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No One Knows My Name
Synopsis:
In a remote resort town, a summer theater group whose cast includes a vicious but clever psychopathic killer is shocked when the first unfortunate victim is found, leaving everyone suspecting everyone else.
In a remote resort town, a summer theater group whose cast includes a vicious but clever psychopathic killer is shocked when the first unfortunate victim is found, leaving everyone suspecting everyone else.
239 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 20, 2012
Duck River Playhouse, rural Michigan: intrigue and murder amongst peculiar actors, lovely verbal sniping, good plotting; cosy/amateur sleuth.
This first novel by a writer of award-winning short stories was a very pleasant surprise. One of my favorites in EQMM in the 70s and 80s, she has a style similar to that of Charlotte Armstrong and Celia Fremlin (i.e., creepy suspenser with nicely sharp twists) also great favorites of mine. So when I found that Ms. Harrington may have written four mystery novels I decided to give them a try; luckily my lovely library had three of the four. I wanted to see if she could maintain her quirky magic throughout an entire longish novel.
I'm happy to report that she did, at least in this, her first novel. Set in a sleepy rural Michigan town during the summer, at a fantastical actors Playhouse, with incredibly theatrical sorts of folks, it's both a lot of fun *and* creepy, all at the same time. There's a bit of "viewpoint of the killer" stuff that I could have done without; while it was fresh in 1980 when this was first published, it has quite literally been done to death in the thirty years since, and this technique remains one of my least favorite. But she uses it sparingly, while simultaneously managing to keep you in suspense as to just who the killer is until nearly at the very end. Plus she gives a short "what happened after..." as well; very satisfying.
I thoroughly enjoyed the good plotting, lovely verbal sniping, and the well-paced intrigue (including a nice riff on "and then there were none..."), and look forward to trying another of her novels soon. Well-crafted, quality work from a thorough professional (with a peculiar, and wicked, sense of humor).
This first novel by a writer of award-winning short stories was a very pleasant surprise. One of my favorites in EQMM in the 70s and 80s, she has a style similar to that of Charlotte Armstrong and Celia Fremlin (i.e., creepy suspenser with nicely sharp twists) also great favorites of mine. So when I found that Ms. Harrington may have written four mystery novels I decided to give them a try; luckily my lovely library had three of the four. I wanted to see if she could maintain her quirky magic throughout an entire longish novel.
I'm happy to report that she did, at least in this, her first novel. Set in a sleepy rural Michigan town during the summer, at a fantastical actors Playhouse, with incredibly theatrical sorts of folks, it's both a lot of fun *and* creepy, all at the same time. There's a bit of "viewpoint of the killer" stuff that I could have done without; while it was fresh in 1980 when this was first published, it has quite literally been done to death in the thirty years since, and this technique remains one of my least favorite. But she uses it sparingly, while simultaneously managing to keep you in suspense as to just who the killer is until nearly at the very end. Plus she gives a short "what happened after..." as well; very satisfying.
I thoroughly enjoyed the good plotting, lovely verbal sniping, and the well-paced intrigue (including a nice riff on "and then there were none..."), and look forward to trying another of her novels soon. Well-crafted, quality work from a thorough professional (with a peculiar, and wicked, sense of humor).
February 6, 2012
Mike handed me this as a "quick read" from the boxes of books he was going to donate to the thrift store. Taking me a bit to get into it and keep track of the characters. (Didn't help that the first couple chapters were all read just before bed!)
August 4, 2016
Couldn't put this book down. The first three fourths of the book are meticulous. Toward the end, the author seems to get in a hurry to wrap things up, but the book is well worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews