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Bezig met laden... The Bellingham Bloodbathdoor Gregory Harris
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. A Royal Guardsman and his wife have been killed and a prize dog has been kidnapped. Both cases for Colin Pendragon and his trusty sidekick Ethan Pruitt in Victorian London. I could give more detail but I don't think there's much point as this is one of those books that I felt was a real chore getting to the end of. The plot is actually quite good but the writing is poor and the use of a quite modern idiom in a Victorian setting just jars. The homosexual subplot is used to awkwardly make a point and the female characters are caracatures. As a piece of homosexual Sherlock Holmes fan fiction this probably has a place but I'm glad a got a review copy as I wouldn't waste my money. The murder of a captain in Her Majesty’s Guard has prompted Major Hampstead to enlist the services of Colin Pendragon and his assistant/companion Ethan Pruitt. Colin, in answer to the Major’s request to pacify the press while the Guard deals with their own, vows to solve the murder of Capt. Bellingham and his wife Gwendolyn in three days. If he fails, he will read the prepared statement. Of course Colin has no intention of failing or being puppeted by the Major. This was my first and last adventure with Colin and Ethan. My expectations for THE BELLINGHAM BLOODBATH and this series were high, much too high as it turns out. I didn’t like the characters at all. Colin has no finesse. He’s not brilliant, subtle, or impressive. His quirks, the dumbbells and push ups, came across as affections. The coin manipulation and name mispronunciations were the exceptions. They were believable. There was nothing to distinguish his investigative or questioning techniques, no intuitive leaps. With no evidence presented to justify Colin’s reputation and renown, as a reader I was unable to believe in his “abilities”. As for Colin’s assistant/companion/partner Ethan, his petty jealousies and insecurities were irritating at best. His childish fit of pique leading to his stay at the Devonshire was ridiculous. The only characters even remotely appealing to me were Lady Dahlia Stuart and Lady Priscilla. The mysteries were unable to overcome my dislike of the characters. My overall impression was childish pettiness with an occasional swipe of spite. If not obligated to read THE BELLINGHAM BLOODBATH it would have been a D(id) N(ot) F(inish) for me. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Onderdeel van de reeks(en)
Colin Pendragon's reputation as a brilliant detective is undisputed in Victorian London. But when murder strikes inside the closed ranks of Her Majesty's Guard, he must penetrate a wall of silence and secrecy to discover the dark truth. . . After a captain in Her Majesty's Guard and his young wife are brutally murdered in their flat, master sleuth Colin Pendragon and his partner Ethan Pruitt are summoned to Buckingham Palace. Major Hampstead demands discretion at all costs to preserve the reputation of the Guard and insists Pendragon participate in a cover-up by misleading the press. In response, Pendragon makes the bold claim that he will solve the case in no more than three days' time or he will oblige the major and compromise himself. Racing against the clock--and thwarted at every turn by their Scotland Yard nemesis, Inspector Varcoe--Pendragon and Pruitt begin to assemble the clues around the grisly homicide, probing into private lives and uncovering closely guarded secrets. As the minutes tick away, the pressure--and the danger--mounts as Pendragon's integrity is on the line and a cold-blooded killer remains on the streets. . . "Colin has Holmes' arrogance but is dimpled and charming, while Ethan is a darker Watson. . .the relationship between the leads is discreetly intriguing." --Kirkus Reviews Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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This is light reading despite the gory murder, although at the end of the story, there is some serious ruminating about being gay in Victorian England. The storytelling is excellent, with plot being the driver.
The characterization is a bit thin but the slightly saucy narration overcomes any weakness with character development. The coroner Denton Ross, who seems to have the hots for Ethan, is a standout for me. The pompous Scotland Yard detective Emmett Varcoe is there for Colin to annoy and put in his place. I expect these two will re-appear in subsequent novels in this series and it will be interesting to see what their roles will be.
This is the second of a series and can be read as a standalone without difficulty.
A good fun read. ( )