shellystilger's review against another edition
3.0
I mostly listen to this series because Ralph Cosham narrates, and he’s a favorite. The book is fine, but I always get the feeling that Simon Brett would write a conversation between characters and put his work down for a while. When he picked it back up, he couldn’t remember what the characters already covered, so when the same characters had another dialogue he felt he needed to reiterate the main points. So much repetition.
judyward's review against another edition
2.0
The Hopwicke Country House Hotelm owned by former model Suzy Longthorne, becomes the scene of two mysterious deaths. Were they accidents, suicides, or murder. I found that I didn't care.
bookcraft's review against another edition
3.0
There are some (intentional) loose ends, and the villain goes unpunished, which is not what I'm personally looking for in a cozy mystery.
verityw's review against another edition
4.0
Another glimpse into Jude’s past as she helps out a friend from her modelling era who is now running a country house hotel. But when a body is found in a hotel room, Jude discover the friend would rather let it be written up as a suicide and brush it under the carpet. But of course Jude and Carole won’t let that happen…
anana11's review against another edition
3.0
I like this series as a light, mostly interesting audiobook (not too gripping, or I won't pay attention to my driving!).
The best thing about this book is though it's written by a man, the female protagonists are very well drawn. Jude and Carole are very believable women.
Strengths: Characters, portrayal of average English folk with some realism. Even friends don't get along all the time. Not every little personal reaction is made tidy and acceptable in the end, but all the factual details were accounted for.
Weaknesses: Pacing can be uneven. Rationalizations for murder and method of murder was a bit stretched. Not all the villains get their comeuppance (true, more realistic, but this one was on the cynical side).
The best thing about this book is though it's written by a man, the female protagonists are very well drawn. Jude and Carole are very believable women.
Strengths: Characters, portrayal of average English folk with some realism. Even friends don't get along all the time. Not every little personal reaction is made tidy and acceptable in the end, but all the factual details were accounted for.
Weaknesses: Pacing can be uneven. Rationalizations for murder and method of murder was a bit stretched. Not all the villains get their comeuppance (true, more realistic, but this one was on the cynical side).
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
Brett, Simon. The Hanging in the Hotel. Featherstone No. 5. Pan, 2004.
Simon Brett has the knack of writing Cosy mysteries with a noir edge. The Hanging in the Hotel is so noir that until I looked at the publication date, I could have sworn it was a commentary on Trumpian culture. Jude and Carol, his two middle-aged amateur sleuths, solve mysteries, it seems, just to give their lives some meaning. This time they investigate an apparent suicide in a local posh but declining hotel. In the process, we get to know the whole business world of this beach community, and let’s just say, none of them have much of a moral compass. Imagine Jessica Fletcher as a depressive and Cabot Cove as an English town with a particularly venal Rotary Club in charge.
Simon Brett has the knack of writing Cosy mysteries with a noir edge. The Hanging in the Hotel is so noir that until I looked at the publication date, I could have sworn it was a commentary on Trumpian culture. Jude and Carol, his two middle-aged amateur sleuths, solve mysteries, it seems, just to give their lives some meaning. This time they investigate an apparent suicide in a local posh but declining hotel. In the process, we get to know the whole business world of this beach community, and let’s just say, none of them have much of a moral compass. Imagine Jessica Fletcher as a depressive and Cabot Cove as an English town with a particularly venal Rotary Club in charge.
lirelyn's review against another edition
The first I've read in this series. A nice cozy mystery; I enjoyed reading it all the way through. The real virtue in this book is the characters. I found myself more interested in the relationships between the characters, affected by the murder and its aftermath, than in the actual mystery. The solution to the mystery would have been dissatisfying, if I'd cared more about it, but by that point what I was focussed on was the way each character was dealing with the ugly truths being unearthed, so the actual identity of the murderer came as almost an afterthought. I finished the book about two days ago, and I had to actually stop and think who the murderer was; but the two central characters have returned to my mind repeatedly in that time.
On this single reading of a single book, then, I'd compare Simon Brett to Ngaio Marsh. The murder is there more as a vehicle for human drama than as an intellectual puzzle. Marsh's writing is far superior, but Brett's is perfectly readable, and he has fun with social idiocies. I'll pick up this series again when I'm looking for some vacation reading, and after I've finished all the Boris Akunin books.
On this single reading of a single book, then, I'd compare Simon Brett to Ngaio Marsh. The murder is there more as a vehicle for human drama than as an intellectual puzzle. Marsh's writing is far superior, but Brett's is perfectly readable, and he has fun with social idiocies. I'll pick up this series again when I'm looking for some vacation reading, and after I've finished all the Boris Akunin books.
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