Review of Arsenic and Old Men

[saffasamreen]

[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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Arsenic and Old Men, by Glenn Ickler is a crime/mystery/thriller which follows the story of Warren Mitchell and his friends, Al and Dave. The three go on a trip to an island called Martha's Vineyard after Dave's Uncle Walt dies of a heart attack. Very soon an autopsy reveals that Walt had been poisoned and soon after, another body turns up. The three, now helplessly stuck on the island, try to get to the bottom of the mystery just so they can get back home as soon as possible.

The book is a very light read, not delving too deep into the murder and mystery aspects, giving the story elements of humor and comedy. The story is narrated by Mitchell in a classic 'grumpy old man' fashion, with an extra dash of dad jokes. The story doesn't tell us too much about the characters either, which is a good thing for readers who want to read something with a little mystery that would keep them guessing but don't want something too heavy. The three leads in the story don't really care too much about who the murderer actually was and are more interested in getting back home, which turns into their motivation to solve the murder as quickly as possible.

The book contains a lot of strong language. The book does contain scenes involving nudity, but there are no sexual scenes. The book also contains a whole load of puns, which I loved a lot, but might be annoying to others. I also loved the usage of popular references like The Three Musketeers and The Three Stooges. The book keeps you thoroughly engaged throughout the story. The interactions between the characters in the book are very entertaining, although sometimes they can get repetitive.

The book was very well edited and I couldn't find any spelling or grammatical errors. One problem I did have with the book was a bit of sexism, as the male characters would often be found "checking out" some of the female characters, but this doesn't happen very often. Overall, I would rate the book 4 out of 4.

I recommend this book to people looking for a good mystery but don't want a very heavy plot. I wouldn't recommend this book for children as the book contains nudity and profanity. Also, some readers might be slightly irritated by the puns and repetitive jokes, but other readers may actually enjoy it.

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Arsenic and Old Men
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