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(1990) Twentieth-century suspense, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Critics of the detective story have commented that its appeal lies less in characterisation than in the solution of a problem. Jacques Barzun writes that "detection rightly keeps character subordinate" while George Grella comments "that the central puzzle provides the form's chief appeal".1 Generally, characters are types who perform specific functions and only the detective is allowed to be interesting.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-20678-0_6
Full citation:
Day, G. (1990)., Ordeal by analysis: Agatha Christie's The thirteen problems, in C. Bloom (ed.), Twentieth-century suspense, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 80-96.