so-soThis is not Brand's best book, but it has a lot to interest a social historian. She is great at exploring the group dynamics of working women and here she focuses on shop girls. Who she shows they are a more interesting group than their vapid stereotype.
She does not deal with her homosexual character as fairly and the homophobia is vile.
Mystery itself is ill-paced and mediocre.
pickBrand is a master at keeping the reader guessing. Complex relationships and an abundance of theories means that no one character stands out as the culprit. A well thought out locked room mystery with a very surprising ending. Can also be found under the title “The Crooked Wreath”.
A new to me Golden Age British mystery writer. Brand uses her experience as a salesgirl in this first novel (1941) which she based on “a fantasy of murdering an irritating coworker”.
My thoughts in order:
1. 🫢 OMG.
2. I‘m glad I don‘t work in her HR.
3. Did they even have HR back then?
4. Hope she kept that bit to herself for awhile and didn‘t share it til she left.
#jessreads2022
🐈⬛ 📸 Lola Cat cameo
Book mail! I have been reading a lot of nature and folkloric fiction lately, and I‘ve been gravitating towards work set in the British countryside. I‘m eager to break into my latest import from Zoë Gilbert - look at that cover! And the John Adams book is the latest addition to my ever expanding Library of America collection...even though they only seem to send me titles from the early 1800s. I guess they know I have a #brand ? #readwomen
