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

Judy’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Great that you are joining in, AJ and good to hear you are enjoying the book. I agree Meriel Ross is an entertaining character.

Thanks Susan! Which one do you want to nominate, Michaela?

Michaela, I've just had a look and both the Lorac titles are available in the UK for 99p too - please can someone check on US availability?

I've finished this book now, and, although I was a bit disappointed with the main novel, must just say that the two short stories at the end are a lot of fun and well worth reading, especially the first of the two.

Thank you for the nominations, Jill and Susan. Two very entertaining authors.

Nominations so far:

Judy: The Case of Alan Copeland by Moray Dalton

Jill: The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith by Patricia Wentworth

Susan: Detective Stories of Cyril Hare

Susan wrote: "I did feel for Leda when she thought that Arnold was going to propose and he told her he was in love with the woman her own father had an affair with..."

That was definitely a blow, but must admit I didn't sympathise with Leda at all, given how horrible she is to Frieda - even though I failed to suspect her, I was rooting for Arnold to get away from her as soon as possible!

Yes, he seemed to become more interesting as the book went on, the opposite to Jeremy, perhaps.

I enjoyed a couple of books I've read by Moray Dalton, so I'll start us off by nominating a standalone by her which has been republished by Dean Street Press, The Case of Alan Copeland: A Golden Age Mystery.

“I see you told her fortune. Had she a good hand?”

“There was death in it.”

The inhabitants of the quiet English village of Teene are a mixed bag. The schoolmistress is an artist manqué, her quick brain wasted for lack of opportunity. There is old Mrs. Simmons at the filling station, gloating over her discreditable past, and bullying her flighty young daughter. The fastidious Reverend Perry is more interested in his books than curing souls, and his niece dreams of romance but wakes to deadly realities. The prim, self-satisfied Miss Gort does most of the work of the parish; and the harassed poultry farmer, an artist once, is driven to desperation by an elderly nagging wife.

When one member of this little circle dies, natural causes are assumed; but eighteen months later the word “murder,” whispered at first, becomes officially suspected...

The Case of Alan Copeland, a classic court-room drama, was originally published in 1937. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

I have to agree that Hilary is quite annoying - I suppose she must be amazingly beautiful.

I've started listening to Death at Breakfast by John Rhode on audible - enjoying it so far. This book has a great cover.

I've finished this now although I haven't read the two short stories at the end of the book yet. I found it reasonably enjoyable but a bit slow and wordy, not one of my GA favourites.

I really liked the beginning and enjoyed the character of Jeremy at first, but then he seems to become less interesting. I didn't guess the killer - did anyone else?

Good to hear you enjoyed it, Jill. I was just wondering, after you mentioned the title in another thread - did anyone feel the "ten star clues" that Bobby lists helped them to solve the case? I enjoy his summaries but don't think this one got me much further!

It's time to nominate for our January 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.

Although this book is well-written, I found most of the characters so nasty that it was a somewhat depressing read.

I didn't realise who had done it until late on - I suspected Charity of being involved, although I should have realised the true culprit given Frieda's comments about evil earlier on.

The ending came as quite a shock, and I'm glad most detective stories have a more upbeat ending than this!

Yes, romantically under attack is right... you would almost think Hilary was the only woman in the area! I'm puzzled that, at the start, Jeremy seems to have decided she is the one for him when he hasn't even seen her for a couple of years.

I'm more than halfway through now and finding the book a very odd and unsatisfying mixture - a lot of witty banter (too much for my patience to be honest) with strange hints of Wuthering Heights-style passion. I am hoping perhaps the plot will move on a bit faster now and focus more on solving the murder.

The treatment of the evacuee boy in this book, and of the German Jewish maid, Frieda, is shocking and unpleasant to read - a lot of it is down to the characters of the Hardstaffes, but other characters aren't all that welcoming either.

I get the feeling that the author takes a dark view of village life and indeed of human nature, which makes the book feel quite unsettling compared to some of the other GA books we have been reading. I'll say more over in the spoiler thread soon.

Thanks for setting up the thread and opening it, Susan. I've started this one and have read about 40% so far - I'm enjoying the atmosphere and some of the witty banter, but so far there seems to have been more romantic complications than mystery.

Thank you for the introduction and opening up the thread, Susan! I've finished this one and have to say most of the characters are not particularly pleasant! Interesting to have a book set in war time where the characters are not pulling together and supporting each other to any great extent.

I'm reading The Killing Site by Caro Peacock (Gillian Linscott), one of the Liberty Lane series set in the early Victorian period. Enjoying it so far.

Just starting our next group read, Blue Murder by Harriet Rutland - looking forward to our discussion.