Maybe I was just tired at the end of the Spring Reading Thing. Maybe I was in the mood for something else. Maybe the book just wasn't all that.Whatever the reason, Death in Disguise won't go down as my favorite read. It's just...all right. Generally, I like Graham's writing and her style of telling a story. It's not exactly stream of consciousness (by any means, really), but she does set you right down in the middle of events, and she doesn't really take a breath in describing things. It's kind of fun, but it's also kind of frenetic. Sometimes it's difficult to catch up with the endless stream of detail. Other times, the endless stream of detail, in spite of all that it contains, fails to convey the point effectively. As I got started in the book, I kept having to re-read paragraphs, when I felt like I was missing something. Turns out, I was missing it, because it wasn't there. A little implication is good; too much makes the story unclear. I finally gave up and started skimming. I was already familiar with the plot anyway.
In all fairness, I should note that Death in Disguise was hardly my favorite of the Midsomer Murders films. I didn't really like the setting, the characters, or the plot as a whole. It's not bad, by any means. And as mysteries go, this one is clever. I also like the resolution, because it has a quality of poetic justice to it.
Quick overview: a man dies after falling down a flight of stairs at the Lodge of the Golden Windhorse (and, yes, the place is just as goofy as its name indicates; I don't know what a "windhorse" is supposed to be, and I haven't the foggiest why it would be golden -- is any horse golden?). The inquest deems it an accidental death, but only a few weeks after that another death occurs. This time, the leader of the lodge is stabbed -- or rather, has a knife thrown at him -- in the midst of what seems to be some kind of seance (in which one of the characters experiences her periodic "regression" and reconnects with one of her past lives? -- something like that.) At this point, the death is clearly not accidental, and Inspector Barnaby is called onto the scene.
One thing I didn't have patience for in this book was Barnaby's sidekick Troy. He's fairly delightful in the film versions -- a bit full of himself but ultimately sweet and well-meaning -- but he's frankly a jerk in the books. He's crude, crass, and makes for a tough protagonist to appreciate, assuming that's the role he fills. I just wasn't in the mood for the book Troy, so I was glad to get through this story.
It's not bad, by the way. I think the problem in this case was more mine than anyone or anything else's. But honest opinion? If you're interested in the Graham books, I don't know that I'd put this one at the top of my list. The film version's decent, and you get pretty much the same story.
Year of publication: 1992
Number of pages: 412
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