tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post344693401249876943..comments2024-03-28T09:33:29.705+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: The Problem of the Wire Cage by John Dickson CarrClothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-83302886735539802062021-11-21T18:43:47.271+00:002021-11-21T18:43:47.271+00:00I think we all have the things we notice and the t...I think we all have the things we notice and the things we don't. I'm forever calculating ages and timings in my head, whereas other things will go straight past me. But then it is fair enough to be a stickler in crime stories - I frequently think some anomaly is a clue, then eventually decide it was just a mistake. (Not often in Carr, to be fair)Moira @ Clothes in Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04628557807036726070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-26728040891749894152021-11-05T12:59:45.083+00:002021-11-05T12:59:45.083+00:00Ha, I did not notice weirdness of her age and the ...Ha, I did not notice weirdness of her age and the schooling thing. Now I wonder whether it was a mistake or deliberate on Carr's part. Johanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14957635441637987216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-26968840680236378492017-02-25T21:17:16.819+00:002017-02-25T21:17:16.819+00:00JD Carr is one of my most reliable comfort reads i...JD Carr is one of my most reliable comfort reads in crime - they're always enjoyable, and atmospheric, and unguessable. And not too gruesome... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-1403590166732545082017-02-25T20:56:53.815+00:002017-02-25T20:56:53.815+00:00Sounds interesting, and I like the excerpt. A love...Sounds interesting, and I like the excerpt. A lovely image to go with it too. JD Carr books don't seem to show up much around here. But I do have three to start with. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-88596053617346579732017-01-30T22:32:13.968+00:002017-01-30T22:32:13.968+00:00Now, novella makes much more sense. It's that ...Now, novella makes much more sense. It's that problematic second murder. It's a pity there wasn't more of a market for shorter murder stories - some tales would fit that mid-length much better.<br />When I read a book set in summer it's the long light evenings that hit home to me, even more than any warmth - perhaps because daylight is predictable and certain, where heat isn't! Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-85688786849833474522017-01-29T21:39:55.376+00:002017-01-29T21:39:55.376+00:00I enjoyed this book, although it's not one of ...I enjoyed this book, although it's not one of his absolute bullsyes. The explanation isn't actually impossible, but you do have to take a deep breath before you accept it. Mind you, Fell does say in THE HOLLOW MAN that in a locked-room mystery it is not so much 'Would anyone actually do it' but rather 'Could it actually be done'. The characters are very well done in this one (and Rowland Sr is worth the price of the book himself!) But the whole thing is a bit...lumpy. There's lots of good stuff in it, but it could have done with a few more stirs.<br /><br />Carr was never really pleased with it, and felt that it should have been a novella. The book was also serialized in a magazine, and they often asked for fresh incident about two-thirds of the way through a story, hence murder number two. I suspect that he rather regretted having to throw away the second murder in order to bulk up this novel.<br /><br />Like you, I seem to have been reading about sunny climes recently. It does help offset the sub-arctic weather. You're right about bowler hats. They were the most popular form of headgear in the old West.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-45240995570153723822017-01-27T22:07:47.890+00:002017-01-27T22:07:47.890+00:00Thank you for the kind words, and that's hilar...Thank you for the kind words, and that's hilarious about your self-inflicted spoiler! As you say, the advantage of growing older is that you forget all. It's one of the reasons middling books are better as re-reads - the really great ones you can't forget the solution. Hope you enjoy this one. <br />And I am thinking, old B&W pictures do show men in bowlers. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-73782067500238066072017-01-27T18:43:30.580+00:002017-01-27T18:43:30.580+00:00I've avoided this one for decades because I ha...I've avoided this one for decades because I had the solution spoiled for me when as a teenager I foolishly disregarded the "Do not open this section!" and read the solution in sealed booklet bound into the rear of the original edition of <i>Murder Ink</i>. I also read the endings of Chandler's <i>The Little Sister</i> and a couple of others. But now even reading this post I find that I cannot remember at all what was revealed to me about Carr's book. I only remember that it was about tennis. Ah, "old age"! So happily I can now read <i>Problem of the Wire Cage</i> with no spoilers whatsoever. I think I'll add it to the TBR pile for February.<br /><br />These posts are always fun to read about your observations about costuming. They've made me pay closer attention to character wardrobe updates in my own reading when in the past I just skipped right over the clothing descriptions. The book I'm reading right now goes into great detail about men's 19th century wardrobe and it was written and published only two years ago. Never knew bowler hats were the most popular choice of business men in the American west.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-49053513550121702017-01-27T12:56:35.264+00:002017-01-27T12:56:35.264+00:00That's exactly how I feel about Carr - he can ...That's exactly how I feel about Carr - he can get away with murder, one might even say!Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-27190552103279282442017-01-27T12:56:06.925+00:002017-01-27T12:56:06.925+00:00Thanks Sergio - and what a sold gold fact to add t...Thanks Sergio - and what a sold gold fact to add to the mix - I did not know that at all. I saw Sleuth years ago, and wouldn't have realized.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-38167661270476011782017-01-27T12:49:47.194+00:002017-01-27T12:49:47.194+00:00That's the thing about Carr, Moira. Even when ...That's the thing about Carr, Moira. Even when there are some problems with the story, one forgives him. And this is a really interesting twist on the traditional 'locked room' mystery. You have to give Carr credit for taking this chance - or at least I do. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-44813501031145795352017-01-27T10:56:51.237+00:002017-01-27T10:56:51.237+00:00Great post Moira - this is one is great fun, I agr...Great post Moira - this is one is great fun, I agree. Have you seen the 1972 version of SLEUTH? The scene that Olivier’s character is dictating in the opening moments in the maze is basically a solution from WIRE CAGE!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com