Review of Arsenic and Old Men

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Ana-Maria Vintilă
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Review of Arsenic and Old Men

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[Following is a volunteer review of "Arsenic and Old Men" by Glenn Ickler.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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Arsenic and Old Men by Glenn Ickler is a mystery thriller that takes place at Martha's Vineyard and revolves around three main characters: Dave Jerome, Warren "Mitch" Mitchell and Alan “Al” Jeffrey. Mitch, from whose perspective the story is written, is an investigative journalist who is writing for the St. Paul Daily Dispatch. His “partner in crime” is Al, who works as a photographer for the same paper, whereas Dave is a cartoonist who once worked for the Daily Dispatch himself.

The story begins when Dave's uncle, Walter “Walt” Jerome is found dead in his mansion, by the housekeeper. Being a chief newspaper editor for a significant number of years, Walt has made a good fortune, as well as a good reputation. Given that he has no children of his own, the closest living relative who could be eligible for the inheritance is none other than our character, Dave. Thus, he has the opportunity to spend the weekend at the exclusive island with his two best friends and their wives. The problem is, Walt, might not have died from a heart attack, but because of something else altogether.

One of the few things I liked was the sarcastic remarks or comments that the characters made constantly, which added a bit of fun and humor to the story itself. I could distinguish each protagonist’s personality, even though at some point it became hard to make the difference between some characters, such as Cindy and Carol, Dave and Al’s wives.

My least favorite aspect of this book was, unfortunately, the writing style. Some of the paragraphs felt extremely long and the writing was often too detailed, to the point that I believe some elements were unnecessary to include, such as long descriptions of every routine or action that added nothing to the plot. In the same vein, the ending was quite predictable, but the mystery itself was interesting and carefully built and it made sense in the end, despite the lack of surprise.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I am a little disappointed by this conclusion, but I think it is a solid choice for those who do not read so many books from this genre. It was not the best plot or writing I have ever read, but it is a story that is easy to follow along and a mystery that, in my opinion, is worth reading, even if you are not the biggest fan of the thriller or mystery genres.

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Arsenic and Old Men
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