tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post7049898366710099085..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: The Reek of Red Herrings - Catriona McPhersonJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-62241434897013275942017-05-03T02:02:50.340-05:002017-05-03T02:02:50.340-05:00This sounds really good - thanks John. And at leas...This sounds really good - thanks John. And at least I reckon even I should be able to track this one down!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-52945958254151055922017-04-30T11:06:25.431-05:002017-04-30T11:06:25.431-05:00I don't mind verbose at all, John. In fact, if...I don't mind verbose at all, John. In fact, if well done and interesting, I prefer it to the more brief sentencing of 'modern' detective writing. But then, in truth, this IS modern detective writing, since it is being done today. Right? So, I'll take a chance, and get a couple of her books and see what's what. Thanks for the recommend. I would RARELY try a contemporary cozy because most of them are just awkward, lackluster and completely lacking in charm. HOWEVER, having said that, I'm currently reading a contemporary 'cozy' by Julia Buckley and enjoying it very much so far. Stay tuned. I'm also, thanks to Neer, reading an Ethel Lina White book which so far I'm finding intriguing if slightly bewildering and even bizarre.<br />Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-74862795386083570442017-04-23T16:48:00.738-05:002017-04-23T16:48:00.738-05:00I love these books, especially the banter between ...I love these books, especially the banter between Dandy and Alec. I also like that I know most of the settings. I'm astonished that some people have complained that her writing is verbose, they obviously haven't tried Sir Walter Scott!Katrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138715309807238198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-80557860095986310712017-04-22T14:53:23.932-05:002017-04-22T14:53:23.932-05:00I am wary of picking up a contemporary author beca...I am wary of picking up a contemporary author because eventually their books fall flat for me but you make this one sound interesting, John. I'll check for her books in the libraries I frequent. neerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986509319841061021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-47331142972410326262017-04-22T08:30:29.584-05:002017-04-22T08:30:29.584-05:00I had been suspicious of this series for years and...I had been suspicious of this series for years and avoided them. The protagonist's name and the cartoonish book covers signaled to me exactly what you wrote above. So glad these books surprised me by not being like all those other "cozy" mysteries I intensely dislike. <br /><br />I like that the books stick to the era. I also have a problem with the contemporary mindset that pops up in most historical fiction. In the McPherson book I'm reading now, A BOTHERSOME NUMBER OF CORPSES, there is a lot of xenophobia and bigotry exhibited towards the Italian fish and chips seller Giuseppe Aldo. The headmistress is so anti Italian she gives his daughter an Anglicized name ("Much more suitable.") and most of the students don't know her real first name. Perfect touch. J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-6902788780835060542017-04-22T05:04:26.451-05:002017-04-22T05:04:26.451-05:00So glad you enjoyed this, and now can go on to rea...So glad you enjoyed this, and now can go on to read others. I love her books. When I first saw the 1st Dandy book I was very suspicious - it looked so much like a certain kind of bistorical cozy, with a brave sleuth, a comic maid, cheery smiling servants. But it's so different. As well as all the positive attributes you mention (and I agree with you completely) I love it that she does NOT give her characters modern-day attitudes to make them more likeable. So few authors of historicals can resist the temptation: all those sleuths who are feminist, pro-gay, feminist, and very understanding about mental health issues. Pure fantasyland. But, eg, in one of her books McPherson has Dandy being very cutting about WW1 deserters. I can remember my shock on reading that - no other modern author that I can think of would ever make a heroine say that... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-6465367787194757992017-04-21T16:10:19.393-05:002017-04-21T16:10:19.393-05:00The only criticisms I see in online reviews are he...The only criticisms I see in online reviews are her about her "verbose" writing style. While this may be true to a certain extent, I tend to think people who rail about that kind of prose are just lazy readers who can't handle rich and dense writing. Too bad she's not for you. I'm not so keen on her replication of a 1920s run-on sentence style in the Dandy Gilver books. Sometimes entire paragraphs are one sentence which I have a big problem with even with writers who actually wrote in the 1920s. Somehow I manage not to let it irritate me by ignoring her love of the semi-colon and breaking up the run-ons into separate sentences. In effect, editing her books in my head as I read them.<br /><br />I think her plots are very well done, truly enviable work. She writes detective fantasy novels rife with absurd characters and preposterous circumstances that I find entertaining and beguiling. For imaginative plotting alone I'd rate this one and THE CHILD GARDEN 9 out of 10. I think they are that well done despite her minor stylistic faults and punctuation eccentricities.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-2724519392059173822017-04-21T15:36:41.325-05:002017-04-21T15:36:41.325-05:00Sorry, but as much as I wanted to like this, I onl...Sorry, but as much as I wanted to like this, I only made it about 40 pages in. I also tried her QUIET NEIGHBORS and got further, but not to the finish. This author isn't for me, I guess.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-12093364886312404792017-04-21T12:24:36.764-05:002017-04-21T12:24:36.764-05:00A pleasure to know someone still knows how to do i...A pleasure to know someone still knows how to do it. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com