No Less The Devil
Book
'We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.' It's been seventeen months since...
What the Cluck? It’s Murder
Book
A broody hen. A dead body. The ultimate test of a relationship. Pet psychic Frankie Chandler...
The Dead of Winter
Book
It was supposed to be an easy job. All Detective Constable Edward Reekie had to do was pick up a...
Dean (6925 KP) rated Vertigo (1958) in Movies
Apr 3, 2022
A former Detective is asked to spy on an old friends wife and keep track of her. Leading to obsession and a tragic event.
The first two thirds of the film are very slow and rather uneventful as James Stewart follows Madeleine wandering around town. Given an odd story by his friend to explain her behaviour, but he becomes more obsessed with her over time. The final third of the film was also a little slow getting to the reveal stage. At the time it would be a great twist but today you start to work out possible explanations quite early. The final scene also felt a bit over the top. Enjoyable to see a Hitchcock film but far from a classic for me.
The Lost Children (DCI Matilda Darke #9)
Book
Matilda Darke is back… APRIL 2020: LOCKDOWN With street crime at an all-time low, Matilda...
The Ruin
Book
Galway 1993: Young Garda Cormac Reilly is called to a scene he will never forget. Two silent,...
A Mirror Murder (Jan Christopher Mysteries #1)
Book
Eighteen-year-old library assistant Jan Christopher’s life is to change on a rainy Friday evening...
Cozy Mystery
A Scaly Tail of Murder
Book
A new fiancé, an old boyfriend, and a murder that will change everything. Frankie Chandler is...
David McK (3372 KP) rated The Valley of Fear in Books
Apr 13, 2024
The Hound of the Baskervilles (natch)
A Study in Scarlet
The Sign of Four
The Red-Headed League
The Final Problem
.. and a few others whose name I cannot currently recall.
None of them, however, were this one.
Like "The Hound...", this was a later-written story, but is also set before Holmes encounter with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. And like "A Study in Scarlet", it's also very much split into distinct sections: the first section in which Holmes and Watson are called to the English countryside to investigate a murder (or is it suicide?), and the a whole other section set in the United States of America filling in the backgrounds of the principal actor of the first section.
Being new to me, also, I have to say I did wonder - until the reveal! - just how this whole section (and the mention of the Pinkerton Detective Agency) fitted into the first part.
Perhaps because of its novelty (to me), I also fairly enjoyed this.
A Scape Goat for Murder
Book
A gourmand goat. A mysterious woman. A phone call that will change Frankie's life. Frankie...