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

Judy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Thank you for all your work on this, Susan - looking forward to exploring these authors. :)

Yes, the opening is really compelling.

I can hardly believe it, but it's time to nominate for our December 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.

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.

Suggestions can be seasonal but don't have to be! (We already have a couple of Christmas-themed reads lined up, Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod as our last challenge read and a buddy read of Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards/)

Just opening up our new challenge read, by E.C.R. Lorac, a writer who is very popular with group members. Who is reading this one? I've started it and am enjoying the atmospheric portrayal of a fogbound London.

The spoiler thread is linked below:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

October is here, so just opening up our new group read, with thanks to Susan for the introduction.

Who is reading this one? I'm listening to the Audible edition narrated by David Thorpe and enjoying it so far although the story seems far-fetched - I've listened to about 25% so far.

The spoiler thread is linked below:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Daisy is lovely, Susan!

I'm listening to Seven Dead on Audible, read by David Thorpe who I think reads very well, and enjoying it so far although I'm not all that far in as yet.

I also recently read Inspector French: Fear Comes to Chalfont by Freeman Wills Crofts, which I found a great read - I really like most of the books by Crofts that I've read so far.

Thanks Vanessa, I'd been wondering if the series gets better, and that sounds hopeful. Sorry to her about the slump and hope your next reads are better. :)

I'm getting towards the end of this book and enjoying it a lot, although I think I slightly preferred the previous book with the arrival of Barak. He and Shardlake are definitely making a good team in this one.

Hope the library finds the book, Sarah.

I really enjoyed listening to this one on Audible, which probably added a star on for me, but I do agree about the chase scene being rather silly - why on earth would Judy chase him herself instead of going to the house and raising the alarm? And I also thought the killer was a bit of a minor character, which is always disappointing - I'd forgotten all about him! Great humour and great characters, though. I was slightly surprised that we didn't get a happy ending for David and Judy, as it seemed as if he wasn't as "dim" as everyone thought.

I liked the Blandings references too, and they reminded me that I want to read more of that series!

I've finished this now and found it a powerful crime novel, with the tension building up steadily through that scene at the table. The characterisation is strong, especially of the Count of St Fiacre. I was slightly confused just at the end, but I take it that the culprit clears off after being beaten up by the Count.

I've nearly finished now and must agree with you, Sarah, that this is great writing.

I'm reading this now and enjoying it - Pamela, I agree that it's very atmospheric, and you can almost feel the freezing cold. Interesting to get glimpses of Maigret's youth.

Yes, I enjoyed Flavia's determination in ensuring that Jonathan doesn't lose out over the Titian.

I've finished this now and for me it was the best so far as I found the plot a bit easier to follow this time. I also enjoyed the low-key romance.

I'm reading this and really enjoying it - about 60% of the way through now. I like both Jonathan and Flavia. I was a bit surprised at the setting in LA rather than Italy - or as well as Italy.

We have a winner - it's Green for Danger by Christianna Brand, which will be our November group read.

Full results:
Green for Danger (Inspector Cockrill #2) 8 votes, 38.1%
The Footsteps at the Lock 7 votes, 33.3%
Due to a Death 3 votes, 14.3%
Death in the Night Watches (Thomas Littlejohn #8) 3 votes, 14.3%

I got a bit fed up with him after a while, I must admit, and partly changed my mind, as I thought some of his comments were in good fun but not all.

I'm listening to a new audible edition of this which only came out in July. It has a long introduction by Val McDermid - I usually save introductions for the end, but this one turned out to be a short biography with very little about the book, so I was happy to listen to it first. Crispin had a fascinating life and was so multi-talented, writing film scripts on occasion as well as writing scores and crime novels. I did look to see if there was a full biography of him, but the only one I found cost about £50 on Kindle and the same in paperback - or £150 in hardback! Maybe not.

I'm now into the story, and enjoyed the bit where a secretary in the studio's music department is telling a composer over the phone that he will have to stay up all night if necessary to finish his film score. According to the introduction, Crispin/Montgomery had a reputation for being late with his scores.