English Mysteries Club discussion
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What are you Currently Reading?
I've been reading a series by Nicholas Blake featuring Nigel Strangeways. I usually like British Golden Age mysteries and forgive their little wierdities, but this series is the talkiest I think I've ever tried. The one I just finished, Thou Shell of Death, featured endless talk and endless solutions, most of them wrong and by Strangeways himself. As he trots out each new solution, he doesn't even make a brief disclaimer; he just expects us and the other characters to forget he ever said what he said. To top it off, it's pretty obvious too. The three I've read - this one, A Question of Proof, and The Case of the Abominable Snowman - have all been obvious.
Really enjoying The Sans Pareil Mystery, especially the audio narration. Almost finished with Hazards in Hampshire, which has had its 'issues' but I'll probably read the sequel.
That's one of the Detective Lavender mysteries? I haven't been able to get into them.
Jean wrote: "That's one of the Detective Lavender mysteries? I haven't been able to get into them."It's the second one in that series. I skipped the first one as the plot didn't look all that interesting. I'm a fan of the audio narrator, Michael Page.
I'm listening to The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie. It's a nice, escapist read. I accidentally started reading The 7th Ghost Story MEGAPACK® and am now about halfway through. It's great fun with some very good stories in it. It has one of my favorite ghost stories, "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs. It was my introduction to ghost stories as a child. Well, that and the ghost stories and songs some older kids taught me when I was little.
John wrote: "Jean wrote: "That's one of the Detective Lavender mysteries? I haven't been able to get into them."It's the second one in that series. I skipped the first one as the plot didn't look all that int..."
I never buy audiobooks - I read much faster than people talk.
I’m reading David Sedaris’ Calypso, it’s just hilarious, but maybe not is first memoir to read, I’ve read the majority.I’ve started Agatha Christie: The Complete Notebooks by John Curran, but I’m thinking of rererereading (maybe more re) the book as it is referred to which would take years, but Agatha Christie is an author that I have the majority on paper.
I’m also technically still reading The House of the Spirits, I haven’t read a page in two weeks.
Finally, I think I’m going to read Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke, that’s where I am in the Hannah Swensen series.
Jean wrote: "That's one of the Detective Lavender mysteries? I haven't been able to get into them."I have enjoyed all the Detective Lavender books and feel they have gotten better as they have gone on. The audio is well done.
John wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "Allie wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Very cool news! I just got an email from our library announcing curbside pickup for books put on hold online. You give them a call from..."Thanks John. I do get e-books from Kobo which I can read on my iPad. What I am having difficulty with is accessing audiobooks. It should be easy using Hoopla, but I spent 2 hours on it the other day and did not get in to borrow any books.
Allie wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Very cool news! I just got an email from our library announcing curbside pickup for books put on hold online. You give them a call from the parking lot when you arri..."Our library uses Hoopla.
John wrote: "Allie wrote: "Dorothy wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Very cool news! I just got an email from our library announcing curbside pickup for books put on hold online. You give them a call from the parking lot..."I tried RG as well with no success. I think I am just technically inept.
:-)
I have just treated myself to the latest addition of my very favorite series, The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths. It doesn't come out in the U.S. for months yet so I treated myself and ordered it at Book Depository in the UK. It's my corona gift to myself and only took 3 weeks to get here.
What a good idea! There are a number of books I can't get here so I may follow your lead.
Am diving into another book to help with the Literary Road Trip of the USA Challenge: Midwives by Chris Bohjalian.
Dorothy wrote: "What a good idea! There are a number of books I can't get here so I may follow your lead."Book Depository has free shipping too.
I'm currently reading The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi. A really interesting Greek Detective mystery.
Adrian wrote: "I'm currently reading The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi. A really interesting Greek Detective mystery."
That’s in my tbr. Glad to hear it’s keeping you interested!
Allie wrote: "Adrian wrote: "I'm currently reading The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi. A really interesting Greek Detective mystery."
That’s in my tbr. Glad to hear it’s ..."
I am really enjoying it, but then I am a real Hellenophile. I like anything Greek from The Raven Witch of Corfu - Episode 1 to Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
On the desk, in no particular order -- my "stay in place" library:Here Lies Eric Ambler, his autobiography.
John Hancock, Merchant King and American Patriot, sterling biography by Harlow Giles Unger.
My historical mystery fix will be well represented by Fortune's Deadly Shadow by Leslie Scase. This is a new author for me, so I'm looking forward to it.
I also have Read Me, Los Angeles -- Exploring L.A.'s Book Culture by Katie Orphan waving and waiting to be noticed.
Then there's the Kindle! Lots of histmyst NG books! Plus I'm a big fan of Sarah Woodbury, and her Gareth and Gwen books, set in Wales in the middle 1100s. Working through those at the moment. There is something to be said for enjoying reading.
Adrian wrote: "I am really enjoying it, but then I am a real Hellenophile. I like anything Greek from The Raven Witch of Corfu - Episode 1 to Captain Corelli's Mandolin..."Have you read any of Gary Corby's Athenian mystery series? I have only read a few but thought they were enjoyable. The first book is The Pericles Commission.
Leslie wrote: "Adrian wrote: "I am really enjoying it, but then I am a real Hellenophile. I like anything Greek from The Raven Witch of Corfu - Episode 1 to [book:Captain Corelli's Mandolin|658057..."Thanks Leslie, for that recommendation.
I'm currently reading The Orange Axe: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery by Brian Flynn. This is the next to the last book available in the series. It's nowhere near as good as Agatha Christie or Josephine Tey, but it's an enjoyable, light read. I'm also listening to The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie. There's something wrong with the second CD, though, so I will probably need to get another copy.
Diane wrote: "I'm currently reading The Orange Axe: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery by Brian Flynn. This is the next to the last book available in the series. It's nowhere near as g..."When you are done with The Pale Horse, let us know what you think on the Agatha Christie thread. I read it a long time ago, but I don't remember a lot about it.
I am reading Miss Austen by Gill Hornby. I got interested in it because of the title, but it's more about grief (how women in the 19th century didn't have a lot of choices too) and the Miss Austen of the title is Cassandra Austen (the sister).
I'm also reading My Mother, a Serial Killer, that's the story of Dulcie Bodsworth told by her daughter Hazel Baron (and a coauthor). It's about a serial killer in Australia.
I highly recommend Peter Grainger's DC Smith series. Police procedurals but witty and not hard boiled. And most of the characters appear in his new series, Kings Lake investigations. On Eden Street, the first in the new series, is especially good on Audible!
sounds good. Thanks for the recommendation. How do you like Audible?
I'm reading Maigret in Vichy: Inspector Maigret #68 by Georges Simenon. This is a reread in English. I read it many years ago in French, but since the libraries are still closed, I'm reading an English ebook. It's like reading it for the first time.
Currently reading The Reluctant Heir by William Savage. This has always been an interesting historical mysteries series with a determined amateur sleuth. He also writes the Ashmole Foxe series, which are also worth a look!
Rosemarie wrote: "I'm reading Maigret in Vichy: Inspector Maigret #68 by Georges Simenon. This is a reread in English. I read it many years ago in French, but since the libraries are st..."I haven't got to number 68 yet, I think I'm only on about number 20. But I am enjoying them.
Rosemarie wrote: "The Hog's Back Mystery 
by Freeman Wills Crofts.It's a good one."
Good to know, Rosemarie. I just finished Croft's The Groote Park Murder and was beginning to think it was going nowhere fast and then pow!
Pamela wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts.It's a good one."
Good to know, Rosemarie. I just fini..."
Another good one is Crofts' Mystery in the Channel. It has a complex plot and is one of my favorites by Crofts.
I just finished The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner and it was so lovely. It was set in Chawton England and talked about the crazy Americans who kept coming to visit right after WWII. I visited in the 2000's when the museum was complete and it was so wonderful. We had lunch at the little cafe across the street that had tea cups everywhere including hanging from the ceiling. It was wonderful. I also visited the Jane Austen Museum in Bath where I amazingly climbed 4 stories to have tea. I am a book nerd. Who else visits book sites?Anyway this was a lovely book that was good for my spirits. Check it out if you have a chance.
currently listening to 
anyone else like historical crime?
Susan wrote: "I just finished The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner and it was so lovely. It was set in Chawton England and talked about the crazy Americans who kept coming ..."That is on my TBR list. I read a Jane Austen related book lately, Miss Austen so I’ll wait a little bit before reading another one.
I’m having a break from mysteries just before our June read starts and I’m reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, it’s very different from my usual reads, but I’m really enjoying it. I try to read classics from the 20th Century once in a while not just the 19th.
John wrote: "I've just finished Murder at Kensington Palace, third in the Wrexford & Sloane series set during the Regency. Great characters, and plotting, - absolutely need to be read in order f..."These are delightful in audiobook as well. Excellent narrator!
Penny wrote: "currently listening to anyone else like historical crime?"
I enjoy historical mysteries. My favorite series are the Cadfael books by Ellis Peters and the Judge Dee books by Robert van Gulik. Candace Robb's Owen Archer series, Ruth Downie, Lindsey Davis, and Steven Saylor are also great.
Have just passed the halfway mark in The Library Book
by Susan Orlean about the 1984 fire in Los Angeles' Central Library. I'm really enjoying it and the beginning is a bit like a thriller with the nearly moment by moment description of the fire, especially the detail about how hot the fire got (2,500 degrees, so hot that it burned either light blue or clear, so the firemen couldn't see that they were in the flames).Penny and Diane, I also enjoy historical fiction, and just arrived today in my mail is Girl Waits with Gun
by Amy Stewart. I just looked at the back pages of the book and discovered that the main characters, the Kopp sisters were real people and much of the dialogue is based on research, just the mystery has a fictitious character.
In another group I belong to, a common read of one of Agatha Christie's Poirot mysteries,
Death on the Nile, is to start on June 1. I'm a slow reader (or rather, I read quickly enough as such, but have limited time for it each day, so it takes me more time than most to finish a book) and may not get a chance to read on Monday, since we're expecting company. So, since I was ready to start a new book anyway, I went ahead and began my read of this today.
Pamela wrote: "Have just passed the halfway mark in The Library Book by Susan Orlean about the 1984 fire in Los Angeles' Central Library. I'm r..."I love the Kopp girls mysteries. They just get better and better.
I am just starting Ruth Rendell's Sins of the Fathers for our buddy read starting tomorrow. I hope you join us.
Susan wrote: "I am just starting Ruth Rendell's Sins of the Fathers for our buddy read starting tomorrow. I hope you join us."I've read several of Rendell's books (not the one you are starting sadly) and always enjoy them.
Am trying to think of what I would love to start reading next. So many darn good books! Tough choices as I have several Christie books that I don't remember ever reading (and one I need for a Christie challenge); several books on my kindle, including some I have had since March 2018; as well as several 'golden age' books that I'm itching to start.
I'm going to say I'll be starting sometime today One by One They Disappeared
by Moray Dalton and originally published in 1928, as well as Agatha Christie's 1939 mystery Easy to Kill
.
Diane wrote: "Penny wrote: "currently listening to anyone else like historical crime?"
I enjoy historical mysteries. My favorite series are the Cadfael books by [autho..."
read a few of those authors but will look up the ones that are new to me
France-Andrée wrote: "Susan wrote: "I just finished The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner and it was so lovely. It was set in Chawton England and talked about the crazy Americans wh..."I just finished "Miss Austen" which is about Cassandra rather than Jane and I really liked it. It says a lot about the situation for unmarried women at the time.
Penny wrote: "Diane wrote: "Penny wrote: "currently listening to anyone else like historical crime?"
I enjoy historical mysteries. My favorite series are the Cadfael b..."
Historical mysteries are "all" I read. I follow so many I have to have a spreadsheet to keep track. Rhys Bowen is a particular favorite, as is Catriona McPherson and C.S. Harris.
Helen wrote: "Historical mysteries are "all" I read. I follow so many I have to have a spreadsheet to keep track. Rhys Bowen is a particular favorite, as is Catriona McPherson and C.S. Harris...."Ooh a spreadsheet, serious respect. And thanks for some names Helen, I will pass on to my wife who is just getting into Historical Mysteries.
Have her try Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen , Adrian. It’s perfect for someone just submerging themselves into historical mysteries. They’re cute and funny!
Agree with Allie, that's a fun series if your wife is looking for lighter fare. Set in the 30s. Is she interested in any particular time frame? I've always got recommendations .
English Mysteries Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (other topics)The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery (other topics)
Knots and Crosses (other topics)
Cut Off from Sky and Earth (other topics)
Out of the Rain (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Siddharth Kara (other topics)Melissa F. Miller (other topics)
Chevy Stevens (other topics)
Elmore Leonard (other topics)
Walter Mosley (other topics)
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This one took some getting! I'd reserved it i..."
I hope you eventually enjoyed the book Jean, it is one of my favourite Poirot's so far.