their words. Some characters appear in a very different light from document to document, and trying to piece together people like Mrs Harrison in my mind was an interesting task. She divides opinion shall we say!
I definitely should read more Sayers in future. She has an unusual and clever imagination.
Sent to the winner of the tea and crime/thriller sweepstakes
Received as part of the Tea and Mystery Sweeps along with some lovely tea. I don't think I've read this one before. Thank you very much. :-)
Like Littlesuz I found the characters in this a really unpleasant bunch. The varying narratives made it really hard to decide what was really going on, as all the accounts were so subjective. It was a very different approach to most of the other crime fiction I've read.
Journal Entry 6 by bookfrogster at Little Free Library - Meadows Community Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Saturday, June 18, 2022
Released 1 yr ago (6/18/2022 UTC) at Little Free Library - Meadows Community Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Set free in the Little Free Library. Happy reading!