Friday, April 20, 2012

The Yellow Room Conspiracy by Peter Dickinson - Book Review!

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway for a Free Book!


Peter Dickinson is one of Britain's most celebrated mystery authors, and it shows. In "The Yellow Room Conspiracy" we find a tale as complex and confusing as anything Agatha Christie or Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle ever wrote. 

This mystery is written in the form of a memoir written by two of the main characters in the mystery. Through their notes about the events they lived through we learn that Paul and Lucy are now elderly. Lucy is rapidly succumbing to a disease that sounds a lot like Parkinson's, although it's never actually named, and she finally asks Paul about what happened when they were much younger. The police had never solved the murder, and they have lived and loved for years each assuming they knew what happened, and coming to different conclusions.

As they individually recount their memories of the events leading up to the murder of Gerry, we are taking deep inside their lives; through the deprivations of World War II, inside Lucy's family of five sisters, and their hopes, dreams, and loves. 

I found the story enthralling. Dickinson does a good job of explaining how each of the characters in his large cast behaved and thought, and how they changed over time. The actual murder doesn't take place until nearly the end of the book, and by that time the motivations and confusion behind who done it, is both clear and confusing. In the end Lucy shares with us what she thinks really happened, and while she says it with certainty, the reader is left wondering if she's right or if there is yet another conclusion that we'll never know

~ Ruthie ~

Ps. Love a good mystery? The book I'm currently giving away is a great one! 

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the visit and sweet comment..and look your recent post also with a yellow theme...what a coincidence.(grin)
    I'm drawn to a great mystery...this one now has me intrigued.

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  2. That book does sound very good! It's intriguing that the murder for the mystery happens near the end of the book. Thanks for the great review!

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