It Walks By Night

Noh, see polnud minu asi! Arvatavasti polnud minu asi ka avada tagauks ja minna aeda, aga isegi seal ei vabanenud ma ebareaalsustundest. Aeda ümbritsesid paplid, mille okste vahelt langes kruusatatud kõnniteedele kustuva päikese valgus... ja seal nägin ma pingil istumas miss Sharon Greyd.

Ta kandis midagi, mis nägi välja nagu hall tviidkostüüm ega vastanud kummaliselt mehelikuna üldse tema hoopiski mitte mehelikule figuurile, ning tema läikivaid juukseid kattis väike hall kübar. Ta istus seal, lõug käele toetatud, ja soris kinganinaga kruusa ning üllatav oli, kui kaugelt näiteks minutaoline lollpea oli suuteline nägema tema silmaripsmete joont. Ma valmistusin tagasi pöörduma (milleks inimesele tarbetult piinlikkust show more tekitada?), kuid ta kuulis mu samme, mis kostsid verandalt, ja tõstis pea.

Ma annan teile sõna, et selle tütarlapse üle oli võimatu rahulikult otsustada. Tema merevaiguvärvi silmadest kadus hajameelsus, kui neis välgatas äratundmine, ja tema huuled väljendasid midagi iseäralikku. Teadmata, mida muud teha, astusin lähemale. Kõik helid ja mõtted olid täiesti kadunud, kui mulle näis, et seisan jälle tema ees nagu eelmisel õhtul. Siis märkasin ootamatult sähvatava imestusega külma ja teravat pilku, millega ta mind silmitses. show less

this was very up and down for me. there were parts where the tension was great and other parts that i had to force myself to pay attention. i was really, really interested in seeing how the locked room mystery would be solved, and i also liked that there was more to the mystery and the story than just that. i feel like there was no cheating (a false wall or a trap door or something) and actually it was really clever the way it was solved. the rest of the book, though, i'm not so sure about. including the murder itself. i don't see how these brutal murders can be carried out with virtually no sound. the first one, the locked room one, there was an orchestra playing, yes, but there was also a policeman not that far away. she cut off his show more head and not only did she do it quietly if not silently, but she didn't get blood on her at all? she was back in the room of the party, with the detectives, minutes later. there was mention of a bloody article of clothing in her room, but there would have been more than that. and when she stabbed the second victim, multiple times, he would have made some noise, no? i also thought the handwriting analysis that tells us what drug the writer was on was a step too far. as was the pencil marks analysis to determine the exact pencil with which a letter was written. come on. still, it's fun. but come on. the drug stuff was kind of funny, i thought. such a big deal - and maybe some mind-altering was misattributed - was made of marijuana. on the other hand, i do like that he made the murderer a woman, which had to be pretty unusual in 1930, when this was written. and a society lady at that. and i think the locked room part was pretty cleverly handled, since there really can't be a good explanation for how that could happen.

so for me, the mystery parts of this were really solid and fun, but it seemed like maybe he was trying to make it longer or something, and there was a lot of unnecessary words and padding that made it much harder to read than it would have otherwise. this is his first novel and he was writing short stories before this, so i wonder if he had to work hard to make it longer and not be a short story. because the bones are excellent. show less

It Walks By Night. begins with a quote about night monsters that bring about thoughts of werewolves and vampires. It is, however, a murder mystery complete with a severed head. The impossible murder that could not have happened with all doors being watched. It contains all of the needed components for this type of mystery. There is the inspector, the gruesome beheading, the new bride, trickery, and the woman scorned. To top it off - a little Reefer Madness mixed in.

As I have said elsewhere, the Bencolin series are among my favorites of Car's novels, especially those he wrote under his own name. Pf the Bencolin stories, this is probably my favorite; it has a remarkable criminal/victim.

Delightfully lurid. Recommended for all libraries.

second read and much as I try can't like it