Book 5
May 21 - 22
Loony Vintage Charm
"Dial H for Hitchcock" appeared to be an enjoyable read with interesting turns and tons of humour, which had nothing to do with Hitchcock though, except mentioning some facts about his life and work. In terms of style and breathtaking plot twists which were Hitchcock's hallmark, this novel, in my opinion, doesn't live up to Hitchcock's high standard.
Logline: After she watches Vertigo in the cinema, the main heroine, Cece Caruso, finds a cell phone in her purse which doesn't belong to her. She receives a call on the phone, a stranger asks her to come to a certain place. But when Cece arrives there, she witnesses a murder and gets under suspicion herself.
While the twists are really Hitchcock style, this novel is too feminine for my liking. There's too much focus on the description of clothes, whole paragraphs in every chapter describe Cece's obsession with vintage attires, which is an interesting fetish, of course, but I found it annoying. New York Times Book Review says: "While Cece's vintage clothing fetish gives her a certain loony charm, it doesn't get in the way of her genuine talents as a sometime sleuth..." Well, who am I to argue with New York Times Book Review!
One more thought expressed by New York Times Book Review is that Susan Kandel, the author, takes mystery seriously. However, what it seemed to me is that the humour sprinkled here and there throughout the book disrupted the eerie atmosphere the author was trying to create. Hitchcock was suspenseful and eerie, Kandel is not. Don't get me wrong, I liked the humour, but it killed the "eerie" aspect of the book promised to the reader. Judge it yourself. Here's one example of humorous description of a sale's assistant: "It was the largest Afro I'd ever seen, especially on someone white. It must've measured a foot in every direction. I wondered what happened when he tried to get into a car. He probably took the bus." Hilarious, right? The whole book is steeped in such a humorous take of Cece on the surroundings. So, if you want something really Hitchcock eerie style, I'd probably recommend the TV show "Bates Motel". "Dial H for Hitchcock" is a cozy read, mostly for women, because I don't believe men will be fascinated with all those "little-black-dress-except-it's-navy" descriptions of Cece's gowns.
I had a little confusion concerning the year when the story happens. When I started reading, I was almost sure those were sixties ish, but then the main heroine took out her cell phone. There were no indications in the text itself to mislead me, but things revolving around Hitchcock and this retro stuff Cece wears made me think it all was about sixties.
There was a funny inconsistence when Cece takes photos of her car with her cell phone after she gets rear-ended, but then she exchanges phone numbers with the man who hit her car written on some patches of paper as if forgetting that they have cell phones. Seriously, who writes their phone numbers on paper in the era of cell phones? It felt like the author got confused by her own wish to write about sixties and her need to write about modern times.
All in all, "Dial H for Hitchcock" is a nice and easy read which I'd recommend to those who are looking for a cozy detective story for a long travel, more likely women than men. Publishers Weekly call the main heroine "witty and perky female sleuth", which I absolutely agree with.
It is not the first book about Cece Caruso, so, if you are going to read this series, you should start from "I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason", although every book about this detective is a separate and independent story.
6 / 10
Loony Vintage Charm
"Dial H for Hitchcock" appeared to be an enjoyable read with interesting turns and tons of humour, which had nothing to do with Hitchcock though, except mentioning some facts about his life and work. In terms of style and breathtaking plot twists which were Hitchcock's hallmark, this novel, in my opinion, doesn't live up to Hitchcock's high standard.
Logline: After she watches Vertigo in the cinema, the main heroine, Cece Caruso, finds a cell phone in her purse which doesn't belong to her. She receives a call on the phone, a stranger asks her to come to a certain place. But when Cece arrives there, she witnesses a murder and gets under suspicion herself.
While the twists are really Hitchcock style, this novel is too feminine for my liking. There's too much focus on the description of clothes, whole paragraphs in every chapter describe Cece's obsession with vintage attires, which is an interesting fetish, of course, but I found it annoying. New York Times Book Review says: "While Cece's vintage clothing fetish gives her a certain loony charm, it doesn't get in the way of her genuine talents as a sometime sleuth..." Well, who am I to argue with New York Times Book Review!
One more thought expressed by New York Times Book Review is that Susan Kandel, the author, takes mystery seriously. However, what it seemed to me is that the humour sprinkled here and there throughout the book disrupted the eerie atmosphere the author was trying to create. Hitchcock was suspenseful and eerie, Kandel is not. Don't get me wrong, I liked the humour, but it killed the "eerie" aspect of the book promised to the reader. Judge it yourself. Here's one example of humorous description of a sale's assistant: "It was the largest Afro I'd ever seen, especially on someone white. It must've measured a foot in every direction. I wondered what happened when he tried to get into a car. He probably took the bus." Hilarious, right? The whole book is steeped in such a humorous take of Cece on the surroundings. So, if you want something really Hitchcock eerie style, I'd probably recommend the TV show "Bates Motel". "Dial H for Hitchcock" is a cozy read, mostly for women, because I don't believe men will be fascinated with all those "little-black-dress-except-it's-navy" descriptions of Cece's gowns.
I had a little confusion concerning the year when the story happens. When I started reading, I was almost sure those were sixties ish, but then the main heroine took out her cell phone. There were no indications in the text itself to mislead me, but things revolving around Hitchcock and this retro stuff Cece wears made me think it all was about sixties.
There was a funny inconsistence when Cece takes photos of her car with her cell phone after she gets rear-ended, but then she exchanges phone numbers with the man who hit her car written on some patches of paper as if forgetting that they have cell phones. Seriously, who writes their phone numbers on paper in the era of cell phones? It felt like the author got confused by her own wish to write about sixties and her need to write about modern times.
All in all, "Dial H for Hitchcock" is a nice and easy read which I'd recommend to those who are looking for a cozy detective story for a long travel, more likely women than men. Publishers Weekly call the main heroine "witty and perky female sleuth", which I absolutely agree with.
It is not the first book about Cece Caruso, so, if you are going to read this series, you should start from "I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason", although every book about this detective is a separate and independent story.
6 / 10
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