Customer Reviews

The Grey Mist Murders

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Actually, I would prefer to give this book 2.5 stars but the system will not let me. I was searching Amazon for some good "nice" mysteries when I saw this one and it seemed to ring a bell. Sure enough I had it on my "to read" shelf but buried way under lots of other books. I'm glad I decided to read it before ordering other titles by sisters Constance and Gwenyth Little. I really love a good mystery but this was not a satisfying read for me. I have other titles by these authors and now I don't know if I'm interested in reading them.

The story takes place on board a ship sailing between New Zealand and San Francisco. Our heroine is 25 years old and has been left money by her deceased parents to allow her to take a trip around the world when she reaches that age. All the story takes place during this portion of the voyage. Because we are only introduced to the first class passengers (and there are not very many of them) the scope of possible victims and suspects is very limited. Even so, I never saw the identity of the murderer until it was revealed and still don't think it was logical for this person to be guilty. My main reason for not liking the book is that I didn't like the heroine. She was (in my humble opinion) arrogant, selfish, foolish and had a deplorable tendency to scream and faint. Her character made me uncomfortable because I couldn't figure out what type person she was; fast and loose, pure as the driven snow, a boozing good time girl? The authors must have known but I didn't get enough clues to satisfy me. Also, since most people these days know at least some basic facts about forensics and crime investigation, it would have been totally impossible for these murders to have been committed in this way. I realize the book was written in 1938 but the implausible method really did get in the way of my enjoyment. I have to at least believe the crime COULD have been committed thusly in order to be interested in what I am reading. Just as a total aside, I was amazed at how often smoking and cigarettes played a part in the action. Between books and movies of this time in history it is no wonder everyone thought they had to smoke.

I would never recommend this book to a friend who really enjoys a good mystery of the classic or the "cozy" type. Why did no person with two eyes realize what was going on with the "grey mist"? Unsatisfactory!

This was the Little sisters' first book and, unfortunately, it shows. The characters are cardboard and the killer seems entirely random. Their second novel, The Black-Headed Pins, is a much better showcase for their screwball humor and mystery.