What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread Showing 2,951-3,000 of 4,475

[Carolien]

I've been eyeing them, because I love the covers!

[Elinor]

I'm liking the begining of it :)

[Sandy]

I enjoyed the first coup!e.

[Jill]

I have started Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Had this a couple of years , but am reading it now as my husband wants to watch the film and I won't let him until I have read it. Oh The power!!!

[Marwan]

Started reading Dry Bones that Dream by Peter Robinson

[Gary]

Currently reading Murder on Wheels by Stuart Palmer, the second Miss Withers mystery.

[Carolien]

Marwan wrote: "Started reading Dry Bones that Dream by Peter Robinson"

One of my favourites in the series.

[Jan C]

Currently reading the first Craig Rice - Eight Faces at Three.

[Judy]

I've just started Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery: An Inspector French Mystery, the second in the series by Freeman Wills Crofts. A wonderful beginning - I'm instantly hooked.

[Judy]

I've now finished Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery, second in the series, and I would have to say the plot is utterly bonkers - a really far-fetched adventure thriller. I was rather surprised by this, since the first book in the series was a much more down-to-earth and realistic mystery.

I did still enjoy it, but got a bit irritated with the central character of Max Cheyne, and was pleased when Inspector French finally turned up halfway through the book! Is anyone else reading this series?

[Jan C]

Judy wrote: "I've now finished Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery, second in the series, and I would have to say the plot is utterly bonkers - a really far-fetched adventure thriller. I was ..."

I've started the first one, I think. Inspector French's Greatest Case?

[Judy]

Jan C wrote: "I've started the first one, I think. Inspector French's Greatest Case? ..."

That's right. I enjoyed that one, and I've also read one out of order where Inspector French only comes in fairly briefly, so it feels more like a standalone, Antidote to Venom. I found that quite a creepy read, as a lot of it is seen from the point of view of a would-be killer planning his crime.

[Judy]

I've started reading Murder has a Motive by Francis Duncan. This is the earliest title in the series about detective Mordecai Tremaine which has been reprinted by Vintage, but I believe there were actually earlier books which haven't been reprinted as yet.

I enjoyed Murder for Christmas and have been meaning to read the other reissued titles. Tremaine is a retired tobacconist with a passion for romantic fiction, so he is quite different from your average detective!

[Tania]

I liked Antidote to Venom, it was creepy, though.
I've started Mystery in the Channel, another Inspector French book.

[Judy]

Sorry, I meant to add, has anyone come across a complete list of the Mordecai Tremaine mysteries by Francis Duncan? All the sites I've looked at only list the five reprints, but one mentioned that there are 20+ mysteries by him altogether, though I don't know if any are non-series.

Confusingly, there is also a completely unrelated series by another author (sci-fi, I think) with a central character called Mordecai Tremaine - what are the chances?

[Carolien]

Judy wrote: "Sorry, I meant to add, has anyone come across a complete list of the Mordecai Tremaine mysteries by Francis Duncan? All the sites I've looked at only list the five reprints, but one mentioned that ..."

Not sure if this will help you Judy
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/fr...

[Carolien]

I completed Hard Knocks this morning. I really enjoy this series. Charlie is an extremely complex but very likeable character and the plots are interesting. Love the humour like this example.

"Venko's organisation across Eastern Europe makes the Mafia look like the Women's Institute."
"My mother's in the Women's Institute," I said drily. "They're a pretty tough bunch."
I (Charlie) was rewarded with another near-miss of a smile. "I didn't know they had a swat team."
"You be amazed," I said "what she can do with knitting needles".

[Judy]

Carolien wrote: "Not sure if this will help you Judy

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/fr....."

Thanks, Carolien, that is helpful - it does list all his books although it doesn't say which ones feature Tremayne.

[Jill]

It does tell you which ones are the Tremayne series.
Just finished The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill A ghost story but still a mystery.
Now starting Artists in Crime for June group read

[Judy]

Only the 5 reprints - I think some of the others are Tremaine books too. Sorry I wasn’t clear before.

[Susan]

https://prettysinister.blogspot.co.uk...

According to this article there are 2 other Tremaine books outside the reprints - "Five of Francis Duncan's mystery novels featuring Mordecai Tremaine have been reprinted by Vintage Books in their Death's Head Moth imprint. The other two are In at the Red and Murder for Christmas".

Sounds an interesting find, but I am not sure how complete that list is.

[Susan]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

He sounds a fascinating man, Judy. This article suggests there are nine titles! Confused?!

http://moonlight-detective.blogspot.c...

"five of (reportedly) nine titles from the author's series about a retired tobacconist, Mordecai Tremaine – who's also an amateur criminologist and professional murder-magnet".

[Judy]

Thanks so much for posting the links, Susan! If there are nine titles altogether, I hope Vintage gets round to reprinting the others. The one I'm reading at the moment works well on its own, but does mention that there were earlier cases.

I think the first blogger is just mentioning the other two books in the five reprints, after discussing three of them in his post. Murder for Christmas was the first one to be reprinted, and In at the Red looks like a typo for In at the Death. I will bookmark this post to return to after reading more of the books.
:)

[Judy]

Sorry everyone, Goodreads went mad and posted my last comment about 10 times. I have removed the duplicates! Hoping it does not do the same with this one.

[Elinor]

I finished Murder Most Unladylike and really liked it ! It was fun, well written, with endearing characters, and the plot was good, especially for a children's book. I have found a new series ^^

[Fred]

I just finished "The Dain Curse" by Dashiell Hammett. Even though this is a hard-boiled the mystery the solution and the crimes that happened could have and probably were used by Agatha Christie.
I am reading at Michael Shayne mystery that I got at a library sale.
Whereas "The Dain Curse" was more literary, the Shayne mystery is more of an easy read.

[Pamela]

I'm reading a medieval (14th century) mystery The Merchant's Partner by Michael Jecks. It's the second book in a long series, I read the first one a while ago. I like the main characters, the mystery is OK.

[Tania]

Pamela wrote: "I'm reading a medieval (14th century) mystery The Merchant's Partner by Michael Jecks. It's the second book in a long series, I read the first one a while ago. I like t..."

They look interesting. I've downloaded a sample.

[Pamela]

Tania wrote: "I've downloaded a sample."

I'm interested to hear what you think.

[Jan C]

I've just started the second Craig Rice, The Corpse Steps Out and Ellery Queen's The Egyptian Cross Mystery is starting to get interesting.

[Annabel]

Reading Erle Stanley Gardiner's The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife. . I am reading these out of order, as I find them in secondhand bookshops. (They're quite hard to find these days.) I find them very soothing - the crime is always some incredibly complex white-collar fraud or domestic entanglement. It makes you realise how bizarre and unnecessary the contemporary obsession with violence against women and children in crime fiction is. They simply didn't seem to need that borrowed emotional capital in the Golden Age and the odd book that does have it (eg The Body In The Library) is all the worse for it, as far as I can see.

[Paperbackreader]

Jill wrote: "Now starting Artists in Crime for June group read ."

I listened to Artists in Crime narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and was surprised by how good a narrator he is!

[Susan]

I look at that version, Paperbackreader, but it was abridged. I do need to start this one soon, though.

[Amy]

Annabel wrote: "Reading Erle Stanley Gardiner's The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife. The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (A Perry Mason Mystery) by Erle Stanley Gardner. I am reading these out of order, as I find them in secondhand bookshops. (They're quite hard to find these days.) I find them very soothing - the crime is always some incredibly complex white-collar fraud or domestic entanglement. It makes you realise how bizarre and unnecessary the contemporary obsession with violence against women and children in crime fiction is. They simply didn't seem to need that borrowed emotional capital in the Golden Age and the odd book that does have it (eg The Body In The Library) is all the worse for it, as far as I can see.(..."

That is a fascinating observation and I've thought about it quite a bit since I originally read your post. It would be really interesting to keep a running tab of the mysteries I read (since it's one of my favorite genres!) with respect to publication date and gender/age of victim.

[Amy]

Just started:

The Devil's Novice

I'm reading the series in order at the rate of one or two a year. Great series. I remember my grandmother reading these books when I was a kid and later we watched all the Cadfael shows together. I find that I remember almost none of the plots though.

[Tara]

Amy wrote: "Just started:

The Devil's Novice

I'm reading the series in order at the rate of one or two a year. Great series. I remember my grandmother reading these books when I was a kid and l..."
I was drawn to these books as a kid, mainly because I loved the cover art that was reminiscent of stained glass windows. I've read a bunch of the books, but not in order, and spread out over many years. I recently got an abridged collection of the audiobooks from audible that were fun to listen to as the narrator is Derek Jacobi, who also starred in the shows. One suspects that a lot of murders from that time period went unsolved (if they were classified as murders at all), so its interesting to see how they can be solved before modern technological advancements (or even fingerprinting) were available.

[Susan]

Annabel makes a good point about modern victims. Often, in GA novels, they are wealthy businessmen; rarely are victims children. I agree that GA authors did not need that kind of tragic, emotional pull. In fact, often, the victim was a blackmailer, or other ne'er do well (to borrow the slang of the time!) and readers were not meant to care too much about their fate, but just puzzle out who did it.

[Annabel]

I've been wondering where all that started - the intense focus on victims and their vulnerability and their tragedy and the suffering of their bereaved/worried family members. In the UK, was it Nicci French? Or is it an influence from television drama?

I've often heard it said that GA novels were deliberately cosy, with unpleasant victims no one cared about, because everyone was traumatised about the world wars and needed something gentle. Which may partially explain it, I suppose. But I certainly don't feel that the opposite is true now!

[Roman Clodia]

On the other hand, there are certainly Christie books where the victim is someone we care about. I don't want to give spoilers but am thinking of, say, The Body in the Library, Nemesis, Peril at End House.

I seem to remember both Poirot and Miss Marple commenting on the wickedness of depriving a young woman of her future life. Granted they're not gory or focused on rape and/or torture as has been the case in more modern books, but I've never found Christie as 'cosy' as she is sometimes claimed to be.

[Amy]

I feel very silly and like I probably should know the answer to this but who is GA?

[Jan C]

Amy wrote: "I feel very silly and like I probably should know the answer to this but who is GA?"

Golden Age - as in most of the mysteries read in this group.

I sometimes have brain freezes about it, too.

[Paperbackreader]

Roman Clodia wrote: "On the other hand, there are certainly Christie books where the victim is someone we care about. I don't want to give spoilers but am thinking of, say, The Body in the Library, Nemesis, Peril at End House. "

I agree. Christie often had victims who were sympathetic. She even had children/teenaged victims. Also, I can think of a Ngaio Marsh victim whose rather cruel death shook me! But it is true that, overall, GA authors wrote books that had 'evil' or 'unsatisfactory' people as the victims.

[Amy]

Jan C wrote: "Amy wrote: "I feel very silly and like I probably should know the answer to this but who is GA?"

Golden Age - as in most of the mysteries read in this group.

I sometimes have brain freezes about..."

Thank you!

[Judy]

I'm reading Artists in Crime now too, and enjoying it so far - I had remembered it as one of my favourites in the series. Looking forward to or discussion.

[Judy]

I've read some GA books with sympathetic victims - one or two by Nicholas Blake come to mind. But they don't usually dwell on the details of the death in a gory way.

[Susan]

Yes, there are sometimes sympathetic victims, but a great deal more male victims than seem to appear in current crime books - almost every victim seems to be a young woman or a child these days.

[Sandy]

I am reading a new Ruth Galloway, The Dark Angel (no link!). A favorite series. No murder in the first third, but tension and all the lead characters.

I am next in line for the latest Maisie Dobbs so expect to be reading that next weekend, with Artists In Crime and a quick review of A Quiet Life in the Country during the week.

[Jill]

I am reading A Quiet Life In The Country. I had not realised this is really a collection of overly-long stories rather than one. I have read the first two, but as none of the reviews on Goodreads or Amazon say that this is more than one story, I am wondering if I need to read the whole book, or will the discussion only be on the first story?

[Lorraine]

I'm reading The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, interesting twist. Started A Quiet Life in the Country, a cozy, cozy, should be a fast read. 25% through, only one mystery so far.

[Judy]

I've also started A Quiet Life in the Country - 40% of the day through, only one mystery so far. This seems like a very quick read, so as soon as I finish I will report back on whether there are any other stories in my edition!