Customer Reviews

HUSH IT'S A GAME-C

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Originally published in 1967, this novel is very reminiscent of the works of Charlotte Armstrong (whose book "Mischief" was made into a movie starring Marilyn Monroe.) As in many of Armstrong's stories, a young child is menaced by a killer and only accidental knowledge stumbled upon by strangers can save her. But will the disinterested outsiders care enough to interfere?

In Carlon's novel, a six-year-old girl is locked up in the kitchen by her babysitter, Isobel, when an ex-boyfriend comes to call. During that visit, Isobel is murdered and the murderer leaves without ever knowing that another person was in the apartment. Will the child attract someone's attention? Will the right person came to free her? Several people see the child in the kitchen window of the apartment complex, but for various reasons choose not to respond to her pleas for help. And then the murderer returns to the scene of the crime.

There are a few dated moments (a six-year-old who doesn't know how to use the phone?) but overall this quick read has some great touches. I especially liked the scenes written from the point of view of the murderer, Alden, who has the egocentric reasoning of a true sociopath. A good, but not great, little thriller.

Patricia Carlon's writing style is clean, engrossing & timeless (I was quite surprised to dicover this book was written in 1967).

The novel centers around a little girl who has been locked in a kitchen by her caretaker, who is then murdered before she can let the girl out. It takes the murderer sometime to figure out that the little girl is stuck in the apartment with the body. The rest of the book is filled with endless near misses as the girl tries to find a way of escape & the murderer tries to find a way to kill the little girl.

The problem with the book is that the near misses keep piling up & become more & more frustrating. I kept rolling my eyes at the pages. "Would someone just go get the girl for goodness sake?" I wanted to shout.

The book is brimming with great characterization. Carlon knows how to get into the minds of everyone from a small child, to a nasty custodian, to a confused old man & so on.

I will absolutely read more of her books. I have a feeling she's written something better than this.

This is one of my all-time favorite novels. It's all the near misses that make it so great. Not just with the child but also with the young man and young woman. Each talking themselves out of pursuit. Reading all the wrong things into the statements of the other. Carlon shows a bit of her earlier romance-writing proficiency here.

A six-year-old girl named Virginia gets locked into the kitchen by Miss Tarks, the neighbor who's minding her for the Christmas holidays. Miss Tarks has to deal with a visitor she wasn't expecting. Virginia hears a loud bang and looks through the keyhole to see Miss Tarks on the floor. Not good. The little girl's attempts to attract a rescuer are constantly foiled or dismissed as a game. And when the murderer realizes he's left a witness behind, Virginia is really in trouble.

This is a tightly written, suspenseful tale full of misdeeds, misunderstandings and misinterpretations of reality. It's Christmas in Australia - a great setting for a thriller (for an American reader like me). The weather is warm and balmy, accentuating the weirdness of Christmas trees and puddings.

The action takes place in a snooty building where the owners of the "home units" are not very neighborly. The caretaker is ageist, sexist, anti-child and anti-work. One theme of this novel is the incredible isolating quality of life in the city. Terrible things can be happening right next door, but it's nobody's business. The neighbors may hear your parties, but not your cries for help.

The plot includes a wacky and winsome cast of characters, a dash of romance, and some heartwarming scenes and comic moments to relieve the escalating terrors of little Virginia. I'm really impressed by Carlon's talent. She conveys the thought processes of a child or a criminal with equal skill.

Carlon's crime fiction was published between 1961 and 1970, and her books are acquiring a bit of a vintage flavor. I'm feverishly reading them all before they go out of print - and advise others to do the same! Hush, It's a Game was first published in 1967.

Virginia's mother is dead and her father has left her with an older neighbor while he is out of town. She finds herself locked in Miss Tark's kitchen after an old acquaintance comes by the house. Aldan has come to kill Miss Tarks in return for his prison term. He didn't see Virginia, but soon realizes she is in there and heard him, so he must return and get rid of her. The story then turns into a race for her to find a way to get out before it is too late. There is also a sub-plot dealing with lonely co-tenants on Christmas Day.

The book was written in 1967, so the idea of incinerators makes more sense in that time period. There is also the rotary phone mention, but who cares. Other than the question of how a child can boil an egg and not know how to use the phone and why the kitchen has a door that locks in the first place, the story is well told and holds the reader's interest - even through the sub-plot. I like not knowing whether Aldan goes to jail yet knowing Virginia's fate in the end.

This was my first for this author. It will not be my last. I am looking for all of her books. I am stunned and thrilled that some reviewers seem to think HUSH is not as good as her other works. HUSH had me. HIghly recommended.