Green for Danger [Hardcover]

Christianna Brand (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Impress (1983)
• ASIN: B001HNZ0HC
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the all-time greatest classic mystery novels., March 18, 1998

By 

Enrique F. Bird (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Green for Danger (Paperback)

This is one of the undoubted masterpieces of classic mystery fiction. At least 3 mystery classic collections have chosen it as a top book; I know no other book so chosen. (These are: Bantam Classic Mysteries, from the 1960's, introduced by Anthony Boucher; The Mystery Library, from the 1970's UCSD, with introductions and other features, including one by the author; and the Bantam Mystery collectio, hardcovered from early 1980's by Bantam Books, also with an introduction). Brand writes a clasically constructed tale, with definite victims and murderer (and sleuth). It is full of atmosphere, suspense, and finely constructed fair play. MUST NOT be missed by classic mystery fans.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever, Ironic, Meticulous: A Great Classic of the Mystery Genre, March 5, 2008

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Green for Danger (Paperback)

Born in 1907 in Malaya, Mary Christianna Milne Lewis worked as everything from a governess to a nightclub dancer before discovering her niche as an author with the novel DEATH IN HIGH HEELS. Although she is now best known as the creator of the "Nurse Matilda" stories for children, by the time of her 1988 death she had written seventeen mystery novels; while not as well known in the United States as the works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Nygio Marsh, they have remained popular in England and Europe and are often considered classics of their kind.

Published in 1944, GREEN FOR DANGER is generally regarded as Brand's best work. Set in an somewhat impromptu English hospital at the height of the Blitz, the story opens with the unexpected death of a patient during what should be a routine surgery--a death which draws the unwilling attention of Brand's re-occuring detective Inspector Cockrill, who is more than willing to dismiss the idea of foul play until one of the nurses involved in the surgery is found stabbed to death on the same operating table. As the investigation evolves, it becomes clear that the killer must be one of six involved with the unexpectedly dead patient, a situation which allows for considerable tension as the story progresses.

Although the plot is remarkably clever and the characters extremely well drawn, GREEN FOR DANGER is particularly famous for its medical setting. Brand presents the surgical proceedures of the era with tremendous clarity and readability; few have equalled her presentation, much less bested it. The novel's war-time period also adds considerable interest to the story and is equally central to the work. These two elements interlock for a fascinating read from start to finish.

As already noted, Brand's novels are not particularly well-known outside of England and Europe. This is a pity: she is a witty, surprisingly ironic writer who knows how to spin a classic English mystery. Fans of the genre who come to her works for the first time are sure to be delighted.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic murder mystery in a "closed" community, December 5, 2004

By 

Ron "[e-mail]" (Whidbey Island, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Green for Danger (Paperback)

Another book that can be read over and over, and one that the reader will enjoy even more after seeing the wonderful movie starring Alistair Sim as the detective. Set in a remote hospital in the English countryside during WWII, it's cleverly plotted and fun. A great way to be introduced to Ms. Brand's other entertaining reads.