- Hardcover: 1312 pages
- Publisher: Cartermill International; First thus Edition edition (Dec 1964)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0582101093
- ISBN-13: 978-0582101098
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Let's Kill Uncle (The Bloomsbury Group)
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Product Description
Review
'A dark, whimsical, startling book, far ahead of its time' Donna Tartt 'There must be a reason we have never heard of Rohan O'Grady for all these years -- but I cannot find it in the pages of Let's Kill Uncle. A thrilling, original book, exquisitely written, and unforgettable -- a classic, rediscovered' Hanan al-Shaykh 'Playfully sinister' Washington Post 'Excellent story, told with much charm' Evening Standard
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
When recently-orphaned Barnaby Gaunt is sent to stay with his uncle on a beautiful remote island off the coast of Canada, he is all set to have the perfect summer holiday. Except for one small problem: his uncle is trying to kill him. Heir to a ten-million-dollar fortune, Barnaby tries to tell everyone and anyone that his uncle is after his inheritance, but no one will believe him. That is, until he tells the only other child on the island, Christie, who concludes that there is only one way to stop his demonic uncle: Barnaby will just have to kill him first. With the unexpected help of One-Ear, the aged cougar who has tormented the island for years, Christie and Barnaby hatch a fool-proof plan. Playful, dark and witty, Let's Kill Uncle is a surprising tale of two ordinary children who conspire to execute an extraordinary murder - and get away with it.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a wonderfully humourous book, written with a wit and simplicity that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Young Barnaby has a wicked uncle, but fortunately his little friend Christie has a solution for his problem ...
I bought it many years ago to tease my own uncle, and the whole family loved it.
The children are probably realistically written and have a pragmatic lack of innocence or illusions. The cougar is an animal that I would really rather not meet without bars between us - and that goes doubly for the Uncle!
My own copy is a paperback that has been read many times and I looked the book up on-line in the hope that it had been reprinted. (My book is old. The pages are heavily tanned and it is not so much "foxed" as "cougared". I saw the moving man's expression when he picked it up - and I blushed but I packed it anyway!)
Why has nobody reprinted this brilliantly funny book?
I bought it many years ago to tease my own uncle, and the whole family loved it.
The children are probably realistically written and have a pragmatic lack of innocence or illusions. The cougar is an animal that I would really rather not meet without bars between us - and that goes doubly for the Uncle!
My own copy is a paperback that has been read many times and I looked the book up on-line in the hope that it had been reprinted. (My book is old. The pages are heavily tanned and it is not so much "foxed" as "cougared". I saw the moving man's expression when he picked it up - and I blushed but I packed it anyway!)
Why has nobody reprinted this brilliantly funny book?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Just a lovely story that has deservedly been reprinted. Not currently available through Amazon. Why not?
Told from everyone's point of view it's about two children thrown together by chance into an isolated canadian island community. There's a well meaning policeman, tortured by being the only survivor to return from the war, a murderous uncle and an ancient, resentful cougar. Written in the early 1960's and set shortly after WW2 it has a simplicity which children will like and which babyboomer parents will love as it recalls their childhood era. I particularly loved the passages narrated by One Ear and if this is eventually refilmed- the original is apparently a camp classic - a well chosen voice will have the chance to rival George Sanders' Shere Khan.
Told from everyone's point of view it's about two children thrown together by chance into an isolated canadian island community. There's a well meaning policeman, tortured by being the only survivor to return from the war, a murderous uncle and an ancient, resentful cougar. Written in the early 1960's and set shortly after WW2 it has a simplicity which children will like and which babyboomer parents will love as it recalls their childhood era. I particularly loved the passages narrated by One Ear and if this is eventually refilmed- the original is apparently a camp classic - a well chosen voice will have the chance to rival George Sanders' Shere Khan.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Couldnt put it down.
18 Jan 2007
Format:Unknown Binding
I found this book in the Good Will when i was a teenager. The title intrigued me, and i soon found the book quick paced and absorbing. Bratty boy and uptight little girl are sent to spend the summer on a Canadian Island and they raise a ruckus in the quiet, childless community. The affection of the islanders and the firm hand of the local mountie inspire them to be much better behaved. Except for the old, much scarred cougar that they secretly and one-sidedly befriend in the forbidden forest. Oh, yes, and the plan to kill the boy's Uncle who, unbeknownst to the islanders, is psychologically tormenting the children as part of his schemes to arrange their apparent accidental death.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Let's Kill Uncle - A Most Charming Murder Story
3 Jan 2010
I first read this book when I was a young girl living in my mother's house. She'd read it and passed it along to me. It's a wonderful story full of colorful characters and lots of "everyday life" and suspense. I loved that the protagonists were children. I had a rather wicked uncle of my own back then.
In 2003 I found a used paperback at Alibris for a reasonable price. I wanted to make sure I still had a copy around to read since my original is falling apart, held together by cracked yellowed masking tape. I recently pulled it out again to read and decided to go on line and see if I could find another backup copy. To my absolute shock, people are now asking in excess of $400 for the book! I don't understand how everyone suddenly caught on to what a delightful book this is, after all this time. What gives?
Anyway, if you can get your hands on a copy, it's a wonderful read. You won't want to put it down. When you're done, you'll wish it could have lasted longer.
If anyone out there could persuade Ace Books (or anyone else) to print another round, it would be fabulous!
Here is the L.A. Herald-Examiner Review from the back cover of the book:
"Some delightful characters parade through this delight murder mystery - a pair of entertaining children who plot murder; a Canadian Mountie, embarrassed to be alive and frustrated in love; a much put-upon cougar; and "Uncle," an ex-Commando whose favorite author is the Marquis de Sade.
"With humor, both sly and fey, Miss O'Grady spins her story of how Barnaby, due to inherit $10 million or so if he survives, and Christie plan to kill Barnaby's Uncle Sylvester before he murders them.
"It's a delectable brew of humor and horror, guaranteed to delight O'Grady fans and expand their number."
In 2003 I found a used paperback at Alibris for a reasonable price. I wanted to make sure I still had a copy around to read since my original is falling apart, held together by cracked yellowed masking tape. I recently pulled it out again to read and decided to go on line and see if I could find another backup copy. To my absolute shock, people are now asking in excess of $400 for the book! I don't understand how everyone suddenly caught on to what a delightful book this is, after all this time. What gives?
Anyway, if you can get your hands on a copy, it's a wonderful read. You won't want to put it down. When you're done, you'll wish it could have lasted longer.
If anyone out there could persuade Ace Books (or anyone else) to print another round, it would be fabulous!
Here is the L.A. Herald-Examiner Review from the back cover of the book:
"Some delightful characters parade through this delight murder mystery - a pair of entertaining children who plot murder; a Canadian Mountie, embarrassed to be alive and frustrated in love; a much put-upon cougar; and "Uncle," an ex-Commando whose favorite author is the Marquis de Sade.
"With humor, both sly and fey, Miss O'Grady spins her story of how Barnaby, due to inherit $10 million or so if he survives, and Christie plan to kill Barnaby's Uncle Sylvester before he murders them.
"It's a delectable brew of humor and horror, guaranteed to delight O'Grady fans and expand their number."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
GREAT book that is finally back in print
10 July 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
wonderful story, many intersecting plot lines. I read it for first time in middle school, reread it every few years. I would never lend out my copy, when it was out of print. Watch for the ending : "and she did".
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