Catch-As-Catch-Can

by Charlotte Armstrong

When their long-lost cousin Laila turns up just in time to claim the inheritance that might have been theirs, Dee and Clive have a hard time deciding if they should help Laila when she accidentally ingests poison

Genres: Mystery

1 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Full name Charlotte Armstrong Lewi. Wrote 29 novels, plus short stories and plays under the name Charlotte Armstrong and Jo Valentine. Additional writing jobs: New York Times (advertising department), Breath of the Avenue (fashion reporter).

Reviews

[Toby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlotte Armstrong was already somewhat successful in Hollywood by the time she wrote this novel. And it shows. Catch as Catch Can reads like a treatment for a B-noir, a female-centric D.O.A perhaps. Only with a movie you can kind of get behind silly behaviour because it's fleeting and moves the plot forward and it's often made up for with some charismatic acting or interesting staging, in book form it's just plain annoying most of the time with nothing to distract you from the badly written idiots running around the place saying stupid things. A very disappointing turn from somebody I generally associate with a kind of quality.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grew up a Charlotte Armstrong fan. This novel jogs along like a film. Unfortunately an excess of spectacular and inconceivable action, sprinkled into already unlikely circumstances; are too contrived. A missing girl needing a poison antidote, is a sufficient adventure. Absurd hurdles mar its course. The adage "less is more" rings true.

A girl described as uneducated because she's from a French island, creates a ludicrous personage from the get-go. I as the reader, shook my head. She was said to order from fine French restaurants but doesn’t think of bringing money to board a bus? From the start I couldn't accept her character, regardless of being published in 1952. I am only glad Charlotte's descriptive talent and the constitution of two contrastingly strong characters, gave me a few pages to admire. ‘Leila’s’ strong, redheaded cousin ‘Dee’ is engaging. Dee’s ex-fiancé, ‘Andy’ is annoying as all get-go. It’s the speechless ‘Mrs. Gilman’ I adore. It is a very worthwhile message to never underestimate seniors. "Catch-As-Catch-Can" doesn't fall short because it belies the expected format of mysteries; which is what other reviewers critiqued. To the contrary I praise its originality. Its strength is in being unusual, when so many films and novels are formulaic to a fault.

It lost credibility because absurd, high-octane road blocks were flung into the mix. They really did reduce the storyline. I regret administering two stars to an artist I admire. However Ms. Armstrong has no shortage of other wonderful work and it's okay if some is weaker than others. It is a testament to the literary legacy left to us, that one woman had so many starkly unique ideas! It is a gift that gifted, long-standing authors like her kept right on writing, with her impressive catalogue of publications from which to choose.

[Debra Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was growing up, my family and everyone else I knew grew a large garden and bottled or froze most of the produce against the winter months. Trucking industry didn't supply the groceries stores so well as they do today and even so, it was a 40 min drive into town in my small community of Wyoming. Although it didn't happen in my family, we heard the stories of women canning veggies or fruit that didn't get sealed properly or heated sufficiently so this story of ingesting deadly tainted home canned beans that caused death was real to me. I did not like the romance even though it ends well .

[Carolyn Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlotte Armstrong typically has rather bizarre plot situations and some strange characters, but I find her suspense always a fun ride.

[mikayla lockyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

book was okay, was a quick read and could tell it was was from the 40-50s by the way they spoke before i even looked at the publish date

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Charlotte Armstrong, but her writing can be uneven. This one wasn't one of her best. The story could be best described as an unfortunate series of events which wasn't too bad but the characters were a little too Pollyannish for the story to maintain any sense of tension. So, hoping for better next time.