- Hardcover: 363 pages
- Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (Feb 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 078624688X
- ISBN-13: 978-0786246885
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.7 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,574,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
I, Richard
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Product Description
Review
'Excellent . . . a wonderful example of how a talented writer can inflict unexpected twists and turns on the unsuspecting reader.' (Yorkshire Post )
'five nimbly written and gripping tales, each with a stunning conclusion.' (Publishers Weekly )
Praise for Elizabeth George:
'The multi-faceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum in this can't-put-down novel.' (Publishers Weekly )
'She writes extremely well, plots brilliantly and reaches an emotional level deeper than most ... Captivating' (The Times )
'The best plotter in the mystery game, [her] elegant literate flow puts many Brits to shame' (Time Out ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
'five nimbly written and gripping tales, each with a stunning conclusion.' (Publishers Weekly )
Praise for Elizabeth George:
'The multi-faceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum in this can't-put-down novel.' (Publishers Weekly )
'She writes extremely well, plots brilliantly and reaches an emotional level deeper than most ... Captivating' (The Times )
'The best plotter in the mystery game, [her] elegant literate flow puts many Brits to shame' (Time Out ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Publishers Weekly
Praise for Elizabeth George:
‘The multi-faceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum in this can't-put-down novel.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
‘The multi-faceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum in this can't-put-down novel.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Short stories that contain mysteries are a challenge. You cannot do much character development, add many plot details nor use extensive red herrings.
Ms. George's writing holds up surprisingly well in this format considering that she normally pens novels that run 500-600 pages. The charm of her work is that she loves ironies, and provides us with some delicious ones.
In Exposure, Thomas Lynley and Lady Helen are visiting Lynley's aunt while some of the heritage silver is pinched by a tour group. A man dies in the process. Can Lynley sort out the crime before this turns into an even bigger problem?
In The Surprise of His Life, a middle-aged man finds himself having ED problems and grows concerned that his young wife is obtaining satisfaction elsewhere. He becomes obsessed with stopping this cuckolding . . . with unexpected results.
Good Fences Aren't Enough is a sad commentary on how we can become accustomed to anything . . . and actually seek out the perverse. A new neighbor moves in and doesn't keep up the property values. Her neighbors decide to do something about it and get more than they bargained for.
Remember, I'll Always Love You reminds of the best of O'Henry's short stories. Just before he dies, a husband shares that wonderful sentiment with his wife. Only with time can she put the comment into its proper context.
I, Richard is the opposite of the last story . . . about getting a gift that you didn't want but that someone else would assume that you did. It has a wonderful background in historical references to Richard III that will appeal to those who enjoyed The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.
The weakness of the stories is that the irony is usually too easy to anticipate. For that reason, Remember, I'll Always Love You works best . . . because the irony is better disguised.
Format:Paperback
Bits of this work are OK, but overall I think that the problem is that Elizabeth George is not really a short story writer. The stories are thin and some of the plots are stale. I enjoy the Inspector Lynley novels but I wouldn't really recommend this book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
37 reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
I love Elizabeth George's novels; I disliked this book
28 Mar 2003
Format:Hardcover
I'm a great Elizabeth George fan. She is one of a small number of writers whose works I buy in hardbound.
But I'm afraid she's no short story writer.
The collection gets off to a bad start with "Exposure," which ought to be interesting to George fans because of the presence of detective Thomas Lynley. But the story is a mess. I don't understand the perpetrator's motive. The "puzzle" aspect is poorly presented--we're not really given enough of a clue to solve the puzzle ourselves. The perpetrator actually commits two crimes--and I don't believe that the methods used to commit either crime would have worked in real life.
Three of the the stories feature "O. Henry endings," none of which, in my opinion, quite come off.
The title story, "I, Richard" intertwines a sort of pseudo-mystery story concerning the truth about Richard III and the Princes in the Tower, with a modern-day murder story. Unfortunately, to someone who isn't a "Ricardian," the Richard III part is muddled and boring--and the framing murder mystery is unbelievable, except for the ending--which is all too predictable.
Similar motifs recur in several of the stories--giving a slightly stale or repetitious flavor to the collection.
Perhaps the best is "Good Fences Aren't Always Enough," which comes close to being sad and touching. But all of them, even this one, read more like extended jokes than like real stories. The characters in them are paper cutouts. The author's attitude toward her characters is remote and almost contemptuous. She never seems involved with them, nor do we. The stories succeed neither as slices of life nor as clever little clockwork gadgets.
And, incidentally, the book is a rather poor value. There are only five stories in it. It's thin, the type is large, and the lines are widely spaced. By my estimate, it contains roughly about 70,000 words (for [money amount]) or about one-fifth as many as "A Traitor to Memory" ([money amount]). Distinctly short measure, to my way of thinking.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
A major disappointment
27 Nov 2002
Format:Hardcover
It has always been worth waiting a year for a George novel - One of my favorite authors. But this book of short stories - not a novel is very disappointing and the stories are not up to her usual fine writings.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Disappointing offering from a favorite...
1 Dec 2002
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fans of Elizabeth George will be disappointed in I, Richard. The quality of the short stories may not be George's best work, but they are an enjoyable read if you like either the approach or want to read everything written by a favorite author.
What was very disappointing is that all of these stories have been published previously (one was slightly changed from the original version), but this is not noted anywhere in the book. This slim book appears to be not much more than an attempt to take advantage of unknowing buyers.
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