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Para quién es

You will love this book if you enjoy puzzle plots, inquest scenes, clashing clues, and guessing along with a sharp, sarcastic detective before he names his answer.

De qué trata este libro

What if the sharpest detective in London never left his chair? In a Fleet Street teashop, a young journalist finds a thin old man in huge horn-rimmed spectacles. His clawlike fingers tie knot after knot in a piece of string while he talks about crimes that have beaten Scotland Yard.

Unravelled Knots is a collection of thirteen tales by Baroness Orczy, who made the Old Man in the Corner one of the first armchair detectives in English fiction. Each tale gives the case as everyone knew it, then the old man's own answer and a challenge to think it over. You meet a poultry farm murder, a stolen painting that exists twice, a vanished Russian prince, and an Italian lost on a Yorkshire moor.

Questions about Nudos desatados

What is Unravelled Knots about?

It is a collection of thirteen mystery tales. In each, an old man in a London teashop tells a journalist about a crime that baffled the police, then explains his own solution while tying knots in a piece of string.

Who is the Old Man in the Corner?

He is a thin, pale armchair detective with horn-rimmed spectacles and nervous fingers that tie string into knots. He studies crimes through newspapers and inquests and delivers his answers with a dry chuckle and great self-satisfaction.

What does the string and its knots mean?

The string is the old man's habit and sign of thought, since his fingers work it while his mind works the case. It also links the thirteen tales, and the knots return in the closing pages in a surprising way.

Is Unravelled Knots based on true cases?

No. The cases are invented, though they use the style of real newspaper crime reports and inquests from the years after the First World War. The collection came from Baroness Orczy, who wrote these armchair detective stories in that period.

Is this book easy to read in short sittings?

Yes, in a good way, because each tale stands alone and follows a clear pattern. The facts come first, then the old man's explanation. The lively dialogue and short chapters make it easy to read one case at a time.