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neo_ultraA book about how not to do a murder investigation.
The portrayal of the police in the book really disgusted me. Just arrest a random guy and beat him up so he confesses a crime he didn't commit. Or just ignore a violent crime because the perpetrator is your favourite butcher who gives you the best cuts. Or arrest another random guy and just ignore his alibi because obviously he has to be lying, no need to check if that alibi is true. And I wish I could just say it was how the police was back in the olden days (in this case Vienna beginning of 20th century), but I have an unfortunate suspicion nothing much has changed unfortunately.
Not only the portrayal of the police was deeply unpleasant, the investigation itself was also kind of lame. Basically the crime was solved when these three dudes sat down and thought about what the victims had in common and who else could have been the killer after the two random dudes mentioned above were found to be obviously innocent. Like, why didn't you just check their alibis earlier? You would have already known they were not the killer and you have to look for someone else!
And while the police were dragging their feet, the real murderer escaped to Mexico, so the book didn't even have a satisfying ending where evil gets punished. The main character did imply that Mexico was not a safe place at that time, and the criminal might die there. But that was just a possibility, not fact.
The only saving grace of the book was the setting. I have not read too many books set in that time and place, so it was an interesting insight into the lives of people, or at least into how modern authors imagine the lives of people at the time.
And the live was pretty rough - bathrooms only in the richest houses, no fridges, only one free day every week for servants... Makes our two day weekend seem positively generous in comparison. I found the language quite amusing, especially that of the upper crust, the way they constantly brought French into the conversation to seem more refined.
Another moment I quite approved of was the suicide of the misogynist side character. Unfortunately the book did not explain why he killed himself. I guess he just couldn't go on living in a world where there are women everywhere, too horrifying.
But all in all the detective plot in the book did not feel very convincing, the characters were colourful but most of them unpleasant and unsympathetic, and at the end it felt like some plot points were left unresolved. I hope the horoscope seller found his parrot!
The portrayal of the police in the book really disgusted me. Just arrest a random guy and beat him up so he confesses a crime he didn't commit. Or just ignore a violent crime because the perpetrator is your favourite butcher who gives you the best cuts. Or arrest another random guy and just ignore his alibi because obviously he has to be lying, no need to check if that alibi is true. And I wish I could just say it was how the police was back in the olden days (in this case Vienna beginning of 20th century), but I have an unfortunate suspicion nothing much has changed unfortunately.
Not only the portrayal of the police was deeply unpleasant, the investigation itself was also kind of lame. Basically the crime was solved when these three dudes sat down and thought about what the victims had in common and who else could have been the killer after the two random dudes mentioned above were found to be obviously innocent. Like, why didn't you just check their alibis earlier? You would have already known they were not the killer and you have to look for someone else!
And while the police were dragging their feet, the real murderer escaped to Mexico, so the book didn't even have a satisfying ending where evil gets punished. The main character did imply that Mexico was not a safe place at that time, and the criminal might die there. But that was just a possibility, not fact.
The only saving grace of the book was the setting. I have not read too many books set in that time and place, so it was an interesting insight into the lives of people, or at least into how modern authors imagine the lives of people at the time.
And the live was pretty rough - bathrooms only in the richest houses, no fridges, only one free day every week for servants... Makes our two day weekend seem positively generous in comparison. I found the language quite amusing, especially that of the upper crust, the way they constantly brought French into the conversation to seem more refined.
Another moment I quite approved of was the suicide of the misogynist side character. Unfortunately the book did not explain why he killed himself. I guess he just couldn't go on living in a world where there are women everywhere, too horrifying.
But all in all the detective plot in the book did not feel very convincing, the characters were colourful but most of them unpleasant and unsympathetic, and at the end it felt like some plot points were left unresolved. I hope the horoscope seller found his parrot!
