Reading the Detectives discussion
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What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread, 2019-2020
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I recently got this one, as I loved the (parts of the) series, but don´t know when I´ll find time to read it! :P"
Mi..."
I read all Miss Fisher over several years using them as filler between other (slightly) heavier reads. As I knew the books before the TV program I didn't like the TV adaptions, especially the changes to the detective. The costumes are wonderful however. Having finished Miss Fisher, I replaced her with Georgie, from Her Royal Spyness.
Tracey wrote: "Have just finished The Expendable Man, a gripping noir mystery from 1960s Arizona."That is one I have not yet read. I see you gave it 5-stars.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Have just finished The Expendable Man, a gripping noir mystery from 1960s Arizona."That is one I have not yet read. I see you gave it 5-stars."
I really enjoyed it. It's difficult to say too much about the book before dipping into spoiler territory though! I've not read any other books by Dorothy B. Hughes, but have seen the film of In a Lonely Place. To me both have a similar atmosphere, lots of second guessing and uncertainty.
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I would be interested to see the film of Ride a Pink Horse, which stars Robert Montgomery as Sailor, but it doesn't seem to be available on streaming or DVD in the UK - maybe it will turn up on TV some time.
Oh, Bogart would be perfect for the role In a Lonely Place. For the group members who have come here wanting the cosiness of Golden Age mysteries, Dorothy B. Hughes will probably not be to your liking. I find it interesting that the GA mysteries were being published and popular in the same time period as Chandler, Hammett, Hughes, and others. (And I probably said that backwards, that the noir authors were published and popular at the same time as the GA authors is more what I meant.)
Annabel wrote: "I'm on a Christie reread binge. Most recently, The Body In The Library, which some people say has her best ever story opening. I find it a bittersweet tale - on the surface, most amusing with its m..."Funny you are rereading Christie, with the late summer pandemic blahs, I was seeking a pick-me-up for viewing, and dug out my Joan Hickson Miss Marple DVD collection! Started in order, and I wholeheartedly agree about post-war life portrayed, and the murky under layers! “Body in the Library” always struck me that way, as well. I’ve gotten up to “Pocketful of Rye” last night, it was very nice to see Tom Wilkerson as a very low-key inspector, especially after seeing the rather rude inspector Miss Marple kept running into! But I had forgotten, or not previously noticed, how over the top some of the performances are. Not Hickson, she’s great as La Marple, but this series was chock full of great British stars, some older, some in very young roles, but in each episode, at least one character starts chewing up the scenery. It’s rather odd, I don’t expect that from British actors, especially in a country house murder movie!
Internet problems here, so I’ve put aside my ebook of Death in the East
and have ordered the paperback. I have been enjoying the book so far, Wyndham is a great character, interesting setting for a murder mystery (an ashram in Assam, 1922). While I wait for my book, I’m starting our next Poirot, Cat Among the Pigeons
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Sorry Susan but the next Poirot is Cat Among the Pigeons - Third Girl is soon though, in November, so you won't have long to wait for the discussion if you are under way with that one!
Judy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "While I wait for my book, I’m starting our next Poirot, Third Girl Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #35) by Agatha Christie..."Sorry Susan but the next Poirot is [book:Cat Among th..."
Duh, sorry Judy - just saw your update to our reading list, and realized I mixed up my Poirot titles- thanks! Fixed it.
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Judy wrote: "Your comment actually reminded me to see if the list needed updating, Susan!"Terrific, glad to help, you mods run this group on oiled wheels - thanks for all you do!
I'm reading The Big Four by Agatha Christie. After reading #37 in the Poirot series, I realized that I've missed two earlier ones. 😊
Jill wrote: "Am starting Original Sin for the next group challenge read"Yay! I will start it as soon as I finish the Nero Wolfe - probably tomorrow.
Annabel wrote: "I'm on a Christie reread binge. Most recently, The Body In The Library, which some people say has her best ever story opening. I find it a bittersweet tale - on the surface, most amusing with its m..."I'm doing the same. I have all her novels in paperback, and intersperse re-reading these with the new books I have on my kindle. I read The Body in the Library a few weeks ago, and concur with your feelings about the social commentary. The Hollow, which I have just finished is one of Christie's strongest, I think. The characterisation is excellent, particularly that of Henrietta. I loved the ending in which her strength (and something less pleasing, perhaps?) is portrayed so well. I'm having fun with They Came to Baghdad at the moment. I say fun, but this is also a sad novel, picturing as it does the locations in their beauty and difference in comparison with the war zones and refugees with which we are now more familiar.
Piyangie wrote: "I'm reading The Big Four by Agatha Christie. After reading #37 in the Poirot series, I realized that I've missed two earlier ones. 😊"I'd be interested in what you think of this one. I really enjoyed it, but understand that Christie hated writing it and did not like it at all! I like the change from insular locations to the wider sphere -even if some of the ideas are far fetched!
Judy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "While I wait for my book, I’m starting our next Poirot, Third Girl Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #35) by Agatha Christie..."Sorry Susan but the next Poirot is [book:Cat Among th..."
Ummm...I have missed this group (?) reading? I have just reread Cat Amongst the Pigeons and would like t o join if I may?
Carolien wrote: "I've just completed Presumed Innocent, a reread for me which I enjoyed. It remains one of the best plotted crime stories I have ever read."I agree. I enjoyed re-reading it , even though I knew the solution. The plotting is worth thinking about over and over. It is, as you say, one of the best.
Robin wrote: "Judy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "While I wait for my book, I’m starting our next Poirot, Third Girl Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #35) by Agatha Christie..."Sorry Susan but the next Poirot is [book..."
Hi, Robin! Cat Among the Pigeons is our September book in the Poirot group read, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it then! I hadn’t read it in years, and decided to start reading it for next month.
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Robin wrote: This is a reply to Tania who wrote about The Mirror Cracked From Side to Side. (view spoiler)
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https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
It took a minute to find this as the search function at Goodreads doesn't seem to be working properly today - hopefully just a blip.
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I was pleased to find that I own an audio version of this, so I will be joining in. I’m new to the group and an unabashed PD James fan. In my mind she took detective writing to a whole new level.
Judy wrote: "I am deleting Robin's post about The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side and reposting with spoiler tags. Thanks for the great comments, Robin, but this is just to be on the safe side for anyone who h..."Thank you so much. Sorry that I caused this problem. I'll take my cues from other comments when I join the discussion on Cat Among the Pigeons. Thank goodness there are people like you who deal with problems such as this.
Barbara wrote: "I was pleased to find that I own an audio version of this, so I will be joining in. I’m new to the group and an unabashed PD James fan. In my mind she took detective writing to a whole new level."Welcome, Barbara. We're reading a Dalgliesh once a month, in order, so there are still a few to go!
Robin wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "I'm reading The Big Four by Agatha Christie. After reading #37 in the Poirot series, I realized that I've missed two earlier ones. 😊"I'd be intereste..."
I'm enjoying it so far, Robin. But I detect some rushing through the chapters. I read somewhere that AG originally intended it to be a short story collection. I don't know if it's true, but if it is, that explains it.
Piyangie wrote: "Robin wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "I'm reading The Big Four by Agatha Christie. After reading #37 in the Poirot series, I realized that I've missed two earlier ones. 😊"I'..."
It's interesting to compare the book (which I listened to) to the TV adaptation, (view spoiler)
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Thank you, Robin, sorry that Goodreads' system for posting spoilers with the tags is so clunky! Jessica mainly runs the Poirot reads, and they all have spoiler and non-spoiler threads, so you should be fine to discuss plot twists in the spoiler thread.
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Glad to hear that you are looking forward to the discussion, Barbara - as Elizabeth said, we have several more PD James more titles coming up too.
Shaina wrote: "Tara wrote: "Shaina wrote: "I'm starting 
The Floating Admiral by The Detection Club. ..."Tara, I really enjoyed the book. I mu..."
Very cool Shaina! Its an interesting concept which could easily have been awful if not well executed.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Oh, Bogart would be perfect for the role In a Lonely Place. For the group members who have come here wanting the cosiness of Golden Age mysteries, Dorothy B. Hughes will probably not be to your l..."
Very true Elizabeth. I read Dread Journey recently, and while I expected a GA mystery, I found a much starker, more nihilistic story instead. Excellent writing, but not to everyone's taste.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Oh, Bogart would be perfect for the role In a Lonely Place. For the group members who have come here wanting the cosiness of Golden Age mysteries, Dorothy B. Hughes will probably not be to your l..."
The difference being that most GA writers were British and noir writers tended to be American. This was noted in my recent read about Hammett and his early years. Actually, even the American GA writers tend to have a darker view than the ones espoused by the British writers. The main American ones I have read are those by Mignon G. Eberhart and her stories about Nurse Keate. Even these have a slightly darker tinge.
Not sure how John Dickson Carr fits into this, but he had moved to England and was a rare American in the Detection Club.
I finished Too Many Women by American GA author Rex Stout. There is also Erle Stanley Gardner. I honestly haven't spent a lot of time thinking about what differences there might be between the nationalities. While I'll stay here and participate in some series we've started, I do find I prefer the noir or hard-boiled crime fiction to the classic GA authors.I have started the September challenge book, Original Sin. I'm glad to be back in London for this one.
Jan C wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Oh, Bogart would be perfect for the role In a Lonely Place. For the group members who have come here wanting the cosiness of Golden Age mysteries, Dorothy B. Hughes wil..."
How do you feel Mary Roberts Rinehart falls into the categorization? She feels more cozy than hard boiled to me, but was also writing in an earlier period than Hammett, Chandler, et al.
Tara wrote: "How do you feel Mary Roberts Rinehart falls into the categorization? She feels more cozy than hard boiled to me, but was also writing in an earlier period than Hammett, Chandler, et al."Yes, more cosy than hard boiled, but Jan may be on to something. What I have read of her she is darker than the usual GA.
If you have not tried Anna Katharine Green, she is definitely more cosy. Very early detective fiction.
Tara wrote: "Jan C wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Oh, Bogart would be perfect for the role In a Lonely Place. For the group members who have come here wanting the cosiness of Golden Age mysteries, Dorothy..."
i don't think I've read enough of hers. But although seeming cozy, they are also a bit on the dark side.
Jan C wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Oh, Bogart would be perfect for the role In a Lonely Place. For the group members who have come here wanting the cosiness of Golden Age mysteries, Dorothy B. Hughes wil..."
Interesting point about John Dickson Carr. He's one of my favourite authors (and from a chance find of a book in a charity shop the author that led me to start reading GA).
Thanks for all the noir author recommendations in this thread!
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Because the conversation of GA vs Noir happened in this thread, I'm sharing something I read elsewhere. I truncated the post by another Goodreads member, but I think the comparison of GA and American crime fiction of the period is apt.The British "cozies" must have been written for a different readership, and published by upscale hardback publishers. American crime stories were for people who shared the problems of working class people ...
I have read somewhere that the difference came about because the UK was absolutely devastated by the War(s), every one lost people, (there is a village near me called Upper Slaughter, which ironically is one of only 13 places in the UK to lose no men in either war). Because of this people were in the mood for more gentle escapism. Today I listened to Death in the Clouds while making chutney, I thought I'd read it before, but apparently not.
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It would be interesting to find an article or book which looks at who was reading crime novels, on both sides of the Atlantic in the GA/noir period.
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I liked that Maigret, Judy! Simenon was such a prolific writer.
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I do suspect who was reading what may have been quite complicated - for instance Penguin also published US crime titles for UK readers.
And you get GA books like Dorothy Sayers' The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club which is not at all cosy, largely about WW1 and shell shock ... and then some quite light-themed US crime novels (for instance some of the Rex Stouts involve Archie in a lot of partying!) So it's a fascinating topic all round. :)
Indeed, the comparison isn't all one or the other. I do think the conjecture that the audience of noir/hard-boiled to be more working class is likely the difference. For me, the harder stuff is less predictable and therefore more interesting on the whole. By predictable, I don't mean that I can identify the perpetrator in GA (because I can't and don't usually), but that the set up and prose generally is more reliable in GA.
Coming from working class I would say that the upper class mysteries were enjoyed as people liked to imagine what it would be to live like they did. Obviously it was not the murders, but the wonderful hotels they spent time in and the fur coats and jewelry, the lavish meals they ate, and powerful cars.
Reading the Detectives
Books mentioned in this topic
The Constant Rabbit (other topics)The Thursday Murder Club (other topics)
Gallows Court (other topics)
The Thursday Murder Club (other topics)
Gallows Court (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
P.D. James (other topics)Vanda Symon (other topics)
Michael Robotham (other topics)
Domenica de Rosa (other topics)
Elly Griffiths (other topics)
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I've recently reread The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, whick I thought one of her more tragic books, especially when a friend pointed out that the plot was based around something that really happened to actress Gene Tierney.