Reading the Detectives discussion
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What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread, 2019-2020
Jill wrote: "Just starting Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler, the third book in the series"Another of my favorite series, I hope you enjoy it! I’m just starting Murder on Trinity Place
from my library.
Susan in NC wrote: "Jill wrote: "Just starting Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler, the third book in the series"Another of my favorite series, I hope you enjoy it! I’m just starting..."
That is a series I hope to get to, as I have the first 15 books waiting.
Jan C wrote: "I finished The Garston Murder Case: a Joshua Clunk Mystery by H.C. Bailey early this morning. I was all set to put it down until someone received a conk on the head ..."Joshua Clunk, what a great character name!
Judy wrote: "I've started Bump in the Night by Colin Watson ready for our buddy read - it's currently £2.63 on Kindle. Early days yet but hoping for an enjoyable read."Me, too - I got it for $3.99 on Kindle, unfortunately my library and Scribd don’t have this series- there is another author with the same name, apparently, who writes horror! I’m too big of a wimp for that - give me a nice cozy murder any day.
Jill wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Jill wrote: "Just starting Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler, the third book in the series"Another of my favorite series, I hope you enjoy i..."
The Gaslight Mystery series? Oh, I hope you do and enjoy it - I’ve read each as they’ve come out and enjoyed most of them - the only dip in quality for me was when the author seemed stuck on what to do with a relationship between two characters, and seemed to drag it out too much, but I feel she’s been back on track for the last several books. I also found it interesting that the earliest books had a grittier feel - portrayed more of the difficulties of life in the teeming tenements of New York, for example. I enjoyed them, but as we got to know the main characters, their family situations and their lives, the tone changed a bit, became cozier - I still like them very much!
Jill wrote: "Just starting Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler, the third book in the series"I enjoyed this one very much.
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Oh, good, I’m looking forward to reading it, too!
Carolien wrote: "Jill wrote: "Just starting Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler, the third book in the series"I enjoyed this one very much."
They are fun stories
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That was a good one, Judy!
Judy wrote: "I've started reading Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout - one of several Nero Wolfe paperbacks I picked up at a secondhand bookshop a little while ago. It has a great start..."Both, book and video are most enjoyable. Do treat yourself to the DVD if possible!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Starting The Cater Street Hangman, first in a series. We'll see if it's one I want to continue."The Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series is really good and the first one, I hope, will leave you turning the pages until you get to the end. I love the way Anne Perry weaves throughout the book a heavy cloud of suspicion among the characters, specifically with the Ellison family where Perry zones in on. I love Charlotte Pitt as a character and how she doesn't fit into the expectations of how a woman should expect to act and feel during the Victorian Era. The series gets even better as you go on and the plots are unforgettable. Wait until you get to "Resurrection Row", which I think is the fourth book in the series!
I'm noticing one problem in that the series is called Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. That's such a spoiler, as she isn't Charlotte Pitt, but Charlotte Ellison. Despite not finding a character to like so far and the writing isn't very good, I'm wanting to turn the pages. I do have the 2nd in the series, but it will have to be a lot better for me to want to keep reading them.
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June/July
Bump in the Night by Colin Watson
The Case of the Late Pig? by Margery Allingham
The Drop by Mick Herron
Nobody Walks by Mick Herron
I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one makes me think of Rex Stout and Archie. It's breezy with a touch of sarcasm.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one makes me think of Rex Stout and Archie. It's br..."I think you are probably right about the vote, but I do intend to read this as well, as I really liked The Circular Staircase
I liked that one as well, Jill. I'm happy to have found an author publishing so early in the 20th Century. If you haven't tried Anna Katharine Green, you might try one to see if you like her also.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I liked that one as well, Jill. I'm happy to have found an author publishing so early in the 20th Century. If you haven't tried Anna Katharine Green, you might try one to see if you ..."I have read The Leavenworth Case and liked that. I was amazed at how good it was considering how early it was written., but did enjoy the somewhat old fashioned writing. I did like Mr Gryce.
Good! We're on the same page with those two authors. I liked that one, too, and have read some others.
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I loved it, but you need to know Holmes to enjoy the references.
Sandy wrote: "I loved it, but you need to know Holmes to enjoy the references. "I loved it, but know absolutely nothing about Holmes.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one makes me think of Rex Stout and Archie. It's br..."Sounds good to me, I’ve added it to my TBR list - I’ve still not read Nero Wolfe, I’ve heard such great things, but it’s such a long series and I couldn’t get the first book fo the longest time, I don’t know if it was out of print or what. Anyway, I’m one of the “series must be read in order” folks, unless knowledgeable fans tell me it’s not necessary. What sayeth the group on Nero Wolfe - read in order or no?
Susan wrote: "I often read nominated books which don't win the vote. Sometimes it's nice to throw something a little different into the mix as, even if they are unlikely to win, members might discover a new author."Yes! I think you’re the one who nominated a Lorac novel - it didn’t win, but I have very much enjoyed the two Lorac’s I’ve been able to find, that’s why I nominated one for August. I will definitely read it myself, and have added the others to my TBR list, they all sound like winners to me - this group are like pushers, feeding my mystery addiction!
Jill wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one makes me think of Re..."Good to know, I’ve got that saved in my Scribd account from a previous poll - tried the book from my library, but ugh, it was very old and the font was tiny!
Susan in NC wrote: "Good to know, I’ve got that saved in my Scribd account from a previous poll - tried the book from my library, but ugh, it was very old and the font was tiny! "I have the Complete Works for both Mary Roberts Rinehart and Anna Katharine Green. Regular Kindle price is $2.99, US. Hard to beat that price for such a large number of titles and they're always available to me.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Good to know, I’ve got that saved in my Scribd account from a previous poll - tried the book from my library, but ugh, it was very old and the font was tiny! "I have the Compl..."
Thank you - that is a great price! And the combination of always available plus adjustable fonts is pretty irresistible to me...
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one makes me think of Rex Stout and Archie. It's br..."I did vote for your book, but I agree it's probably not going to win. I'm listening to The Circular Staircase right now and love the sarcastic tone!
Valerie wrote: "I did vote for your book, but I agree it's probably not going to win. I'm listening to The Circular Staircase right now and love the sarcastic tone! "I'm glad you're liking it. I'll be happy to read The Warrielaw Jewel with the group.
I just finished
by Louis Tracy, one of the Winter and Furneaux mysteries. 4.5 stars because it definitely kept me guessing. :)
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one makes me think of Rex Stout and Archie. It's br..."I really enjoyed The Man in Lower Ten. I love Rinehart and Anna Katharine Green also...couldn’t agree more with that recommendation.
I love The Final Solution too, Sandy. Sentences like jewels strung on a wire. In general, I like Chabon’s short books much more than his long ones. Another short one I’m fond of, which is kind of a medieval men’s adventure novel, is Gentlemen of the Road.
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I've added that to my TBR; I like adventure stories. Final Solution was my first Chabon though he has been recommended by friends, and I own Telegraph Avenue.
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On Kindle, I've also started Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke, the second in the Hannah Swenson series - not very far into that one yet.
Susan in NC wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one makes me think of Re..."Nero Wolfe can easily be read without reading the first book.
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Just starting The Blue and the Grey by M.J. Trow I love his Maxwell series so thought I would try this.
Bicky wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I started The Man in Lower Ten. I could see it isn't going to win the poll and am happy to get after it. Her writing style in this one ..."Thanks, Bicky! Good to know.
As to Nero Wolfe, it might be good to keep in mind that later books refer to to earlier cases. I don't recall that there are spoilers, but the context will be lost if reading them out of order. On the other hand, if you're not reading them back to back or close thereto, I suppose the context could be lost anyway.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "As to Nero Wolfe, it might be good to keep in mind that later books refer to to earlier cases. I don't recall that there are spoilers, but the context will be lost if reading them out of order. On ..."Thanks, Elizabeth- I don’t want to miss character development, or cases that build on each other - or referred to in later books. I don’t like feeling I walked late into a movie!
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I’ve read all the Nero Wolfe books and never even considered reading them in order. I just read them in whatever order I got my hands on them. In general, even though there is the odd mention of something that happened in a previous book, Stout’s characters don’t change much, and I never felt confused.I have also read all the Anna Katherine Green and Mary Roberts Rinehart mysteries that I was able to obtain. Another author that comes to mind when I think about these authors is Carolyn Wells. Many of her mysteries lean toward the cozy side and they often include a bit of romance.
Regarding the book For Old Crime's Sake, (mentioned above), I read one of this series ( possibly the first book), and couldn’t bring myself to like Dagobert at all, so I never read another one. I suppose he might have improved in later books. Personally, I like Mr and Mrs North better.
A few years ago I bought 15 of the Peter Diamond series by Peter Lovesay. I read 5 of them. Today I see that book 17, Beau Death is $1.99 for the Kindle edition, so I downloaded it. I remember enjoying the 5 books that I read, but I guess I overdid it by reading them one after another. So now I have 11 unread books in that series.....
Currently reading Hamlet, Revenge! by Michael Innes.
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Reading the Detectives
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Yet another series I want to read. I enjoyed the first one very much.