I found both Eleanor and Mary's actions incomprehensible, and even the lesser characters of Hannah and Mrs. It is hard to particularly like Victorian women when they are painted as creatures with the expected sensibilities of their time. I couldn't help wondering if Green envisioned him as quick-witted and playing a part or as very dense but getting there in the end. Green has a delightful writing style and her detective Gryce was wearing Columbo's trench coat for me throughout the tale. It is always important to think about these books in reference to the time in which they were written and without the benefit of all the stellar mystery fiction that has followed them. In the flavor of books of this era, it is a bit too neatly tied up and unrealistic by modern day standards. I had solved the mystery of who-done-it and why about half way in, but that did not keep me from wanting to finish the story and see all the loose ends tied up. A very fun, old-time mystery/detective novel, much in the vein of Wilkie Collins (though not quite as well done).
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