From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Crossed Skis (Julian Rivers #8)

Carol Carnac,

Martin Edwards (Introduction)

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: April 30, 2023

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: Another pseudonym for popular author ECR Lorac
[close] Another pseudonym for popular author ECR Lorac

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 328 topics — 11,869 comments total

Group reads

* VOTE NOW for November 2025 group read!
By Judy · 19 posts · 21 views

last updated 1 hour, 15 min ago

* Sept 25: Lonesome Road (#3 Miss Silver Mysteries) by Patricia Wentworth
By Susan · 13 posts · 11 views

last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:03PM

showing 7 of 7 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Dec 18, 2020 Anissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-fiction-uk-ireland, mystery-suspense-crime, 2020, british-library-crime-classics, christmas-and-winter-mysteries

I loved this! The setting was fantastic (piles of snowy awesome, mountains, chalets and skiing!) & the mystery is more a London police procedural with a concurrent thread running with an Alps vacationing party of 16 in which the sought after killer is embedded under an assumed identity.

The detectives are presented with a grisly situation upon happening onto a house fire with a horribly burned corpse. It's soon clear that there's been a murder and the notice of the impression of a ski pole in the I loved this! The setting was fantastic (piles of snowy awesome, mountains, chalets and skiing!) & the mystery is more a London police procedural with a concurrent thread running with an Alps vacationing party of 16 in which the sought after killer is embedded under an assumed identity.

The detectives are presented with a grisly situation upon happening onto a house fire with a horribly burned corpse. It's soon clear that there's been a murder and the notice of the impression of a ski pole in the mud is the first clue. The vacationing group was a chaotic and jovial bunch with varying knowledge of each other (siblings, friends, friends and acquaintances of friends).

Kate is the main organizer and one of the main characters of the story. She was inquisitive and interested in people so when she senses something amiss with missing money, she wonders what is going on and who is the mystery centred on. When it comes to her notice that the CID is asking questions at her boarding house and arrive in the Alps, she's sure it's to do with the travelling group somehow. She was a good character and I found her quite a good investigator in her own right. I'd read another book with her as the sleuth. The story culminates with the two threads merging, the killer outed and an exciting scene on the slopes. I'd thought it was going to zig but the story zagged and I loved every minute of it. When the title popped up I had the "A-ha!" moment and that was cool as well.

I chose to read this because it's the time of year I want my mysteries wintry and this more than satisfied. This is a great addition to the British Library Crime Classics and I recommend it. I'd read another by Carnac (aka E.C.R. Lorac). This is the eighth book in the Julian Rivers series but she has many books under her other name in the BLCC reissue series.

Favourite passages (surprise, mostly related to the atmosphere & setting):

"Snow and mountains are the only reality and in spite of their beauty there’s an element of terror in them."

"They had emerged from the pine woods now, and were in bright sunlight again, travelling up a wide valley shut in by snowy crests, the intense whiteness confusing distances, so that the valley seemed a vastness of immeasurable untrodden snow, stretching from the track to the mountain tops, the horse and sleigh dwarfed to insignificance."

"A blue dusk seemed to caress the snow: stars were beginning to gleam above the mountains and the valley shone with golden specks from lighted windows. The sound of sleigh bells and the soft thud of horses’ hooves on the beaten snow tracks combined to make enchantment of the Austrian village."

"Kate Reid took one good look at what she could see of Lech and was well satisfied. It was an Austrian village, set in a wide Alpine valley, with a stream racing in torrents between snowy banks. Cradled on all sides by the embracing snow slopes, dominated by mountain peaks, Lech yet retained the charm of a village. It had the comely wide-eaved wooden houses familiar to travellers in Switzerland, which clustered round an enchanting little stone church, whose tall rather gaunt tower was crowned by an onion-shaped cupola, glowing golden in the lucid light. Neither the hotels, nor the polyglot crowds in ski-ing kit, destroyed the impression that Lech was an Austrian mountain village, which had its own way of life, its own character, developed and bred in the mountains: something picturesque and yet sturdy, colourful and independent, to which the winter sports crowd was but an incident in a life of sturdy independence, whose ways and traditions had developed in its mountain environment."

And one because detectives in detective novels reading detective novels is awesome:

"Lancing had bought six Penguin detective novels, from which he derived much entertainment: he left them all in the train at Langen—“as propaganda”, he said to Rivers." ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2021 Susan in NC rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-book, audiobook, currently-re-reading, tbr-with-gr-groups

3/2023 reread: Still a clever, enjoyable, evocative mystery; whether writing as Lorac or Carnac, this author really brings her settings to life. I enjoyed the characters, and the way Inspector Julian Rivers’ imagination really got the investigation rolling on the London end of this murder plot.

2/2021: Enjoyable, creative GA mystery, in which the emphasis is on winter weather - from the foul sleety snow, wind and grey fog of London, to the brilliant sunshine and crystal clear blue skies and snowy 3/2023 reread: Still a clever, enjoyable, evocative mystery; whether writing as Lorac or Carnac, this author really brings her settings to life. I enjoyed the characters, and the way Inspector Julian Rivers’ imagination really got the investigation rolling on the London end of this murder plot.

2/2021: Enjoyable, creative GA mystery, in which the emphasis is on winter weather - from the foul sleety snow, wind and grey fog of London, to the brilliant sunshine and crystal clear blue skies and snowy slopes of Austria.

The mystery opens on a sleety, snowy miserable New Year’s Day, as a skiing party of young people leave London for Austria, and a slightly tipsy older lady returns to her boarding house in London’s East End after a holiday celebration with her sister. She’s shocked to find the house ablaze, and her n’er do well son is overheard by a constable reassuring his mum that as the house is insured, they should just go have tea and ignore it. All the boarders are away for the holiday, so no one will be hurt, and his mom will be compensated.

This plan goes awry, however, when an identifiably burned body is discovered in an upstairs bedroom. The victim is either the boarder, Mr. Gray, or one of his associates. Inspector Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard is called in; his only clues are a few coins deposited in the gas meter in the burned room, a discarded pack of cigarettes, and an odd shape in the melting snow outside, that he identifies as the end of a ski stick.

After a great deal of dogged investigation, largely on the part of Detective Sergeant Lancing, Rivers uses brilliant detection to piece together the last hours of the killer in London. If he wanted to get out of England quickly, a good way would be to attach himself to an unsuspecting group, like a large skiing party...

The winter weather plays a major role in both Austria and London during this case. One of the skiing party, Kate, contemplates the blinding beauty of the crystal clear air, the cold and the snow in the mountains of Austria - but also the underlying power and terror of the elements. The wintry skies, foggy conditions, and stormy seas almost prevent Rivers and Lancing from making it over to Austria to nab the killer. The exciting ending takes place during a blizzard on the ski slopes.

Overall an exciting, different, and satisfying mystery. Whether writing as ECR Lorac, or Carol Carnac as with this series detective, this author has a great gift for using her chosen environment as a vital and exciting plat point in the action. She deserves to be rediscovered and widely read - thanks to British Library Crime Classics and Martin Edwards for bringing back her books, she has become a favorite of mine. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2024 Teri-K rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-golden-age, z-hoopla

I'm a huge fan of Golden Age and afterwards mysteries, and this is one of the best I've ever read. I loved the setting, the interesting mix of characters, the writing, and the fact that it read more like a WWII almost-spy novel than a 1950s murder mystery. But don't worry, the mystery is definitely there. It's just that the plot revolves around a group of skiers escaping for a long vacation in Austria. They don't all know each other as there have been last minute substitutions. Everyone is havin ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2023 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Carol Carnac was a pen name of E. C. R. Lorac and this particular mystery was published in 1952 and features one of her series detectives, Chief Inspector Rivers C.I.D.

The beginning of this book is a little confusing, involving a ski-trip to Lech am Arlberg in Austria, mostly put together by Bridget Manners. The group is a little large, consisting of eight men and eight women. By the time some of those involved dropped out or couldn't go and invited the friends of friends, the group consists of ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 27, 2020 Christine PNW rated it really liked it

This was delightful!

This was a recent purchase for me – I have been collecting mysteries from the British Library Crime Classics as they capture my fancy. Because I am shallow, a not-inconsequential element of their appeal is the beautiful covers and this was no exception. Both the title and the cover really appealed to me.

I grew up skiing during my childhood and youth, so a mystery with a winter sports element, especially one set in the Alps, really captured my interest. I was obsessed with the ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 31, 2024 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, mystery, vintage-mystery, set-in-austria, bought-2021, mount-tbr-2024

When a fire at a rooming house in Bloomsbury is put out, a grim discovery is made. The landlady thought the house was empty--all of her boarders were supposed to be gone for the New Year's holiday--but a body is found in the room of Mr. Gray. The fire did just enough damage that it's impossible to get an absolute identification, so they're not certain if it's Gray or if Gray has left someone else dead in his room. But the quick eyes of an officer left to guard the scene of the tragedy spots a cl When a fire at a rooming house in Bloomsbury is put out, a grim discovery is made. The landlady thought the house was empty--all of her boarders were supposed to be gone for the New Year's holiday--but a body is found in the room of Mr. Gray. The fire did just enough damage that it's impossible to get an absolute identification, so they're not certain if it's Gray or if Gray has left someone else dead in his room. But the quick eyes of an officer left to guard the scene of the tragedy spots a clue that leads Inspector Julian Rivers and Detective Sergeant Lancing to a group of sixteen men and women on a skiing holiday in the Austrian Alps.

Bridget "Biddy" Manners had quite a time getting everything settled for the Austrian trip. With friends who found they couldn't get leave or needing emergency appendix surgery or just changing their minds, she finally got a roster set with several friends of friends as fill-ins--which meant that there were a few in the party no one knew anything about first hand. But the group gets to know one another as best they can on the train and boat trip over to the continent and things settle down quite nicely once they get to Austria. Everyone is getting on well and have eased into a familiarity that allows for gentle teasing--as if they had been friends for years. Until...

A few members of the group find some of their currency missing. Robert O'Hara (one of the friends of friends) is missing some Austrian money. Neville Heston (another substitute) is missing English currency. The English notes are found in a book amongst O'Hara's things and that results in a feeling of mistrust amongst the group. Kate Reid and Frank Harris, two of the most level-headed in the group, try to keep things calm while also making note of several discrepancies in certain members' behavior.

Meanwhile, Rivers and Lancing have found evidence that link the fire to a clever thief whose one mistake was losing a packet of cigarettes with his fingerprints on it. And that evidence seems to link up with one of the men in Biddy's skiing party. Now they're off to Austria to see if they can find the owner of the fingerprints. But as mentioned the man is clever and has chosen a place where it would be very easy to ski off into the sunset and be lost to all pursuers...will they be in time to get their man?

This is the first mystery I've read by Edith Caroline Rivett under the Carol Carnac name and my first introduction to Inspector Rivers. Rivers brings a bit more intuition and (as noted in the quote below) imagination to his detective work than Inspector MacDonald, her detective in the E. C. R. Lorac books. But his leaps of intuition and imagination are always followed by a gathering of evidence to support the theories. He and Lancing make a good team bouncing ideas off one another and keeping any flights of fancy in check. Kate Reid also makes a good semi-detective. Semi- because she doesn't really want to out anybody in their group, but she is a good observer and picks up on many of the discrepancies that point to the imposter in their midst. The clues are well-laid and I should have spotted the criminal, but wound up backing the wrong horse. Ah well, I don't mind being fooled when it's so nicely done.

Carnac also does a nice job with the Austrian setting. It's evident that details from her own skiing trip were fresh in her mind at the time of writing. The descriptions of the mountains, skiing trails, and surrounding farms make the reader feel as though they were there and thoughts of the bitter cold and heavy snowfall in the final pages help me forget about the heat and humidity outside (at least for a little while).

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2023 Jan C rated it really liked it

Shelves: gr-group-read, 2023, mystery, sport

A group is put together to go skiing in Austria. The Cold War is still going on and Germany still appears to be occupied. They talk about England's fear of losing people who are going over to the other side. There are fourteen, I think, in this group. It is too many to keep straight. I think Agatha Christie suggested keeping the number around seven. Over that, it is hard for the reader to keep all of the characters straight, even if there is a Cast of Characters in the beginning - which this doe ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2025 Lady Wesley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-golden-age-or-similar, to-listen, british-library-crime-classics

Courtesy of Martin Edwards and British Library Crime Classics, I have become a great fan of Edith Caroline Rivett a/k/a E. C. Lorac a/k/a Carol Carnac. As with all of the other titles that I have read/listened to, I enjoyed this one immensely. I particularly like how she conveys a sense of place, and her books are set in myriad places, from London to country houses,to farms, and here, the Alps.

I haven’t managed to read all of her books, but. Am making that a definite goal.

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2020 Lynnie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, crime, favourites, london, bought-for-the-cover, read-in-2020, winter, post-war, british-library-crime, read-in-2024

A compelling Alpine mystery. Just read for the second time and because I knew the story, it was good to see if I could spot the clues. My favourite in the BLCC series.

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2023 Sarah G rated it liked it

Solid murder mystery, with great detail about skiing holidays in the early 1950s.

A downside for me was that having two separate halves to the story - the investigation in London and the ski trip - and so many characters on the trip, you didn’t get to know anyone properly.

Like · see review

Apr 05, 2023 Laura Anne rated it really liked it

Shelves: europe, mystery, travel-planes-trains-autos-boats, british-isles

Two storylines: the police investigate a murder in London and a party of 16 (could have cut a few characters) on an Alpine skiing holiday. The two stories meet to form a satisfying mystery that shines most in vividly painting the time and place.

Like · see review