"Death's Door" by Chris Chan

[bookowlie]

Bluemel4, That's great that you guessed the murderer halfway through the story! I was suspicious of her behavior, but I thought she was either a red herring or was hiding something that wasn't related to the killing.

[bluemel4]

As soon as it was introduced that he liked younger women, I knew it was her.

[H0LD0Nthere]

Yes everyone, I too agree that was very Agatha-Christie-esque. Including the fact that the clues were there for readers to pick up on. I also liked that the narrator was quite a character himself, and of course the character of Q was a gem.

Unlike many of the other stories in this collection, in this one you don't spend much time living in the mind of a person who is being consumed by their own bitterness or grief. The narrator and Q were both mentally healthy, even amusing people. That gave the story a lighter, more fun-to-read feeling. It was not quite as on-theme as the other stories, but coming in the midst of the them, was also a nice breather.

I loved that this was a version of the locked-room mystery.

I too hate that a pregnant Tracy is going to jail. But, as Agatha Christie says, "People simply will not believe that a murder is dangerous." She lied to conceal the extent of her crime, and having killed once, will find it easier to kill again. At least, that's certainly what Ms. Christie would say.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Yeah, I was shocked that she planned the murder, from the trees, rather than committing a crime of opportunity at the cabin (as best I recall). And I was fooled into thinking that Q was not psychologically sound, since he failed the police exam! Way to make it ambiguous!!

[zanderlyrose]

I loved the murder mystery aspect. Was fun and interesting. My favorite story in the book so far.

[castor]

It is a nice mystery story with interesting characters. I liked the gradual advancement of the story.
but I am not good at finding the killer. I suspected even the doctor but not the girl...

[Levi]

I really enjoyed this story and agree with a lot of you that Tracy and her actions were what pointed me to the solution of the mystery as well, and that the ending was a little abrupt for my taste. However, if you like Q's character, as the author must have known that people would, I think the ending was meant to highlight his endearing and quirky nature. After all, who else would be worried about getting free dessert at a time like that other than the quirky Q? I liked the way the author let thoughts just be normal sentences at the end of the dialogue as well. I've read a lot of authors recently and there are a lot of interesting ways to format things, but in the end I just want to know who's talking and who's thinking. I'd that too much to ask Great job Mr Chan!!

[ashersb]

I am not a big fan of murder mysteries. I don't even care for the law and order, or csi shows on t.v. I don't care for the sadness and gruesome aspects of the crimes or messed up people who comit them. That being said, this story changed my view a bit. The family dynamic with Q and his grandpa was awesome. It wasn't anything like the downers i usually see in murder mystery.

I like that you did that. It opened the span of readers to others then just murder mystery fans. Any type of reader could enjoy this story.

[stacihunsinger]

I love stories like this!! A classic "Who done it?". Great story and characters. This was a fun read and hope to read more like it.

[litmonster]

Not a huge fan of this particular story. The entire thing seems like the writer was trying too hard to give you the feeling of a veteran detective and a tricky murder in short order, and I don’t think it worked that well, at least not for me. It was a good attempt, but I also think it could have been a bit stronger.

[TangledinText]

Death’s Door was entertaining. It was another murder mystery that held a good story line, but it was the construction that would keep this from becoming my favorite. The character relationships I was questioning till the end of the story which distracted me from the plot. The first person to me was a bit sloppy and undefined because it took me a while to realize who the heck was telling the story as it got into the interviews and the narrative thinking to himself and conversing didn’t flow smoothly for me.

[Acwoolet]

I thought it was a nice little mystery. The author has a nice style of writing.

[CzechTigg]

Clearly inspired by the wonderful Miss Marple this was the best read in terms of pure enjoyment of the three stories thus far.
Would read many more such tales with the core group of do-gooders.

[Naval Aulakh]

The mystery of this story drew me towards reading it till end. I kept guessing till end. The story is well written and I really liked it.