Juggernaut

by Alice Campbell

In 'Juggernaut' by Alice Campbell, the reader is taken on a thought-provoking journey through the complexities of human relationships and the impact of personal choices. Campbell's writing style is characterized by its introspective and lyrical tone, drawing readers into the minds of her well-developed characters. Set against a backdrop of societal pressures and psychological turmoil, the novel delves into themes of power dynamics, love, and the limitations of personal agency. Campbell's use of symbolism and metaphor adds layers of depth to the narrative, inviting readers to explore the underlying messages embedded within the story. This work of contemporary fiction stands out for its engaging storytelling and profound insights into the human experience. With 'Juggernaut', Alice Campbell showcases her talent for crafting compelling narratives that resonate with readers long after the final page is turned.

Genres: Mystery

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Alice Ormond Campbell was an American-born British writer of detective fiction. Originally she came from Atlanta, Georgia, where she was part of the socially prominent Ormond family. Alice moved to New York City at the age of nineteen and quickly became a socialist and women’s suffragist. Later she moved to Paris. There she married the American-born artist and writer James Lawrence Campbell and had a son in 1914. After World War One, the family left France for England, where Campbell continued writing crime fiction until 1950.
She published her first work (The Juggernaut) in 1929. She wrote at least nineteen detective novels during her career.

Reviews

[Lady Wesley]

One of ten Alice Campbell titles being reissued by Dean Street Press in 2022. H/T https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%...

[Daniela Domenici · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sono appena riemersa da questo splendido giallo, uno dei più belli che abbia mai letto (e chi mi segue da tempo sa che non sono pochi), che ho divorato in un soffio nonostante le sue 468 pagine grazie, in primis, alla perfetta traduzione. as usual, di Simonetta Badioli e poi alla straordinaria bravura di questa scrittrice, Alice Campbell, nata nel 1887 e morta nel 1955, di origine americana che ha poi vissuto in Francia e in Inghilterra e che ha scritto questo suo libro nel 1929 con il titolo originario di “Juggernaut” da cui sono stati tratti due film, il primo nel 1936 “Juggernaut” interpretato da Boris Karloff e il secondo “The temptress” nel 1949. Campbell ne ha scritti altri 19 nella sua lunga carriera.

Ancora una volta ringrazio di vero cuore la casa editrice Le Assassine che pubblica soltanto scrittrici gialliste non italiane, contemporanee nella collana “Oltreconfine” e del passato in quella “Vintage”, perché ci fa conoscere autrici che anche a distanza di anni, come Campbell, meritano il podio. Chiedo venia se oso ma Alice Campbell, con questo suo superbo “Juggernaut”, può tenere testa ad Agatha Christie perché lo stile avvincente, la trama originalissima, i colpi di scena assolutamente inattesi, la superba caratterizzazione della principale protagonista, l’infermiera Esther, e insieme a lei del dottor Sartorius, di Lady Clifford, di Roger, della signorina Clifford, del fedele maggiordomo Chalmers, di Halliday, di Aline non fanno riemergere dall’apnea emotiva fino all’ultima pagina.

“L’implacabile” “debutta” oggi al Salone del Libro di Torino, vi consiglio vivamente di andare a “conoscerla” perché vi farà innamorare, fidatevi!

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esther Rowe is a young Canadian nurse who has come to France with a patient. The post was temporary--lasting only until the woman met up with friends--so Esther must decide if she is going to return to cold, snowy New York or remain in Cannes where it is much warmer and more beautiful. She's never had a chance to travel before and decides to stay a while, provided she can find a job. So, she answers an advertisement for an English nurse put out by a Dr. Santorius. The job will not be arduous as the rather forbidding man takes a few patients as possible--just enough to support his research.

Esther hasn't been with him long before he tells her he's shutting up shop and taking a position as personal physician to Sir Charles Clifford, a wealthy mill owner who has made his money in fabrics. Apparently, Santorius believes he will make enough from just this one patient to allow him to fund his research for a while. She is dismayed at first because she thinks she'll need to find another job or head back to America, but Santorius tells her that a position for a day nurse is also available if she would like it. She decides that she does....and finds herself involved not only in caring for a typhoid patient but in the middle of mystery and intrigue.

She notices little things...like the fact that Sir Charles's young, beautiful wife seems to be seeing an awful lot of Captain Arthur Holliday. And Lady Therese is a temperamental young thing who doesn't like to be told who she can see and what she can spend money on. Lady Therese also has little tete-a-tetes with the doctor...at the most inappropriate times. Then Roger Clifford, Sir Charles's son by a previous marriage, arrives and there is a definite antipathy between him and his stepmother. Sir Clifford doesn't make things any better when he makes changes to his will that makes Roger the trustee with complete power over the distribution of Lady Therese's inheritance. Lady Therese begins searching for something....first under her husband's pillow and then in Roger's room. What is she looking for? When Sir Clifford relapses and dies from the second round of typhoid, Esther becomes even more uneasy. And then Esther disappears. Roger, who has slowly been succumbing to Esther's innocent charms, doesn't know what to think What's happened to the nurse? Will he find her in time?

So....this was one long, slow ride to the inevitable, clearly signaled finish. Even Inspector Clouseau should be able to figure this one out if he reads it. As soon as the point was made that "dear devoted" little Therese had taken over giving Sir Clifford his milk, my villain detector went off. There was no way I was going to believe that she had suddenly decided to be all domestic and wifely and wanted to bring him his glass of milk. But my main complaint? Why on earth if the villains were intent on knocking off Sir Charles Clifford did they not just do it? Why make him sick and then let him be nursed back to health only to give him a heft dose of the live typhoid culture and kill him? There was no benefit at all. In fact, if they had done it straight off Sir Charles wouldn't have had time to make adjustments to his will and that pesky Nurse Rowe wouldn't have gotten all suspicious. And, we wouldn't have had to wade through a good third to half the book to get to the murder. That first half really dragged. Other more minor quibbles: How on earth could Roger have missed the plot going on under his nose? And why is Esther so shy about telling him all the little things she's noticed? Could have saved herself a lot of grief if she'd just mentioned a few of them.

The second half was more exciting and it was quite suspenseful when Esther disappears for a while and poor Roger is trying to figure out what's going on. The wrap-up is a bit anticlimactic (especially since we know who did it the whole time)...not nearly as good a mystery as anticipated. ★★ and 1/2 (rounded down)

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Rick Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets off to a very slow start. For the first half of the book, there is no mystery, just the cold-and-clammy Doctor Santorius and girl-next-door Nurse Esther Rowe caring for their patient, Sir Charles Clifford; and a budding romance between nurse Esther and Roger Clifford, just back from a trip to America.

Charles is leisurely reviewing his will, so that always suggests something may develop. The much-younger trophy-wife Lady Therese may be waiting for him to pass so she can get her claws on his fortune, and into a much younger man - she is already after two, one of them her own stepson. Much of Lady Therese's dialog and that of the household is rendered in French, so a passing knowledge of conversational French is helpful.

The book is similar to the Nurse Keate novels of Mary Roberts Rinehart, with a couple of exceptions... there is no worship of the handsome doctor who actually is rather creepy, and the nurse's love interest takes root and develops beyond just sighing.

This book was made into a movie in 1936 with Boris Karloff (good choice) as Dr. Santorius!

Stick with it - once you get to the point where the plot is revealed (about halfway) things get exciting!

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a whodunit. You will understand the crime and know who the culprits are long before the book’s young and unworldly heroine figures it out. After that, it’s all “will she escape,” “will her love interest believe her,” “will the villains get away with it.” You already know the answers. The author manages to stretch this out for an unconscionably long time, broken up by extremely timely interruptions. If this is your cup of tea, you’ll enjoy this book. I didn’t.

[sslyb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Previously unknown author for me. Extremely long setup. One of those frustrating mysteries where you know what is happening and who the villains are but takes a long time for others to figure out what’s what. Got my adrenaline charged up.

[Kay Robart · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022...

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to start, frustrating at times cause I don't know French, but found I had trouble putting it down until the end. Was pretty predictable with a few twists.

[Soothing Rays · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it even though the book itself is a juggernaut, moving slowly and predictably but yet retaining some curiosity till the end.