Alfred Hitchcock presenta: Tiempo muerto

by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor), William Brittain, Jack Ritchie

Los animales pueblan todos los rincones de la Tierra, adaptándose a ellos de forma asombrosa. En este libro se presenta de forma amena y divertida la fauna característica de los distintos hábitats. Las selvas amazónicas, la cordillera del Himalaya, la sabana africana o los bosques del norte de Europa son algunas de las zonas que vamos a recorrer en nuestro viaje. Los más pequeños descubrirán, a través de sencillos mapas repletos de ilustraciones a todo color, cómo es el paisaje de cada parte del mundo y cómo son los animales que la habitan, sus costumbres y los datos más sorprendentes y curiosos.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

181 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1990

About the author

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (1899-1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.

Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.

Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Reviews

[Hitesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Alfred Hitchcock's Murderers' Row" is a veritable goldmine of short stories with unexpected twists at the climax. I loved each one. The language is impeccable, and the plots are thrilling.

The book contains 14 stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. My personal favorites include:

- Never Marry a Witch
- The Nice Young Man
- The Compleat Secretary
- Who Will miss Arthur

I highly recommend this collection to anyone in search of outstanding crime and mystery stories by various authors.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've only read a few of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series, but this was the weakest of the lot. The stories start off well, then sharply go downhill after the Ellery Queen novella. The last two stories, though, are very amusing. You won't get goosebumps or nightmares from these stories, as the back cover suggests, just some decent reading.

These stories were written in the 1960s and early 1970s. This seems to have been edited by Alfred Hitchcock, as no thanks go out to any ghost editor.

Selections:

* "Introduction" by Our Editor. Enchanting and different story from Hitchcock about an old alcoholic getting a kidney donation ... and a new shadow, in the form of the kidney donor's father.
* "Nice Guy" by Richard Deming. Predictable murder mystery about a co-owner of a jewellry business getting shot, but very well written, with a sharp ending.
* "The Bridge in Briganza" by Frank Sisk. Here's a primer in how to write a short story. A cuckholded husband in a bar announces he is going to kill himself, and the only other patron in the bar gets to talking to him.
* "Thicker Than Water" by Harry Slezar. An old lawyer is hired to get a teen off a murder rap. Not sure how chemically accurate the story was, but a quick read.
* "The Artificial Liar" by William Brittain. The murdered here is a canary. Just why the bird was whacked is perhaps the most original story in the anthology.
* "For Money Received" by Fletcher Flora/Ellery Queen/etc. Novellette, part of the Percy Hand series. The bored, barely hanging on private investigator in his office, then a shapley blonde visits to hire him on a case ... it seems so stereotypical. However, it was THIS author and stories such as the Percy Hand series that created the stereotype. It's also quite funny at times. It wound up being much better than the imitators to follow.
* "The Compleat Secretary" by Theodore Mathieson. Rich guy who flies his own plane and cheats on his wife with his secretary. Shades of Howard Hughes, I guess. When rich guy and secretary decide to kill the wife after rich guy crashes his plane, things get interesting. Much too short of a story.
* "The Hypothetical Arsonist" by Rog Phillips. Very bizarre and unsatisfying story of trying to catch an arsonist.
* "Who Will Miss Arthur?" By Ed Lacy. How not to commit murder on a cruise. This is why you should leave the job to professionals.
* "Arbiter of Uncertainties" by Edward Hoch. Speaking of professional killers, this unpredictable story is about an arbitrator called in to settle a dispute between a mobster and the owner of a gambling den.
* "Slow Motion Murder" by Richard Hardwick. Novellette. This is in the Sheriff Dan Peavy series. Fortunately, you don't need go read the other stories to follow this one. Unfortunately, it's a crap murder mystery.
* "Never Marry a Witch" by C. B. Gilford. Bizarre tale of a philandering husband who thinks his wife might be a witch.
* "The Second Thief" by David A. Heller. Although a clever little story, it does come across as an advertisement for business insurance.
* "The Nice Young Man" by Richard O. Lewis. A nice young picks up an old man at a bar ... but it gets better.
* "A Message for Aunt Lucy" by Arthur Porges. Great way to end the book. A young man visiting West Africa sends a bizarre letter home ... and it's not a Nigerian Prince scam.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 5 out of 5]

As is typical with the excellent series of Hitchcock anthologies, all the stories are good and a lot of them are great. This one leans towards stories about spouses murdering one another. (I gotta make sure my wife doesn't read it and get ideas.) Ironic twists at the end of a story are common, but they are uniformily clever twists.

My favorites from this anthology include "The Compleat Secretary," by Theodore Mathieson; "The Nice Young Man," by Richard O. Lewis; and "Who will Miss Arthur," by Ed Lacy.

[Bazzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great anthology book. It's got some bad stories but that's half the fun with these sorts of books!

[Brandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a big fan of short stories.
I didn't end up finishing it.

[Pedro Jesus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatos cortos bastante bien planteados. Me ha gustado.

[Amal Farrough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun read, and some of the stories had extremely clever twists. Definitely outdated in the way the authors talk about women, but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt like a season of Alfred Hitchcock presents (in the best way).