Ha, I should have read this one before House of Brass, since this is the novel in which our Inspector meets his Jessie. I don't think or suppose I'm spoiling things too much though through inadvertently revealing that they do indeed get married. I like this one a whole big bunch better. This isn't a clever whodunnit, but a more human crime story. It's a lot about emotion - wanting love, feeling inadequate, desperation, hate, guilt. The most interesting part isn't the crime, but Jessie's and Queen's budding relationship. It's a bit to it's lack that the crime, a terrible murder of a tiny baby, gets nudged aside, but it's never really forgotten so I'm not too upset.
I'm still interested by how different in tone it is to those Ellery-themed novels. Those are so clever and whimsical, whereas this is more say, The Bridges of Madison County. I can't think of a film to compare the former with right now, it might come to me. Forgive the halting analogy for now.
The only Queen left now is a collection of short stories. I'll be back.
No comments:
Post a Comment