From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives

Bloody Instructions: An Antony Maitland Mystery
by
Start date
March 1, 2025
Finish date
March 31, 2025
Discussion
Group reads
Why we're reading this
Winner of the poll to choose our March group read

Find A Copy At

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 4 hours, 10 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

What Members Thought

Susan
Feb 27, 2025 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
I love trying new Golden Age books that have come back into print. Although this was first published in 1961, so a little beyond the GA period, it does have a nostalgic feel. That is partly due to the fact that Sara Woods (Sara Hutton Bowen-Judd) moved from Britain to Canada after the war and based her main character, Antony Maitland, after her brother, who died during WWII. I thought that was very sweet and so, having read the introduction, perhaps I was predisposed to enjoy this, but enjoy it ...more
Sandy
Three stars for the mystery but a fourth for the excellent characters. Plot a bit convoluted with lots of interaction within the British system of lawyers.
Carissa
Mar 28, 2025 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
I very much enjoyed this first mystery featuring the young barrister Antony Maitland and his short-tempered, somewhat curmudgeonly uncle (and boss, and landlord) Sir Nicholas Maitland. The legal aspects of the book appealed to me, of course, but I also very much enjoyed the characters. It also provides interesting insight into post-WWII England - for example, the ubiquity of the black market in the face of rationing.
Bob
Dec 31, 2015 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Ellen
Mar 10, 2025 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Diane Lending
Dec 17, 2024 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Jan C
Jan 19, 2025 is currently reading it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: gr-group-read
Judy
Feb 18, 2025 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Vanessa
Apr 01, 2025 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: 1960s
Rachel Burke
Feb 27, 2025 marked it as want-to-buy
Jennifer
Mar 11, 2025 marked it as to-read