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Friday, August 11, 2017

Friday Forgotten (or Overlooked) Book (s): BLOOD AND JUDGMENT (1951) by Michael Gilbert and DEATH IN FIVE BOXES (1938) by Carter Dickson


Two books today. First a book in which I couldn't wait to see what happened next and second a book in which (sadly) I didn't care what happened next because I lost interest in who did what to whom.

BLOOD AND JUDGMENT by Michael Gilbert, a really terrific and - far as I'm concerned - criminally unheralded book. I've only recently become a fan of Gilbert, being a relative newcomer to his work. Somehow I'd never heard of him except vaguely as if his books existed somewhere 'out there' and were not relevant to what I wanted to read at the time. Silly me.

Once I read the classic, SMALLBONE DECEASED, I became a fan. I also blogged recently about THE EMPTY HOUSE, another Gilbert book which I enjoyed though it was completely different from SMALLBONE - a thriller and not a whodunit.

I haven't read many, but what I have read from this author has been pretty good. (Well except for one dud.) As with any prolific writer, not all of Gilbert's books are equally wonderful, some are more wonderful than others, but I'd say if you haven't read any, don't wait around. Begin with SMALLBONE (if you haven't already) and take if from there.

In BLOOD AND JUDGMENT, we meet one of Gilbert's series characters, Detective Sergeant Patrick Petrella of the London Police, a dogged intuitive policeman devoted to his work. There aren't that many Petrella books, but based on this one, I definitely want to read the rest.

Though the title is kind of blah, I liked the synopsis and the cover and I was quickly caught up in the developing whodunit. This is a police procedural (of which I am very fond) with the usual police minutiae of which I am also very fond but written in a way that you won't get bogged down if that has been your only objection to procedurals in the past. Gilbert's writing is so fluid that it's almost as if you're gliding through the tale as one unexpected turn after another shifts the plot from here to there and back again all without the kind of heavy lifting that plagues less talented writers.

The plot moves very swiftly and once you begin reading, BLOOD AND JUDGMENT will prove to be a prime example of that wonderful cliche: a book almost impossible to put down.

Detective Sergeant Petrella (he's half Spanish) happens to be the cop who is called to the scene when the decomposing body of a woman is discovered by two boys in a tangled wood near a reservoir. As the tale develops we learn who the woman was and little by little how she came to be the victim of murder in a sordid and ever widening case involving an escaped felon, a vicious London gang, a jewel robbery and a sinister shadow of a man capable of changing his identity at the drop of a hat.

Amid the mixed cacophony of bird calls and the occasional hissing swan, a dark unwelcoming mood lingers at the scene of the crime and in the damp and lonely caretaker's cottage. A mood that reaches out to envelope the rainy streets of London as the investigation, a bit short-handed, must adjust to a publicity seeking Scotland Yard man. "For the head of one of the London districts to call in a detective superintendent from the Central pool at Scotland Yard is quite rare enough to be remarkable, and remarked upon."

Not completely satisfied by the results of the investigation, Petrella continues to dig deeper defying the higher ups even when a suspect is arrested, tried and convicted. Though threatened with disciplinary action, Petrella pursues his own clandestine inquiries. I especially liked the atmospheric night scenes of underwater diving at the reservoir as Petrella and an experienced police diver break the rules in the name of justice.

Here's a tiny sample of the author's often vivid style which I found especially memorable;
"The successful working out of his hunch depended entirely on the co-operation of this fiery little man with the ginger-colored mustache adhering like a blob of bitter marmalade to his aggressive upper lip." I like that.

A well crafted, entertaining book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and recommend highly.


Now I remember why I stopped reading John Dickson Carr (Carter Dickson) ages ago. Although on the whole I'm a fan - I have recently written two blog posts on a couple of Carr books I liked very much upon re-reading, one I even loved - there comes a point in reading (or re-reading) Carr when your exhausted mind says, ' puh-leeze, take a break.'

Somewhere along the line the locked room or impossible crime nonsense just becomes tedious, (sacrilege to some, I know). But for goodness' sake, the constant rehashing of the crime scene and the ridiculous and detailed suspicions centering on EVERY person in the murder room, not to mention the recounting of the various and sundry ways to imaginatively poison a bunch of people without being seen, eventually made me sleepy.

 I know John over at PRETTY SINISTER BOOKS doesn't share my views on this particular book, so head on over there and read his much more appreciative review. Look, I didn't hate the book, I just stopped caring and - gasp - found myself skimming. And if I have to hear Henry Merrivale address another male character as 'son' one more time I will spit. A little bit of Merrivale goes a very long way especially if you make the mistake of reading a couple of the books too close together.

Here is the difference as defined by myself to myself: I like whodunits. John Dickson Carr wasn't really writing whodunits, he was writing complicated and often very eccentric puzzles. Yes, I've enjoyed a few so far, but I made the mistake of reading one right after another - you can't do that with John Dickson Carr aka Carter Dickson.

DEATH IN FIVE BOXES begins cunningly enough with a dead man found in a room full of poisoned people who all survive but the victim. The dead guy wasn't poisoned (at least I can't remember if he was or not), instead he was stabbed in the back with a sword blade from one of those tricky umbrellas. So why all the song and dance? Why were the others poisoned? Who poisoned them? And HOW?? What was the point of poisoning the group then turning around and stabbing one guy? Who knows? I still haven't quite come up with the raison d'etre.

At any rate, a doctor who works with the police is almost immediately on the scene (he's the nominal hero) as is the daughter of one of the poisoning victims (the love interest) who, handily enough, was waiting outside the building where the murder takes place AND of course, knows more than she's willing to tell. And that's another thing, the constant lies from everyone involved is SO wearisome after awhile. But maybe that's just me.

Where do the five boxes come in? Well, that's later, first there's the odd contents of the victims' pockets (i.e. four watches in one and the rusted parts of an alarm clock in another) and the speculation about what it all means while Merrivale comes on the scene and smugly deciphers everything almost at once, but won't say a thing. Or in moments when it looks as if he's going to say something, he is ALWAYS interrupted by a door opening or a person entering or a phone ringing or God knows what. Not to mention that the same exact thing happens when one of the suspects exclaims, I KNOW WHO DID IT!  Frustrating? Yeah, I'd say so, and underhanded.

I got tired of this very early, that's why I say, I should probably postpone reading more Carr for a while. I recently ordered another of his titles which I will probably just put at the bottom of my unread pile.

Two Carr books I definitely do recommend: THE EMPEROR'S SNUFF BOX and SHE DIED A LADY. 

And since it's Friday once again, don't forget to check in at author Patricia Abbott's blog, Pattinase, to see what other forgotten or overlooked books other bloggers are talking about today.

19 comments:

  1. Not read that Gilbert but I love his stuff, so thanks Yvette. Now, Carr / Dickson is my absolute favourite of course so I may take a bit of umbrage here :) Mind you, I really don't know what you mean when you say he didn't write 'whodunits' - I think he is one of the absolute masters at concealing his villains. And one of the things I like is that, on top of this, you also often get a puzzle about an impossible crime, so a 'howdunit' on top of the 'whodunit' which is double the fun as you get both! I'm guessing you just aren't as keen on his characters, which I think is fair, especially as his brand of humour is not for everyone. It's a different approach to say Marsh, whose work I usually find incredibly dull because the crimes are easy to solve and all the fun seems to evaporate with the murder before descending into half a book of police interviews. Having said that, I have not read this one in ages.

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    1. Oh good, now you have a really good Gilbert to look forward to, Sergio. As for Carr, well, as much as I like(d) some of his books, I realize that I never really went back and re-read them over and over like I do with Agatha Christie or Josephine Tey or even Philip MacDonald or some of the other Golden Agers - the reason why is, I think, because I find his 'tics' annoying in abundance if you know what I mean. I love humor in mysteries, but Carr's humor often seems forced to me and I have rarely if ever laughed out loud while reading any Carr book (maybe I wasn't meant to). Okay why do I say he maybe wasn't writing 'whodunits' is because I associate the word with a quieter sort of book. And yes, I was generalizing, of course he wrote whodunits of that sort, i.e. THE EMPEROR'S SNUFF BOX, but his main thing was IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLES and HOWDUNITS - two things which don't interest me as much as they do other readers. Having said that, I do love the two Bencolin books I've read and I loved SHE DIED A LADY and several others so I'm not a total philistine. :) P.S. I'm not giving up on Carr, I'm just going to slow down a bit.

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    2. Does that make any sense at all??

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    3. Obviously I wish you liked his approach more, just because I find the impossible crime aspect a wonderful adjunct to the whodunit element. If you have not read them yet, I would really recommend HE WHO WHISPERS and TILL DEATH US DO PART as being especially good. I would love to know what you make of THE BURNING COURT - that one you either love or hate (guess which side I'm on :) )

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    4. I'll add these titles to my list (I'd already added THE BURNING COURT based on, I think, your review) - I'm just saying I won't read Carr back to back is all. :)

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  2. I really love Gilbert's Calder and Behrens series of books of short stories. It seems to me he also had a book of short stories about a lawyer that I enjoyed as well, but can't remember the title.

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    1. I'm just learning about Gilbert, book by book as I happen upon them, Gram. So far, so good. It's amazing to me that it's taken me this long to 'discover' him. I haven't read any of the short stories, but I plan to.

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  3. I'm new to Gilbert, but Blood & Judgment sounds like my kind of book. Based, I think, on Sergio's review of The Burning Court, I bought a used copy of three Carr novels, including Burning Court, but I've become so conditioned to reading on my Kindle app that I haven't been able to get into it (print's awfully small, too)

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    1. Sad to say that the Kindle gives me a headache if I stay too long on it, but since some books aren't available anywhere else for any reasonable amount of cash - I stick with it. However, I do prefer the actual book when possible. I think you'd like BLOOD AND JUDGMENT, Mathew. I got a copy from Abe Books for about 3.50 and free delivery. Can't beat that.

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  4. i totally agree re MG's "fluid style"... i don't think i've ever read one of his i didn't like... about Carr: i just finished "Night at the Mocking Widow" which was classic Merriville, slapstick comedy and obscure and sneaky villains... i have to say i like these; i find them intriguing and puzzling and they hold my interest...

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    1. Another Michel Gilbert fan - hooray! As for Carr, I like some but not all. So I am not totally a philistine. :)

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  5. I haven't read either of these writers' books, but my father and uncle liked Carr's books, largely for the locked-room puzzles.

    But I do love humor, but usually read contemporary books. Just read a hilarious "reluctant" lawyer's dilemmas in "Collared," by David Rosenfelt. A dog lover and rescuer is the author and so is Andy Carpenter, the defense attorney in question. I laughed out loud many times.

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    1. I've heard of David Rosenfelt's books, Kathy. I've always meant to read them - thanks for the reminder.

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  6. I don't think I'd heard of Michael Gilbert until you posted about him. I found one of his, The Empty House, at The Book Trader. I started it yesterday and can't put it down! Even though I haven't finished it yet (today, I hope), I'll be looking for more of his.

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    1. I loved THE EMPTY HOUSE, Joan. I blogged about it (see link above) - don't forget to read SMALLBONE DECEASED by Gilbert - that was my first. :) I'm going through the Gilbert list at Goodreads to see what I'll want to read next of his. What a find. :)

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    2. It's funny how much cover art affects my desire to read or not read a book. The cover of my paperback shows a car flying through the air. I thought the book might be a science fictionish mystery and wasn't keen to read it. But, based on your reviews, I started it and I finished it yesterday. I'm glad I read it, despite the flying car on the cover, which I understood after I read the first few pages.

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    3. You might say the book starts off with a bang. I think I have the same cover art on my copy. :) Over the years I've has a couple of paperbacks with such bad covers that I actually ripped them off. But not many. :)

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  7. Sorry I am so late to comment. I saw this earlier but did not have time to read both reviews then.

    I will start with Carr. I have not read anything by Carr recently (and maybe not ever) but I do have THE EMPEROR'S SNUFF BOX to read soon. Then I will be trying some others by that author.

    I am relatively new to Gilbert, but I am planning to read more of his books, so I was glad to see this post about BLOOD AND JUDGMENT. I did not realize it was a Petrella book so I will look for it soon.

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    1. No pressure to comment, Tracy. Don't worry about it. But I must say you've made a very good choice in THE EMPEROR'S SNUFF BOX, I really enjoyed that one. And don't forget SHE DIED A LADY by Carter Dickson, Carr's alter ego.

      I loved BLOOD AND JUDGMENT, also don't forget SMALLBONE DECEASED if you haven't read that already.

      Always a pleasure to hear from you, at any time.

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