Frances’s Comments (group member since Aug 21, 2017)

Frances’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

I just finished Rivers of London which I loved-modern police procedural with a magical twist-similar to the Bryant and May series, I believe. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Another Ontario member-I'm in Ottawa, Canada and also loved Peter Robinson and am a big Louise Penny fan-just finished her most recent A World of Curiosities which is one of her best so far, I think, but that series definitely needs to be read in order.

I'm just starting this and enjoying so far, but I've really enjoyed this series in general. Hope it will be a quick read.

I've just finished this and also didn't particularly enjoy it. I was surprised to hear it was from the 60's as well-the Teddy Boys reference should have clued me in but it felt very post-war/early 50's to me.
I think the lack of much personal motivation/intrigue is what lessened the interest for me-that this was almost entirely a financial shenanigans plot tied up in property speculation is perhaps what made it less interesting, with as someone else said very few particularly appealing characters. I did like Littlejohn again and enjoyed how the various police employees worked together.

Also, making the most unpleasant character the villain somehow seems against the grain for a golden-age type mystery!

I've just finished this one-I was keen to join as I'd enjoyed the paired read of The Dead Shall be Raised & Murder of a Quack but didn't enjoy this one as much. I will head over to the spoiler thread to discuss further.

I've finally finished this one-had to leave it at home while I was away on a trip-and agree with a lot of the comments, and also ended up skipping a lot of the details of how the murder was actually done-seemed incredibly far fetched for it to work!

I was a little confused by the detective duo-did I miss a book in which Hannasyde is promoted and Hemingway takes over the field work? I also preferred it when they worked as a duo, as Roman Clodia mentioned.

It would also have been great to see a little more of Mary's change of heart and success in romance-i was spending a lot of time worrying about her a Hugh appears to transfer his affections to Vicky, and had no clue that Maurice was waiting in the wings-more time on that and less on Vicky swanning around would have improved things for me.

I also agree with everyone how kind Ermyntrude showed herself to be regarding Janet and Alan, and does she marry her farmer eventually? I rather felt there was too much build up and not enough resolution of the various romances and intrigues.

I finally got a copy of this book and time to read it, so I am starting today and hope to finish in the next week or so.

Jessica wrote: "I share the mixed feelings, of course I also want more people to discover the delight of reading an Agatha Christie and maybe these editions make that possible. The reviews on GR for instance that ..."

I would love to hear a discussion from some current authors about their feelings about changing their own works in the future, should things that seem acceptable now become offensive or negative in the future. For example, what if in the future meat-eating were to become a sign of a person who condones cruelty or environmental disregard or a flaunting of wealth? Scenes in which someone is eating a hamburger might then mean something very different to future readers than to those in the present (and I do eat meat so not trying to preach anything here!). Would an author want that changed?

I've just finished this and agree with the confusion mentioned above-should have been published in the Golden Age style with a list of characters at the beginning, and throw in a map of the Museum just for good measure!

However I did really enjoy the 3 main characters-nice combo of Maigret/Morse-type older policeman with a love of the finer things, younger sidekick with energy and a drive to prove herself, and maverick third wheel who may or may not (feels like may) be a love interest for Flavia. The art world info is an added bonus as this is an area about which I have minimal to no knowledge so it's nice to see some of the inside stuff from the old-world art scene. I also loved the descriptions of contrasting life in London and Rome. I look forward to reading further episodes in this series with this group.

Jessica wrote: "Sigh, sensitivity readers changed my beloved Agatha Christies. I hope the original will also stay available like with Roald Dahl."

I have mixed feelings about this-while I adore Christie's works and agree she is the Queen, there are times reading her books that some casual racist or sexist remark really pulls me up short. Should we "fix" these? Or leave them in as part of the record of what the Golden Age was really like, particularly for those who were not white and upper class? I truly don't know.

I've just started (2 chapters) and enjoying meeting the characters and the general set-up. I am also someone who gave up on Fingerpost and felt somewhat book-shamed by all the incredibly positive reviews on GR (and I usually love historical fiction, especially something set in a college) so glad to hear this series isn't quite so dense.

I've finally finished this and agree-it was slow to start but picked up well in the middle. I found the very "let me explain to you foolish people" denouement became a bit dull as well-Crispin crafts a clever and well-plotted mystery but doesn't seem very skilled at either laying it out or revealing the solution.

Could his female characters be more stereotyped? The fetching schoolgirls, the attractive sun-bathing neighbour who happily brings beer to the tired men, the stodgy academic wives, the hard-nosed headmistress, the old crone in a run-down cottage-what a collection!

Nonetheless, I do find his mysteries fun and engaging and will keep reading the series, assuming I can get my hands on the next ones!

Finally started and enjoying the opening scenes at the school, look forward to Gervais' speech, if he ever gets to give it!

I will be reading this one but it's still a couple of places down on my TBR list, so I may be late to the discussion.

I've read the first couple of this series quite recently so will join the later buddy reads and will follow the discussions of the first two.

I do love Miss Marple and really enjoyed this as a reread-I realize I don't remember whodunnit most of the time so even that part is enjoyable!

More of a thriller, but I'm half way through the Louise Penny/Hillary Clinton State of Terror and it seems a great combination of Clinton's insider's understanding of the White House/Secretary of State world, and Penny's deft hand with a mystery/thriller. Some digs at a President Trump-like predecessor is reminiscent of Mick Herron's Peter Judd (and there's even a Peter Judd-like character in this one). So far I'd definitely recommend.

Judy wrote: "I've finished this book now. I enjoyed it a lot for the writing style and the characters of Sloan, Crosby and the superintendent, but I thought the suspects were mainly a bit distant. I was also ve..."

This was also how I felt-I didn't have a good feel for the suspects and in fact couldn't get the developer, the owner, and the builder straight in my head and I'm still not sure which of the did it! However I do like the main detective duo and seeing how crime was investigated at the time-sending letters to Somerset House, going to the public library-and the Doctor's set up-the speaking tube next to his ear in bed along with the telephone-all adds to making this an enjoyable read.

Susan in NC wrote: "I really liked the medical practice administrator - she was a great character, one of those dedicated, common sense women with a prodigious memory, written off cruelly as a spinster, but so vital to holding everything together, and so caring about her community! I was so afraid there’d be a weird twist at the end, she’d be the killer or something; so relieved she wasn’t. She was a great mentor to the new, young doctor- I felt compassion for him, coming in, trying to fill the shoes of a beloved old GP. Plus, she was the one solid source of clues for Crosby! ."

Agreed-I thought she was a great character and it was sad that she was written off so easily by men like Crosby. In another 25 years she would likely have become a Dr herself!

I also liked the new young Dr and enjoyed the representation of the GP society/support group. I expect entering into a solo practice in a small town could be quite isolating both socially and professionally so it seems a great way for them to support each other and to discuss challenging cases.

I’ll be joining on this one, and at least the next 2 in the series as I bought the collection on iBooks! The later books in the series seem more readily available at the library etc so I wonder if Aird grew in popularity as the series progressed. I agree with others about really enjoying this series so far, that it has a very Golden Age feel despite it’s more recent provenance.