Book #5 for 2023: The Case of the Abominable Snowman by Nicholas Blake
The Case of the Abominable Snowman by Nicholas Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book opens with a flash-forward to near the end, teasing the reader with an episode involving a snowman. It doesn't really make sense until the end, and I did guess what was going to happen shortly before the big reveal.
The main plot involves a guest at a country house being found hanged, but no one believes that she committed suicide, so it turns into a whodunnit story, with the main suspect being a doctor who was supposedly treating the victim for cocaine addiction. Most of the suspicion falls on the doctor, particularly as it is apparent that he could have hypnotised her.
I enjoyed this book, mainly because it threw in several plot twists. There was a lot of talking in it, but the characters were all well-written, and the setting within the country house gave it a gothic, and slightly claustrophobic, feel. Although there was one that I could see coming from a long way off, there was a final one that I didn't guess at all. I always enjoy a mystery novel that manages to surprise me, so I may have to check out more of Nicholas Blake's novels.
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Second book for January in the Calendar of Crime; a snowbound country house mystery.
1. January in the title
2. Author's birth month
3. Primary action takes place in this month
4. New Year's
5. Other January holiday
6. Original publication month
7. Book title has word starting with J
8. Snow, winter scene, top hat, party scene on cover
9. Year of the Rat
10. Snowbound country house mystery