Mysterious Mr. Sabin vs The Blackbird: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Spy Fiction, Fiction
Mysterious Mr. Sabin
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"The mysterious Mr. Sabin is an unscrupulous French royalist who aids the German government in a conspiracy of war against England. His part in the plot is that of securing valuable papers recording the coast defenses…
The Blackbird
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Donald E. Westlake is one of the greats of crime fiction. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, he wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hardboiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists. Using…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Mysterious Mr. Sabin highest: Mysterious Mr. Sabin 4.0 · The Blackbird 3.7.
- The Blackbird is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 6 for Mysterious Mr. Sabin.
- The Blackbird has the widest readership — 679 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Mysterious Mr. Sabin | The Blackbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.7 (679) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (11) | — |
Reception
| Mysterious Mr. Sabin | The Blackbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 11 | 679 |
| Editions | 46 | 10 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 265 |
| Reading it now | — | 36 |
| Written reviews | — | 85 |
| Wikipedia attention | 55 | 252 |
| Pages | 370 | 184 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Mysterious Mr. Sabin or The Blackbird?
Mysterious Mr. Sabin has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Mysterious Mr. Sabin 4.0/5, The Blackbird 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Mysterious Mr. Sabin or The Blackbird?
The Blackbird is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Blackbird (184 pages, ≈ 3 h 24 m); Mysterious Mr. Sabin (370 pages, ≈ 6 h 51 m).
Which is harder to read: Mysterious Mr. Sabin or The Blackbird?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Mysterious Mr. Sabin: Challenging; The Blackbird: Moderate.