Elliot Paul (1891–1958)
Teoksen Ahtaan kadun pariisilaisia tekijä
Tietoja tekijästä
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Sarjat
Tekijän teokset
My Old Kentucky Home 6 kappaletta
Concert pitch 5 kappaletta
Impromptu;: A novel in four movements, 1 kappale
Indelible 1 kappale
The Governor of massachusetts 1 kappale
Paris 1 kappale
The stars and stripes forever 1 kappale
Crazy Quilt 1 kappale
Associated Works
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Virallinen nimi
- Paul, Elliot Harold
- Syntymäaika
- 1891-02-10
- Kuolinaika
- 1958-04-07
- Sukupuoli
- male
- Kansalaisuus
- USA
- Syntymäpaikka
- Malden, Massachusetts, USA
- Kuolinpaikka
- Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Asuinpaikat
- Malden, Massachusetts, USA
Paris, France
Santa Eulària des Riu, Spain
Los Angeles, California, USA
Providence, Rhode Island, USA - Koulutus
- Malden High School
- Ammatit
- journalist
screenwriter
author - Organisaatiot
- United States Army (WWI)
International Herald Tribune
transition
Jäseniä
Kirja-arvosteluja
Listat
Palkinnot
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Tilastot
- Teokset
- 31
- Also by
- 2
- Jäseniä
- 585
- Suosituimmuussija
- #42,856
- Arvio (tähdet)
- 3.6
- Kirja-arvosteluja
- 16
- ISBN:t
- 39
- Kielet
- 3
This book is one in a series, & I think I would have benefited from having read the previous installments first. Most of the characters are carryovers from preceding books, & there are almost continuous references to things that happened in earlier stories. Without the benefit of being familiar with any of the prior works, I was often lost as to who the characters really were & what was being talked about.
Either way, this book is not very good. The action often cuts quickly from one scene to another without the benefit of clean segues; that made for a very disjointed & choppy reading experience. Absolutely none of the characters are in the least bit likeable or sympathetic; I kept wishing they would all be killed & just go away—the criminals, the victims, the detectives, & the innocent bystanders. And the mysterious method of poisoning that takes up a good part of the storyline is nothing short of asinine.
The story is full of extreme violence. Aside from the obligatory murders (this is a kind of murder mystery, after all), there are brutal fight scenes, torture, rape, &—worst of all—violence against animals & animal cruelty. I love the puzzle of a good murder mystery; I’m not so keen on gruesome, gratuitous brutality--& there is a lot of that within the pages of Mayhem in B Flat.
There is also a lot of unnecessary vulgarity. The book is full of prostitutes, drunkards, naked dancers, sleazy extramarital affairs, & so on & so forth. There was so much of it, in fact, the entire book just ended up feeling sordid. I found the storyline of the middle-aged heiress who is obsessed with the talented violinist extremely disturbing & distasteful. She stalks him throughout the book, is convinced her wealth entitles her to possess him, & then rapes him while he is passed out drunk in the hold of a ship. He then becomes certain this is the most magical moment of his life & his mysterious assailant is the love of his life. That has to be one of the ickiest things I have ever read in my life.
I won’t be recommending this book to anyone, & I definitively won’t be reading any of the other titles in the series.
I tacked on an additional half star for the author’s use of the word ‘yclept’.… (lisätietoja)