The Listening Walls

Among Millar’s best works, The Listening Walls is tightly constructed, and with a twist at the end, you are both ready for the spring to release and a bit relieved at the same time. Worth the read.

Most of what you could want in a book of the type. Taut, pacy, tense, bit of humour, good characters. Bit dated in places but hard to fault it for that. Only missing a truly satisfying denouement. Not entirely sure the plot adds up but I did read it across two plane rides so quite possibly the fault is mine.

Although the ending is a little stiff and the final twist pretty goofy, this is still a great book. More than the plot and the mystery, the characters -- particularly the supporting cast of secretaries, bartenders, and wives -- are what make this book stand apart from other perfectly fine mystery novels and make it something with a little more to bite into.

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2009/02/listening-walls-1959.html ]

I read this with enjoyment. A view into another time and place for sure. I cannot really recall what it is about, it did have a beginning, middle and end but it was more the experience of reading it, like going back in time and seeing into the minds of others that were full of important things from that time but which seem nothing much now.

If this was a movie it would have been on late at night on a near forgotten channel.

That doesn't sound as good as the book so forgive me.

Two women, one married and one recently divorced, go on vacation together in Mexico City. Although supposedly best friends, they are overheard having several loud arguments. On the fourth night of their stay, they drink tequila in the hotel bar with an expatriate American man who hangs out there. Later that night, screams come from their suite, and the divorcee, Wilma Wyatt, plunges from the balcony to her death, while Amy Kellogg is found unconscious on the floor. Her husband comes immediately to Mexico and takes her straight from the hospital to their home in San Francisco. On the night they arrive, Amy takes her dog and leaves immediately on another trip. Her brother, Gil Brandon, is suspicious and hires a private detective. What show more really happened to Amy Kellogg?

Lots of twists & turns - I read it all in a single day just to find out what happened. Very good! show less

Mexico, ca 1958
Amy Kellogg og hendes veninde Wilma Wyatt er på tur sammen i Mexico. Wilma drikker sig fuld sammen med en amerikansk nassegæst Joe O'Donnell. Wilma springer ud over hotelværelsets altan og bliver dræbt. Amy bliver indlagt på et mexicansk hospital og hendes mand Rupert Kellogg flyver derned og henter hende hjem. Hun har brug for at være alene i et stykke tid og rejser væk. Siger han. For der er ikke andre, der har set hende, hendes hund er også væk, men snoren hænger der. Amys bror Gill Brandon bliver urolig og hyrer en privatdetektiv Elmer Dodd til at finde Amy. Specielt mistænker han Rupert for at have en affære med sekretæren Miss Burton. Rupert fyrer hushjælpen Gerda Lundquist, hvilket også virker show more mistænkeligt, for han har fint. Dodd checker i Mexico og alting ser meget normalt ud, men O'Donnell har gjort sig usynlig. Dodd sætter sin sekretær Lorraine til at checke kenneler og dyreklinikker for at finde Amys hund Mack og checker Rupert og Amys hjemtur. I stedet for at flyve hjem til San Francisco som de havde billetter til, hoppede de af i Los Angeles. Gill mistænker stærkt Rupert og det sætter splid mellem ham og hans kone Helene Brandon. Dodd bryder ind i Ruperts hus for at lede efter spor, men i stedet finder han O'Donnell dræbt af knivstik. Efterfølgende afsløres det at Rupert har beskyttet Amy mod en mexicansk stuepige der har bildt hende ind at hun slog Wilma ihjel. Stuepigen Consuela havde slået sig sammen med O'Donnell om pengeafpresningen, men han får kolde fødder, de skændes og hun stikker ham ned i affekt. Det lykkes at få hende til at tilstå hvad der faktisk foregik i hotelværelset men til allersidst får vi alligevel en ide om at Amy stadig ikke tror på det.

Sjov krimi, fordi man egentlig ikke ved om der er begået en forbrydelse før langt inde i fortællingen og så er det endda en helt anden forbrydelse end man troede show less