Once Upon a Crime - Montclair Library discussion

No official meeting this month, but feel free to include your thoughts on this book anyway!

Thanks, Angela, for setting up this discussion thread. While I have just finished the book last night, I'm planning on posting here on Monday at 2pm as we usually do, as I have enjoyed the back and forth that has happened.

Maybe I'll be the only one, but if so, oh well.

I am here, but I don't think the librarians will be, because they may be working at the call centers.

Anyway, I did read the book, and I liked it. Because of my very short memory, I rely on the discussion to remind me what it was about, lol.

I really enjoyed this one. While I didn't think it was a "fair play" mystery - I don't think there was enough info given the reader to be able to figure things out - which is my favorite type, I still thought this was a good story that kept me reading. I liked the back and forth between the new murder and the old trial, and how we learned a little at a time about what had happened before.

My one complaint was how there was spoilers to THREE Agatha Christie novels! I dislike spoilers in any case, but here it was so unnecessary, as saying "in one of her novels, the killer was xxx" would have expressed the same feelings, without ruining the ending for someone who hadn't read the books. Particularly when the speaker was a fan of the books in question, I wouldn't have wanted to mess things up for the person who I was talking to.

I agree with you about the spoilers, Tim. I thought it was so unnecessary. Anyone who had read the books would already know.

I know what you mean, Mary, I was a little concerned about finishing the book almost a week before this "meeting." At least I haven't started another mystery, that's when I get really confused.

The one that got me the worst was Curtain, as it was on my list to perhaps read along with April, since we both had copies.

And The Murder of Roger Ackroyd spoiler bugged me a LOT, since it, too, was one of my favorites just like Cal said, and a big part of it was due to the twist.

I told April we would have to wait until I forgot what this book said about Curtain for us to read it, haha.

I liked the back and forth movement, too, but I have to admit I got confused a few times. I felt bad that Bobby would always be guilty in everyone's eyes, and that he didn't get justice. But I was aware before the end of the book that this wasn't going to be a "happy ending," where justice was served.

Mary wrote: "I liked the back and forth movement, too, but I have to admit I got confused a few times."

I don't think you are the only one, I think the writer got confused, too. He had Jae as one of the first that Maya got to change their vote, but then later he said that Jae was the last holdout - before Rick - to change to "not guilty."

And I just realized, I had thought of Maya as being the title character, The Holdout, but I guess it could be Rick, too.

I was back and forth on Bobby's guilt - mostly thought he was innocent, but aware that the thought could be due to the perspective character believing it - but I was certain he was innocent once he was found dead and the locket was there.

Maybe in real life it would happen like that, but in a mystery book that's WAY too convenient, haha.

I think I remember that about Jae. I do remember that I had the feeling of something inconsistent in the writing.

Did you find any memorable quotes? I don't usually mark those, because I'm reading a physical book, not a KIndle edition.

Speaking of real life vs a mystery novel, I really liked how it kept talking about how in real life you didn't get all the answers, but in the end, we DID get all the answers!

Tim wrote: "I was back and forth on Bobby's guilt - mostly thought he was innocent, but aware that the thought could be due to the perspective character believing it - but I was certain he was innocent once he..."

Me, too. I've read a couple of books lately with an unreliable narrator, of course not obvious until the end of the book, so lately I read with a different perspective. Unless it's a cozy, of course. :D

Quotes - yeah, I have a few.

The first was an example of something I hadn't mentioned before, the humor.

"The good news, from Maya’s perspective, was that the prosecution had only one piece of solid physical evidence to use against Belen. The bad news was that the evidence was a head."

This one I liked because of how true it was, but was about an untruth:

"Being innocent often made it harder to construct a good defense. Innocent people always wanted to shout out what really happened from the rooftops—but sometimes the best defense, legally speaking, wasn’t the truth."

Another humor:

“In the future,” he said, “everyone will be charged with someone else’s murder for fifteen minutes.”

I marked this one (from one of the jury deliberation chapters) because I thought it was funny how she probably felt the opposite when it actually happened:

[speaking to Rick] “I sure hope,” Maya said, “that if somebody ever kills you, the forensics people standing over your bloody corpse remember to follow procedure.”

A couple of other things I marked not so much for the text, but my thoughts as I went along. When they read the preliminary votes and there were 11 guilty's and 1 not guilty, I marked it and put a note "Well there it is, 12 Angry Men". Then later, we had "Maya had thought she was Henry Fonda from 12 Angry Men."

Well it was nice chatting with you, Mary. Maybe someone else will come by later and add their thoughts, perhaps to say how witty and charming - and highly perceptive - they find my remarks!

Sorry, Tim, I got a phone call and left the discussion for a while.

I liked those quotes. And the one about innocent people is true when you see -- well, on TV anyway-- the people who say "I don't need a lawyer; I'm innocent."

Tim wrote: "Well it was nice chatting with you, Mary. Maybe someone else will come by later and add their thoughts, perhaps to say how witty and charming - and highly perceptive - they find my remarks!"

Always perceptive remarks, Tim. See you next time.

Mary wrote: "I liked those quotes. And the one about innocent people is true when you see -- well, on TV anyway-- the people who say "I don't need a lawyer; I'm innocent.""

Oh, yeah. Hopefully I'll never be put in such a position, but it would be hard to do what is the smart thing, and not talk without a lawyer present.