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Bezig met laden... The Killing of Katie Steelstock (1980)door Michael Gilbert
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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. fairly certain I have read this - how to tell? not available MCL (Spoiler warning) Most of the way through, I really liked this book and found it compulsively readable, but I really hated the ending. Katie Steelstock, a local young woman who has become a success on British TV, is killed after leaving a local dance. Charlie Knott, a capable but ambitious Scotland Yard superintendent (bucking for Commander) is put in charge and accumulates evidence pointing to Katie's (supposed) ex-boyfriend, an erratic and immature young journalist. Despite a few loose ends, Knott persuades the prosecutors to bring charges against him. However, other evidence seems to point to an unpleasant newly rich local bigwig, and ere are also links to a highly skilled but morally dubious photographer who also ends up dead. A zealous young police sergeant pursues the case against the bigwig, but just as he seems to have secured the critical evidence against him (a typewriter --shades of Alger Hiss), there is a sudden sharp plot twist and the killer turns out to be --the zealous young police sergeant himself. {personally I am never a fan of abrupt last-minute plot twists, though at one time they were fashionable, and this one in particular seemed extremely arbitrary, and came close to violating the No Ackroyd rule -- that is, the villain should not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has shared. Strictly, the book is 3rd person so we are not given the sergeant's thoughts,. but portions of the investigation are basically seen for his point of view. Also, his initial plot effectively involved framing the young journalist, and yet he later goes to great lengths to clear him, which I find incredible. We are given a sort of explanation for this --he likes the journalist better than the bigwig --but if he didn't want the journalist involved, why involve him in the first place? In addition, in contrast to Black Seraphim, in which almost everyone comes out all right, in this case several other characters end up badly. In particular a young boy who is prepared to testify to a homosexual encounter that provides an alibi for the journallst commits suicide, and at the end the journalist, having escaped trial for this murder, shoots and badly wounds the sergeant, so at the end both face serious charges. Definitely not a happy ending. Nice, tight police procedural. Ending was a real surprise -- he had me right up to the end. Love Michael Gilbert! See my full review at: http://livritome.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/the-killing-of-katie-steelstock/ geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
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Written as a police procedural in the best traditions of the 'Golden Age' writers. Certainly one of Michael Gilberts finest in this particular sphere. A TV actress is murdered and it would seem that the alleged perpetrator has been framed. As the investigation progresses and evidence mounts the reader is not fooled into taking the wrong path and coming to an incorrect conclusion, but that is not to say the ending is perhaps one of the most ingenious and surprising to be found in this genre. Full of detail and strong rounded characters. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)823.914Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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