lit_stacks's Reviews (579)

This is my first Lord Peter Wimsey novel, and it was rather average. I am a fan of detective stories so this one was cute and clever enough for my tastes. However, the ending was entirely too obvious for my liking and the reveal of the criminal took a criminally long time. I found myself thinking that if it turns out to be the obvious perpetrator, I will be disappointed. Well I was disappointed. Not only that but after the killer was revealed, he left an entirely too long would-be suicide note that cleared up any questions about how or why he committed the crime. At that point, I just wanted the book to end. I will most likely try another Lord Peter Wimsey novel, mostly because of the delightful manservant Bunter. He is the true hero of these stories with his stoic delight in assisting Wimsey with the investigation.

Every mystery is the same at its heart. Someone is murdered, something is stolen and the enterprising sleuth has to solve the mystery. The way to make an interesting mystery is to have well-developed, well-written characters that the reader cares for. No one does this better than the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie. From the lovable adventuress Anne Bedingfield to her society lady patron Suzanne to her love interest Harry, every character is amazingly thought out and provokes such care for each and every one of them in the heart of the reader.

This book was....odd. I listened to it so Ellen Degeneres was narrating. I assumed that it would be similar to her opening monologues on her talk show, but either this was weak material or seeing Ellen really helps to make her funny. I tend to think it was the former. The different chapters are all on different topics and are generally short although she spent the entirety of the "longest chapter in the book" talking about how long it is and then realizing it wasn't that long. The only redeeming feature of this book was that Ellen occasionally became philosophical and her views on being nice to everyone are refreshing. That and that alone saved this book from being a total waste.