Reading the Detectives discussion
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What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread
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I tend to be tempted by their special offers - I think I've had 3 free trials now, and then they offered me three months for £1.99.
They do have quite a few titles I am interested in, such as lots of British Library Crime Classics and authors like Michael Innes, but as I have so much else to read and time is always limited, I can't really justify belonging to both KU and Scribd at once!
Susan wrote: "I am currently reading Richardson's First Case and it does feel different to other early crime books. The birth of the police procedural?"That’s what I felt - brisk, no nonsense pace and tone, dry humor thrown in casually with ease.
I have just finished The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding which gets shelved as a mystery, but I think is more of a suspense novel. I enjoyed it and found it compelling, but think suspense is more accurate as there is no wodunnit aspect, more a what happens next. It felt like a book written for the movies, and was made into a film in 1949 called The Reckless Moment. Really liked it. Raymond Chandler apparently thought she was one of the best suspense writers.
Just finished Michael Gilbert's Death In Captivity. Some of these Golden Age reprints are disappointing but this one was absolutely fantastic. Really taut and gripping. It reminded me of Where Eagles Dare, which is also both an exciting war thriller and a well-constructed whodunit. I can't understand why WED is so well-known while I had never heard of Death In Captivity or its author. Am hoping to read more of his. (It's also the second lucky strike for me in a row with WW2 adventures, after Ice Cold In Alex. Both are upbeat and not too grim - whereas books written now about WW2 are almost invariably very dark indeed.)
Judy wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I understand that happens with Kindle Unlimited, too. I did the Unlimited free trial a few years back and didn't see that they had enough books of interest to me..."I t..."
I know, me too. I agree, they wear you down with the special offers - I rejoined Audible to get one book I couldn’t get elsewhere, and I was going to cancel right after, yet here I am, going on a second month...*sigh*
Annabel wrote: "Just finished Michael Gilbert's Death In Captivity. Some of these Golden Age reprints are disappointing but this one was absolutely fantastic. Really taut and gripping. It reminded me of Where Eagl..."See, you all are just feeding my addiction here! So many great books, I want them all!
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In the BCC books, Martin Edwards always writes a little bit about how the style is very mannered and outdated, but it doesn't really bother me - not all that different from Wimsey or Campion to be honest!
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That's good to hear, Jan - maybe it will be released on Kindle in the UK too in the future.
Judy wrote: "I'm now starting Swing, Brother, Swing, the next book coming up in our Ngaio Marsh challenge."Mine just came in today’s mail! I have other books to finish first, then on to Swing, Brother, Swing.
Jill wrote: "Finished Flowers for the Judge. Now starting Richardson's First Case"Be interested to start our discussion, see everyone’s opinions.
You sent me looking for H.C. Bailey - I found The Garston Murder Case: a Joshua Clunk Mystery on Kindle (US). Shadow on the Wall: A Mr. Fortune Novel was in print but costing more than I wanted to pay ($8.49 or something). But I picked up the Garston book - after a day of watching congressional hearings how can I resist a book featuring a psalm-singing criminal lawyer?
I've messed up. I have started reading Duplicate DeathOh well, I'll be well & truly ready for the April read. :(
Jan C wrote: "I was able to get Call Mr. Fortune on Kindle and enjoyed most of the stories."That is the only book available on Nook as well. Open Road Media/Mysterious Press is the publisher of the edition I have.
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Oh well, I'll be well & truly ready for the April read. :("
Not just me then - I did that with the Poirot books a month or so ago :)
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Hope you enjoy it, Jan - Clunk definitely sounds like an interesting character from your description of him as a "psalm-singing criminal lawyer"!
Susan wrote: "Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I've messed up. I have started reading Duplicate DeathOh well, I'll be well & truly ready for the April read. :("
Not just me then - I did that with ..."
I feel a bit silly - but I'm really enjoying it, so I don't want to stop reading!
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Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I've messed up. I have started reading Duplicate DeathOh well, I'll be well & truly ready for the April read. :("
I just finished Duplicate Death and liked it.
I started The Seven Dials Mystery last night. Very readable, she seems to have more fum with this one than others of hers. I probably would have benefited from reading the first in the Battle series before this one, though.
Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Susan wrote: "Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I've messed up. I have started reading Duplicate DeathOh well, I'll be well & truly ready for the April read. :("
Not just me then - I ..."
Heyer is never a bad thing...
S Dizzy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think Sunbathers cements the idea of how young and inexperienced is Bobby Owens and how he is perceived by other detectives, including his boss, Mit..."Hi. I am a new member of this group and just love that the older writers are being read and discussed. I have not read E.R. Punshon but have a collection of the books. Do you suggest that I start with Information Received?
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Judy wrote: "I thought Information Received was an entertaining read, Bicky, and I think it's a good one to start with as the first Bobby Owen book. We have discussed it here in the past and our old threads are..."Thanks.
Susan wrote: "I just finished Snapshot 
Another great Scottish crime author and another series to follow..."
And another that one has to read. Thanks.
Bicky wrote: "S Dizzy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think Sunbathers cements the idea of how young and inexperienced is Bobby Owens and how he is perceived by other detectives, includi..."Hi, Bicky, I just joined in November and am catching up with several authors as well. I just read Information Received and enjoyed it - it introduces characters and sets the stage for the series.
Susan in NC wrote: "Sandy wrote: "First, I always read in order so am prejudiced. These books are not linked plot-wise but in the first, Information Received, Bobby Owen (our hero) is new to the force and meets his bo..."I also like to read in order but it is helpful to know that a particular book is weak. Then, you don't have to give up the author!
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Bicky wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Sandy wrote: "First, I always read in order so am prejudiced. These books are not linked plot-wise but in the first, Information Received, Bobby Owen (our hero) is new to the fo..."Exactly! I just started Sunbathers, only a few pages in as I have other books on the go to finish, but I will get back to it next - I always like to read in order. But when I started read Richardson’s First Case, another series with a young constable, I was afraid I’d mix them up and put Bobby Owen aside for now.
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Sandy wrote: "I'm also afraid I will not be able to distinguish Bobby Owen from Richardson."I didn't see them as enough alike to not be able to distinguish them, but then I won't be reading any more of the Richardson, so you can take that with the grain of salt it perhaps deserves.
Annabel wrote: "Just finished Michael Gilbert's Death In Captivity. Some of these Golden Age reprints are disappointing but this one was absolutely fantastic. Really taut and gripping. It reminded me of Where Eagl..."I was already planning on reading Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert but thanks for bringing to my notice Ice Cold in Alex.
Here, I am unable to help myself and have to bring to the notice of this group "Honkaku" which is a genre of detective fiction developed by Japanese writers.
“Starting around 1930, the word honkaku became the term to describe the classic puzzle-plot detective stories published in the Golden Age of Western detective fiction (represented by writers like Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen and others).” From http://honkaku.com/english.html#pageL... which also gives an indication of the Honkaku books translated into English.
But what would be even more interesting for this group is the fact that every year The Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan has awarded prizes for the top 10 books which, of course, award Japanese authors but also international authors, old and new.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honkaku... gives a wonderful opportunity for readers to discover books and writers from the past.
This, in fact, was how I was brought to Death in Captivity.
I have been unable to discover about the prizes after 2015.
Sandy wrote: "I'm also afraid I will not be able to distinguish Bobby Owen from Richardson."I found Bobby Owen books are more sort of cosy compared to the Richardson ones, which are more centered on the police procedure. So I don't think I will mix them up.
Bicky wrote: "Annabel wrote: "Just finished Michael Gilbert's Death In Captivity. Some of these Golden Age reprints are disappointing but this one was absolutely fantastic. Really taut and gripping. It reminded ..."That's interesting Bicky. Thanks
That's really intriguing, Bicky. Evidently the Golden Age of detection works on a global level. I subscribe to the theory that it's the cerebral puzzles that appeal, in the way that CSI does now. But it doesn't seem sufficient explanation by itself...
Bicky wrote: "Annabel wrote: "Just finished Michael Gilbert's Death In Captivity. Some of these Golden Age reprints are disappointing but this one was absolutely fantastic. Really taut and gripping. It reminded ..."Interesting!
Jill wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I'm also afraid I will not be able to distinguish Bobby Owen from Richardson."I found Bobby Owen books are more sort of cosy compared to the Richardson ones, which are more centered..."
Good to know - I’ve only read the first in each series. I was more afraid of mixing up the facts of the cases, or characters - that would be frustrating, and likely to happen if the plots or characters aren’t really “sinking in”, you know? That’s why I don’t like to read too many books at once, and not in the same genre (I’m also getting older, too, so maybe it’s just me!)
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on my TBR list. It has been compared to, "And Then There Were None," in terms of plot.In its starred review, Publisher’s Weekly writes: “a brilliant and richly atmospheric puzzle which will appeal to lovers of Golden Age whodunits…. As in the best fair-play mysteries, every word counts, leading up to a jaw-dropping but logical reveal.”
Students from a university mystery club decide to visit an island which was the site of a grisly multiple murder the year before. Predictably, they get picked off one by one by an unseen murderer. Is there a madman on the loose? What connection is there to the earlier murders? The answer is a bombshell revelation which few readers will see coming.
The Decagon House Murders is a milestone in the history of detective fiction. Published in 1987, it is credited with launching the shinhonkaku movement which restored Golden Age style plotting and fair-play clues to the Japanese mystery scene, which had been dominated by the social school of mystery for several decades. It is also said to have influenced the development of the wildly popular anime movement.
This, the first English edition, contains a lengthy introduction by the maestro of Japanese mystery fiction, Soji Shimada.
Locked Room International discovers and publishes impossible crime masterpieces from all over the world
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Reading the Detectives
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I understand that happens with Kindle Unlimited, too. I did the Unlimited free trial a few years back and didn't se..."
I’ve become a fan of audiobooks in the last few years and have been pleasantly surprised to find a number of audiobooks on Scribd - but those can come and go as well - frustrating, when you’re sure you saw this or that book on Scribd, but then do a search and zilch! Ah, well - books are a cheaper addiction then shoes - that’s what I tell myself...