cimorene

By the third day I decided that two different architects had worked on it simultaneously and hadn’t been on speaking terms.

I was reminded of the crack George Kaufman made once to Moss Hart—“That just shows what God could do if only he had money.”

So when my eyes wouldn’t stay closed no matter which side I tried, I lay on my back and let them stay open, hoping they liked the ceiling. They didn’t. They kept turning—up, down, right, left. I got the impression that they were trying to turn clear over to see inside. When I found myself wondering what would happen if they actually made it I decided that had gone far enough, kicked the sheet off, and got up.

"Do you want me out of here?”

I told him no, I could think better with him there for contrast.

Fun. A surprisingly high squirrel content, and a funny premise. A satisfyingly negative view of billionaires, seemingly, whereas the sleuths typically are hired by the super-wealthy and don't go out of their way to deride them at every appearance, which would still probably be slightly gentler treatment than I, personally, feel that they deserve, but is understandable from the writing perspective. Anyway, possibly Stout's intent was just to portray this particular billionaire as much more obnoxious than the rest of them, but the disgust made his presence easier to swallow regardless.

The problem with this story, though, without spoiling who did it or who lives to the end, is that the billionaire client definitely deserves to be murdered, and even more definitely to be embezzled or stolen from, so it's a little difficult to sympathize with the cause of justice at first. And while a murderer who commits multiple murders never deserves to get away with it, my agreement with their initial aims makes the whole thing a little less enjoyable overall.