Fourteen brave souls attended Whodunit Mystery Book Club on this frigid February evening.And... everyone in attendance actually finished the book!
Pam's 'magical question' this evening: "When you hear that a book that you've enjoyed is being made into a movie, do you cheer or cringe?"
Eleven members said they would cringe. Of course there were provisos attached. Most said that they wanted to read the book first. Many said that the movie rarely lived up to the book but they want to view the movie out of curiosity just to see what the screenwriters did with it. Three members cheered as they usually enjoy the movie even when it is vastly changed from the book's plot.
As usual we all had the opportunity to rate this month's novel out of 10.
Fourteen members voted at club and two more voted in absentia(see blog comments) for an overall average rating of 6.4375
The novel we discussed this month was "The 13th hour" by Richard Doetsch. For many of us this was a memorable novel, mostly because it was told in reverse! At the opening (Chapter 12), the protagonist, Nick Quinn is being questioned at the police station as a suspect in his wife's murder. He is given the opportunity to travel back in time, in one hour increments, in order that he might save her.
A fascinating premise, it took the author only 30 days to complete the novel! Some of our members commented that there was too much repetition in the book, but many viewed the repetition as necessary due to the time travel element. We were quite surprised to discover that the author wrote it in reverse, just the same way we read it. He claims that the protagonist, Nick Quinn was actually based on himself. Julia Quinn was based on his wife. The character of his best friend, Marcus, was based upon an amalgam of his friends.
The novel was definitely a page-turner with a 'happily ever after' ending. A thriller/love story which explored the age-old question of 'What if?"
For those readers who did enjoy it,there WILL be a sequel with the characters of Nick and Julia Quinn returning.
The "13th hour" has been optioned by New Line Cinema to be made into a movie.
There are several video interviews with Richard Doetsch available on his website.
The lucky Whodunit winners of free books this month were:
1. Carolyn
2. Myrtle
3. Melanie
4. Margaret
Congratulations all!
Next month's novel is the classic Dashiell Hammett novel "The Maltese Falcon".
Hope to see you at club!
