Publication date: 1956
Summary: Ariadne Oliver asks Hercule Poirot to come to Nasse House, the home of Sir George Stubbs and his wife Hattie. She's been asked to create a story for a murder hunt contest at an upcoming fete and she feels something is amiss. Poirot arrives and senses the same thing. Their worries are justified when the murder hunt victim, Marlene Tucker, actually ends up dead - killed in the same manner as the character she was playing. This inviting premise should be followed by an intriguing mystery. Unfortunately, none of the characters has any particularly interesting qualities and the solution to the mystery is just okay.
Body count: Marlene Tucker, strangled to death, an old man found in the river, and maybe another body...
Detective/Sleuth: Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver
Rating: Two and a half hostel trespassers out of five.
Commentary:
Friday, February 26, 2010
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Haha!!! You're cute when you're frustrated!! I assume you listened to David Suchet reading the novel; that's the one I've got. His voice for Hattie - slow, high and languorous - sums up the whole feeling of this novel for me. It's like getting a pair of lamb chops that look delicious (the premise, which is cool) and then cutting into them to find nothing but gristle and fat.
ReplyDeleteI remember that I bought this book at the same time that I bought "Murder With Mirrors." They shared some superficial similarities in terms of setting and the types of characters: the odd assortment of family and friends, the connection to a group of troubled youths. In retrospect, Dead Man's Folly shows how relatively wonderful Murder with Mirrors is. Just one example (is this a spoiler which I see before me?): the whole delinquent thing in MWM is central to the murder plot - Lewis HAS to be the kind of "humanitarian" he is to cover the whole crime ring. But in DMF, the whole youth hostel strand sits there like a pimple on the face of the plot; it makes no sense for Hattie to behave the way she does.
Likewise, I think of the characters in MWM, and a whole bunch of clear images pop out: plain, sad, jealous Mildred, gorgeous Gina and her angry American husband Wally, strange, trusting Carrie Louise, etc. The only character who really stands out to me in DMF is Mrs. Folliat (is that her name?) and honestly I think that's because she's the only likable one in the bunch.
No, DMF belongs to Mrs. Oliver. She creates the only pleasures in the book, and those fade quickly as we get caught up in the dullness of the crime.
But you knew all that! :-)
At least you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of the next two books.
Iyi sanslar ve eglenin.
Brad
Thanks for the comments, Brad. You're absolutely right and I like the comparison you make between DMF and MWM. I have to say I did enjoy the bit where the poor police detective has to listen to Ariadne Oliver talk on and on about possible motives and murderers, but the rest of it is dullsville.
ReplyDeleteNice touch with the Turkish message at the end. :)
Iyi akşamlar!