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RATE DUMB WITNESS

sapphire_arisa 25 May 09 at 1:56 a.m. GMT

hey guys!

plz give me ur opinion on 'Dumb Witness'.

thnx!

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9 replies

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TheMole 25 May 09 at 12:07 p.m. GMT

Hello, sapphire.

I read "Dumb Witness" a couple of months ago...

The positives:

I liked how colorful the characters were even though I didn't care for most of their personalities, particularly Theresa she was just weird. But it was still nice to read about characters that have such a strong presence. But along w/ Hastings & Poirot my favorite was Charles.

**SORT OF A SPOILER**

And I thought it was great how Hastings ended up w/ the dog Bob.

**END OF SPOILER**

As for the negatives:

The plot was close to a classic Christie however the ending and reveal of who the culprit(s) was/were was extremely disappointing & the solution was far too easy. I also felt that the title of the book was a little off the mark. If I were AC I would have named it: "Murder at Littlegreen House"; that's more intriguing than "Dumb Witness". If it hadn't been for those factors I think it would have been on a "Cat Among the Pigeons" level, instead it's just on a "Sleeping Murder" level.

Overall, imho, I'd give it a 5/10.

go_leafs_nation 26 May 09 at 8:46 a.m. GMT

I disagree with your evaluation of the negatives, Mole. I think that AC's move for the killer was quite daring, far from disappointing. After a certain event in the book, I stopped paying attention to that person as a potential suspect.

Also, I think "Dumb Witness" is more than appropriate, because of Bob, who, in a way, was the witness of the crime.

I really liked Dumb Witness, and would give it 3.5 stars out of 4.

JobyElliottMartin 26 May 09 at 5:03 p.m. GMT

TheMole- 'Dumb Witness' as it is now, has had many names previous to this; Poirot Loses a Client, Murder at Littlegreen House and Mystery at Littlegreen House . I don't particularly like the first, original title, Poirot Loses a Client, but I would prefer either of the middle two.

ariadnepoirotmarple 27 May 09 at 12:05 p.m. GMT

I rate this book 8/10. I think the book is really worth reading and has a great storyline. The solution can be a bit predictable and disappointing but I think the book is really well written and all the characters are interesting and "colorful"!:)

I think "Dumb Witness" is an excellent title!

ariadnepoirotmarple 27 May 09 at 12:05 p.m. GMT

I rate this book 8/10. I think the book is really worth reading and has a great storyline. The solution can be a bit predictable and disappointing but I think the book is really well written and all the characters are interesting and "colorful"!:)

I think "Dumb Witness" is an excellent title!

TheMole 27 May 09 at 3:46 p.m. GMT

JobyElliottMartin

TheMole- 'Dumb Witness' as it is now, has had many names previous to this; Poirot Loses a Client, Murder at Littlegreen House and Mystery at Littlegreen House . I don't particularly like the first, original title, Poirot Loses a Client, but I would prefer either of the middle two.

You are absolutely right, Joby! I guess that the title Murder at Littlegreen house must have seeped into my subconscious memory :0).

***Spoilers****

To go leafs: Don't you think that choosing Bella as the murderess and her persona, and station in life was much like Gerda in "The Hollow"? I think AC had so much more complex characters in DW that she could have chosen to be the culprit. IMO picking someone like Bella was taking the easy route.

To APM: I agree. The storyline is great!

go_leafs_nation 27 May 09 at 7:08 p.m. GMT

This reply contains spoiler information. Show reply

Well, don't forget that The Hollow came AFTER Dumb Witness. I don't think it was really the easy route, because it was so obvious that to take that path would be a red herring in itself- so obvious it can't be right, if you know what I mean.

TheMole 27 May 09 at 8:02 p.m. GMT

This reply contains spoiler information. Show reply

Yes, I remember that The Hollow came after Dumb Witness I was just comparing the two books. Like if we were talking about TH then I would have referred to DW :0) (I don't know why these regular smileys don't work).

And yes, I know what you mean & I agree. I still don't care for who she chose though. It would have been more exciting if she had picked Bella's husband or Charles. Is it one of your favorites, go leafs?

go_leafs_nation 27 May 09 at 8:48 p.m. GMT

Yes, I really liked it.