tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post212451756424374349..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: FFB: The Party at No. 5 - Shelley SmithJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-11592615416049120632016-09-25T12:25:55.671-05:002016-09-25T12:25:55.671-05:00That's good to know, Pulp Fiction Reader. Do y...That's good to know, Pulp Fiction Reader. Do you have any more details?Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-61819692408503698272016-07-28T22:27:13.148-05:002016-07-28T22:27:13.148-05:00All of her books will be coming back into print sh...All of her books will be coming back into print shortly. Her estate is currently being represented by a qualified agency and will be marketed shortly worldwide again.Morgan Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10485238829303662130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-54408266849447777282012-03-18T08:22:38.515-05:002012-03-18T08:22:38.515-05:00Shelley Smith deserves to be better known, and it ...Shelley Smith deserves to be better known, and it would also be interesting to know more about her. An Afternoon to Kill is my own favourite.Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-930017658634000242012-03-17T07:49:07.063-05:002012-03-17T07:49:07.063-05:00Steve -
This one is not a detective novel at all....Steve -<br /><br />This one is not a detective novel at all. It's crime and suspense. There is death, but it's not the premeditated puzzling murder of a detective novel. The novel in the end has a kind of ironic "Twilight Zone" ending. Rod Serling always enjoyed punishing his characters for their hubris. So too does Smith in this book. In that regard it could be classified as a noir: the innocent suffer and the guilty are punished. What this book lacks in bloody violence it more than makes up for in sadistic cruelty.<br /><br />BTW- I dislike those word verifications , too. Usually I have to do three of them before I get it right. Didn't like not being warned of the change. Typical of Blogger.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-89219725991584042132012-03-16T16:31:16.111-05:002012-03-16T16:31:16.111-05:00By the way, proving that I'm not a robot makes...By the way, proving that I'm not a robot makes leaving a comment not nearly as much fun as it used to be. I can't read those things!Steve Lewishttp://www.mysteryfile.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-42821128068697787352012-03-16T16:28:33.405-05:002012-03-16T16:28:33.405-05:00"Her work is an excellent example of the kind..."Her work is an excellent example of the kind of crime novel that I have become fascinated with in the last ten years or so. I find the subtleties and ambiguities of human behavior more intriguing than the cerebral puzzles of the detective novel."<br /><br />The best of both worlds is when you find that rare specimen, the detective novel that not only has clues but characterization, too. <br /><br />With little emphasis on physical clues, this doesn't seem as though it fits that particular bill, but you make it sound awfully interesting!Steve Lewishttp://www.mysteryfile.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-2769851164025278442012-03-15T16:56:33.317-05:002012-03-15T16:56:33.317-05:00Hmm, maybe I should clarify that by the two fascin...Hmm, maybe I should clarify that by the two fascinatingly repellent ladies I meant Mrs. Roach and Mrs. Rampage, not Ms. Smith and Ms. Rendell! ;)The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-78294041305219594202012-03-15T15:59:27.961-05:002012-03-15T15:59:27.961-05:00Terrific John - I have always been a bit sorry tha...Terrific John - I have always been a bit sorry that her books seem quite hard to come by - I manage to get hold of a reprint of 'An Afternoon to Kill' and really liked it a lot. As always, your reviews are incredibly tantalising - all that rare and forbidden fruit!<br /><br />SergioSergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-74890353163387252592012-03-15T02:42:54.974-05:002012-03-15T02:42:54.974-05:00Great review and a great book, easily up to the le...Great review and a great book, easily up to the level of the best Rendell, which is saying something. The two ladies are fascinating in such a repellent way!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.com