Reviews

Green for Danger by Christianna Brand

veecaswell's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Medical content, Murder, and War

d_saff's review against another edition

4.0

Review posted here: https://55booksin52weeks.wordpress.com/2017/09/25/review-green-for-danger/

thebigq's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Delightful example of Golden Age mystery. Set during WWII and hospital, so lots of 1940s medicine described in fair amount of detail adding to the atmosphere. Definitely got gory.

Kept me guessing who the real murderer was even into the big reveal at the end! 

librarylilac's review against another edition

mysterious

3.5

sadiqua_fatima's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

joanneadams54's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jdelloso's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

sramac's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Racial slurs

anitarut's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

shanaqui's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Green for Danger is one of those classic crime novels that definitely doesn't feel cosy. That's not just because it's set during the Second World War -- writers were perfectly capable of writing normality-restoring, comforting crime fiction then; in fact, it was a great time for it. The war setting doesn't help, though, because the unease creeps around the story: consider the fact that all the doctors have morphine to take in case they should get buried alive during a bombing.

Mostly, though, it's the mystery itself that's unsettling. The potential culprits are all an inner circle, a limited group, and you watch their insecurities and their foibles playing out as you suspect each in turn. Could it be this one, or that one? Could it be because of a dark past, a horrible secret? Why is one's voice recognised by various patients? Was there something suspicious about that previous event? And there's the detective, putting pressure on them all to make them confess...

It all ends up being very uncomfortable, because it's a group of friends, and nobody wants to believe anyone else has done it. There's a web of jealousies and friendships between them that doesn't stop them wanting the best for each other -- but someone is a killer.

Brand's a good writer, but it isn't what I typically look for when I pick up a British Library Crime Classic.