❤ The household which would become Judy's temporary home consists of old Mrs. Former - a half-dead elderly woman who's fond of her equally old dog: Mr. Roger; her daughter Rose - a sweet, naive woman; Clara Roal - an intelligent widow and Mrs. Former's niece who manages the household with strict economizing. Last but not least is the boy - Clara's son Desmond - a queer child upon whom Clara's existence is centered.
❤ Judy sees clearly that Mrs. Former and Rose are afraid of Clara. She herself are instantly attached to them both, but she stands out against Clara, who dislikes her, especially after she learned about Judy's former work as hospital nurse. One day Mr. Jones, the dog, was found dead. Clara has been despising him, she thought it's a waste to feed a dog, that the food should be given to her child instead. In fact, that's her view of her economizing - Desmond should receive all the best, and the adults should make sacrifices for the sake of the child.
❤ Mr. Jones's death occurred right after he's stolen meat from the larder. And this incident raised Nick's first suspicions towards Clara. Things get worse with Mrs. Former's sudden death of, apparently, heart problem. The question raised whether it's natural death, or is it murder? If it's murder, what's the motive?
❤ This story is an inverted mystery. The readers - as well as our main characters - know without doubt whodunnit, but the motive and method remain a mystery, or at least, a doubt. Is it worth reading, then? Of course! If you are a hardcore fan of proper Golden Age mystery, though, you might be disappointed. But on the whole, this was a good entertaining read. There's the eerie Gothic atmosphere of it, fast-paced psychological thriller, a spark or romance to spice up the story, and loveable characters on the whole. My favorite is Judy Rest. She's a plucky young woman with determination, but also kindhearted towards the weaker. I love how she determined to stay in the house, despite of the looming danger, for the sake of poor Mrs. Former and Miss Rose. A strong headed but soft hearted heroine makes a perfect story!
Rating: 4,5 / 5
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Wow, another Dean Street Press, I'm impressed! I don't fancy this one because of the dog, but it does sound really interesting and quite unlike all her others, surely (as SS and Noel Streatfeild)!
ReplyDeleteI heard so (that it's unlike her other novels), and am now excited to read those others!
DeleteI read this one last month and really enjoyed it too. I like the fact that it wasn't purely a crime story, there were a lot of other things going on too - the war, rationing, a bit of romance - so it was different.
ReplyDeleteThat's make this book interesting, right? It's not pure crime story, also not a pure romance, and not pure war story. It's a little of everything, and definitely highly entertaining.
DeleteThis does sound quite interesting. I don't think I'd mind the inverted murder plot, and it sounds like a good story. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI don't mind inverted murder stories either, as long as it's still delightful to read.
DeleteThe fact that the dog dies would make it a hard one for me to read; the characters do sound interesting though as does the gothic touch.
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