Customer Reviews

Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder: A Mystery

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This entertaining mystery is one in a series and the series is amazingly good. Oscar Wilde solving murder mysteries! And so we have the sparkling banter of that witty, charming man as well as a good puzzle. I've read the whole series thus far and can't wait to see what Brandreth writes next!

It' is hard to believe that this author wasn''t writing his autobiography ... this story rang so true. Oscar Wilde comes to life with a Sherlock-Holmes-like penchant for sleuthing. Speaking of Holmes, by the way: Arthur Conan Doyle breathes again in these pages. AND Bram Stoker.

But making the period come alive isn''t this book''s only A+ recommendation. It''s a first-rate murder mystery. For those who love this genre, you cannot miss this book. It keeps you guessing throughout but not with phoney clues thrown in helter-skelter just to fool you.

Brandreth has created a complex plot with the best of clues smoothly woven into it at the right places (but you don't know that until the end). Mind you, there is enough there to keep you entertained, guessing back and forth who the murderer is. In the end, there is a vintage mystery denouement (a la Christie''s Poirot) that fulfills all the questions Brandreth dangled in front of you. Though you are in for a surprise at the end, you are not left exasperated because the clues had been impossible to detect. You are left instead like all the wisest couch-detectives saying "'Aaaah, yes. Of course".'

All through the book I promised myself that I''d google the other interesting characters in the book, because ALL of them came across so real. I didn''t have to google them. In a touching postscript, Brandreth clears up these questions, and more. You are left deeply moved (well, I was), and totally in the grips of what he reveals of the characters. I won''t ruin that for you here.

The book is sprinkled with Oscar Wilde irreverent quotes which make you smile, if not laugh.

To my ghoulish delight (it is fiction, after all) there IS more than one murder. Not knowing who or if someone will be done away with next kept me enthralled.

I quickly ordered another book of Brandreth''s Oscar Wilde series so I wouldn''t be left waiting for another excursion into Wilde times. After that there is one more to read. I can only PRAY that Brandreth is working on a fourth and fifth. He cannot write fast enough to satisfy my hunger for more.