- Hardcover: 186 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Pr; First Edition edition (Dec 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385308434
- ISBN-13: 978-0385308434
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.5 x 1.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 805,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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3 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Great fun for puzzle aficionados
14 Nov 2008
Amazon Verified Purchase
As I write this, I see that two reviewers have said the ending is a cheat. I have read the book cover to cover and am unable to understand what exactly the cheat is. My best guess is that the final page contains a puzzle for which the solution is not provided. The answer to the puzzle reveals the identity of an important person in the mystery. I know because I solved the puzzle, which did not strike me as particularly difficult. At any rate, on to the plot.
Jack Tarrant has retired from Scotland Yard, where he was a homicide detective, and finds himself convalescing after being shot by "The Executive Exterminator," a serial killer who preyed on working women and was never caught. As Christmas nears, Jack receives a letter from the Police Injuries Subscription Society (yes, I noticed the initials, too) offering him an expense-paid package for two at Puzzel Manor. Thus, Jack and his girlfriend, Maria, end up at Puzzel Manor for a traditional English Christmas, or so they believe.
Almost immediately, things go wrong. First, Jack and Maria find a body. The innkeeper, however, is loath to report the murder to authorities, but his reluctance seems irrelevant since the heavy storm has downed phone lines and made leaving the manor nearly impossible. In other words, a situation reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None now exists: several strangers in an isolated setting with a murderer among them. Here, though, there's a big difference. The killer is deliberately leaving clues for Jack, taunting him with puzzles whose solutions slowly spell out a message.
Author Brett includes the puzzles and their solutions in such a way as to let the reader play along. At the end of most chapters is the newest puzzle. At the end of the following chapter is the solution and explanation to the puzzle. The difficulty of the puzzles varies, naturally, but I imagine a reader who enjoys puzzles should be able to solve several of them.
I enjoyed the novel quite a bit. Yes, many of the characters are rather ill developed, but the novel is fun, and Jack and Maria, at least, are clearly drawn.
Jack Tarrant has retired from Scotland Yard, where he was a homicide detective, and finds himself convalescing after being shot by "The Executive Exterminator," a serial killer who preyed on working women and was never caught. As Christmas nears, Jack receives a letter from the Police Injuries Subscription Society (yes, I noticed the initials, too) offering him an expense-paid package for two at Puzzel Manor. Thus, Jack and his girlfriend, Maria, end up at Puzzel Manor for a traditional English Christmas, or so they believe.
Almost immediately, things go wrong. First, Jack and Maria find a body. The innkeeper, however, is loath to report the murder to authorities, but his reluctance seems irrelevant since the heavy storm has downed phone lines and made leaving the manor nearly impossible. In other words, a situation reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None now exists: several strangers in an isolated setting with a murderer among them. Here, though, there's a big difference. The killer is deliberately leaving clues for Jack, taunting him with puzzles whose solutions slowly spell out a message.
Author Brett includes the puzzles and their solutions in such a way as to let the reader play along. At the end of most chapters is the newest puzzle. At the end of the following chapter is the solution and explanation to the puzzle. The difficulty of the puzzles varies, naturally, but I imagine a reader who enjoys puzzles should be able to solve several of them.
I enjoyed the novel quite a bit. Yes, many of the characters are rather ill developed, but the novel is fun, and Jack and Maria, at least, are clearly drawn.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Disappointed
3 Nov 2010
I have read a lot of Simon Bretts books and enjoyed them.
I found The Christmas Games at Puzzel Manor to be an extremely Slow read.
I had to force myself to pic the book up and finish it. The characters, to me, were all
very boring, this book did not keep my attention at all :(
The ending was disappointing to me, did not make clear who one of the perps was.
The entire book was bordering on boring - too many puzzles that made no sense
- get your magnifying glass out if you plan on reading some of the puzzles that are "suppose"
to be part of the book, I did not find them to be so.
Not a book I would recommend and I Love British mysteries, especially ones set in old
Manor houses.
I definitely did not find it up to par with Simon Brett's other books - Carol Seddon/Fethering Mystery
series has been very enjoyable
I found The Christmas Games at Puzzel Manor to be an extremely Slow read.
I had to force myself to pic the book up and finish it. The characters, to me, were all
very boring, this book did not keep my attention at all :(
The ending was disappointing to me, did not make clear who one of the perps was.
The entire book was bordering on boring - too many puzzles that made no sense
- get your magnifying glass out if you plan on reading some of the puzzles that are "suppose"
to be part of the book, I did not find them to be so.
Not a book I would recommend and I Love British mysteries, especially ones set in old
Manor houses.
I definitely did not find it up to par with Simon Brett's other books - Carol Seddon/Fethering Mystery
series has been very enjoyable
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
excellent English country murder mystery
8 Dec 2002
A delightful book from which I withhold the fifth star only because the ending is a bit of a cheat.
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