The House at Satan's Elbow
Ratings3
Average rating2.3
Pennington Barclay, master of Greengrove, is murderously attacked in his library by something that exits from a completely locked room. The entire household - including Pennington's beautiful young wife, and his nephew, who is the heir to Greengorove by virtue of a newly discovered will - is in an uproar. Estelle Barclay, Pennington's spinsterish and psychically inclined sister, insists the attack was the work of Greengrove's ghost.
Enter Dr. Gideon Fell.
Armed with his everlasting cigar and a wicked cane, this obstreperous extrovert succeeds in frightening everybody. For as horror piles on horror throughout the night, Gideon Fell evidences interest in one person only - the spirit of the long-departed Mr. Justice Wildfare.
But Fell was not up to any supernatural hijinks, as someone well knew... the one who was most frightened of all.
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Easily one of the worst Carr novels I've read. Characters speak as no human being speaks, as if their sole purpose is exposition. Carr's most annoying tricks (interruptions when a revelation is about to occur, characters keeping information secret for no reason) are on full display here, and by the time the “mystery” is revealed, it's hard to care any more. Stick with the early novels. They are at least fresh, both in ideas and delivery.
Последние мною прочитанные романы Джона Диксона Карра несколько меня разочаровывали, и этот - не исключение. Очень сумбурное повествование, много деталей, которые проносятся на фоне цветным клубком, не оставляя ни привкуса тайны, ни шарма обстановки. Да, я бы даже назвала этот роман скучным. Очень большое количество неоправданных персонажей, которые вроде как интригу создают, но оказывается, что нет. Несмотря на то, что убийцу я снова не угадала, я прямо-таки ждала, когда же все закончится. Bo-ring!
