GOF as Mystery Novel

[Amy]

No: HPFGUIDX 9399

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Victoria McLure" <vmclure at h...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Jim Flanagan" <jamesf at a...> 
wrote:
> 
> 
> > Unfortunately, the information provided by the author of GOF is 
not 
> > nearly enough for an intelligent reader to figure 
out "whodoneit."  
> > My own response when Moody admits to being the Bad Guy, was mild 
> > disappointment because there was so little evidence given along 
the 
> > way to implicate him.  A good mystery would have the reader 
> > saying, "of course it was Moody!"

I love mysteries but am not much of a whodunnit-figure-outer.  I just 
read along blissfully and am always surprised--even when I pick the 
right criminal I'm always clueless about motive or means.

So, bearing that in mind--

I think GoF works pretty well as a mystery.  We aren't privy to all 
the clues, but we do see a lot of them if we're sharp enough, and 
Crouch spells them out at the end:  Who told Harry how to get past 
the dragons?  etc.  (I mean, I suspected Bagman b/c he was helping 
Harry, didn't you?  So why not suspect Moody too after his obvious 
favoritism?)  And we all know about Polyjuice Potion--it's not like 
she springs that little device on us out of nowhere.  

BTW, spoilers re: HP are par for the course, but spoilers re: Agatha 
Christie are out of bounds!  Next thing you know people will be 
giving away the end of The Mousetrap!

One critic once said that Agatha Christie appeared to have made a 
list of all the rules about who can and cannot be the criminal in 
mysteries and systematically violated them all.  I agree and although 
I don't have a very high opinion of her as a writer (lousy 
characterization, e.g.) she was the best plotter I've ever read.  I 
don't think any plot point she wrote was unfair play.

Amy Z