Tag: charlotte armstrong

A Dram of Poison (1956) by Charlotte Armstrong

April 24, 2019

A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong 1956

8 Stars (8/10 stars)

“Death and destruction,” murmured Mr. Gibson, “in small packages.”

A man bent on suicide smuggles poison out of his neighbor’s lab, only to absent-mindedly misplace it. Now a deadly poison is lost in the city—odorless, tasteless, and disguised as an innocent bottle of olive oil. To find the missing bottle, Kenneth Gibson must expose his most shameful secrets to his friends and family, but as the hunt continues, a number of hidden truths emerge. Can this ragtag group retrieve the poison before it’s too late? Continue reading “A Dram of Poison (1956) by Charlotte Armstrong”

The Unsuspected (1945) by Charlotte Armstrong

October 10, 2018

Book cover of The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong

7 Stars(7/10 stars)

“He’s the devil. How can we fight the devil? That tongue of his, the power of it! He molds the thoughts in people’s heads with his tongue, Jane. Their brains melt. He makes them think what he wants them to think. They’re all his puppets. And he’s the great director. Look at him now. He’s killed twice, committed two murders, and everybody is down there weeping for him.”

They say money can’t buy happiness, and Mathilda Frazier is the living proof. First her fiancé Oliver jilts her days before the wedding, to marry her poor but beautiful cousin, Althea. She goes on a cruise to try and forget, only to be reported dead after a shipwreck. When she finally returns home months later, a handsome stranger is waiting on the dock. He says he’s her husband. Mathilda is sure she’s never seen him before.

At least she has Grandy. Her guardian Luther Grandison loves her even if she is, as he keeps reminding her, an ugly duckling. Mathilda has never really thought about whose money is paying for Grandy’s luxurious lifestyle. It’s never occurred to her that he might have been happier with her dead.

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I See You (1956) by Charlotte Armstrong

June 28, 2018

I See You - Charlotte Armstrong cover

5 Stars (5/10 stars)

There was a little story. I knew there had to be.

Charlotte Armstrong’s most distinctive quality as an author is her clear-eyed but unshakable faith in humanity—certainly a rare perspective in crime fiction. Though she was capable of terrible darkness, the quintessential Armstrong plot involves the prevention of wrongdoing rather than its investigation and ends with the characters learning that they can be better people with just a little effort.

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