Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Affair of the Bottled Deuce

The Affair of the Bottled Deuce
WhidbeyIslander avatar reviewed on + 689 more book reviews


Keeler has one of those reputations in mystery-reading circles (at least those who enjoy golden-age mysteries) that I think puts him in a higher regarded class than this book would warrant. He wrote lots of books, and maybe it was unfortunate that I picked this one to read as an introduction to him. It doesn't make me anxious to read more of his books.

I found this one way too long (even at only 157 pages) with lots of rambling paragraphs and dialogue that was pretty unrealistic. His prose is too purple for my taste, and I lost patience with his plot dragging and only managed to finish it by skimming and skipping. Even though it contains a "locked-room" the policeman explains how someone could have left the scene of the crime and made it seem sealed early on in the book. The puzzle doesn't really give you the satisfying feeling a well-thought-out whodunit should.

Not recommended.