Review by Nendu87 -- Arsenic and Old Men by Glenn Ickler

[Herbstlicht]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Arsenic and Old Men" by Glenn Ickler.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Arsenic and Old Men by Glenn Ickler


Arsenic and Old Men takes the reader to Martha's Vineyard, an island in Massachusetts, where three friends get wrapped up in a murder mystery. Journalists Mitch, Al and Dave visit the property of Dave's late uncle Walt Jerome, a veteran of the newspaper where the three of them work, who passed leaving Dave a considerable inheritance. During their planned short trip the three quickly learn that Walt's cause of death was arsenic in his blood stream. They make it their mission to solve this case, not only for the sake of their friend Dave but also because of the high potential of media sensationalism regarding the story of their late editor. The mystery becomes even more intriguing when Walt Jerome's tenant Teddy Brewster is found dead shortly thereafter.

Although these unpopular tourists from New England clash with the police inspector, who is less than impressed with the men's interfearing with his investigation, Mitch, Al and Dave continue pursuing their media coverage of the murder story and investigate on their own, uncovering some of the island's best kept secrets.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to readers that are on the lookout for a light, but smart read and can appreciate witty jokes and humorous puns. Glenn Ickler's sense of humour seems to also include quite a few repetitions, some of which were superfluous in my opinion (e.g. how every phone call from Mitch to his wife Martha ends with kissy sounds, or Marty from the car rental place that always utters the "You're the boss" phrase when the men extend their license.) I don't have much to say on the character development in the book; to me all three protagonists sounded very much alike, which is why I craved any information that helped me differentiate between the three musketeers (a spontanious AA-Meeting that Mitch attended was sort of a turning point for me). A thing I disliked was that the writing was occasionaly very laden with geographic names, which I found confusing at times but this didn't bother me to an extent to wish stop reading the book.

What I liked best about this read that it's a very likely story, involving more than three likable characters who at all times have the wits, brains and determination to unveil the mystery to its core. Even the few side stories in the book, like the threatening deportation of Mitch's father-in-law, were believable, humane and incredibly relevant to the modern times we live in.

******
Arsenic and Old Men
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Erin Painter Baker]

Witty jokes and humorous puns are definitely a bonus to any book. This is not a genre I generally read, but I am glad you enjoyed the book.

[Herbstlicht]

Certainly it is. Did you read it as well?

[Magnify3]

Sounds like an interesting book. The kissy sounds at the end of the phone call conversations have me amused. Thanks for the review!

[Herbstlicht]

Sounds like an interesting book. The kissy sounds at the end of the phone call conversations have me amused. Thanks for the review!

Yes, they were pretty amusing the first four times thanks for stopping by!