It is not some out-of-the-world thing which requires esoteric knowledge, but simple everyday logic, which most of us won’t use, but which looks simple in retrospect. I loved the way the detective uses logical reasoning to find out who the suspect is. There are many false clues, some true ones, and the mystery is unfurled slowly and we discover the real truth only in the end. When we are one-third into the book, we are convinced about the identity of the murderer, but that is too easy, and things are not what they seem. After the initial shocking murder, the action moves at a rapid pace (rapid by 19th century standards), and the detective uses logical reasoning and clues to find the answers. It is because it is good, it is really good. The author himself says in the preface to the book – “I may state in conclusion, that I belong to New Zealand, and not to Australia…”) When it first came out, it outsold Arthur Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes novel ‘ A Study in Scarlet‘. (Wikipedia says that he is an English writer.
‘ The Mystery of a Hansom Cab‘ was published in 1886 and it was one of the first crime mysteries to be published by an Australian writer. Who is this man? Why was he killed? Who was his companion who probably killed him? You have to read the story to find out. He doesn’t have any identity papers, his address is not known, the identity of his erstwhile companion is not known and everything is a mystery. When the cab reaches the rough destination, the cab driver tries to wake up the drunk man, but discovers that he is dead. But halfway to the destination, he gets out and leaves. While the cab driver is trying to get the drunk man into the cab, the companion turns up again and says he will also accompany his friend. Another man accompanying him hails a hansom cab and asks the can driver to drop him home and leaves. In the picture – the poster of the 2012 Australian film adaptation of the bookĪ man comes out of a bar in the middle of the night. I discovered this book through Kim’s post. I decided to read ‘ The Mystery of a Hansom Cab’ by Fergus Hume as part of the celebrations. It is the time to read and celebrate crime fiction from Australia and New Zealand.
March is the time to celebrate Southern Cross Crime Month hosted by Kim from Reading Matters.
0 kommentar(er)
