In this story, the Buntings take in a lodger. They've been struggling, so they see this as a blessing. He's a bit eccentric, but it's nothing Mrs. Bunting can't handle. At the same time, horrific murders are happening close by. And they seem to be getting closer. Being friends with a young policeman gives the Buntings insight into the investigation, and since he's interested in Bunting's daughter, they see even more of him as time goes on.
I was first made aware of this when I saw a silent film by the same name was going to be in the public domain this year. It was an early film by Alfred Hitchcock, and so I was interested. I haven't seen a lot of Hitchcock's work, but I had liked what I'd seen. I think North by Northwest is my favorite so far. Anyway, I saw this was based on a book and scribbled down the details.
I'm going to talk about the film first, because I hated it. To be fair, not the whole thing, just the second half. There was a weird love triangle in there, and I wanted almost everyone to die at the end (not Joe...everyone but Joe). I wanted to throw my laptop. BUT, I also wanted to know if and how it differed from the book.
I went into the book nervous. Not only was I scared that the dreaded love triangle would rear its ugly head, but the tension in the book itself was really well done. The story was so much better than the movie and made so much more sense. The end was a bit abrupt and unsatisfying, but I'm not going to spoil why. And when I say a bit, I mean slightly.
I greatly prefer the book. In some ways, I wonder if Alfred Hitchcock's name wasn't on the film, would people think it was worth watching? Anyway, this book was really good, and I'm glad I read it. Good Book!
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