W. J. Stuart

Although I must have seen the movie a hundred times, this is the first time I came across the book and I snapped it up on first sight. I wasn't disappointed. Like many books adapted to movies, Forbidden Planet adds details that make the story far more engaging. For one thing, the story is told from the POV of main characters, as George R. R. Martin does in the Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series. I especially liked the portrayal of the doctor and the captain. In the book, the show more doctor is fortyish and the captain and the rest of the crew are kids to him. On the other hand, they are all old hands at space travel and he's on his first voyage. The book adds several dimensions to the story. It's a quick read, but more than worth the time. show less

Yes it's a smart framing device but the end left me very very angry. The solution left my first draft of a review very very sweary. Misogyny is alive and well in this story.
The result of the inquest is death by misadventure but who did it. The story has the files sent to Anthony Gethryn, the detective on leave. Only the files from the inquest and the reader is offered the chance to solve the murder mystery along with the reader. Red herrings are littered throughout but the solution, oh the show more solution, it is not worthy of the rest of the story. show less

The Rasp is a cute attempt to be Christie like, with a typical English manor murder, with the twist of a post-WWII detective. Murder Gone Mad is a police procedural which does a very good job of presenting dozens of believable townfolks. The Rynox Murder is a groaner ready to made into a movie starring a Master Thespian.

A thriller rather than a mystery, by my definition, since there is no “detection” per se. In any event, catching the criminal seems to be mostly a pretext for a complicated romantic plot of extreme artificiality. But the writing is a cut above.