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Country House Crime Mystery #8
The Riddle of Sphinx Island
The eighth entry in the acclaimed Antonia Darcy and Major Payne mystery series offers a modern twist on Agatha Christie's most famous whodunit, 'And Then There Were None'.
Detective story writer Antonia Darcy and her husband Hugh Payne are asked to travel to Devon in order to prevent a murder on Sphinx Island, but they are far from enthusiastic as they suspect an elaborate joke. And when they hear that one of the house party guests is Romaine Garrison-Gore, another crime writer, they have no doubt that they will walk into a rather tedious variant of the Murder Weekend. After all, it is their 10th wedding anniversary and Major Payne's aunt, Lady Grylls, has been trying to think of a truly original present for them. But then they receive a rather sinister letter signed "The Riddler" and become curious—could the devil speak true?
Detective story writer Antonia Darcy and her husband Hugh Payne are asked to travel to Devon in order to prevent a murder on Sphinx Island, but they are far from enthusiastic as they suspect an elaborate joke. And when they hear that one of the house party guests is Romaine Garrison-Gore, another crime writer, they have no doubt that they will walk into a rather tedious variant of the Murder Weekend. After all, it is their 10th wedding anniversary and Major Payne's aunt, Lady Grylls, has been trying to think of a truly original present for them. But then they receive a rather sinister letter signed "The Riddler" and become curious—could the devil speak true?
- GenresMystery
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2013
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
R.T. Raichev
19 books14 followersR. T. Raichev is a researcher and writer who grew up in Bulgaria and wrote a university dissertation on English crime fiction. He has lived in London since 1989.
Series:
* Country House Crime Mystery
Series:
* Country House Crime Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 2, 2020
Island, Storm, Murder Game... cliché, cliché, cliché. And that would be absolutely fine and maybe even fun, if this book wasn’t so terribly plotted and written. I struggled to give it two stars.
Firstly, it desperately wants to be set in the Golden Age - and to be honest, with very little it could be. The way people interact, the use of cyanide, the setting, the aristocracy, the pipe smoking detective - it all feels lifted straight out of a book from the 30s. Just occasionally though, there’s an incredibly jarring reference to the Internet, mobile phones (conveniently with no signal) or once - God help us - Justin Bieber. These felt incredibly ‘plonked’ and didn’t fit with the rest of the text at all.
There was almost nothing about the setting that felt contemporary- I get that was deliberate, but it strained credibility too far for me. Talking of credibly, a storm that ‘guts’ a library completely through a broken window, inexplicably obtained cyanide in the modern day or a generator nobody wants to turn on (not to mention it being in an unventilated cellar) really made the book lose any hooks to the real world for me.
Secondly, the plotting. You know there’s probably a ‘secret’ murder game going on from the outset. This babbles away for half the book and adds such a level of convolution through the some-acting, some not acting characters, that by the time of the actual murder, I just didn’t care.
The characters themselves were wooden and unrealistic. They spoke to each other in odd ways no human would talk to another and generally lacked any sense of reality in their actions. The motive for the eventual murder was so far fetched it left me feeling utterly cold.
Finally, as if another let down was needed, there was some incredibly awful transphobia in this book. Largely this came out of characters mouths but it was unchallenged at any point, attempted to link gender assignment to mental illness, totally devalued the issues and was really pretty unspeakable. Again you might expect this in a book from the 30s, but in a book of the last decade, please, no.
Clearly, I would not recommend this book. It’s a shame because despite the clichés it could have been fun, and to be honest I think it would take just a bit more thought, care and good editing to get there. A real 1.5 for me, and the .5 is only because I managed to keep reading it, painfully, until the end.
Firstly, it desperately wants to be set in the Golden Age - and to be honest, with very little it could be. The way people interact, the use of cyanide, the setting, the aristocracy, the pipe smoking detective - it all feels lifted straight out of a book from the 30s. Just occasionally though, there’s an incredibly jarring reference to the Internet, mobile phones (conveniently with no signal) or once - God help us - Justin Bieber. These felt incredibly ‘plonked’ and didn’t fit with the rest of the text at all.
There was almost nothing about the setting that felt contemporary- I get that was deliberate, but it strained credibility too far for me. Talking of credibly, a storm that ‘guts’ a library completely through a broken window, inexplicably obtained cyanide in the modern day or a generator nobody wants to turn on (not to mention it being in an unventilated cellar) really made the book lose any hooks to the real world for me.
Secondly, the plotting. You know there’s probably a ‘secret’ murder game going on from the outset. This babbles away for half the book and adds such a level of convolution through the some-acting, some not acting characters, that by the time of the actual murder, I just didn’t care.
The characters themselves were wooden and unrealistic. They spoke to each other in odd ways no human would talk to another and generally lacked any sense of reality in their actions. The motive for the eventual murder was so far fetched it left me feeling utterly cold.
Finally, as if another let down was needed, there was some incredibly awful transphobia in this book. Largely this came out of characters mouths but it was unchallenged at any point, attempted to link gender assignment to mental illness, totally devalued the issues and was really pretty unspeakable. Again you might expect this in a book from the 30s, but in a book of the last decade, please, no.
Clearly, I would not recommend this book. It’s a shame because despite the clichés it could have been fun, and to be honest I think it would take just a bit more thought, care and good editing to get there. A real 1.5 for me, and the .5 is only because I managed to keep reading it, painfully, until the end.
August 31, 2013
This is the eighth novel in the Antonia Darcy/Major Hugh Payne series written by R. T. Raichev. I proudly display them all on a shelf in my office because once I found this author I knew I would never part with any of his novels. When this book arrived in the mail I firmly dictated that I could not begin reading it until I had finished the current book I was reading. Well, that dictate lasted for several hours. I was only going to look at the chapter titles, really. Raichev uses the most wonderful chapter titles which are almost always titles of books or songs but which tie in with what is going to take place in that chapter. I find that fascinating. Well, before I knew it I was reading away and came upon this line: "Notions of madness aren't what they used to be." That reflection is such a clear statement of what Sybil de Coverley was dealing with regarding her eccentric brother that I knew then I was in for a wonderful reading experience.
This story has everything you would want to read in a modern day mystery patterned after books published during the Golden Age of the mystery novel. The island, the rather gloomy house, the mighty storm, the eccentric character, the Ugly American, the titled British lady, several people who aren't who they say they are, and the married couple who have been invited to solve a murder. But why does the hostess even think a murder might take place? Really, could this all just be an entertainment put on for Hugh and Antonia as a gift, a wedding anniversary present? And just when you think you know what is going to happen.........it doesn't. After reading all of R. T. Raichev's books in this series I know his style is to lull the unwary reader into following false trails of information. The infamous Red Herring. Even being forewarned didn't keep me from being snookered in. While I was busy concentrating on not being fooled, I got fooled. I just love it when an author gives me all the clues and then waits to see if I will pick them up and solve the problem they have set out. I came close, but close doesn't really count in solving murders.
I absolutely enjoyed every page of this novel. The atmosphere is superbly written. Every sentence pertaining to a mystery novelist writing a novel discussing mystery novel writers was such fun to read. You can't help but speculate about whether this author is talking about himself as well as the characters in his books. The setting and characters and plotting have so many aspects of the mystery cliché that I couldn't help but wonder every time if they would be given some fresh twist which would take them from the familiar (and dare I say hackneyed) into a modern, interesting dimension which piques my interest yet again. I'm happy to say I was not disappointed. I highly recommend any of the novels written by this author. My very most tip-top favorite is still Murder at the Villa Byzantine, but this one came really close to knocking that one off the pinnacle plinth. Not just a salute to Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None) but a smart salute to the talented authors of the 1930's and 1940's. Thank goodness for the marvelous writing talent of R. T. Raichev!
This story has everything you would want to read in a modern day mystery patterned after books published during the Golden Age of the mystery novel. The island, the rather gloomy house, the mighty storm, the eccentric character, the Ugly American, the titled British lady, several people who aren't who they say they are, and the married couple who have been invited to solve a murder. But why does the hostess even think a murder might take place? Really, could this all just be an entertainment put on for Hugh and Antonia as a gift, a wedding anniversary present? And just when you think you know what is going to happen.........it doesn't. After reading all of R. T. Raichev's books in this series I know his style is to lull the unwary reader into following false trails of information. The infamous Red Herring. Even being forewarned didn't keep me from being snookered in. While I was busy concentrating on not being fooled, I got fooled. I just love it when an author gives me all the clues and then waits to see if I will pick them up and solve the problem they have set out. I came close, but close doesn't really count in solving murders.
I absolutely enjoyed every page of this novel. The atmosphere is superbly written. Every sentence pertaining to a mystery novelist writing a novel discussing mystery novel writers was such fun to read. You can't help but speculate about whether this author is talking about himself as well as the characters in his books. The setting and characters and plotting have so many aspects of the mystery cliché that I couldn't help but wonder every time if they would be given some fresh twist which would take them from the familiar (and dare I say hackneyed) into a modern, interesting dimension which piques my interest yet again. I'm happy to say I was not disappointed. I highly recommend any of the novels written by this author. My very most tip-top favorite is still Murder at the Villa Byzantine, but this one came really close to knocking that one off the pinnacle plinth. Not just a salute to Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None) but a smart salute to the talented authors of the 1930's and 1940's. Thank goodness for the marvelous writing talent of R. T. Raichev!
February 3, 2014
The Riddle of Sphinx Island was an interesting read. I would be remiss not to compare Major Payne and Antonia Darcy to Nick and Nora Charles, with quick wit and smarts all they were missing was Asta. The story was entertaining with a cast of eccentric characters, reminding me of the 1985 movie Clue. It was great fun. Until the pseudo-murder is solved, then I fear it jumped the shark. Transgender and CIA mingle into the story and it was all a bit too bizarre for my taste. I could understand the intricacies the author laid out earlier but, and while vague as to not give anything away, was a little too off the wall. The last forty or so pages redeemed itself. I had an idea who the culprit was but it was fun to see it play out. In the end, The Riddle of Sphinx Island concluded on a high note.
On an end note, I want to share my favorite passage in the book. Which in itself is a bit obscure and is a little irrelevant to the murder, but I was pleased with it all the same.
"Gott is Tott...
Doctor Klein was in his room and he was singing. It was an old and rather obscure german song with an untranslatable title.Something about the death of hope, the death of love, the death of God…
Tears as large as pearls ran down his white face. A cinema buff may have been put in mind of Cocteau's La Belle et La Bete. Belle's teardrops turning into glittering diamonds, much to her delight.
But in Doctor Klein's heart there was no delight, only darkness.
~ Pages 154 & 155
I am one such cinema buff and was delighted to see this reference. At the novel's end I shared Belle's sentiment and found The Riddle of Sphinx Island to be an entertaining read, particularly for a rainy day.
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
On an end note, I want to share my favorite passage in the book. Which in itself is a bit obscure and is a little irrelevant to the murder, but I was pleased with it all the same.
"Gott is Tott...
Doctor Klein was in his room and he was singing. It was an old and rather obscure german song with an untranslatable title.Something about the death of hope, the death of love, the death of God…
Tears as large as pearls ran down his white face. A cinema buff may have been put in mind of Cocteau's La Belle et La Bete. Belle's teardrops turning into glittering diamonds, much to her delight.
But in Doctor Klein's heart there was no delight, only darkness.
~ Pages 154 & 155
I am one such cinema buff and was delighted to see this reference. At the novel's end I shared Belle's sentiment and found The Riddle of Sphinx Island to be an entertaining read, particularly for a rainy day.
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
December 29, 2016
Try as I might (and I did try four times) I was unable to get into R.T. Raichev's 'The Riddle of Sphinx Island'. I did want to read it for the blurb suggested that it was the type of mystery that I would enjoy and added '..a modern-day setting with memorable plots of the Golden Age of detective fiction'.
Sadly I could not subscribe to that strap line for the plot begins rather oddly in that the owner of Spinx Island approaches Antonia Darcy and her husband Major Hugh Payne to visit the island for she feels, yes, feels, that a murder is about to be committed. There follows what for me is plenty of garbled chit-chat with nothing significant happening.
This continued for quite a few pages at which point I gave it up, having got further each start I made but never being drawn into the tale. So, the 'Riddle' of the tile is still a mystery to me and I am afraid it will remain so for I am definitely not going to try a fifth start! Sorry, R.T. Raichev.
Sadly I could not subscribe to that strap line for the plot begins rather oddly in that the owner of Spinx Island approaches Antonia Darcy and her husband Major Hugh Payne to visit the island for she feels, yes, feels, that a murder is about to be committed. There follows what for me is plenty of garbled chit-chat with nothing significant happening.
This continued for quite a few pages at which point I gave it up, having got further each start I made but never being drawn into the tale. So, the 'Riddle' of the tile is still a mystery to me and I am afraid it will remain so for I am definitely not going to try a fifth start! Sorry, R.T. Raichev.
January 8, 2016
I found this quite an interesting read, it is quite unusual the way it is set, as it is a sort of old fashioned detective story in a modern setting. The main characters; Antonia who writes detective stories and her husband are invited away to Devon for the weekend, although told it is to stop a murder, they think they are being set up for a big practical joke in the form of some sort of murder mystery weekend, in order to celebrate their wedding anniversary. I don’t want to say too much more as it would be easy to give the plot away. There are quite a lot of characters, most of them pretty eccentric and I did find it took quite a few chapters to place them all, but it is quite a fun and easy read ideal for anyone who likes a good detective story.
December 3, 2015
Col. Hugh Payne and his wife, detective story writer Antonia Darcy, suspect that the invitation to a remote island is just a way of getting them to participate in a murder weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. But they go anyway, to find themselves right and wrong: It is a set-up for a phony murder, but there's a real murderer prowling the country house, too, and there's a huge storm that's cut connections with the outside world.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews