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

Judy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Leslie wrote: "There was quite a long period when it was common for British novels to be published in the U.S. under a different title..."

That's interesting - I think it probably happens less now with the internet. I agree it can be annoying if you end up buying the same book twice - another risk of this is when a book is republished with a new title.

Some US books have also been retitled for the UK market - one I always remember hearing about from the 1990s was The Bridges of Madison County, which was retitled Love In Black and White and had all the photos of bridges removed for UK publication. However, when a film was made starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, it was quickly republished here with its original title and photos!

I didn't get around to this one on time, but will be starting it soon as it is nearly due back at the library! Have many people been reading it and if so what did you think?

Leslie wrote: "My main complaint is that the police had information that wasn't shared with the reader until the wrap up...."

Oh yes, this is always a bit annoying - like when Sherlock Holmes picks up an item on the crime scene and tells us what it is at the end of the story!

Sorry you didn't like it, Abigail! It wasn't one of my favourites but I enjoy the author's writing style so his asides didn't really bother me. That's an interesting point about books from the UK in the post-war era, I'll bear it in mind when reading more from that period.

Sarah, thanks for your reply - I did wonder if perhaps Yew trees were only in Europe, but from a quick search I see there are types of Yew in the US so that probably isn't the reason for the change. Maybe publishers wanted a more dramatic title.

Welcome, Anne! Glad you found us and thanks to craftyhj for leading you here!

I'm impressed that you've read all of Miss Silver - I think I've only read a couple of those so far but enjoyed them. I hadn't heard of Puppet For A Corpse but just had a quick look and it's by Dorothy Simpson - a new name to me, I think.

That's great, Sandy. I also like the way "Rivers" is close to the author's own name, Rivett.

Hope your arm is feeling a bit better and that reading the ebooks isn't too difficult, Sandy.

I've started Half-Mast Murder by Milward Kennedy after noticing it on Kindle Unlimited. I was tempted because he comes up quite a bit in discussions of the Detection Club but I don't think I've read anything by him, except for his chapter of The Floating Admiral. It's a locked room mystery about a man found dead in a summerhouse - quite a country house mystery vibe to it so far, although I'm not very far in as yet.

I've just noticed that books by Josephine Tey are now out of copyright in the UK, as she died in 1952 - books here usually go out of copyright 70 years after an author dies.

I realised this after I noticed an Amazon offer for Josephine Tey - Ultimate Mystery Collection: Inspector Alan Grant Novels & Other Detective Tales: The Daughter of Time, The Franchise Affair… which has all her mystery novels for 99p. Great value, though I personally tend to prefer individual books.

Bad news for the National Trust though, as Josephine Tey left the charity her estate and copyrights.

I also posted this in the Agatha Christie thread and again reposting here in case anyone who didn't see it is interested:

Not sure if it has been mentioned that the BBC and BritBox are adaptingMurder Is Easy - it's due to be filmed this summer and I would guess will be screened at Christmas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/202...

I was pleased to see that it isn't being scripted by the same screenwriter who has done a few of the recent Agatha Christie adaptations, as I found those too far from the books.

I posted this in the Dorothy L Sayers favourite author thread, but am not sure how many people will see it there, so reposting here as well:

An interesting piece here about how Sayers became involved in a real-life murder investigation in Richmond in the 1930s:

https://teddington.nub.news/news/loca...

Thank you Susan. Yes, please can we let this topic drop now, and keep our discussions polite and friendly as stated in the group rules. Thanks everyone.

Curtis Evans said on Facebook that he is also hoping to find another publisher to bring out her last remaining titles - fingers crossed.

Quite a lot were unpleasant but I do agree this was more realistic than the way people often behave to police in GA mysteries, Susan. Although it does feel earlier than the 60s to me, I've now read a few reviews which point out the way the book touches on aspects of post-war Britain.

I suppose the fact that a factory is failing because of not modernising and investing enough must have been very contemporary.

Great news, Dean Street Press is publishing the last few books by Moray Dalton which it had scheduled, prepared by Rupert Heath before his death.

I got this email from DSP yesterday:

A late announcement from Dean Street Press
More Moray Daltons for April 2023

Dean Street Press is proud to offer five more rare gems from the golden age of crime fiction by Moray Dalton in April 2023. The five titles comprise: The Kneeling Woman, Death in the Dark, Death in the Forest, The Murder of Eve and Death at the Villa. These new editions feature beautiful new artwork and brand new introductions by the wonderful author and crime fiction historian, Curtis Evans.

All the novels are b-format paperbacks, priced at £11.99, and available from distributors Ingrams/Lightning Source. Rupert Heath completed these new editions before passing away earlier this month. Publication date is April 3, 2023.

An interesting piece here about how Sayers became involved in a real-life murder investigation in Richmond in the 1930s:

https://teddington.nub.news/news/loca...

RC, I vaguely remember people being somewhat bemused by duvets when they started to be more common in the UK in the 70s!

I quite enjoyed this but did get a bit confused by all the shady dealings and also at times by the relationships between the various characters.

Although this was published in the 1960s and teddy boys were mentioned a few times, I thought it felt like a slightly earlier era.

Hope you enjoy it, Frances. I think it's a fun read.

Susan in NC wrote: "I was surprised how rude many of the suspects were to the police attempting to question them - I mean, I get it that no one wants to be bothered, but the book opens with an explosion, and three people die!..."

Very true - I've just read a bit where someone is very polite while being questioned, which makes a nice change!

I'm getting towards the end now but don't have much idea about how it will all work out.