Reading the Detectives discussion

This is our spoiler thread for our December group read, Mystery in White. Spoilers can be openly discussed here, so if you are still reading the book you might prefer to stick to the general thread.

I finished the book last night and I guess the ending was fairly satisfying. A bit convoluted and frankly I don't see how anyone could have figured it out ahead of time. (Except, apparently, for the mysterious Mr. Maltby!)

I found Mr Maltby and his apparently supernatural abilities a bit annoying, I must say - instead of the usual detective work and cleverly working out clues, he just seems to "know" what happened by his strange powers! I suppose he adds to the spooky atmosphere, but for me his character doesn't quite work.

I agree, Judy. He kept referring to the portrait, apparently giving him special insight.

Yes I found him annoying also. He expected everyone to give him a full account of where they had been and what they had been doing , and even their opinion but he didn't share much of his actions and thoughts with them. As you say , he referred to the painting.

I'm not sure now, was there ever a clue pointing to the paintings or was it all down to his intuition? Also I found the family history hard to follow!

I don't remember any clue pointing him to the painting. It seemed to be intuition.

Judy wrote: "I found Mr Maltby and his apparently supernatural abilities a bit annoying, I must say - instead of the usual detective work and cleverly working out clues, he just seems to "know" what happened by..."

I agree with you, and with Pghfan, and anybody else who didn't find him credible as a character. I kept waiting for Farjeon to give us some indication of how he knew all that he knew; I was wondering whether he really was the murderer and was pulling strings to cover his crime, or something on that order. But no.

Also, what was with the detectives just being there at the end without ever actually showing up in the story? Bizarre.

All in all, this is one that goes to the library book sale. Which only happens fairly rarely; if I think I might ever want to read a book again, or if I want to have it available for wife or kids or grandkids to read if they're interested, it goes on the shelf. But this one doesn't deserve shelf space. Off to the library book sale.

Judy wrote: "This is our spoiler thread for our December group read, Murder at the Brightwell. Spoilers can be openly discussed here, so if you are still reading the book you might prefer to stick to the genera..."

Can you edit to change the book title to Mystery in White instead of Murder at the Brightwell? We probably all know that, but it might confuse somebody.

Everyman wrote: "Judy wrote: "This is our spoiler thread for our December group read, Murder at the Brightwell. Spoilers can be openly discussed here, so if you are still reading the book you might prefer to stick ..."

Whoops, well spotted. Will do, thanks!

Everyman wrote: "All in all, this is one that goes to the library book sale. Which only happens fairly rarely; if I think I might ever want to read a book again, or if I want to have it available for wife or kids or grandkids to read if they're interested, it goes on the shelf. But this one doesn't deserve shelf space. Off to the library book sale.

Sorry to hear that verdict - I'm with you on the problems with the plot, but I enjoyed some of the characters and the start of the novel in particular, with its overload of snow and spooky opening. So I have a certain affection for it despite everything!

We're due to get snow tonight, starting in a few hours, but I sure hope it's not at Mystery in White levels! I have to go to town tomorrow, and my truck doesn't do well in snow.

Hope it's not too deep, Everyman!

I know Everyman was originally from Pittsburgh, so he might be interested that we didn't get any snow, but Erie (my hometown) got hit pretty hard.

Judy wrote: "Hope it's not too deep, Everyman!"

Nah. 2-3 inches. But the roads are a mess because it's hilly terrain and not plowed, so the first cars through pack it down and it gets icy.

I love reading ghost stories at Christmas! I know it's not a ghost story by definition, but one of the characters was no longer alive, and there was definitely a creepy vibe going on!
I really enjoyed the first half to two thirds of the book, then it started to get pretty convoluted and strict concentration was required to follow along!
I also found Maltby a bit annoying- he gave me the same "I like you, but enough with the smug already!" that I get from Christie's Poirot. I guess those characters are necessary to keep the story moving along.
It's my first Farjeon, I had never heard of him before, but I think I'll be reading more. It's also my first British Library Crime Classic- I had been meaning to start exploring the series.

I don't like ghost stories. So maybe that is why it took me 4 years to read this book. That should be 3 years and 11 months to read the first half of the book and 1 month (or less) for the last half of the book.

Maltby didn't bother me. I did think he should have shared a little more about himself. Then maybe Maltby wouldn't have seemed so much out of left field. Maybe he was just observant, plus he found that letter which gave him a leg up.