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

Judy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

I'm reading our next Tommy and Tuppence now, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, and enjoying it a lot so far.

I've just finished two of our buddy reads, River of Darkness and March Violets - I also switched between listening and reading for both of them. I found them both interesting but uneven - I think there will be lots to discuss.

On another tack, was anyone else surprised that Diana disappears from the book after being the viewpoint character at the start? I was a bit disappointed as I found her a likeable character, but I soon pretty much forgot about her as the story was so fascinating.

Vanessa and Susan, not just me who did a double-take about the stains, then!

I've just received the second-hand copy I ordered of Heaven Knows Who by Christianna Brand, so will be interested to see if this element is mentioned in the real case. I'll aim to get on to this one asap before I forget all the details of In Muffled Night.

Good to hear you are both enjoying the Poirot/Marple challenge, Susan and Jackie. :)

The vote for our September group read is currently open, so if you haven't voted yet and would like to, please take a look.
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/3...

The poll is now up - please vote for your preferred choice.

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/3...

Frances wrote: "Good point Judy about the absent vs non existent wife-did Christie regret marrying Hastings off so early? ..."

I wonder if she did - these stories feel as if we've gone back to the pre-marriage set-up. There is one story where Hastings believes he has to save his wife's life, and we hear about how much he loves her... but, even so, he doesn't rush off to see her at the end. It also sounds from this story as if they can't be writing to each other all that often.

Welcome Arbab, glad you found us and hope you enjoy trying Christie. I must agree with Sandy about The Big Four, not one of her best!

Thank you for checking the availability on Murder Included, Sandy and Susan!

I also have Death at the Dog and have previously read it but haven't tried this one as yet.

I think I did the same, Susan! ;)

I've just read The Second Confession by Rex Stout, a Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin classic that I must have grabbed in a Kindle sale years ago and forgotten I had! Very enjoyable, I'll check my Kindle for any more that I've forgotten about.

I've also started one of our forthcoming buddy reads, River of Darkness by Rennie Airth - I'm listening to this on Audible and finding it gripping so far although dark, as the title suggests. The narrator on the Audible recording, Peter Wickham, is great, but I may get hold of a physical copy too as it is quite long.

I have removed a self-promotion post from this thread to our self-promotion thread - just a quick reminder that self-promotion is only allowed in the designated section.

Nominations so far:

Susan: Sergeant Cluff Stands Firm by Gil North

Susan in N.C.: Lonesome Road by Patricia Wentworth

Jan: Murder of Lydia by Joan A. Cowdroy

Judy: Murder Included by Joanna Cannan

Any more? Last call for nominations before the poll goes up.

I'd like to nominate Murder Included by Joanna Cannan, the first in her Detective Price mystery series.


In the UK this is available on Kindle either on its own for £1.99 or as part of the The Complete Detective Price Mysteries Books 1-5 box set, currently 99p on Kindle. I think these Kindle box sets are usually also available in the US, but can one of our US members please kindly check for me? Both versions are also on Kindle Unlimited in the UK.

First published 1950.
In the prospectus for the Aston Park Guest House and stables, murder is not mentioned among the many attractions. But when a sudden death arrives to upset the family and guests, it seems to become a full-time occupation…Impoverished squire Sir Charles d’Estray brings home his second wife, Bunny, from the French Riviera.A free-spirited and determined bohemian, Bunny commits herself to converting Sir Charles’ estate into a paying guesthouse and dragging his family out of their financial woes. Despite the success of the guesthouse, however, the new Lady d’Estray never quite seems to fit in with the old aristocratic family. One of the guests, an elderly cousin of the Estrays, is found in her bed dead one morning..

Just copying over another self-promotion post which was put in the wrong thread.

A.D. wrote:
I released my debut crime novel 'Pigs Get Slaughtered' last year which has received good reviews. Things have gone a little quiet recently, so to encourage fresh interest, I'm offering the download version for free for just three days. Please take a look and if you choose to read it, I'd be very grateful for a review. Happy reading!

https://mybook.to/PigsGetSlaughtered

Thank you for the nomination, Jan, and thanks for checking the UK availability, Susan. :)

Although I really enjoyed this book overall, I found the ending rather hard to swallow. Could there really be two people who are prepared to attack Helen with such violence?

I also found it hard to believe that blood could be washed off the carpet, walls etc to the extent suggested - blood stains are very hard to get out even when it's just a few drops.

I think I've read about the real case somewhere but am not sure where - maybe I just read the introduction twice! Anyway, I've got the Brand non-fiction book on the way to me so will be interested to hear about her take on the case. I'm not always a big fan of true crime in general, but fiction based on a real crime tends to get me fascinated with the original case.

Enjoy, Sandy! I'll be interested to hear what you think of that little lot. I've heard good things about A Case of Mice and Murder.

I've just read a British Library title that was mentioned in the Shedunnit podcast, Family Matters by Anthony Rolls, but I wasn't a big fan - it's a (sort-of) inverted mystery and there was an awful lot seen from the viewpoint of unpleasant characters for my liking. It's also rather slow. He's a witty writer though.

Jan C wrote: "I have a nominee, also BLCC - Murder in the Museum by John Rowland. It must have been on sale or something because I picked it up. Currently in the US it is $14.99.

..."

Thank you Jan - I have just checked and sadly it looks like this is out of print in the UK in paperback and it's also not on Kindle here. Would you like to nominate something else instead? A shame to see some of the BLCC titles going out of print.