The Great Mistake

One can't help thinking of [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948._SX50_.jpg|46663], but despite the high body count, this is more fun and less oppressive. Some banter, some ludicrous elements, but compelling and entertaining as all get-out.

I'm learning to value Penzler's picks for neglected crime classics.

Library copy

Even with allowances for it being dated, the premise for committing three murders (not just one, but three) was strained. There were also a great màny characters with no more distinction from one another than their names.

This is a good example of Rinehart's strengths and weaknesses - the former including making her narrator (in the case a young woman who needs to earn a living after her father lost all his money in the Depression) likeable and believable, and the latter being the rather incredibly complicated relationships between the characters (it seems that almost every character has been married to, or at least involved with, every other character at some time). In this case the former definitely predominate, and unless you're allergic (like the late Julian Symons) to the privileged world in the which the Wainwright family live, this can be recommended.