Dear Norah McClintock,
I really liked Out of the Cold. I think a big reason why it held my interest from beginning to end so well is because I never knew what was going happen next. Robyn kept on finding clues, bit by bit to uncover the mystery of Mr. Duffy’s true identity but there was never a time where I could actually guess the ending of the book. The suspense never seemed to end and because of that I never wanted to put the book down. While I was reading it I could tell that the plot for Out of the Cold was very carefully planned. From how Robyn found her first clue; the picture of young Mr. Duffy and his old St. Mark’s school ring to finding Franny Braithwaite and discovering Mr. Duffy’s true identity. I really liked how sometimes there were parts in the book that took you by surprise. Like when the man in the black toque suddenly mugged Robyn and when the real reason of Mr. Duffy’s death was revealed. It was also neat how the murder had lots of covered up histories behind it because that just made Out of the Cold more splendid to read.
Although most of the mystery is solved at the end there were still some things left unclear. For one thing how did Mr. Franklin keep Max drinking? Mr. Franklin didn’t even use any violence and some how even though and Max really missed Franny and he probably wanted to see her right away he kept on drinking. Even though I’ve never drinked wine I think that after a person drink a lot and starts feeling drowsy that person should start realizing that and would take some precaution for himself. That little bit in the book confused me and I think it would be less confusing if you could perhaps add a bit into the story talking about how Mr. Franklin kept Max drinking. A few days before he died Max seemed to have recovered some of his memories from the past but he never went to any one for help. He could have gotten the police to investigate but he didn’t do anything. He didn’t even ask the police for help to find out how he ended up with such sever head damage. Instead he went to Mr. Franklin, who, just a few days earlier tried to steal his locket and ring from him. This was kind of confusing to me because if I was Mr. Duffy I wouldn’t ask someone who tried to steal my most precious things from me for help. Why did you choose to make Max go to Mr. Franklin? Why didn’t you make Mr. Franklin hire someone to kill Max? Is it so Max’s death could all be blamed on Mr. Franklin? I think if you made Mr. Franklin hire someone to kill Max Out of the Cold would be a better good book and much less confusing.
Out of the Cold was a really good book to read but at times before the mystery started I found myself a little bored. There wasn’t any humor and I think that maybe a few light jokes would have made reading the book even more interesting. This book was really sad because Mr. Duffy had such a sad life. He didn’t do anything horrible or mean to anyone but because of Mr. Franklin he didn’t get to watch his daughter grow up and he spent almost half of life living on the streets by himself. That’s why adding more happy parts to his life and giving the book some comedy would make the reader feel less sad and depressed. I haven’t read lots of murder mysteries but I think that there are times when readers want a break from reading about solving a mystery so adding more information about Robyn’s personal life and how she’s cooping with her own issues would also make Out of the Cold a better book.
Sincerely,
Alice
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