The End Of Solomon Grundy

A mystery filled with "models", Solomon Grundy, and Inspector Manners! The characters are extremely well-developed and the mystery is a little strange. The ending is not happy. The book, however, is very well written, yet has a bit too much unexplained psychology to be a cozy.

The opening chapters of this expert mystery novel immediately remind one of John O'Hara's Appointment in Samarra: an unpleasant, mildly violent encounter at a neighbor's party leads inexorably, mystifyingly, to the downward spiral of the protagonist. In this case, the protagonist is one Solomon Grundy, a rather boorish advertising man. Soon, Grundy finds himself at odds with his wife and neighbors, and is eventually accused of a murder. Author Symons weaves character insights, social commentary, police investigation, and Grundy's trial into a literate, entertaining page-turner. Particulary amusing is the description of Grundy's neighborhood, an affluent suburban community called The Dell, whose very "progressive" inhabitants felt that "they were on the whole more intelligent, liberal and humane than the majority of their fellow citizens." Published in 1964, and set in England, The End of Solomon Grundy is highly recommended.

Took one drag and felt nausea. I'm afraid I found the taste revolting.