Review by Morfae_93 -- Arsenic and Old Men by Glenn Ickler

[Morfae_93]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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When Warren ‘Mitch’ Mitchell and Alan ‘Al’ Jeffrey accompany their friend, Dave Jerome, to Martha’s Vineyard to settle some legal matters in the wake of his uncle’s death, the simple weekend trip the three friends had expected turns into a much longer stay when the circumstances surrounding Uncle Jerome’s death are revealed to be more sinister than initially assumed. Tasked by the chief editor of the newspaper they work for, the St. Paul Daily Dispatch, to investigate this mystery, the three set out on an adventure that brings new meaning to the cautionary phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’.

There are a few elements in Arsenic and Old Men which I enjoyed during my reading, though I would be hard-pressed to decide what I liked the most.

The book captured my interest right off the bat with its first sentence: counter to my expectation of the narrative adopting a relatively serious tone due to Arsenic and Old Men being a murder mystery, the author set a fairly lighthearted and humorous tone instead. This being the first time I have encountered such a take in a book of this genre, it is with my curiosity piqued and a smile on my lips that I started reading it; and it is with that same smile still present on my face that I read it to the end. Glenn Ickler very skillfully introduces humour into his writing without detracting from the story and, indeed, in such a way that it actually adds to it, preventing the reader both from dwelling on its darker aspects, such as murder, and from looking too deeply into the various clues that gradually surface over the course of the book. This has the pleasant side-effect of keeping the reader on their toes and continuously guessing, right to the end.

Another element I enjoyed and was very pleasantly surprised by was the secondary story playing out in the background of the main one: Martha, the wife of the main protagonist, Mitch, has to find a way to stop ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) from deporting her father on the flimsy basis of there being some sort of error in his documentation, despite the fact that he has already been approved for a green card. I find it very admirable that Ickler chose to address the current problematic situation revolving around ICE near-indiscriminately rounding up people with an obvious migratory background for any reason under the sun.

Last but not least, I rather enjoyed the high mastery in the art of puns displayed by Ickles. Not only was the presence of humour in a murder mystery already a pleasant surprise, but so, too, was the inclusion of a myriad of well-placed puns that wonderfully contribute towards building up the story’s momentum.

There is only one mildly dissatisfactory element I have found throughout my reading of Arsenic and Old Men. Invariably, at the end of every phone conversation between them, Mitch and Martha “made kissy sounds” to each other. Initially, I found this sweet, even charming. However, by the time I was halfway through the book it became quite irritating.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of the above-mentioned aspects. This book would appeal to anyone interested in murder mysteries, but also to anyone simply wanting to have a good laugh while enjoying a pleasant read. Adversely, I would imagine that this book would scarcely appeal to anyone preferring murder mysteries written in a more serious, ‘this is life or death’ tone.

I have come across only a single mistake. Arsenic and Old Men has clearly been professionally edited.

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Arsenic and Old Men
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