My third British Library Crime Classic, Christianna Brand's Tour de Force, is a birthday present containing more clues than you can shake a stick at. It's a combination of great fun, almost too gruesome in some respects, and then there are the clues and the superiority of a British detective. Even one not from Scotalanda Yarrda.
Originally published in 1955, it has dated in some respects, while in others it's surprisingly forward. The gay character, for instance. I can't remember ever having anyone quite so outwardly 'out there' in a vintage novel. At first I was concerned that any crime writer would start with the bold premise that if the British detective isn't able to solve the murder first, then the natives in this holiday paradise which the victim and the suspects have chosen to holiday in, will make a hash of it.
Well, actually, the small dukedom of San Juan el Pirata, between Italy and Spain, is absolutely horrendously primitive in its ability, no, willingness, to solve a crime fairly. So yes, Inspector Cockrill had better be swift about it.
On the other hand, San Juan is a romantic place, so I can understand why this group of British tourists have chosen it. But when one of them is murdered, and the others are suspects, they all wish they could be out of there in no time. Except they can't.
The local 'police' have got their teeth into them, and must have a scapegoat.
But I would say that even if you note all the clues, there are so many twists and turns that it's virtually impossible to keep up. I sort of sensed what must have been behind what happened, but you still don't necessarily 'get it.'
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