What are you reading at the moment?

[Judy]

Are you reading any good Golden Age crime books at the moment, or have you just finished anything good? Please share your thoughts, or post a link to your review.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

No I keep getting tempted by other genres! But before the end of the year I hope to have read The Murder Room by PD James & Endless Night by Agatha Christie.

[Leslie]

I read a couple of Agatha Christie's plays last month -- the famous long-running The Mousetrap which I thought was excellent & The Hollow: A Play, which Christie had adapted from her novel of the same name (and eliminated Poirot in the process!).

[Jan C]

Currently reading Allingham's Look to the Lady, re-reading Sayers' Murder Must Advertise and recently started Marsh's The Nursing Home Murder.

[Judy]

I'm just starting The Journeying Boy by Michael Innes, which I was given as a present a little while back - it doesn't feature his series detective, Appleby, but is supposed to be one of his best.

[Leslie]

Judy wrote: "I'm just starting The Journeying Boy by Michael Innes, which I was given as a present a little while back - it doesn't feature his series detective, Appleby, but is su..."

Oh, I think that is in the Michael Innes omnibus I have! I have been (slowly) making my way through the Appleby books so I haven't paid much attention to his non-Appleby ones. Maybe I will read that one next if you end up liking it :)

[Judy]

I'll let you know Leslie - haven't got very far yet, but I'm enjoying the witty writing style.

[Ruth]

I've recently finished The Gazebo by Patricia Wentworth.

Her books are so easy to read and feel like coming back to a warm familiar place where you know the murderer will be brought to justice and all will be well.

[Judy]

Leslie, just popping back to say that I'm really loving 'The Journeying Boy' so far - parts are hilarious, but at the same time it is really tense. I'm hooked :)

[Miss M]

There's an interesting, though frustratingly short, article on Josephine Tey in the September Vanity Fair:

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/201...

[Nigeyb]

Well nothing to do with Golden Age crime books, however I have just finished reading….




Straight White Male by John Niven

Click here to read my review

4/5

[Judy]

Miss M wrote: "There's an interesting, though frustratingly short, article on Josephine Tey in the September Vanity Fair:

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/201..."

Very interesting, Miss M - thanks for sharing the link.

[Miss M]

I just stumbled on a new set of re-issued titles from a Golden Age author named Annie Haynes.


The Abbey Court Murder is the first of those re-issued.

I haven't read anything yet and not sure when I will, just thought I'd post for those looking for new reads...There are 7 titles for kindle, mostly in the $1 range.

Just to make sure it's not one of those fake "discoveries" like Clara Benson, this is what I found on one blog:

"We hear a lot about the Crime Queens, of course, but what about the lost ladies of Golden Age crime fiction?

Women like Annie Haynes, for example. Haynes wrote a dozen crime novels before her death in 1929, but practically nothing is known about her within the classic mystery community, despite the fact that her books were well-regarded in England, where they were published by The Bodley Head, the same company that published the earlier Agatha Christie novels (though Christie, exasperated with her penurious contract with The Bodley Head, moved on to the Collins Crime Club; The Bodley Head thus lost out on a certain novel called The Murder of Roger Ackroyd).

Only three Haynes mysteries were published in the United States, however (two by Dodd, Mead) and she was soon forgotten after the posthumous publication of her twelfth mystery, The Crystal Beads Murder (completed by another woman mystery writer).

Ada Heather-Bigg, a prominent Victorian-era feminist and advocate of women entering the labor force, wrote the foreword to Haynes' last novel, in which she revealed that during the last fifteen years of her life Haynes suffered from a painful, debilitating illness that kept her confined to her house. It was during this time that she wrote her dozen crime novels.

Before her illness, Haynes had been a very active woman, intensely interested in "crime and criminal psychology." Ada Heather-Bigg wrote that Haynes had cycled "miles to visit the scene of the Luard Murder, [pushed] her way into the cellar of 39 Hilldrop Crescent, where the remains of Belle Elmore were discovered, and [attended] the Crippen trial..."

http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2...

ETA: anothering interesting post: http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2...

[Karlyne]

I just finished Patricia Wentworth's Lonesome Road. It's even better than I remembered. It's a really fun Golden Age mystery, full of obnoxious, dead-beat relatives, more affectionate ones, and young and old lovers. Highly recommended!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Karlyne wrote: "I just finished Patricia Wentworth's Lonesome Road. It's even better than I remembered. It's a really fun Golden Age mystery, full of obnoxious, dead-beat relatives, more affectionate ones, and you..."

I can get hold of that one - it's at another library in our area!

[Karlyne]

☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I just finished Patricia Wentworth's Lonesome Road. It's even better than I remembered. It's a really fun Golden Age mystery, full of obnoxious, dead-beat relatives, more affectiona..."

Do it!

[Nigeyb]

I have just started reading….





"Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age Of Paranoia" by Francis Wheen

Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age Of Paranoia is my first book by Francis Wheen however I can already tell that it’s right up my street as I’m someone who grew up in, and remains mildly obsessed by, the 1970s.

Francis Wheen's earlier book "How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered The World" began in 1979, and the elections of Thatcher and Reagan. Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age Of Paranoia recounts how we got there. As Francis states in the introduction, "Fasten your seatbelts: it's going to be a bumpy ride”.

I’m on page 87 and it’s already a hugely entertaining book about the 1970s or what Francis Wheen describes as "the golden age of paranoia". Some great insights here and all of it a brilliant, informed contrast to the lazy cliches of Spacehoppers, chopper bikes and Abba. Wheen is a good writer who combines expertise with an enjoyable line in absurd humour. I love it.

[Leslie]

Karlyne wrote: "I just finished Patricia Wentworth's Lonesome Road. It's even better than I remembered. It's a really fun Golden Age mystery, full of obnoxious, dead-beat relatives, more affectionate ones, and you..."

That's one of my favorite Miss Silver books - that and The Listening Eye…

[Karlyne]

Leslie wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I just finished Patricia Wentworth's Lonesome Road. It's even better than I remembered. It's a really fun Golden Age mystery, full of obnoxious, dead-beat relatives, more affectiona..."

The Listening Eye is a good one, too. I haven't read it in ages, but I remember really loving the woman who lip-read.

[Karlyne]

The Case of William Smith is another one, because I love the descriptions of the toys- and he's such an appealing hero.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

I have started Endless Night by Agatha Christie. It's a reread for me.

[Miss M]

Hope it's okay to post this here...Martin Edwards' recent book The Golden Age of Murder dropped to $1.99 for kindle, in the US. (Unfortunately, B&N is still 12.95.) Really a terrific deal!

[Jan C]

Miss M wrote: "Hope it's okay to post this here...Martin Edwards' recent book The Golden Age of Murder dropped to $1.99 for kindle, in the US. (Unfortunately, B&N is still 12.95.) Really a terrifi..."

Thanks for the tip.

[Judy]

I wondered if the price might have fallen in the UK too, but it's still £6.49 here. I do hope to read it soon anyway, though. :)

[Nigeyb]

Judy wrote: "....or have you just finished anything good? Please share your thoughts, or post a link to your review."



Yes. I have just finished reading this corker….



"Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age Of Paranoia" by Francis Wheen

I was casting about for a book about revolutionary terrorists operating in the 1970s, and in particular the Angry Brigade. I know, I know. Welcome to my world. Anyway my research suggested that "Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age Of Paranoia" might be just the ticket. I can report that I found what I was looking for, and then some.

Click here to read my review

4/5

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

I've started Inspector French's Greatest Case by Freeman Wills Crofts

[Judy]

Arpita, I'd be interested to hear about that one as I'm also just reading a book by the same author, Antidote to Venom.

[Nigeyb]

I have just started reading….





"Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms: The Spyhunter, the Fashion Designer & the Man From Moscow" by Paul Willetts

…and I’m very excited about that.

Susan gave it five stars which has increased my anticipation….
Click here to read Susan's review

Here’s a bit about the book.

Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Room provides the first comprehensive account of what was once hailed by a leading American newspaper as the greatest spy story of World War II. This dramatic yet little-known saga, replete with telephone taps, kidnappings, and police surveillance, centres on the furtive escapades of Tyler Kent, a handsome, womanising 28-year-old Ivy League graduate, who doubles as a US Embassy code clerk and Soviet agent.

Against the backdrop of London high society during the so-called Phoney War, Kent’s life intersects with the lives of the book’s two other memorably flamboyant protagonists. One of those is Maxwell Knight, an urbane, endearingly eccentric MI5 spyhunter. The other is Anna Wolkoff, a White Russian fashion designer and Nazi spy whose outfits are worn by the Duchess of Windsor and whose parents are friends of the British royal family. Wolkoff belongs to a fascist secret society called the Right Club, which aims to overthrow the British government. Her romantic entanglement with Tyler Kent gives her access to a secret correspondence between President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, a correspondence that has the potential to transform the outcome of the war.

I loved Paul Willetts biography of Julian Maclaren-Ross…
Click here to read my review

…and Paul Willetts biography of Paul Raymond...
Click here to read my review

[Karlyne]

This doesn't qualify for a detective novel, but there is detecting in it! I just picked up Treasure Island this morning and I'm positively wallowing in its loveliness! I'd forgotten how beautifully it's written.

[Roisin]

I'm currently reading Of Love And Hunger.

[Nigeyb]

^ Splendid. I really enjoyed it. I look forward to discovering what you make of it Roisin.

[Judy]

I'm a little over halfway through Antidote to Venom now and must confess I'm finding it a bit depressing - I'm not altogether enjoying seeing the build-up to the murder and looking through the eyes of someone who might potentially become a murderer, even though it is a clever idea. I think it's usually more enjoyable to be alongside the detectives rather than the criminals - what does anybody else think?

[Jan C]

I just remembered that Random Harvest by James Hilton was sitting on my Kindle half-read and so am dipping back into it.

[Leslie]

Not Golden Age, but I just finished the first in an Irish mystery series, In the Woods by Tana French. A bit more about the personal lives of the detectives than I prefer but in this case, it was partially related to the plot of the mystery.

[Nigeyb]

Nigeyb wrote: "I have just started reading "Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms: The Spyhunter, the Fashion Designer & the Man From Moscow" by Paul Willetts"

^ Still reading "Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms: The Spyhunter, the Fashion Designer & the Man From Moscow" and absolutely loving it. Maxwell Knight, head of MI6, is doing some stellar detecting that ultimately could have changed the course of WW2. I recommend it. Review to follow.

[Susan]

An Uncommon Murder which I feel might appeal to some members of our group, being a really good, traditional mystery and the first in a series.

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

Hi Judy . I finished Inspector French's Greatest Case. I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of detail and the plot was intricate. I have written a very detailed review without spoilers on my blog if you care to read it.

[Nigeyb]

I’ve just finished reading…




"Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms: The Spyhunter, the Fashion Designer & the Man From Moscow" by Paul Willetts

Paul Willetts has surpassed himself with this stunning book - a methodical, thorough book that, whilst lengthy, is engrossing, compelling and fascinating from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Click here to read my review

5/5

[Judy]

Arpita, I've just thoroughly enjoyed reading your review of Inspector French's Greatest Case by Freeman Wills Crofts over at your blog - you have whetted my appetite for this one.

Hope you don't mind if I pass on the link to your review:

http://bagfullofbooks.com/2015/10/27/...



I'm also fascinated to learn that this is part of a 1924 Book Club initiative with bloggers reading and reviewing books published that year - will hope to catch up with some of the other books reviewed.

I've stalled a bit on the book by Crofts I had been reading but have a feeling I will enjoy the Inspector French novels a lot more. The one I'm reading, Antidote to Venom: A British Crime Classic does have French appearing in it, but I'm about halfway through and he hasn't come in yet - it's mostly seen from the point of view of a possible criminal, which I'm finding a bit of a downbeat read.

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

Thanks for sharing the review Judy. I am also very eager to read the other reviews from the year and it is such a novel exercise. I think you would enjoy the Inspector French series more if you started with the first book. I've already gotten feedback that the books get better as you go along so you may have just picked a book with a less engaging approach.

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

Judy can I just say what a wonderful blog you have. Definitely will be reading more. I love classic films!

[Judy]

Many thanks, Arpita, very kind of you!

[Roisin]

Your blog? Where can a I find that? : )

[Nigeyb]

^ Message 39 above

[Judy]

Roisin, my blog is at movieclassics.wordpress.com - it's all about old films.

[Judy]

Thanks, Nigeyb - yes, the link to Arpita's blog is in message 39. I'd definitely recommend checking it out!

[Roisin]

Ta!

[Susan]

I see the thread for 'Buddy Reads' and I would like to organise a thread next year to read one author all the way through a series. My initial thoughts are either Dorothy L Sayers or P D James (two great authors who I still haven't read every book by). Would anyone care to join me - and if so, which author would they prefer? I was thinking to read one book a month, so interested to hear any thoughts...

[Nigeyb]

Susan wrote: "I would like to organise a thread next year to read one author all the way through a series. My initial thoughts are either Dorothy L Sayers or P D James (two great authors who I still haven't read every book by). Would anyone care to join me - and if so, which author would they prefer? I was thinking to read one book a month, so interested to hear any thoughts... "

I'd need to mull this one over Susan but I'm expressing a tentative interest. As well as a buddy read it could also be set up as a challenge for 2016 in a separate discussion folder. Focussing on one classic crime writer per year feels to me like it might be a good fit for this group. What do others think?

[Carolien]

I'd be happy with the idea. Either author works for me as I have only just reread the first books by both authors and I have access to their complete series.