The Man in the Queue (Inspector Alan Grant, #1)

A murder in a queue, how British, also very relatable.

I liked bits and pieces of this but as a whole? Not so much.

The murder was fun, then things slowed down way too much and I didn’t care if the murder would be solved or not. Then things picked up a bit with a trip. And I also liked Miss Dinmont but never really cared for inspector Alan Grant.

Also… a wee bit racist as it’s a book of a certain era, “… his grandmother had been Italian, and if he hadn't inherited the knife he had probably inherited the will to use on…”

The idea for the murder was good so I might go for another one, the murder is the reason it gets a 3 star.

I first read Josephine Tey's novels years ago, and loved them. I recall wincing at time at her bigotry, but managed to squint past it. It was problematic in this book.

- SPOILERS BELOW -

It may be worse than some -- the suspect is an Englishman with an Italian grandmother (or some such). The detective refers to him as the "Levantine" throughout the book, and considers him likely to stab a friend in the back with a fancy dagger because of his heritage. There are other, less in-your-face racist comments or description as well.

I've tried this book. I think it is very well written and possibly interesting, except that mysteries are really not for me. I get bored with them very easily. I think my mother would really enjoy this book, as she really enjoys mystery novels.