Ruth’s Comments (group member since Oct 06, 2015)

Ruth’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

I haven't been getting my Goodreads emails for the last couple of days and I read in another group that all notifications have been temporarily switched off, presumably while they fix a glitch.

Sandy wrote: "Off to the library to pick up my latest requests: The Thursday Murder Club, Gallows Court and The Constant Rabbit. Love new shiny physical books."

Which one will you read first?

I'm watching the live stream of Cheltenham Literature Festival today which is free this year. I've been drawn in to watch things that I hadn't intended to and really enjoying it.

I think several of the book festivals are free to watch online this year. Has anyone watched any of them?

I see in the nominations for the December group read that one of the nominations is by Anne Meredith a pseudonym of Lucy Beatrice Malleson who also wrote as Anthony Gilbert.

Where there any other female crime writers who used a male pseudonym?

Great article. I found it interesting that he started writing crime novels because he was 'in dire need of one hundred pounds to repair his family’s cottage roof in Cheltenham'.

Do you think writing a novel would spring to mind these days as a way of earning extra cash in a hurry? I suppose it would depend what line of work you were already in to a certain extent but I wouldn't think it would be easy to earn money quickly from writing books now. Blogging or Youtubing perhaps?

A lot of the crime writers of that time didn't see it as their main occupation did they.

I'd lkke to read that one in December, Judy. I already have it on my Kindle app from last year but didn't get round to reading it.

Yes I'd like to see more Wimsey novels and like you Susan I really enjoyed Jill Paton Walsh's contributions, particularly the first one. I've realised recently that several of the crime writers I really like are advancing in years and probably won't write any more books now.

Michaela wrote: "Thanks Susan! I never use the app, so I wouldn´t mind book covers, as they often tell me if I´d like the type of mystery. Pity some are not available outside the US."

That's just what I was going to post Michaela! I have a certain style of book that I like which I can usually identify from its cover.

Thanks for providing us with all the deals on Kindle everyday Susan. I do appreciate all your hard work.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Susan wrote: "Elizabeth, I think you would enjoy her books, as we tend to like those Caroline Graham, P D James type of character based mysteries."

Thanks, Susan (I think). This is exactly the kin..."

Ahh, Caroline Graham - the master of the character based mystery.

Thanks, character based is a good recommendation for me.

I haven't come across Jane Haddam before - how would you categorise her? Are any of her series on the cosier end of crime fiction?

Elizabeth (Alaska) - I have to say I'm also put off by some historical periods in crime fiction. I don't really like Victorian settings. I like to be able to relate to the period so I start around the 1930s.

I was at college at the time and I never watched the news, read a newspaper or listened to the radio (except Radio One occasionally) during that time. My head was full of art and books and not much else I think so that's probably why it passed me by. I don't think at the time I even considered if the authors I was reading were current or long gone.

I can remember my father being very dismayed at my total lack of knowledge about current affairs.

In the thread on Light Thickens, the last of the Ngaio Marsh books that the group is reading, Susan comments "Astonishingly, this is the last Roderick Alleyn novel, published by Ngaio Marsh, in 1982.."

The comment made me think about the fact that, even though I don't think I've ever actually read this one, I could have bought it when it first came out as I had been an avid detective fiction reader for several years by then. In fact I had started reading Agatha Christie at around the time that she died in 1976 although I can't remember her death having any great impact at the time (I may even have assumed she had already died by then!). I've always thought of the classic detective novelists as way in the past rather than authors whose books I could have bought new at the time.

Who do you think are the current living crime writers with long running series who will be regarded as Queens (or Kings) of Crime in the future and do you think their standing will be as high as authors like Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Dorothy L. Sayers?

Just finished listening to the audio version of this one narrated by James Saxon. A satisfying book which held my attention all the way through apart from having a little wobble around the time where Alleyn was reviewing the timeline and possible suspects in some detail. This is my least favourite part of any crime novel as I always find I get distracted and my concentration lapses.

We were planning a trip to Greenway earlier this year (sob). I wonder how long it will be before we can think about going. We'd prefer to visit off peak - is it accessable all year round generally does anyone know?

Death on the Air and other stories is also on Audible. I checked it out and really liked the narrator who was reading what sounds like a very interesting introduction, so I've taken the plunge and used one of my spare credits on it. I would join in with a group read if you decided to include this one.

Isn't it interesting that Agatha Christie's books can be equally adapted for television in a way which either brings out the humour or the darker side. Can anyone think of any of the books which has had both treatments?

Judy wrote: "Did anyone try the new Van der Valk TV series in the UK last night? I wasn't sure what I thought - Marc Warren was very good, and I liked the Amsterdam locations, but the plot wasn't all that inter..."

Yes we watched it - not sure about it yet so we'll probably watch a few more to see how it develops. At the moment I wonder why they did it as a remake of Van der Valk as it's completely different apart from the setting.

Susan wrote: "I really liked Cubby. I also like the way that Graham sometimes uses characters, or settings, from previous books, without having to point out to the reader that this village, for example, has been..."

I wonder if there is a map of Midsomer anywhere. I'm really feeling with this book that you could pinpoint some of the places as they are described in relation to real locations.

I'm on about Chapter 6 now and feel alternately sympathetic and exasperated with the village bobby but on the whole he's been hard done by I think! The author seems to do this by drawing you in to the mindset of the character, so you feel he's initially handled the encounter with Alan Hollingsworth very efficiently and thoroughly because that's the way he feels himself. It's only later that you realise he hasn't used his initiative and followed it up.

I've just finished Chapter One with the scene setting and introduction to the characters. I love the minuitiae of the lives of the people involved that she goes into and also the way that a character is seen differently by various people. I'm thinking of Elfrida Molfrey and how she is seen as a batty frail woman at first and then you get a different perception of her from Cubby and then again from Barnaby.