I have been a fan of Higgins Clark's thrillers. But seriously, calling this one a "thriller" is akin to stretching the word's definition from Earth to Moon and back - at least twice.
Sure, there is a murder. A wealthy doctor, Ted Grant, who has been suffering from Alzheimer’s since past 8 years is found dead in his bedroom in the morning and the suspicion falls on his young wife, Betsy Grant, who had been alone with her husband the previous night.
Sure, there is mystery.Television journalist Delaney Wright has yearned to find out who her birth mother was since her childhood when she realized that she was adopted.
But here is the thing. There aren't too many people who can be suspected to have bumped poor Ted off. Once Betsy is mentioned we know that she has to be the birth mother that Delaney is looking for practically her whole life. That means Betsy cannot be the killer. There is nothing to point fingers at either the housekeeper or the caregiver. That leaves Ted's two partners and his son Alan. Only one of the partners, Doctor Scott, is mentioned in detail. So with Alan and Scott most of us have a 50% chance of spotting the killer. Not much fun in that, is it? Once we know Betsy is Delaney's mom, we don't need Holmes or Watson to figure out that Peter has to be the father. So the mystery element too goes completely out the window. If the killer had come for Betsy and she had been shown to fight for her life while trying to uncover who had killed Ted - during what would appear, at least to her, as the final moments of her life - the reader could have found herself to be scared a bit.
Alas! Nothing of that sort happens :-(
Though Alvirah and Willy Meehan are my favorite characters, I must say that I will try my very best to forget this case of theirs.
Sure, there is a murder. A wealthy doctor, Ted Grant, who has been suffering from Alzheimer’s since past 8 years is found dead in his bedroom in the morning and the suspicion falls on his young wife, Betsy Grant, who had been alone with her husband the previous night.
Sure, there is mystery.Television journalist Delaney Wright has yearned to find out who her birth mother was since her childhood when she realized that she was adopted.
But here is the thing. There aren't too many people who can be suspected to have bumped poor Ted off. Once Betsy is mentioned we know that she has to be the birth mother that Delaney is looking for practically her whole life. That means Betsy cannot be the killer. There is nothing to point fingers at either the housekeeper or the caregiver. That leaves Ted's two partners and his son Alan. Only one of the partners, Doctor Scott, is mentioned in detail. So with Alan and Scott most of us have a 50% chance of spotting the killer. Not much fun in that, is it? Once we know Betsy is Delaney's mom, we don't need Holmes or Watson to figure out that Peter has to be the father. So the mystery element too goes completely out the window. If the killer had come for Betsy and she had been shown to fight for her life while trying to uncover who had killed Ted - during what would appear, at least to her, as the final moments of her life - the reader could have found herself to be scared a bit.
Alas! Nothing of that sort happens :-(
Though Alvirah and Willy Meehan are my favorite characters, I must say that I will try my very best to forget this case of theirs.
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