Disappointment is a Harsh Burden

Disappointment is a harsh burden, especially when there was great expectation.  Any fan of mysteries can understand this sentiment.

I remember the Agatha Christie books and how my white-haired grandmother would devour them.  Devour them!  Then those books came to me, and I became a Christie fan.

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In 1985 or so, BBC released the Agatha Christie Mysteries starring Joan Hickson.  She was an amazing Miss Marple, perfect to the letter.  The excellent filming, settings that screamed “England!  Right here!”, as well as the accuracy of clothing and times presented all the engaging drama one has come to expect from BBC mysteries.

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Let’s leave Dame Margaret Rutherford out of this, shall we.

Today’s American murder/drama/police dramas have gone down a dark, predictable road.  My heart is broken.

It is a dead give-away who did what the moment actors start appearing.  Excluding the usual main characters, the “bad guy” will be the once-off actor who is the most famous and gets paid the most.

And the plot?  The instigating event occurs by the 14^th minute.  The searching for clues lasts until the 47^th minute.  The big “Ah HA!” hits around the 52^nd minute, with winding down (through commercials) until the 58^th minute.  Then there are ads and previews of the next episode.

Disappointment, indeed.  Agatha Christie would have wept.

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Elizabeth George...How dare you!

Summary of the book

She slammed the book closed, and threw it across the room.  How DARE you end it this way…! She roared.

Susan steamed and stewed, gazing at the book lying ignominiously on the floor.  Elizabeth George had betrayed her.  Susan had followed the words through over six-hundred pages, barely breathing at different points.  Susan had been faithful in buying these tomes, but this was really going too far.

The guilty book, What Came before He Shot Her, lay quietly on the floor.  What a cruel way to end this…this…mystery… Susan muttered.

She stalked over to the book and scooped it up.  Susan shoved it into its slot in the bookcase, and then she paused.

Well, maybe I will forgive Elizabeth George this one time…as she slid the next book, This Body of Death: An Inspector Lynley Novel, from its place.  But she had better not do it again!  All 873 pages and I will be reading each one!!!

A summary of the book...

 Ms. George has published more books since the above shown.  Here is her discussion on Careless in Red.

P.S.  I will be out and about with my hubby on vacation trips.  Please comment!  But I won't be able to reply until I find my computer desk again.  Thanks! Plus, I am not really angry at Elizabeth George...just...a little maybe.