A review by bookcraft
Before the Poison by Peter Robinson
5.0
I'm not at all sure how to describe this book. It's nothing like the murder mysteries I've been reading lately; the fact that the murder in question took place almost 60 years before the protagonist begins looking into it means that there isn't really a sense of urgency to his investigation, and that gives the whole narrative a freedom to be more of an immersive experience. The author takes advantage of that and does a beautiful job bringing the settings to life.
Usually, I'm very competitive about solving a mystery before the answer is revealed, but in this case — again, I suspect, because of the way it all unfolded like a beautiful origami flower unfolding — I was content to follow along and see where the protagonist's intuition took him. I couldn't help having my own ideas, of course, and they ended up being very much in line with the narrative, but I didn't feel like solving the puzzle was the entire point of the exercise, the way I often do with mystery novels. There was one well-done twist toward the end, though, that completely blindsided me.
Usually, I'm very competitive about solving a mystery before the answer is revealed, but in this case — again, I suspect, because of the way it all unfolded like a beautiful origami flower unfolding — I was content to follow along and see where the protagonist's intuition took him. I couldn't help having my own ideas, of course, and they ended up being very much in line with the narrative, but I didn't feel like solving the puzzle was the entire point of the exercise, the way I often do with mystery novels. There was one well-done twist toward the end, though, that completely blindsided me.