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

Judy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

I thought it was the truth and meant she was a murderer after all as she stirred the poison in and didn't do anything to stop the boy dying. I found it very hard to believe that he would have eaten the poison himself!

Welcome Glenda, glad you've joined us :)

Sorry, I'm a bit later than I said but the poll is up now - please cast your vote!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

I finished this one today and have to say I didn't enjoy it all that much overall, although I liked the writing style and thought a lot of the incidents were quite vividly described. I also found the jurors' arguing convincing although I've never done jury duty.

The back stories at the start went on for too long for me, and didn't really have as much relevance to the jurors' deliberations as I thought they were going to.

And as others have said, the main plot itself is very grim, with a pet animal and a child being killed. After reading some of this last night I couldn't get to sleep for about an hour! I also found it hard to believe the case would have gone to court as there didn't seem to be enough evidence - as several of the jurors point out.

Last call for nominations - the poll will go up tomorrow!

These are the nominations so far:

Jill: The Polo Ground Mystery by Robin Forsythe

Susan: Death of My Aunt by C.H.B. Kitchin

Craftyhj: Mystery At Lynden Sands by J. J. Connington

Susan in NC: Crossed Skis by Carol Carnac (aka E.C.R. Lorac)

Judy: The Crime Coast by Elizabeth Gill

I'll nominate a book that I think has been nominated in the past but never won, The Crime Coast by Elizabeth Gill.

This was published in 1931 and is the first of three books in the Benvenuto Brown series - it's a Dean Street Press reissue, and their books are usually on Kindle everywhere, though it may be harder to get hold of print copies. Sadly the author died aged only 32.

Paul Ashby is excited to be heading off on holiday to the South of France. But on the day before departure he is entrusted with a strange mission – to find a missing young man. When he arrives in St. Antoine, he falls quickly in with the local artistic set, including alluring Adelaide Moon and Argentian playboy Hernandez de Najera.

Also present is eccentric painter Benvenuto Brown who suspects de Najera of murder most foul, and a Scotland Yard detective looking for the ‘slosher’, a noted jewel thief.. Bevenuto and Paul will travel from exotic watering spots to the dangerous backstreets of Marseilles in their search for the solution to this clever and elegant whodunit.

Sorry you have both had problems with nominations and availability , Abigail and Michaela - I think this has probably happened to all of us at some time, because of Amazon not letting us see Kindle availability in other countries!

I know it's a bit disheartening, but people do often read books mentioned in the nomination threads, so I hope you won't be put off suggesting titles. I'll make a note to read Death of an Editor as I love reading mysteries involving newspapers and reporters.

Craftyhj, thank you for the nomination for Mystery at Lynden Sands - this sounds like an exciting book, set at the seaside with Connington's detective Sir Clinton Driffield.

I'm about halfway through now and on to the main case. I think I'm going to struggle to remember who all the jurors are when they come back in!

Thanks for the nomination, Susan - this sounds like an unusual and intriguing book!

Abigail, thanks for your nomination and sorry about the problems with availability of Death of an Editor - such a pain when books are available in some countries and not in others. Would you like to nominate something else?

If it's any consolation, our challenge read for March, Inquest: A Golden Age Mystery is by the same author, under a different pseudonym, Henrietta Clandon - I see from his GR page that his real name was John George Hazlette Vahey, and he not only wrote as Vernon Loder and Henrietta Clandon, but also under at least five other names!

Thank you for the nomination for The Polo Ground Mystery, Jill - I've read this one and enjoyed it.

Oops, sorry to be late - frantic day! But anyway it's time to nominate for our April 2023 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.

Great idea to open the threads up a bit early, Susan - thank you and thanks also for the introductions!

I've read 30% so far and have been enjoying the back stories of various juries - so far they have been almost short stories in their own right. I really like Postgate's writing style. Hoping I get on to the main murder case soon though!

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

Thank you for opening up the threads, Susan. Spoiler thread is linked below:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I also enjoyed this one a lot - the academic atmosphere with all the rivalries is very well-done, I thought.

I hadn't realised the sequel was available, so that is good to hear!

Good to hear you are enjoying An English Murder, Craftyhj. We read it here as a buddy read 5 years ago - if you are interested in looking at the discussion, the general thread is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

And the spoiler thread is here for when you have finished:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've finished this one now. I do agree the enclosed atmosphere of the ship and the feeling of being jinxed was really well done and it was great to see more of Mme Maigret - she's a good character and I like the matter-of-fact way in which she helps her husband with the case. I agree about her being very patient!

Did anyone guess the killer? I think he only came in late on, but I never thought about it being a member of the boy's family, being distracted by the other suspects. Very clever that the killing did tie in with the jealousy over Adele but not in the way readers have been led to suspect.

This was yet another book where Maigret allows people to get away with their crimes because he feels they have suffered enough, in this case both the boy's father for the murder and the wireless operator as an accessory.

Even though it is so well-plotted, though, this wasn't one of my favourites in the series, as I found Adele's amazing attraction for every man in sight a bit overdone and hard to believe - I know she was the only woman on the ship, but even so.

Jill, thanks for pointing out the problem with Surfeit of Suspects - I'm a librarian, though not a very active one, so I've corrected this now and it seems to have updated, though you may get a cached page for a bit!

Great to hear you enjoyed it, Pamela. I hadn't clocked the double meaning of the title, thank you for that! Great point.

I've started reading the next book for our challenge, An Oxford Tragedy by J.C. Masterman - enjoying it so far. MaryE, great to hear you are enjoying Edmund Crispin.