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

Sandy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Susan in NC wrote: "I recently read this one and enjoyed it, but I’m afraid the details are already fuzzy…"

Ah yes, it is impossible to have the books read in a timely fashion and have the details straight. I've tried notes but not very successfully.

This will be at least my third read and, while I don't remember who did it, I do remember a significant clue and the ending. I have both the book and a full cast dramatization. Not sure which I will use.

Separated for the weekend from my library books, old and new, I needed something short and light on my kindle. Mrs Pargeter fits the bill. This one is different and I recommend it. Even she is a bit tired of hearing raves about her husband. His compatriots are front and center.

Judy wrote: "I don't think these have already been mentioned but apologies if I'm wrong! A couple of books in our buddy read series are currently 99p in the UK. They are A Question of Belief by [..."

In US, Bernie Gunther is $5, cheaper than other in the series. No deal for Brunetti that we haven' t read.

Susan in NC wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Poor timing for our buddy reads but my request for Clown Town has arrived and that will be next!"

"When it rains, it pours" ... when I picked up Clown ..."

Hope we both enjoy it!

Sandy wrote: "Poor timing for our buddy reads but my request for Clown Town has arrived and that will be next!"

"When it rains, it pours" ... when I picked up Clown Town I found two other books waiting for me: The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck and History Lessons. All are new so need to be read soon. My September / October buddy reads will be more October than September!

I assumed they end up together though he should have second thoughts for a couple of reasons. I would expect him to be bored silly very soon.

I just finished the second in an historical mystery series, The Serpent's Tale. Excellent series, with a bit of romance. Set in the time of Henry II, after the Stephen and Matilda war that we learned about in Cadfael.

Poor timing for our buddy reads but my request for Clown Town has arrived and that will be next!

Anubha wrote: "Hi, I want to join the buddy read for "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey #5)" but the thread is locked for some reason.

Sorry, if this is the wrong thr..."

The buddy read threads open mid-month, so save your thoughts until the 15th. It will be an active thread as Sayers is a favorite.

In the US, Rebus is available on kindle $10 - $15. I assume they are readily available in libraries.

Susan wrote: "It can be difficult to find author's where their whole work is available. We have the Anthony Bathhurst series that you suggested on my list, Sandy.

We are lucky that a lot of GA books are being ..."

Regarding Wexford series, in the US a couple are not on kindle, four are available with Kindle Unlimited, and the prices for the others range from $4 - $12.

The GR description of the first book mentions 'psychological suspense' which does not sound much like Gently.

I left 10 Marchfield Square unfinished, but I can get fussy and impatient. I've recently dropped one book and am considering dropping another.

Back to Susan in NC's recommendations, both Leaphorn & Chee and Anna Pigeon have been on my TBR 'forever'. Never tried either.

Susan wrote: "Perhaps to follow the Sarah Hawkswood?

How do you feel about Rebus, Sandy?"

Rebus has never been on my TBR although I know the series is well regarded. I am willing to give it a try.

Regarding Hawkswood, I will be spotty as the books are not in my libraries and are $8 on kindle unless there is a sale. I have a few that way. (A bit off subject.)

I have continued Henry Tibbett (the first three), some from the library, some from Kindle Unlimitied. Tibbett does not have the humor of Sloan and Crosby, but he is a kind man with a helpful wife.

Continuing Susan in Nc's thoughts:
in the Cadfael/historical/clerical vein, there’s the Sister Frevisse mysteries (first was The Novice's Tale), by Margaret Frazer, or the Brother Athelstan mysteries, first was The Nightingale Gallery. Frevisse definitely has more humor, Athelstan is rather heavy on the medieval “life is nasty, brutish and short” vibe!

I read The Novice's tale in 2017 and my review says I plan to continue. Maybe now is the time? And Brother Athelstan is on my TBR.

Susan in NC wrote: "Susan wrote: "Please let me know if you spot any mistakes.

For something different and more modern, I enjoyed the Sam Wyndham series (India, 1920s, first was A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee) or The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall, first book in the Vish Puri series.

Thank you for mentioning those series. I was already on the wait list for the new San Wyndham but didn't realize there is a new Vish Puri after a long gap.

Another I own and a series I mean to start, No Game For a Dame. Free in the US (from what I can see - Amazon not very helpful as it tells me I own the book).

A .38, a nip of gin and sensational legs get Depression-era private investigator Maggie Sullivan out of most scrapes – until a stranger threatens to bust her nose, she’s hauled in on suspicion of his murder and she finds herself in the cross-hairs of a crime boss with connections at City Hall.

Moving through streets where people line up at soup kitchens, Maggie draws information from sources others overlook: The waitress at the dime store lunch counter where she has breakfast; a ragged newsboy; the other career girls at her rooming house.

Her digging gets her chloroformed and left in a ditch behind the wheel of her DeSoto. She makes her way to an upscale bordello and gets tea – and information – from the madam herself.

A gunman puts a bullet through Maggie’s hat. Her shutterbug pal on the evening paper warns her off. A new cop whose presence unsettles her thinks she’s crooked. Before she finds all the answers she needs, she faces a half-crazed man with a gun, and a far more lethal point-blank killer.

If you like Robert B. Parker's hard boiled Spencer series and strong women sleuths, don't miss this one-of-a-kind Ohio detective from a time in United States history when dames wore hats -- but seldom a Smith & Wesson.

Susan in NC wrote: "How about a visit to Roger Sheringham? I’ve got his third case on kindle, currently 99 cents in the USA, Roger Sheringham and the Vane Mystery[bookcover:Roger Sheringham and the Van..."

Oh good, one I own.

Welcome Anubha. you will find lots of discussions of Marple and Poirot in our threads. They are always open for new comments.