Judy’s Comments (group member since Oct 01, 2015)

Judy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Sandy wrote: "This may be my favorite Maigret yet (though I might have said that before). ..."

I agree, Sandy, I thought this one was great. It's very interesting to see Maigret as an outsider, without his normal support structures, feeling unsure about his own abilities at times.

I thought the telephone trick seemed amazingly modern - the idea of keeping a phone line open and following what's going on doesn't seem like something from that era at all but it's definitely tense, as you say.

I was interested to see that Maigret feels relieved to get back to the Loire and his new life at the end - we know he will end up back in Paris to carry on for another 50 books, but clearly it will be a bit of a wrench for him, and for Mme Maigret of course.

We'll set the buddy read up for December, Neer.

Tey's books are all in the public domain in the UK now and some other countries, so there are likely to be a lot of free/cheap editions around.

Thank you for all the great recommendations, everyone. I spoke too soon about the Benjamin Stevenson book, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, as I'm finding it increasingly boring and sometimes unpleasant after a great start. I've already bought book two as I didn't realise it was a series, so I'll give it a try at some stage.

I also found this a bit confusing, especially the different names for the same characters and the many untranslated words. But I really enjoyed it and found it hard to put down. I liked seeing through the heroine's eyes and found her an interesting character - I wonder if they will meet again? I didn't know anything about the Russo-Turkish war and had to look it up.

I've just started this and am enjoying the beginning. I agree it's an interesting setting. Also interesting to see Fandorin through another character's eyes.

It was a very close poll in the end, but the winner was Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers, which will be our November group read.

As it was so close, with just one vote between the top two books, we'll do the runner-up, Impact of Evidence by E. C. R. Lorac aka Carol Carnac in December, so there won't be a vote next month.

Thanks to all who nominated and voted.

Full results:
Clouds of Witness (Lord Peter Wimsey, #2) 8 votes, 40.0%
Impact of Evidence 7 votes, 35.0%
Bleeding Hooks 2 votes, 10.0%
A Shilling for Candles (Inspector Alan Grant, #2) 2 votes, 10.0%
The Horizontal Man 1 vote, 5.0%

Good to hear, Indeneri. I agree the writing style isn't stilted. I also like the way we see some aspects of medieval life that I haven't seen in other novels.

I wondered that about Flavia as well, Frances. Interesting to hear of your real-life art theft in Canada, thanks for posting that!

I'm reading recent bestselling mystery Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Australian author Benjamin Stevenson after buying the second in the series and then discovering there was a previous book! Enjoying it so far - it's very quirky and unusual.

This has me wondering, which other current series are members enjoying? I know there are several others which are popular and take some inspiration from the Golden Age, including some which are slightly similar to Richard Osman`s books.

I've finished this now and really enjoyed it. I did guess the killer before the end, but then it was really tense seeing how the detectives would catch him. Looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Thanks, Susan, I hadn't remembered that Truffles was in the other books. I agree it's a clever idea to have her husband's list of contacts.

I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, Susan. Jill, I also like the growing relationship between the detectives. I think they are all good characters.

I've been interested to see how often Wolfe does leave the brownstone, Fred. I like your description of their relationship. Have you tried the Robert Goldsborough sequels at all? I couldn't resist reading Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, which I remember enjoying, but thought I'd wait to read any more of those until I've read all the original books.

I agree, Susan - from our perspective now, it's clear that Maigret's retirement to farm in the Loire valley isn't going to last! I think it works really well in this book, though, as he's suddenly an outsider without the support network he's used to, and we see a different side of his character.

I loved this book and thought it was one of the best so far. Just a shame it has a title that's so hard to search for!

I agree she's a likeable character and it's interesting to see her in a completely different context each time. I wonder if Brett will keep that up over the whole series, or whether we'll get one or two regular associates as the series goes on.

Thank you for opening up our buddy reads, Susan. I'm about halfway through this book and enjoying it a lot - I found the first book a bit of a struggle but now I've got the main characters straight and am liking the writing style. I'm pleased that this one isn't set at a monastery and doesn't feel so similar to the Cadfael books.

Who is reading this book?

Thanks, Kajehas, good to bear in mind. I think Lily Rowan is a good character and adds a lot to the series.

I like Archie best too, Jill.

I haven't been reading the Wolfe books in order but as I've managed to pick them up - I have some second-hand paperbacks and some on Kindle, and am watching out for offers. I don't think the order matters as much with this series as with some others, but I hope to read them all, anyway.

Sandy wrote: "Like Judy, I have been missing Nero Wolfe! Another series I want to continue."

Sandy, the second story in Three at Wolfe's Door is a lot of fun because it starts with Wolfe and Archie having a row - Archie decides to leave and set up on his own! Of course I know they will go on working together, but it's an interesting idea ;)