The setting in living room can be described, using quotations such as ‘ she took his coat and hung it in the closer’ and ‘ she loved him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in a door, or moved slowly across the room with his long strides’. I think that Mary used the atmosphere of the house very well because there was no noise made and there was only her and her husband there. I don’t feel no sympathy for the victim because why would he leave Mary, what has she done wrong? Maybe Patrick doesn’t want to be a father yet or has another woman. Also in the Lamb to the slaughter is a family home, which is a very unlikely place for a murder to take place.
The setting of the old house in the Speckled Band can be described using quotations such as ‘ Nothing was left save a few acres of ground, and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under a heavy mortgage. The last squire dragged out his existence their, living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper’. I think that the atmosphere of the house is scary because they’re basically live in a big scary castle. Also in The speckled band is an old house, which is very typical of a murder mystery; it leaves endless opportunity for secret rooms, passages, ghosts and murders. The old house in The speckled band is large and mysterious; it meets the readers' expectation of a murder mystery.
In the Lamb to the Slaughter the detectives didn’t search the body for clues and should have doubled checked the house for more clues. Then Mary asked them to eat which they did willingly and that means that they ate the evidence, but they should have said no. The detectives should never drink on the job. This makes the detectives look sloppy ‘ it’s strictly not allowed but I might take just a drop to keep me going,’ also ‘ one by one the others came in and were persuaded to take a little nip of whiskey. They stood around rather awkwardly with the drinks.’ The reader would find this ironic because they know that the murder weapon is the leg of lamb. In the Lamb to the slaughter they give us no evidence that they are scientific, brave, deductive or even professional. They drink on the job, eat and have a chat whilst they are meant to be working.
In the Speckled Band the detectives searched the outside of the room which Julia died in and they found out that no one could get in that way because the windows were small and they had to push the shutters to get through. Also the checked the room and found out that there was a rope that should of made a bell sound but it didn’t and a vent that leads to another room. They should lead to outside and the bed was clamped down to the ground of the room. I found the ability really fascinating because they were always on the job no stop. Also on the night when Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were at the estate trying to solve the mystery, Sherlock warns Watson and explains what to do, ''Do not go to sleep; your very life may depend upon it. Have your pistol ready incase we should need it…' Conan Doyle describes how both of them felt.
The mentioning of 'pistol' and 'tension' builds up tension and so does the weather sounds. 'The wind was howling', 'crash of the gate'. This persuades the reader to read on. Holmes and Watson go to Stoke Moran at night and wait for the killer. It's a 'night with a chill wind'. This is similar to the conditions on the night Julia was murdered because it's the same weather the night that Julia died. Conan Doyle adds this to familiarize and notice that something is going to happen.
In the Lamb to the Slaughter the murderer creates an alibi to make the police believe that she found the husband on the floor knocked out and I feel that she should tell the police the truth. Usually this doesn’t happen in a murder mystery because mostly the police find out what really happens and the murderer is sent to jail. But Mary is the wife of Patrick and sense he was a detective, the other detectives wouldn’t think she killed him.
In the Speckled Band the murderer actually dies because Sherlock Holmes finds the snake in the air vent and hits it which makes the snake mad and makes it kill whoever it sees first. ‘He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.’ Which was Dr Roylott and I think that he deserved it because how can a stepfather kill there stepdaughters and usually this hardly ever happens in the murder mysteries. But why did he do it for money? Because he was getting paid for the job.
In the Lamb to the Slaughter I find the part where Mary kills her husband, the most drastic part in the story because it makes me think that why did she do this, she could have done something else. Also the thing that made me keep on reading was when the husband said ‘ this is going to be a bit of shock to you, I’m afraid’ and ‘ but I’ve thought about it good deal and I’ve decided the only thing to do is tell you right away. I hope you won’t blame me too much’. Also the thing that made it more interesting was when Mary saw him standing over by the window with his back to her, and she stopped to hit him with a leg of lamb which meant she was concentrating on the murder weapon.
In the Speckled Band I find the part where Sherlock Holmes finds the snake in the vent and hits it, the most interesting part in the story because if that was me I would of ran away but Sherlock Holmes isn’t scarred at all and also I was surprised that he even heard where the whistle was coming from to find the snake in the first place. The thing that made me keep on reading was when Sherlock Holmes said ‘Ah, yes, of course! Well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yet a saucer of milk does not very far in satisfying its wants, I daresay. There is one point, which I should wish to determine’. Because why would Dr Roylott keep wild animals? I like murder mysteries to end with a twist because it will make me and other readers buy the sequel of the book to see what happens next.
I like Lamb to the Slaughter better than Speckled Band because I find it more interesting and more exciting than the Speckled Band. Also I really don’t like Sherlock Holmes stories because they take too long to get to the good parts in the story but in Lamb to the Slaughter they get into the good parts nearly straight away and also I like they way in which Mary creates an alibi. Also people will like to read murder mysteries because maybe they like them kind of stories, also the front cover of the book will attract more people to read it. I like murder mysteries to end with a twist because it will make me and other readers buy the sequel of the book to see what happens next.
Already there are differences between the stories because the police didn't find any of the clues linked to Jack Maloney's death whereas Holmes found them all. As I said there were very little clues but there are quite a few red herrings, as there was in 'The speckled band.'
An important part in the 'Lamb to the slaughter' was that when Mrs Maloney went to the groceries acting very cheerful and happy as if there was nothing wrong. This is leading the police off from blaming Mrs Maloney for Patrick's murder because she wouldn't be acting cheerful if she had just killed her husband. Mrs Maloney uses the grocers for an alibi, which suddenly throws the blame off her. Another thing is when Mrs Maloney acts in front of the police because when she was talking to the police she put on innocent eyes and an innocent face and tilted her head, which gave the impression that, she would never hurt anyone let alone her husband. 'She looked at him with large, dark, tearful eyes.'
But an important part for the police, which again showed that Mrs Maloney could never kill Patrick, was the fact that she was pregnant and they were about to have a baby together so why would she want to kill Patrick? Mrs Maloney is always leading the blame of herself. This is totally different to the Speckled Band because Dr Roylott comes to visit Holmes and he is aggressive, violent and out of control which is making Holmes, Watson and the reader that he is capable of killing someone. In the 'Lamb to the slaughter' it is doing exactly the opposite and making the police and the reader think that is wouldn't be able to do such a thing. Another occasion where she is leading the police away from her is when she says 'I hope you catch him.' Again it's putting the blame on to a totally different person. So this is why I like Lamb to the slaughter better than the Speckled Band.
