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

Judy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Are you reading a good Golden Age or more modern mystery at the moment, or have you just finished one? Please share your recommendations and reviews!

This is a new thread for 2024. The previous thread has been archived but you can still refer to it here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've started this now and am finding the start of the book both gripping and moving - so glad this was nominated, thanks Rosina!

I'm currently listening to A Spoonful Of Murder by J.M. Hall on Spotify, the first in a series about retired primary school teachers who become detectives.

There seem to be a lot of these series with older amateur detectives now in the wake of Richard Osman's books. I'm really enjoying this one, which I think is largely because the narrator is actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who is doing a fantastic job and bringing a lot of personality and warmth to the narration. Anyway, I'm wondering if this type of gentle detective series works best for me on audio - I may give the third Richard Osman book a try in that format.

I thought the author's note at the end about the real-life inspiration for the book was interesting as far as it went, but I'd have liked a bit more detail.
I've just read an article about the English Mistery on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English...

I've finished this now and must agree with everyone's comments that the plot is confusing and disjointed, and also that Guy is not very impressive as a detective!

I also found Rodie a rather unconvincing character, though giving the series detective a burglar sidekick could work well for future plots. Having said all that, I quite liked Guy and enjoyed the setting and the writing style, so I'll be happy to try book two.

I was torn between a 2-star and 3-star rating, as I had a lot of problems with it, but went for 3 as I found it a fairly enjoyable read.

Many thanks to everyone for all the nominations so far. I've just checked and they are all available reasonably priced on Kindle in the UK.

Nominations so far:

Ellen: The Litmore Snatch by Henry Wade

Jill: The Blind Side by Patricia Wentworth

Carolien: The Viaduct Murder by Ronald Knox

Susan in NC: The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow

Any more nominations? It's already going to be a tough choice out of these!

Yes, Happy New Year to all, and many thanks to Susan for setting up the challenge and the new threads!

Nominations please for our March 2024 group read!

Please only nominate books written and published in the Golden Age period, or a little earlier or later - if in doubt whether a title is eligible, please ask. As usual, just one nomination per group member, and only one book by any individual writer can be nominated per month. Also, please don't nominate ECR Lorac this time around, as she won the polls for both December and February group reads, so let's give other authors a chance :)

If you aren't sure whether we have read something, the group bookshelves may help, or just ask. If it was at least 3 years ago that we read it, it is fine to renominate.

I've started this and am enjoying it so far - not very far in as yet. I think Guy is an interesting character, and I'm quite intrigued to know how much of the royal background etc is true, such as the then Duke of Gloucester having his eye on the throne - hopefully there will be some discussion at the end.

I finished the first book yesterday and was very impressed - looking forward to starting this one shortly. I've had plenty of visits to the library like that, Susan and Sandy!

A Happy New Year to everyone!
Looking back at the past year I don't seem to have had as much time as I hoped for reading in 2023, and must admit the books I've read over the year haven't always been as varied or as challenging as I'd planned! I have read a lot of detective stories though, and enjoyed most of them.

My favourites out of those I've read with the group were probably the buddy reads of the Martin Beck books, which I find really compelling police procedurals with great characters, and the Shardlake series. I also loved rereading The Nine Tailors by Sayers - one of her best. And must agree with you, Abigail, that I also really liked Edmund Crispin's mature writing in The Long Divorce.

I've also read a lot of good crime fiction books on my own - I  liked both Inspector French: Fear Comes to Chalfont and The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts, but realise I have now got the two books mixed up in my mind. I know some readers find Crofts a bit slow and painstaking, but I've really got into his writing now. I've also enjoyed reading more books by ECR Lorac this year, both with the group and on my own.  

I enjoyed various fiction books which weren't crime, mostly older titles, including a Persephone reissue, Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton, which is wonderfully quirky, a bit like I Capture the Castle and a bit like Barbara Comyns, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which we read over in Reading the Twentieth Century (actually that one does have a crime element) and Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks (I heard about this book via Goodreads), which is a short novel by a poet, about an African-American girl growing up in the 1930s and 40s, where each chapter is a bit like a prose poem. I haven't read nearly enough non-fiction this year, but recently read and enjoyed a biography of Dickens's illustrator Phiz (Hablot K Browne), Phiz: The Man Who Drew Dickens by Valerie Browne Lester.

I'm hoping to read more widely in 2024 and read some more new books and classics, alongside more classic crime fiction of course. :)

Welcome Christine! Glad you joined us - hope you are enjoying the Catherine Aird book, she has lots of fans in the group and we have been having some buddy reads of her books. Lots of Christie, Sayers and PD James fans here too :)

Carolien wrote: "The Man who Died Twice is probably the worst in the series to my mind, Judy. I've just read The Last Devil to Die and it is a much better book. I get the feeling Osman wanted to be Mick Herron ..."

Thank you, that's good to know - I didn't get on with Mick Herron at all and was actually thinking that Osman's style in this book reminds me of him. Glad to hear that you like the latest book later, Carolien.

I'm halfway through The Man Who Died Twice now but not enjoying it much at all - it's a pity, I expected to love Richard Osman's books as I really like him as a TV personality, but I'm finding this series rather boring and coming to the conclusion it isn't for me.

I have also just read Poison at the Village Show by Catherine Coles, a mystery set in a village just after WW2 - I really enjoyed this one because I liked the characters, even if the mystery wasn't anything particularly different.

And a collection of classic crime short stories which I found a bit of a disappointment, Murder in the Falling Snow - some of the stories were good but I'd read several before, and I didn't find the book particularly wintry, despite loads of snow on the cover!.

I've just put up a thread for us to discuss our best reads of 2023, if anyone wants to pop over and comment - the link is below:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I had to fill in a Captcha to be allowed to post the thread - hope that isn't going to happen with every new thread in future.

As we approach the end of 2023, what were your favourite reads from the last year?

A few questions you could use as a starting point if you want:

Which books that you read with the group did you like best?

What were your favourite crime fiction reads of the year?

What were the best non-crime fiction books you read in 2023?

Which authors did you discover in the past year?

Do you have any reading resolutions for 2024, and what are you looking forward to reading?

Lastly, did you have any reading disappointments in 2023?

Great list, Susan, and Happy Christmas/Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all.

The buddy reads list looks great, Susan, many thanks to you and to all who made suggestions. I picked up the 99p set of Mrs Pargeter books recently and have been looking forward to reading them. :)

Susan, I hope you enjoyed it. Do you mean you deleted a post? We have a spoiler thread if you want to post there - I'll be over there very soon once I finish. :)

I think this may be my favourite Fen book as well, Abigail - it was interesting to have the shifting viewpoints, and I especially enjoyed the sections seen through Helen's eyes. I didn't realise Sims was a villain for a long time, perhaps because he is made to be so attractive.

Jackie wrote: "I'm reading Murder on Bedford Street which is part of a long running series I have to be in the mood for. ..."

I don't think I've tried this series, though "gaslight mystery" sounds intriguing, but I know what you mean about needing to be in the mood for some series, Jackie.

I started the second book in the Richard Osman series, The Man Who Died Twice, but it hasn't really grabbed me so far (I've read about a third), and I'm getting irritated with one or two of the characters. I enjoyed the first book in the end after a false start, but I think I definitely have to be in the mood for this series - maybe when I'm feeling mellow over Christmas!