9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Surprise, shock, but dont degrade, August 28, 2000
The solution to this mystery, "The Dying Of The Light", is as clever as any of Mr. Dibdin's work. The matching of wits, the misdirection, and words so carefully chosen, create a wonderful adversary for the inspector. That his adversary is at least an octogenarian, creates a duel that is just that more interesting.
This story is a bit like the board game that requires the players to solve, who did what to whom, where was it done, and what was the weapon of choice. The setting is a home for the aged, and the environment is which they live could be described as one created by a satanic Dickens. This atmosphere is what I did not care for. A good mystery does not require the degradation of a character, humiliation does not shock as much as it makes the reader uncomfortable, and for me it does nothing but detract from the tale.
I have commented on many other of this Author's work, so I will not repeat the thoughts here. The resolution was excellent, the action leading to it however, barely made the book a worthy read.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly dark humor with a focus on relationships, August 13, 1999
By A Customer
Dibdin is, in my opinion, what the mystery genre needs; a quality literature writer who happens to use mystery as an excuse to tell his story. His humor is deliciously dark and at times shocking. What sets him apart is his focus on relationships. The solution to the mystery is not nearly as important as how the characters interact. Dibdin deserves much more respect than we Americans have given him. Dibdin is what mystery should be. I also recommend the Aurelio Zen series for a "detective" with a distinctly melancholy personality.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
`Nothing is more usual, after all, for the principal suspect to become the next victim.', August 18, 2011
The scene appears to be an ordinary country house hotel, inhabited by the usual cast of characters, including the Colonel, the playboy, the clergyman, a rich invalid and, of course, the usual murderer. Rosemary Travis and her friend Dorothy Davenport need only find the clues to unmask the murderer's identity.
Except that, of course, nothing is as it seems at the Eventide Lodge which isn't even an ordinary country house hotel. No, Eventide Lodge is a truly awful nursing home run by William Anderson and his sister Letitia and dreadful things seem to be happening to the small number of geriatric residents living there.
Why did Hilary Bryant die, and what happened to George Channing? Is another resident involved, or could it be the proprietors?
When Dorothy herself dies, the night before she is due to leave Eventide Lodge for terminal cancer treatment in hospital, Rosemary may have a mystery on her hands. Or perhaps not: Dorothy may have killed herself. Or, if not, who did and why?
`There is no room for sloppy guesswork or vulgar sensationalism.'
In fewer than 200 pages, Michael Dibdin creates a mystery which I found more interesting for the descriptions of Eventide Lodge and the ways in which the characters interact than for the solution itself. It's a quick read and an enjoyable one despite its bleak black aspects: any place remotely like Eventide Lodge needs its own Rosemary Travis.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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