Sandy’s Comments (group member since Dec 14, 2015)

Sandy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

In the US: Ask a Policeman by the Detective Club and The Skull Beneath the Skin, the first, or half, of P D James' Cordelia Grey series. They are each $2.

I've started our latest Cadfael, The Hermit of Eyton Forest for our upcoming buddy read.

Jill wrote: "I am just starting News of the World by Paulette Jiles This is tagged as a western, which has never been a genre that I have wanted to read, but it was recommended to..."

I liked it as well and suppose it is a western ...

Welcome Vidhi. Hope you enjoy our reading selections. We are about to vote for a monthly read and there is a Christie is the running.

In the US, Secrets Typed in Blood, the third in a new historical series with two women detectives that is a homage to Nero Wolfe and Archie.

Michaela wrote: "How about a mystery by Anthony Berkeley? Murder In The Basement f.e. is available on Kindle Unlimited in Austria/Germany, otherwise a few Euros to buy. Wonder if ther..."

Murder in the Basement is available on kindle in the US, and on Audible. Must have been free / cheap at some time as I own it. Always glad to be inspired to read an owned book.

You are hardly late as the official span is mid-Feb to mid-March! But I know the feeling as others' comment pile up.

I basically agree with the earlier comments. The set up was fine though I was never sure what the wife hoped to accomplish. The characters were confusing and not really well-defined. The business merger intrigue went on too long and in too much detail for me. I was disappointed that the annoying Aunt got shuffled off stage so early as she had promise. I had great pleasure in imagining the marriage of the unpleasant nephew and his annoying girlfriend. They deserved each other. It held my interest enough so that I wanted to see who did it.

The trial results were interesting and reflected what we learned about juries in our earlier read, Verdict of Twelve

A book cover comment: The cover shows knitting needles and yarn with a shadow rabbit. Interesting but I see no connection to the book.

Susan wrote: "Older books often do that - Jane Haddam always introduced a whole host of characters in the first chapter before the story got going. I usually make notes of who's who with GA books!"

That was my solution and I referred to it regularly.

I've read three chapters and am hopeless confused regarding the characters. The double names in Lorac were easier.

Susan wrote: "OK. We had Death of Jezebel by Christianna Brand re-released on kindle in the UK. Is it available in the US? If not, I'll give up this month!"

It is available in US for $5. GR says I read it with the group in 2020.

Susan wrote: "If available, I'll nominate The Mysterious Mr. Badman

The note read:
“Will the gentleman who took by mistake a copy of Bunyan’s Life ..."

I only see Audible and paperback versions available on Amazon in the US.

I didn't mind the journalist too much, but I was afraid his theory would be accurate and ruin the book for me. So much better to have the motive good old blackmail and revenge.

I finished this last night and was happy to be back with MacDonald. The initial party set up is intriguing though the doubling of names added confusion. Then I wondered which set of names were the ones to make the clues.

I haven't started yet but have an ebook from my library so maybe tonight.

Abigail wrote: "I’ve started it and am enjoying it a lot! Glad I have a paperback because I can keep referring back to the concordance of character/literary names provided in chapter III. It’s a high-quality paper..."

From google: Scottish obsolete. a deformation of the word ' Lord' used as an exclamation.

I recommend Bleeding Heart Yard.

I was also glad to see more of Olive and how their marriage was progressing. Bobby using Olive as a sounding board is more interesting than his normal list of suspects.

Not sure if this is the very best Bobby Owen, as the prologue suggested, but I put it in the top tier. I did miss his silent digs of his superior as he seems to be the one in command in this book. I found the dark woods and mysterious hermit interesting.

Something to ponder: Which loss should we mourn most: the El Greco paintings, the superior flavoring which was a proven potion, or the possibility of a cancer cure still in development? (Ignore any knowledge that the cancer is highly unlikely to have worked.)

Roman Clodia wrote: "The actual murder method is ludicrously complicated and how would you guarantee that it would hit a walking man through the heart? So I sort of discounted that and saw the crime just as an excuse t..."

If memory serves, Wally knew White was related and that was the excuse he used let him have the house cheaply. It was also a hint once the inheritance issue came up that I missed both times I read the book.