Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What the Blind Man Saw,
By Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bats Fly at Dusk (Mass Market Paperback)
Bats Fly at Dusk
A blind street peddler visits the Cool & Lam detective agency. Rodney Kosling has money for an investigation. His hearing allows him to "see" the people passing by. An unknown young woman was hurt in an automobile accident last Friday, and hasn't returned to work by Tuesday. He wants to know why. A newspaper ad brings a key witness, but he asks for too much, and leaves. Later he returns with a name: Josephine Dell. She suffered a concussion, and wants compensation. Josephine Dell's employer has died. The $10,000 in his wallet disappeared, and Bertha Cool will try to find it by interviewing Harlow Milder's housekeeper. Due to complications, Bertha corresponds with Donald Lam for his advice. Donald points out differences in wording in the will; he also asks about the cause of Harlow Milder's death (Chapter 15). When Bertha goes to visit Rodney Kosling, she finds a dead body; its time for the police. Bertha finds out the likely cause of Harlow Milder's death - a poison (Chapter 19)! Donald telegrams that the original story of a car accident seems "impossible" (Chapter 20). Chapter 24 tells how Bertha Cool makes sure no one is following her, and how to hide a visit to a hotel. The information learned brings Bertha back to Kosling's home, where she discovers something, and is discovered in turn. Chapter 30 winds up this story with a deus ex machina ending that explains and solves the mystery. Its as if "A. A. Fair" wanted to quickly end this story without the usual dialogue. The details, like "parol evidence" point to the legal knowledge of the author. The background describes an America gone forever. People leave their doors not just unlocked but open! Where a dime is a great tip! Those were the days. It also has scenes where an automobile accident victim seems reluctant to sue (or was that just for humor?). This plot, where half the detective team is on the case and communicates by letters, echoes the scenes in A. Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles".
5.0 out of 5 stars
Donald Lam delivers,
This review is from: Bats Fly at Dusk (Mass Market Paperback)
In 'Bats fly at dusk' Donald Lam doesn't appear in the book except through telegrams offering his feedback on her questions regarding the case and leading Bertha to the solution. Then finally Bertha is informed (by their secretary Elsie Brand) that he did come by on a week-end to wrap up the case but neither Bertha nor the reader are present when Lam does this. We are only witness to a letter Lam wrote to Bertha outlining the final solution to the case. In this book, despite not featuring at all, Lam has an almost spiritual presence throughout the book by virtue of the telegram correspondence he has with Bertha. Details about how a blind man operates and earns a livelihood through begging are presented with amazing insight (i am convinced ESG must have personally spent time talking to at least one blind beggar for this book).
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
