[COMPLETE] Mystery of the Ravenspurs by Fred M. White-ans

Roger · Post by **Roger** » July 27th, 2017, 12:55 pm

And lo and behold, chapter 55 has also been posted!

Thanks!!

Post by **annise** » July 27th, 2017, 1:20 pm

Only 3 to go

Anne

Post by **Kitty** » July 27th, 2017, 1:52 pm

Roger wrote:OK then .... 54 has been posted. The weekend hasn't arrived yet, so you can binge later if you prefer.
Thanks!!

oh the final push is happening

well I had a listen to 54 just now. The Asiatics drowning in this vault was a bit shocking for me, even though they were the bad guys. Nobody deserves to die like this.

Well, I found two very small things, I'm not sure they need to be corrected, but I let you decide that:

> at 4:41: "were just as anxious to live as anybody else" - now this could well be my ears mistaking me, but I think I hear "leave", but it's clear here, Tchigorsky meant "live"

> at 10:02: "When they were at the bottom of the steps" - you say "edge", I don't know whether there is a big difference in their position on the steps whether it's the "edge" or the "bottom". Maybe for me "edge" would mean "high up" and not "bottom" but you're the native English speaker, so if you say there is no difference, that's fine with me.

Sonia

Post by **Kitty** » July 27th, 2017, 2:15 pm

Roger wrote:And lo and behold, chapter 55 has also been posted!
Thanks!!

And lo and behold, Chapter 55 is PL ok . Quite some things got revealed here. When I heard:

"My son, Jasper," he said hoarsely. "That fiend is his widow."
"And Marion's mother," Ralph croaked.

you should have heard my whooping "KNEW IT"

Didn't I suspect this quite from the start (I mean ever since Mrs May showed up) ? *smug grin*

Sonia

Roger · Post by **Roger** » July 27th, 2017, 4:13 pm

Kitty wrote:at 4:41: "were just as anxious to live as anybody else" - now this could well be my ears mistaking me, but I think I hear "leave", but it's clear here, Tchigorsky meant "live"

The reason you heard "leave" can be simply explained. It is because I said "leave" when I should have said "live". And your ears are fine. Stick to the text, Roger!

Kitty wrote:at 10:02: "When they were at the bottom of the steps" - you say "edge", I don't know whether there is a big difference in their position on the steps whether it's the "edge" or the "bottom". Maybe for me "edge" would mean "high up" and not "bottom" but you're the native English speaker, so if you say there is no difference, that's fine with me.

"Edge", to me, would seem to indicate at the side of the steps, whereas "bottom" would indicate the opposite of the top. Of course you are 100% correct, as always, because I read it wrong.

But hey - at least it's not another food item, like .... "When they were at the banana of the steps" or something equally odd.

Both errors in chapter 54 have been (hopefully) fixed, and the file has been re-uploaded.
Thanks, as always for your most excellent PL!

And yes, you have had a lot of the peculiarities of this mystery well thought out from the start. You are, what we call here in the U.S. -- one smart cookie!

Post by **Kitty** » July 28th, 2017, 2:09 am

Roger wrote:The reason you heard "leave" can be simply explained. It is because I said "leave" when I should have said "live". And your ears are fine.

all right then (my ears are not too fine according to my doctor though

some very deep or very high sounds I do not hear, but then I always tell him, in "real life" I don't need to hear those high beeps or low hums they are testing me on in these audio-cabins, since I am neither a bat nor a dog

)

Kitty wrote:"Edge", to me, would seem to indicate at the side of the steps, whereas "bottom" would indicate the opposite of the top.

ok yes, it makes sense that way.

But hey - at least it's not another food item, like .... "When they were at the banana of the steps" or something equally odd.

haha that would have been a bit too much

But something like "When they were at the bottom of the crêpes" would have provoked a welcome chuckle

Both errors in chapter 54 have been (hopefully) fixed, and the file has been re-uploaded.

yes it's PL ok now

You are, what we call here in the U.S. -- one smart cookie!

there's the food reference ! You absolutely had to, right ? Well I have never been called a cookie, but it sounds cute

Sonia

Roger · Post by **Roger** » July 28th, 2017, 8:43 am

Trust me, it's a compliment.

Meanwhile, chapter 56 has been posted.
Thanks!!

Post by **Kitty** » July 28th, 2017, 11:07 am

ok this ending is what the French call a "coup de théâtre" ! Ralph all of a sudden DOES blame Marion after all. Even though he always thought of her as an angel, just like all the others. I remember I thought Marion was guilty from the start, but since even Ralph constantly made a point of mentioning her as an angel, I thought, maybe she is just misguided. The final confrontation between Marion and Mrs May certainly hints at it.

So I was not prepared to have Ralph react so harshly finally. What a surprise. I would think that Marion can make atonement for her involvement in all this. Or not ?

Suspense till the last chapter. Really great.

This chapter is also PL ok.

Sonia

Roger · Post by **Roger** » July 29th, 2017, 7:25 am

Chapter 57 has been posted. Only one more to go!

Thanks!!

Post by **Kitty** » July 29th, 2017, 8:09 am

Chapter 57 PL ok again.

And I was sure Mrs May would poison herself after she realized that all was lost for her. That's what these people do in the novels, quite a cliché

And we have to ask ourselves...is she really dead ?

And what about this other girl, she isn't explained yet. I would say it was Marion as well, but she could not have switched dresses so fast I think. Geoffrey met them both quite quickly one after the other I think.

Well I guess I need to wait for the last chapter to find this out. I'll be patient.

Sonia

Roger · Post by **Roger** » July 29th, 2017, 9:07 am

No need to be too patient, if you're still up and about.

Chapter 58 has been posted. Quite a conclusion.

Thanks!!

Post by **Kitty** » July 29th, 2017, 10:01 am

So Marion WAS the girl in the blue dress

somehow I thought that wasn't logistically possible.

I could of course now very smuggly say that I suspected Marion almost from the beginning

(I really did, I checked !) But in between my suspicions wavered to and fro LOL

I'm not sure I like the ending too much. It was a bit unbelievable they would let Marion simply get away with murder, which she confessed to. I mean, she killed a woman and a little boy (I think there was mention of a boy at the beginning). Family members. I don't think I would still have fondness for her if she had told me that.

Well, it's a novel, and it has a happy ending for the lovers.

This chapter is also PL ok. (no last-minute-food-bloopers)

The book is finished and a wonderful addition to the LV catalogue. Thanks for the great read, Roger. I enjoyed every minute

And let me know if ever you read another book by this author.

Sonia

Roger · Post by **Roger** » July 29th, 2017, 10:15 am

Kitty wrote:.... somehow I thought that wasn't logistically possible.

I felt precisely the same about that. But, as you say, it is a novel, and we must allow our imaginations to flutter here and there at times.

Thanks so much for being my DPL for this project. It has been a joy to work with you, and hope we can work again together.
You are welcome to DPL any of my projects any time!

Roger · Post by **Roger** » August 6th, 2017, 12:32 pm

Thanks for all your extra work on this lengthy project! Looks like it's ready for catalog, at your convenience annise.

Post by **annise** » August 18th, 2017, 6:45 am

Soory - missed it , I'll start ithings rolling

Anne