Series
Publication
W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. (1991), 272 p.
Original publication date
1973
Collections
Description
The heroine of this book is a nightclub singer, Eva Adam, who sings all over the world. As she travels crimes occur. Each story violates one of the rules of the Detective Story Decalogue by Father Ronald Knox. The reader must decide which rule has been broken and identify the murderer.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rhbouchard
The premise is kind of clever, but the stories, the mysteries, and the new characters not very interesting - perhaps the premise is too clever. Despite the presence of LT Boruvka in two of the stories they and the book do not come close to the The Mournful Deamenor of LT Boruvka and the The End of
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LT Boruvka. Show Less
LibraryThing member et.carole
The striking cover of this English translation from the late 80s drew me in as soon as I saw it at Barbed Wire Books in Longmont, and the game of the book convinced me. The structure is 10 detective short stories, each one of which breaks one of the 10 detective story “commandments” created by
But these stories actually have little to do with Father Knox, besides the ten commandments that serve as rules to the game. At a certain point in each story, a small box notifies the reader that there has been enough information to deduce not only who the murderer was, but which commandment was broken in the story, and “ab-solutions” are found at the end of the book.
Each story is in some way about the nightclub singer and accidental detective, Eve Adam. I was really impressed with the versatility of approaches, which made each story fresh. The last story was a bit of a stretch to be considered breaking its assigned commandment, but I think that was the only way to make it a surprise, since readers who followed the rest of the book know which commandment is left.
I've been missing out on mysteries, and Europe in the 70s, apparently, so I'll be looking for books with more of each in the future.
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Ronald Arbuthnott Knox, a priest, reader and writer of detective stories in the early 20th century. The introduction tells us he hobnobbed with all the usual suspects real and fictional: He knew Chesterton, who wrote the Father Brown mysteries, and founded “Holmesiana” accidentally by writing an essay as if Holmes was a historical person. But these stories actually have little to do with Father Knox, besides the ten commandments that serve as rules to the game. At a certain point in each story, a small box notifies the reader that there has been enough information to deduce not only who the murderer was, but which commandment was broken in the story, and “ab-solutions” are found at the end of the book.
Each story is in some way about the nightclub singer and accidental detective, Eve Adam. I was really impressed with the versatility of approaches, which made each story fresh. The last story was a bit of a stretch to be considered breaking its assigned commandment, but I think that was the only way to make it a surprise, since readers who followed the rest of the book know which commandment is left.
I've been missing out on mysteries, and Europe in the 70s, apparently, so I'll be looking for books with more of each in the future.
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Language
Original language
Czech
ISBN
9780393307870