Jem Bloomfield's Blog

Review – “Murder at Ardaig Castle” by Daniel Sellers

Death at Ardaig Castle is a clever and thoroughly enjoyable whodunnit by Daniel Sellers.  It is the fifth in his series of crime novels about Lola Harris, the police detective who is usually to be found in the environs of Glasgow.  This book, however, presents a case in an isolated part of the Highlands, marking a change in landscape and a slight shift in the mode of crime fiction.

At the beginning of the story, Lola has been persuaded by her sister to take a weekend away in the countryside t...

In Praise of Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow

I’ve recently been indexing my upcoming book (Allusion in Detective Fiction: Shakespeare, the Bible and Dorothy L. Sayers, since you ask), an experience which I found, to quote Niles Crane being taught the box-step by Daphne Moon, “boring, yet difficult”.  I say this shamefacedly, since I know there are numerous indexers around who would do it incomparably better and enjoy the process, but there’s no help for it now.  Indexing does have its moments of interest, even for someone as bad as it as I...

Paths in the Snow: Publication Day!

Today my book Paths in the Snow: A literary journey through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is published.  Huzzah!  The book has been several years in the making, and even longer in the brewing and mulling, and it is quite something to see copies arrive in a parcel. 

The book explore the first Narnia novel chapter by chapter, examining the literary and historical aspects of the book, especially when Lewis appears to be echoing and alluding to other literary works.  For example, I sug...

Paths in the Snow: a Literary Journey through “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”

My new book, Paths in the Snow: A Literary Journey through “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, is now available for advance orders, and I am tremendously excited about it.  The book explores C.S. Lewis’ first Narnia novel through the other stories to which it alludes, from Renaissance epic to children’s literature, and from mystery plays to detective fiction.  One of the things that has always struck me about the Narnia is how wildly and recklessly they borrow from other narratives.  Lewis b...

Review – “Murder in Lovers’ Lane” by Daniel Sellers

Daniel Sellers’ Murder in Lovers’ Lane has a lot in common with its detective hero, DCI Lola Harris: it is shrewd, intriguing and has a lot going on at the same time.  The novel is a really enjoyable procedural, written in a pacy style with a good ear for dialogue. This is not a subgenre of crime fiction that I read a lot these days, though I used to go through procedurals at a rate of knots.  It was good to revisit it, especially with a book which was only published this year, and see the genr...

Review – “The Company of Heaven” by Catherine Fox

Catherine Fox’s Lindchester Chronicles are a series of novels and stories about a fictional cathedral city in England, and The Company of Heaven is the most recent addition.  They began as an experiment in serial fiction by Fox, posted on a blog chapter by chapter as they were written, and then published in book form.  This allows her to engage immediately with the “issues of the day”, which in recent years have ranged from same-sex marriage, to female bishops, to Brexit, Trump and Covid.  Some ...

Disclosures of Form: Shakespeare, N.T. Wright, Malcolm Guite and An Unexpected Journal

This week sees the publication of an issue of An Unexpected Journal including an article of mine.  I didn’t write it solely because I wanted that journal title on my scholarly CV, but I won’t deny that it’s a pleasing extra.  In fact I’ve been aware of An Unexpected Journal for a while, since it specialises in Christianity and imaginative apologetics, and has published some splendid articles on Narnia, not least by Michael Ward.  When I heard they were planning a special issue on Shakespeare...

The Betrothal Shillings and the Silent Ones in Church: Customs of a Cumbrian Parish

This week I saw some pictures taken by my sister-in-law of the school Nativity service in the small Cumbrian village where she lives.  They were completely charming, with the wood panelling and slight dais of the sanctuary setting off the traditional garb of dressing gowns and tea towels.  The costuming was suitably eclectic, though, and a note of realism was added by one shepherd in jeans, checked shirt and flat cap.  Staging a Nativity play in a village surrounded by hills (and the odd mou...

End-of-Year Books Roundup 2022 (Part 2)

…and onto the second part of my “books I read this year which I am still thinking about” round-up. No rankings, no ratings, just books which I first read over this year, which stuck with me. The first part is here, and – as I mention below – something of pattern is appearing.

3  The detective novels of Margaret Mayhew, including Old Soldiers Never Die, Three Silent Things, Dry Bones, and several others

Like Susan Scarlett, Margaret Mayhew was another alliterating author whom I d...

End-of-Year Books Roundup 2022 (Part 1)

We’re now well into December.  Advent is thoroughly underway, there’s only one week of term left at the university, tonight is Carols and Wine at the parish church, and “best of the year” lists seem to be cropping up everywhere.  I thought I’d take the chance to look back a bit at what I’ve been reading this year, and what has particularly stuck in my mind.  It isn’t a “best of “ or “top ten”, but more a “books I’m still thinking about”.  Over the last few years I’ve been keeping a very haph...