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A Question of Time
An ingenious murderer uses a surprising and original mechanism to dispose of a young heiress. Although it seems at first a gothic suspense novel and turns out to be a straightforward murder mystery, this book is well worth reading for its clever and scrupulously fair plot. Basil Willing does not appear. - The Mystery Lover's Companion, Art Bourgeau
340 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
18 people want to read
About the author
Helen McCloy
63 books38 followersHelen McCloy, born as Helen Worrell Clarkson McCloy (she also published as Helen Clarkson), was an American mystery writer, whose series character Dr. Basil Willing debuted in Dance of Death (1938). Willing believes that "every criminal leaves psychic fingerprints, and he can't wear gloves to hide them." He appeared in 13 of McCloy's novels and in several of her short stories. McCloy often used the theme of doppelganger, but in the end of the story she showed a psychological or realistic explanation for the seemingly supernatural events.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 16, 2012
Lisa is 13 years old and an orphan in 1960. She comes to America to live with her father's family the Hollands. Her father was an heir to a fortune and her mother was an Italian princess. But she has been raised in a Catholic orphanage and doesn't feel privileged...and she certainly doesn't feel at home in her Boston surroundings. Her greatest shock comes in the house's large ballroom. For no reason she can name, the room makes her deathly afraid....and even though she has never been to America before, she has a feeling of deja vu when she enters the room. She knows that something terrible will happen to her. But it doesn't....at least not then.
Her Italian grandparents come forward a year later and wish their only granddaughter to live with them. The Holland family has several members and unwillingly let Lisa go back to Italy--where she stays for ten years. In 1970, Lisa's grandparents are dead and she returns to Boston. She immediately falls in love with her cousin Roly...but she and Roly have little time to develop their relationship before she once again enters the ballroom and is killed by a falling painting (that's one huge, heavy painting!). What looks at first to be an unfortunate accident on the heels of a practical joke is soon proved to be premeditated murder. Who could have wanted this beautiful young women to die?
There are things that I like about this story--atmosphere and the characters of Sue and Roly (Lisa's cousins) are two. There are things I don't like about this story....the whole hashing and rehashing of deja vu and the meaning of time and do we really "know" the future but repress it thing gets really old. I wish Helen McCloy had spent more effort fleshing out all of the characters and their interactions and less on the question of time in A Question of Time. Lisa's American grandmother seems like a formidable and interesting lady...more of her would have been a really good thing.
The murder itself is a bit contrived, but the motive is an interesting one. And even though I spotted the who before the wrap-scene, I still thoroughly enjoyed the ending. All-in-all a decent read--a nice middle-of-the road three star-outing.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Her Italian grandparents come forward a year later and wish their only granddaughter to live with them. The Holland family has several members and unwillingly let Lisa go back to Italy--where she stays for ten years. In 1970, Lisa's grandparents are dead and she returns to Boston. She immediately falls in love with her cousin Roly...but she and Roly have little time to develop their relationship before she once again enters the ballroom and is killed by a falling painting (that's one huge, heavy painting!). What looks at first to be an unfortunate accident on the heels of a practical joke is soon proved to be premeditated murder. Who could have wanted this beautiful young women to die?
There are things that I like about this story--atmosphere and the characters of Sue and Roly (Lisa's cousins) are two. There are things I don't like about this story....the whole hashing and rehashing of deja vu and the meaning of time and do we really "know" the future but repress it thing gets really old. I wish Helen McCloy had spent more effort fleshing out all of the characters and their interactions and less on the question of time in A Question of Time. Lisa's American grandmother seems like a formidable and interesting lady...more of her would have been a really good thing.
The murder itself is a bit contrived, but the motive is an interesting one. And even though I spotted the who before the wrap-scene, I still thoroughly enjoyed the ending. All-in-all a decent read--a nice middle-of-the road three star-outing.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
March 21, 2018
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https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
March 31, 2016
Engaging tale
An engaging tale that builds to suspense. Though the main part of the mystery resolves through realism, a minor aspect (that could have been explained naturalistically) relies on new-age scientism. As I demand an entirely realistic solution to a mystery, I can't rate this book as among her best.
An engaging tale that builds to suspense. Though the main part of the mystery resolves through realism, a minor aspect (that could have been explained naturalistically) relies on new-age scientism. As I demand an entirely realistic solution to a mystery, I can't rate this book as among her best.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews