Customer Reviews

Deal with the Devil and Other (Five Star First Edition Mystery)

5 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
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As a lover of short-story mystery fiction, I had high hopes for this book. And indeed the 7 Delilah West and Emma Hartley stories--which comprise over 2/3 of the book--are slightly above average. Unfortunately, 6 of the remaining 7 stories are almost unreadable (the exception is "An insignificant crime," but--at just three pages--it barely counts).

The biggest disappointment, however, was O'Callaghan's inability to cast men in anything other than a negative light. Halfway through the book, I suspected that she was the female equivalent of a misogynist; and by the end of the book, I was convinced of it. There is literally no story in this volume that does not paint the man as a villain, and the woman as a victim. Even if the woman is a murderess, somehow men are worse. While in the real world this is sometimes true, the sheer repetition of this formula eventually overwhelmed the good points of O'Callaghan's stories.

I returned this book--just as I return any book that unremittingly portrays a specific group as evil--and will certainly buy nothing else from such a one-dimensional author.

It's a treat to have many of Ms. O'Callaghan's stories together in one
volume. This collection showcases her talent and versatility as a
writer.

Ms. O'Callaghan's novels in the Delilah West series include "Down for the Count", "Trade Off", and "Set-Up". Be sure to read them!

Her Anne Menlo books, SHADOW OF THE CHILD and ONLY IN THE ASHES, are also outstanding.