Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery (British Library Crime Classics) (original 1952; edition 2020)

by Carol Carnac (Author), Martin Edwards (Introduction)

Series: Julian Rivers (8)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
125	8	231,433	(3.75)	24

Title

Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery (British Library Crime Classics)

Author

Carol Carnac (Author)

Tags

crime fiction, UK, Golden Age, historical fiction, detective fiction

Collections

Your library

Rating

Review

I enjoyed this brilliant detective story. Most striking to me is the atmosphere presented: the contrast between the dully grey weather in London and the bright sunny (but cold) weather on the ski slopes in Austria.
At the beginning I was challenged by the large number of characters, particularly the 16 members of the ski party. As I continued to read on, this concern faded. Instead, I focused on the two police detectives, especially DCI Rivers, who has a distinct style. (similarly for his sidekick). I would like to read more of DCI Rivers's cases, but it seems none are in print right now. Mrs. Stein in London and her layabout son Syd stood out as interesting characters.
There's two distinct storylines and usually I find one of them to be superfluous. This case is different: the two complement one another and come together naturally in to a satisfactory ending.
There's plenty of suspense as we follow the detectives in London and whodunnit puzzle in Austria.
A well done detective story and therefore recommended.
The Introduction by Martin Edwards is not to be missed.

Other authors

Introduction – Edwards, Martin

Publication date

2020

Publication

Poisoned Pen Press (2020), 256 pages

ISBN

1728219949 / 9781728219943

Number of copies

Pages

256

Dimensions