Which modern crime authors have that Golden Age touch?

[SewingandCaring]

No mention of Peabody by Elizabeth Peters? I'm not sure if you can technically call them Goldern age because they are mostly set in Egypt. What makes the series go from special to extraordinary is the audible versions.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/4087...
First four books in an Omnibus for kindle: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Susan]

I have read the first few Peabody novels and enjoyed them. I think I just read too many series to keep up, but it's fun trying...

[Jill]

@Ruth.......his blog is great and I enjoy reading it.

[Natalie]

Promoting the Bryant and May series close to the top of my huge TBR list.

[Lady Clementina]

Learnin Curve wrote: "No mention of Peabody by Elizabeth Peters? I'm not sure if you can technically call them Goldern age because they are mostly set in Egypt. What makes the series go from special to extraordinary is ..."

I've just read one so far but found it good fun. It sort of reminded me of 'The Mummy' films but may be with more exaggerated characters (or at least crazier)- have a second on my TBR.

[Susan]

Again, please feel free to promote any books you think the group will like.

[Jill]

Being stuck in the GA of mystery, I would recommend the Ellery Queen series which got better as time passed. Ellery was a bit of a twit in the first few books but his affectations were dropped as the series matured. Good puzzles in which the author(s) give you all the clues and challenges the reader to solve the crime.

[Betsy]

I read almost all of the Ellery Queen books many years ago and liked them, but then reread a couple recently. You're right about Ellery being a twit at times. He's also a tad too 'perfect' at times, but only in some books. I must admit I lost interest in the series when Ellery found romance.

[Jill]

Several years ago I read 3 mystery books about a young woman who was a professional bridge player/instructor (and a detective by accident) and absolutely cannot think of the names or the author. Does that ring a bell with anyone? They were really enjoyable and I would like to re-read them again. Help!!!!

@Betsy.......I could have done without the romance in the later Queen novels as well

[Susan]

I haven't read them, but could it be Art Fraser? A quick google search came up with:

http://www.bridgeworld.com/indexphp.p...

[Jan C]

I have been working my way through the Queen books. I think I am up to The Egyptian Cross Mystery.

[Jill]

Susan wrote: "I haven't read them, but could it be Art Fraser? A quick google search came up with:

No, it is not Fraser but thanks for the effort.. I googled around but couldn't seem to find them and I know I didn't dream it!!! :>)

[Kajehas]

Jill wrote: "Several years ago I read 3 mystery books about a young woman who was a professional bridge player/instructor (and a detective by accident) and absolutely cannot think of the names or the author. Do..."

Susan Moody writes a series with Cassie Swann, a bridge teacher.
Death Takes a Hand

[Jill]

THAT'S IT!!!! Thanks you so much Kajehas........you are a gem.

[Susan]

So glad you found the title, Jill. Well done, Kajehas :)

[Jill]

I found something interesting by which the rules of Golden Age Mysteries can be judged. It was put together by Fr. Ronald Knox, a Catholic priest who also wrote the Miles Bredon detective series.

* The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to know.
* All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
* Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
* No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
* No Chinaman must figure in the story.
*No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
*The detective himself must not commit the crime.
*The detective is bound to declare any clues which he may discover.
*The "sidekick" of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
* Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

[Susan]

Interesting, Jill. I think those are listed in the Martin Edwards book about Golden Age crime and were possibly decided on at the Detection Club - although I may be wrong about that.

[Jill]

My source said Fr. Knox but who knows. Regardless, it is an interesting look at what constitutes GA mysteries.

[Ruth]

I think the Detection Club adopted them as their rules of fair play . Some are fairly tongue-in-cheek aren't they, and you can immediately think of several books by the likes of Agatha Christie that broke at least one of them!

[Judy]

It was Ronald Knox who originally drew these up and I believe the Detection Club then adopted them - here is a link to the (rather long!) piece by Knox where he proposed the rules:

http://tinyurl.com/abojf3d

We've also had some discussion about the "rules" here in the past if anyone wants to look at this older thread, and a few members proposed some new rules to add!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Judy]

Ruth wrote: "I think the Detection Club adopted them as their rules of fair play . Some are fairly tongue-in-cheek aren't they, and you can immediately think of several books by the likes of Agatha Christie tha..."

Yes, I think most of these rules have been broken quite a few times - and I keep coming across modern TV shows, books etc which break the identical twins one in particular!

[Betsy]

I must admit I think some of these 'rules' are silly, especially the one about the intelligence of the sidekick. It's no wonder that the Watson of the Basil Rathbone movies was NOT Dr. Watson at all if they were following those rules. And what's this about the Chinaman?

[Jill]

Betsy wrote: "I must admit I think some of these 'rules' are silly, especially the one about the intelligence of the sidekick. It's no wonder that the Watson of the Basil Rathbone movies was NOT Dr. Watson at al..."

I wondered about Chinaman. I am pleased not all the authors kept to the rules though

[SewingandCaring]

A lot of that list is a sly dig at Conan Doyle and the people who copied him later. The supernatural explanation, the sinister chinaman and opium dens, the invented poisons, the accident/intuition, the side kick like Watson but I made it different by making him clever, and the twins were all hideously over done by the 1920s.

[Jill]

When I read them I thought that they must be somewhat tongue-in-cheek since those "rules" are broken all the time. The China man rule rather surprised me although it may be a sign of the times when racial stereotypes were rampant or a dig at Sax Rohmer for his Fu Manchu books.

[Everyman]

Jill wrote: "When I read them I thought that they must be somewhat tongue-in-cheek since those "rules" are broken all the time. "

However, I think the best books are those that pretty much follow those rules. I think Dorothy Sayers, Rex Stout, and Ngaio Marsh obey the rules most if not all the time.

[Gary]

Jan C wrote: "I have been working my way through the Queen books. I think I am up to The Egyptian Cross Mystery."

I am about to start The Greek Coffin Mystery in my read of the Queen series. I have read two of the short story collections in recent months as well. I did jump out of sequence last year and reread A Study in Terror when it was released in Ebook format. That book combines both Queen and Holmes, although the Holmes portion was not written by Dannay and Lee.

[Gary]

I don't recall if we have mentioned the Lord Darcy series by Randall Garrett which is essentially a Holmes and Watson style detective duo in an alternate England where magic works.

[Sarah]

I’m having a similar challenge finding someone to follow Agatha. I started reading her works last year and completed half the canon. I’ve had small forays with Doyle and recently covered several titles by M.C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth series. It’s okay for a quick read but doesn’t have the same tooth as Agatha.

I prefer British literature. Any suggestions?

[Susan]

Sarah, we are going to read the first 12 Ngaio Marsh novels next year - maybe you would like to join in with our 2018 challenge? I would also highly recommend Dorothy L. Sayers.

[Sarah]

Susan wrote: "Sarah, we are going to read the first 12 Ngaio Marsh novels next year - maybe you would like to join in with our 2018 challenge? I would also highly recommend Dorothy L. Sayers."

It’s funny you mentioned her because I had the same thought as I came to check the thread. Great minds indeed! Thanks for the suggestions and the invite. I’m happy to join.

[Susan]

Good to hear, Sarah. We look forward to you joining in. Also, we are reading Not a Creature Was Stirring as a buddy read next month. Jane Haddam is a US, rather than a UK author, but I think she has quite a 'Golden Age,' feel to her. There is usually a closed community of suspects, she is very character orientated and is, to my mind, very enjoyable.

In terms of more modern UK authors with that feel, then P D James comes to mind, as well as Ruth Rendell.

[Judy]

Would anyone recommend Dorothy Cannell? I listened to a sample of one of her books last night and thought it had a Golden Age feel, but the reader was a bit annoying and I realised it was a mid-series book.

[Emma]

Barbara Cleverly's Joe Sandilands mysteries are set in the 1920s, and evoke that era really well. The first few are set in India, where Sandilands (who is a policeman) is seconded. The Last Kashmir Rose is the first in the series, but the later ones aren't always easy to find.

[Susan]

I recall reading Barbara Cleverly's novels a few years ago, Emma, and I enjoyed them, Emma.

[Gary]

Would Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series fit this topic?

[Jill]

Gary wrote: "Would Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series fit this topic?"

I would have said so Gary , but then I'm no expert.