Julius Falconer

This was supposed to be a mystery in the style of Agatha Christie and other well-known mystery writers. Not! The author had my interest through the first chapter, then lost it in the next. Narrated by an arrogant ninny whose best friend is a poorly done imitation of a Jacque Clusseau type detective, it got on my nerves right away. They ran around Europe pursuing the flimsiest of "what-ifs" and meeting a slew of unlikeable characters and suspects before finally settling on the one I'd singled out ages ago. Add to that pages of mindless political soliloquy and apon finishing the book, I felt trmendous relief at having slogged through. I only finished it because I had promised to review it. I gave it one star for the eye-catching beginning, but it hardly deserves that.… (mehr)

I read this book with great enjoyment, but I should like principally to take issue with another reviewer, Auntie Catherine, who seems to me to have got the wrong end of the stick. Can she quote a single instance in which the narrator sneers, directly or indirectly, at gay people, poor people and religious people? I can find none. For a gay in the book to be a disreputable character says nothing about the author’s own view of homosexuality, does it? If a villain is dark-haired, that does not mean that the author has an antipathy to swarthy people, does it? Furthermore, the book is published by Pneuma Springs, and this is not a self-publishing firm that I know of. A small correction needed here, perhaps. Finally, I can't understand her reference to a 'parade of erudition': does she mean simply that the author can write decent English?… (mehr)

It's a long time since I've read a book with such an unpleasant authorial voice. The author addresses the reader directly and that wouldn't matter if only that voice was engaging, but it isn't and this reader at least was alienated by the tone which sneers, either directly or indirectly at gay people, poor people, and religious people frequently all on the same page. The parade of erudition got wearying very quickly too.
It also didn't really work as a detective story - A turns up on B's doorstep and is promptly regaled, at improbable length, with detailed conversations about things which are none of their business but which B is apparently panting to share with a complete stranger.
I feel rather guilty that I can't be more positive about a book I got for free. Unlike many self-published books, the proofing is excellent and I spotted no grammatical or spelling errors. Um... that's about it, I'm afraid.… (mehr)