the Man Who Wasn't There

Lingvo: English

Eldonita je 14-a de decembro 2021 de Agora Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-913099-58-9

(1 recenzo)

The Man Who Wasn’t There is the first of the recently discovered Henrietta Hamilton mysteries to be published and is part of the Sally and Johnny Heldar mystery series.

People who get mixed up in murder cases must expect to be bothered.

And so it is for amateur sleuths Sally and Johnny Heldar late one evening. It seems cousin Tim has found himself in a bit of a pickle: his fiancée, Prue, has reneged on their engagement after becoming a suspect in the murder of her unlikeable employer.

Desperate to clear her name and win her back, Tim pleads with the Heldars to help clear Prue’s name. But Sally and Johnny find themselves perplexed by the Willow Walk murder. Filled with blackmail and plagiarism, wartime treachery and lying witnesses, the crime-solving duo have their work cut out for them.

But will they be able to clear Prue’s name… or is …

The Man Who Wasn’t There is the first of the recently discovered Henrietta Hamilton mysteries to be published and is part of the Sally and Johnny Heldar mystery series.

People who get mixed up in murder cases must expect to be bothered.

And so it is for amateur sleuths Sally and Johnny Heldar late one evening. It seems cousin Tim has found himself in a bit of a pickle: his fiancée, Prue, has reneged on their engagement after becoming a suspect in the murder of her unlikeable employer.

Desperate to clear her name and win her back, Tim pleads with the Heldars to help clear Prue’s name. But Sally and Johnny find themselves perplexed by the Willow Walk murder. Filled with blackmail and plagiarism, wartime treachery and lying witnesses, the crime-solving duo have their work cut out for them.

But will they be able to clear Prue’s name… or is she more wrapped up in the case than Tim realised?

1 eldono

Stephanie Jane recenzis the Man Who Wasn't There de Henrietta Hamilton

A book of its time

3 steloj

The Man Who Wasn't There by Henrietta Hamilton is a newly discovered and previously unpublished Sally and Johnny Heldar mystery believed written in 1956, but not available for crime fiction fans until now. Having enjoyed Hamilton's first novel in the Sally and Johnny Heldar series, I was keen to give this one a try too. Unfortunately the story is primarily told through a series of interviews so I didn't feel that any of the characters had the opportunities to particularly well define themselves. The book felt a bit flat on that account, however I did enjoy the intricacies of Johnny's investigation into the case. Sally is too sidelined by domestic duties to take much part. I was pleasantly surprised by Hamilton's ultimate revelation, having completely failed to draw the correct conclusion myself.

Hamilton does follow Christie's example of hinging her plot on A Foreigner which was especially curious here as …

The Man Who Wasn't There by Henrietta Hamilton is a newly discovered and previously unpublished Sally and Johnny Heldar mystery believed written in 1956, but not available for crime fiction fans until now. Having enjoyed Hamilton's first novel in the Sally and Johnny Heldar series, I was keen to give this one a try too. Unfortunately the story is primarily told through a series of interviews so I didn't feel that any of the characters had the opportunities to particularly well define themselves. The book felt a bit flat on that account, however I did enjoy the intricacies of Johnny's investigation into the case. Sally is too sidelined by domestic duties to take much part. I was pleasantly surprised by Hamilton's ultimate revelation, having completely failed to draw the correct conclusion myself.

Hamilton does follow Christie's example of hinging her plot on A Foreigner which was especially curious here as half the characters seemed to be French, yet only one of them gained the Foreigner moniker - and the only person to speak with a phonetically written accent was the suitably common charlady. The Man Who Wasn't There is certainly a book of its time, but none the less engaging for that and I look forward to reading more of this series as Agora publish them for us.