276°
Posted 20 hours ago

A Shot in the Dark: A Twitten Mystery (A Constable Twitten Mystery)

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

the cheerful stereotypes that we are clearly meant to find funny rather than mildly problematic—I mean there was a lot of stereotype subversion as well, so I'm not trying to be judgy about it. It was just ... the psychologist ... that whole plot strand ... hmmm ... The August bank holiday is approaching and after two extremely high-profile murder cases, Constable Twitten is eagerly anticipating a quiet spell at work. But then they find the bodies – and the milk bottles. The book was well written for the most part, truly comical in places, though occasionally a bit disjointed. The British setting is great and the twisty paths to get to resolution are fun. Characters are described and portrayed well, an unusual assortment indeed!

For this Waiting on Wednesday I will be looking at a book that I have no doubt will be one of the funniest novels of this year, The Man That Got Away, by Lynne Truss. The Man That Got Away is the second book in the Constable Twitten series, which follows on from last year’s comedic tour-de-force, A Shot in the Dark. The idea that the three victims had been killed by milk bottles is both equally funny and deeply horrific. Good, light hearted, quintessential, funny and endearing crime, with some clever words thrown in the mix for entertainment. I can't wait for the next one! Who knew crime and humour went so well. I was originally drawn in to this book by its strangely odd title and its comically mild but aesthetically pleasing cover. I read the blurb and didn’t know what to think...obviously I dived right in! Being a Brightonian myself it was all the small details that impressed me the most, I've heard numerous mentions of the old ice rink that features in the story.By now the readers know that the cleaning lady in charge of the station is a criminal mastermind. Mrs. Groynes is part cleaner, part den mother, and part overlord, and she makes herself loved and indispensable by showing up with cake, providing constant cups of tea, and listening to the cops to make sure that her operation is nowhere close to being discovered. In the first of the series, Twitten discovers what Groynes has been up to, but not a single, solitary cop or civilian will believe him. He’s new, after all, and they’ve known Palmyra Groynes forever. Mrs. Groynes, a crime lord? Don’t be ridiculous! In the first of a new series, Lynne Truss successfully blends crime with comedy to produce a highly entertaining read.

I love reading stories set in my home town of Brighton, it's just a shame that I've not heard of this series sooner. The story takes place only months after Twitten’s previous adventure uncovering the murder of a famed theater critic in A Shot in the Dark, but he’s been given no credit for that one, and indeed his revelations tend to be dismissed as irrelevant or just impossible, making life much more difficult for an ambitious young copper.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Lynne Truss is hilarious, but with this fourth installment of the Constable Twitten series, she has outdone herself. My thanks go to Net Galley and Bloomsbury for the review copy. This book is riotously funny, and it's for sale now. Lynn Truss is an excellent writer with a fine comic sense and I have enjoyed a lot of her work very much, but I'm afraid I was a little disappointed in A Shot In the Dark.

This book definitely has one of the more unusual titles of any book reviewed in recent memory. It definitely gives a lot of information right off the bat and lets you know precisely the common thread of the book.These are very funny books. Truss writes wonderful dialogue, particularly mad cross-talk between people who aren't close to following each other. The plots are intricate and silly and Truss seems proud of that.

stars. I wish to thank NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review. I regret that I had difficulty maintaining interest in this book. I usually enjoy quirky characters, humour and mystery, and am sorry that this didn't work for me. Brighton is sea-side resort with chip shops, night clubs, theaters and entertainment. Think an English Coney Island. Truss creates a whole alternative 1950s Brighton at the same time she captures the actual 1950s Brighton. The chief of police is a buffon who is considered a national hero. Organized crime has infiltrated the police in an hilarious way. Twitten is oblivious to much of the crookedness around him, but is smart enough to get in trouble.Firstly let me say this is the first book in the series that I have encountered. Secondly I listened to the audio book rather than read the novel. I mention this as it may have a bearing on my opinion. My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing for providing an advanced digital copy of A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss. While it is classified as a mystery, I found it to belong more in the humor category. The mystery as it exists is secondary to the story itself, as told by the unseen author. There is no doubt that A Shot in the Dark is a clever novel with a great sense of the absurd so I have awarded it 3* for these merits as I personally didn't enjoy it. I found the arch tone grating and slightly condescending and the humour was wasted on me as I didn't find it funny. The whole idea of an extremely stupid policeman, Inspector Steyne, landing on his feet at every turn is, as I said, clever but distinctly unappealing to me. I got number 3 as an arc a little while ago, and I've just been granted number 4 as an arc also, but I wanted to read the missing ones first! This is number 2 in this fantastic series and it is as good as the others I've read. With a little help from Mrs. Goynes, and none at all from his amateur psychologizing, Twitten not only solves the convoluted crimes, he also changes his relationships at work for the better.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment