gr222's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
verityw's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. They're a bit different from the normal run of who-dunnits because you always feel like Mrs Bradley wants to know who did it because she's interested - not because she has a burning sense of justice or the victim needing to be avenged. She's curious and detached, and if someone she likes does something - for noble reasons - she might not necessarily hand them over to the cops.
This is intriguing and well put together - and I didn't work out who it was really as it kept twisting away. Good train reading.
This is intriguing and well put together - and I didn't work out who it was really as it kept twisting away. Good train reading.
bibliotechied's review against another edition
2.0
#2 a book with an eccentric character
Death at the opera is a volume of Mitchell's 'Mrs Bradley Mysteries' later made into a tv series starring Diana Rigg. Mrs Bradley is an amateur detective with expertise in psychology and a flamboyant sense of dress. In this volume the death occurs of a seemingly inoffensive teacher during a school production of The Mikado and Mrs Bradley is called upon by the headmaster to investigate the death after an inquest comes to the conclusion that it was a suicide.
Motives for murder abound and Mrs Bradley eventually solves the case but this slight read is a little creaky and lacking plausibility.
Death at the opera is a volume of Mitchell's 'Mrs Bradley Mysteries' later made into a tv series starring Diana Rigg. Mrs Bradley is an amateur detective with expertise in psychology and a flamboyant sense of dress. In this volume the death occurs of a seemingly inoffensive teacher during a school production of The Mikado and Mrs Bradley is called upon by the headmaster to investigate the death after an inquest comes to the conclusion that it was a suicide.
Motives for murder abound and Mrs Bradley eventually solves the case but this slight read is a little creaky and lacking plausibility.
innerweststreetlibrarian's review
1.0
Oh dear. This is a bit of a mess. I really couldn't guess who was the culprit (which is usually a good thing with a mystery!), and kind of had the feeling the author just picked one at random so she could just stop writing (and therefore blamed it on someone with a totally ludicrous, unbelievable motive). Most of these vintage murder mysteries are a bit preposterous, and they all have a brilliant eccentric detective, but at least they mostly have something going for them so you can suspend disbelief for a while. I don't think this one really does. There's something morally wrong with the idea that you bring someone in to investigate a murder "just to see" if someone "bad" did it and should be punished, but if someone "not bad" did it, then sweep it under the carpet and pretend everything is ok. The stereotypes are laid on far too thick.
More...