Murder at the Dinner Party vs The Talleyrand Maxim: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Mystery
Murder at the Dinner Party
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The staff in high society households are expected to be unobtrusive, but a dead butler in the dining room tends to get noticed. Did he die of natural causes or was he poisoned?    Cleo is hired by the…
The Talleyrand Maxim
“Linford Pratt, senior clerk to Eldrick & Pascoe, solicitors, of Barford, a young man who earnestly desired to get on in life, by hook or by crook, with no objection whatever to crookedness, so long as it could be performed in safety and secrecy, had once during one of his periodical visit to the town Reference Library, lighted on a maxim of that other unscrupulous person, Prince Talleyrand, which”
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The “Talleyrand Maxim” holds that “With time and patience, the mulberry leaf is turned into satin.” The adage has the character of guidance for life for an ambitious legal clerk, Linford Pratt. Unlike most people, he…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Murder at the Dinner Party highest: Murder at the Dinner Party 4.4 · The Talleyrand Maxim 3.9.
- The Talleyrand Maxim has the widest readership — 180 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Murder at the Dinner Party | The Talleyrand Maxim | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (180) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (6) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (179) | 4.5 (13) |
Reception
| Murder at the Dinner Party | The Talleyrand Maxim | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 179 | 180 |
| Editions | — | 115 |
| Want to read | — | 102 |
| Reading it now | — | 28 |
| Written reviews | — | 30 |
| Pages | 288 | 195 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Murder at the Dinner Party or The Talleyrand Maxim?
Murder at the Dinner Party has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Murder at the Dinner Party 4.4/5, The Talleyrand Maxim 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Murder at the Dinner Party or The Talleyrand Maxim?
The Talleyrand Maxim is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Talleyrand Maxim (195 pages, ≈ 3 h 37 m); Murder at the Dinner Party (288 pages, ≈ 5 h 20 m).
Which is harder to read: Murder at the Dinner Party or The Talleyrand Maxim?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Murder at the Dinner Party: Moderate; The Talleyrand Maxim: Challenging.