September 2021 group read - Winner!

[Judy]

It's time to nominate for our September 2021 group read!

Please nominate mystery/detective books written in/set in the GA period, or slightly earlier or later. As usual, just one nomination per group member and only one book by any individual writer can be nominated per month

[Michaela]

I nominate Murder in Vienna by E.C.R. Lorac.

[Rosina]

Michaela wrote: "I nominate Murder in Vienna by E.C.R. Lorac."

Still not available for purchase as a Kindle book in the UK - and the hardback copy is a bit expensive at £885 (even with free delivery!)

[Susan]

I nominate The Billiard-Room Mystery: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery

I was awakened by a piercing scream that echoed and re-echoed through the house. It came from the floor below!

“Murder! Murder! Help! Help! Murder!”

The setting is Considine Manor in Sussex, where Sir Charles is holding his annual Cricket Week. But the house-party is marred by the discovery of a dead body in the billiard room, not to mention the fact that Lady Considine’s pearls have been stolen. Can Inspector Baddeley catch the criminal, or will it take the super-sleuth Anthony Lotherington Bathurst to discover the diabolical truth?

The Billiard-Room Mystery was originally published in 1927. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Steve Barge. This is the first in the series.

[Jill]

I will nominate Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs

The eponymous nosy parker in Death of a Busybody is Miss Ethel Tither. She has made herself deeply unpopular in the quintessentially English village of Hilary Magna, since she goes out of her way to snoop on people, and interfere with their lives. On being introduced to her, the seasoned reader of detective stories will spot a murder victim in the making. Sure enough, by the end of chapter one, this unpleasant lady has met an extremely unpleasant fate. She is found floating in a cesspool, having been bludgeoned prior to drowning in the drainage water.This is, in every way, a murky business; realising that they are out of their depth, the local police quickly call in the Yard. Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, George Bellairs' series detective, arrives on the train, and in casting around for suspects, he finds that he is spoiled for choice. The amiable vicar supplies him with a map showing the scene of the crime; maps were a popular feature of traditional whodunnits for many years, and Bellairs occasionally included them in his books, as he does here.

[Michaela]

Sorry about the Lorac - will think of something else...

[Michaela]

Perhaps another Lorac that´s available in the US, UK and DE: Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery by Carol Carnac

In London’s Bloomsbury, Inspector Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard looks down at a dismal scene. Here is the victim, burnt to a crisp. Here are the clues – clues which point to a good climber and expert skier, and which lead Rivers to the piercing sunshine and sparkling snow of the Austrian Alps.

Here there is something sinister beneath the heady joys of the slopes, and Rivers is soon confronted by a merry group of suspects, and a long list of reasons not to trust each of them. For the mountains can be a dangerous, changeable place, and it can be lonely out between the pines of the slopes...

[Susan]

I actually have a copy of Murder in Vienna on kindle, Michaela, but the Amazon page says the 'item is under review.' Not sure what is going on there, but it definitely was available on kindle previously.

[Shaina]

I would like to nominate The Spoilt Kill: A Staffordshire Mystery by Mary Kelly if it is accessible to all.

If anyone knows more about the book than what GR mentions (which isn't much) please feel free to share.

Death of a Busybody and Crossed Skis are on my TBR....so I'm happy to see them here!

[Michaela]

Susan wrote: "I actually have a copy of Murder in Vienna on kindle, Michaela, but the Amazon page says the 'item is under review.' Not sure what is going on there, but it definitely was available on kindle previ..."

I bought it on kindle a while ago too, but it´s not available on the German page anymore either. I wonder if it´s becuase of the Brexit, because I found that several books haven´t been available here for a while which wasn´t a problem earlier.

[Rosina]

Michaela wrote: "I bought it on kindle a while ago too, but it´s not available on the German page anymore either. I wonder if it´s becuase of the Brexit, because I found that several books haven´t been available here for a while which wasn´t a problem earlier.."

I could understand the EU deciding that British books should be banned, in case they contain noxious substances (like lorry drivers' sandwiches), but I'm not sure that that could explain them not being available in the UK either!

I did wonder if they had found that the Kindle version was unauthorised (some are!) and have withdrawn it across the board. E C R Lorac died in 1958, so her work should still be subject to copyright (in the UK)

[Shaina]

In India, the kindle book is under review :(

[Susan in NC]

Susan wrote: "I actually have a copy of Murder in Vienna on kindle, Michaela, but the Amazon page says the 'item is under review.' Not sure what is going on there, but it definitely was available on kindle previ..."

Yes, I’ve got in on kindle as well - or I did! Better go check…

[Michaela]

I nominated something else, see post #7.

[Susan in NC]

Jill wrote: "I will nominate Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs

The eponymous nosy parker in Death of a Busybody is Miss Ethel Tither. She has made herself deeply unpopular ..."

I read this one a while back, along with another Bellairs mystery, I want to read more and would gladly reread this one - I enjoyed his style and laid back humor! And his detective was very likable.

[Susan in NC]

Shaina wrote: "I would like to nominate The Spoilt Kill: A Staffordshire Mystery by Mary Kelly if it is accessible to all.

If anyone knows more about the book than what GR mentio..."

Here’s the blurb from Amazon, sounds promising.

“ Shentall’s, a long-established institution of the Staffordshire Potteries industry, is under attack. With its designs leaked to international competition and its prices undercut, private investigator Hedley Nicholson has been tasked with finding the culprit of the suspected sabotage.
But, industrial espionage may just be the beginning. Delving further into the churning heart of Shentall’s Pottery, Nicholson’s prying is soon to unearth rumours of bonds cruelly smashed to pieces, grievances irrevocably baked in stone and a very real body, turning and turning in the liquid clay.
First published in 1961, The Spoilt Kill received widespread critical acclaim and praise from contemporary crime writers such as Julian Symons. It was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger and remains a finely crafted masterpiece of the crime genre.”

[Rosina]

Some good recommendations! I have just finished Death of a Busybody, and enjoyed it, and the detective.

[Jill]

Rosina wrote: "Some good recommendations! I have just finished Death of a Busybody, and enjoyed it, and the detective."

That's good to hear.

[Susan]

Probably best that you chose something else Michaela. Something odd is obviously going on.

The Spoilt Kill is definitely available in the UK, Susan.

Nominations so far:

Jill: Death of a Busybody
Susan: The Billiard-Room Mystery: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery
Michaela: Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery
Shaina: The Spoilt Kill: A Staffordshire Mystery

[Susan in NC]

Yes, I definitely want to read more of Inspector Littlejohn - I like his way of fitting into a village!

Oh, and I see Murder in Vienna unavailable right now on kindle in the US - just an FYI, I know Michaela has nominated a different title. Irritating, I had it on my TBR list, i really enjoy Lorac’s mysteries.

[Susan in NC]

Susan wrote: "Probably best that you chose something else Michaela. Something odd is obviously going on.

The Spoilt Kill is definitely available in the UK, Susan.

Nominations so far:

Jill: [book:Death of a Bu..."

Thanks, Susan- Spoilt Kill is available on Scribd as an audiobook, but unavailable for kindle purchase right now - you’re right, something appears to be going on with Kindle, and not just Lorac titles! Amazon US has used paperback copies of Spoilt Kill starting at about $9.30.

[Susan in NC]

I’d like to read more Freeman Wills Crofts, so I’ll nominate Mystery in the Channel :

Mystery in the Channel is a classic crime novel with a strikingly modern sub-text. The story begins with a shocking discovery. The captain of the Newhaven to Dieppe steamer spots a small pleasure yacht lying motionless in the water, and on closer inspection, sees a body lying on the deck. When members of his crew go aboard the yacht, they find not one male corpse but two. Both men have been shot, but there is no sign of either the murderer or the pistol. The dead men, it quickly emerges, were called Moxon and Deeping, and they were chairman and vice-chairman respectively of the firm of Moxon General Securities, one of the largest financial houses in the country. Inspector Joseph French of Scotland Yard is called in, reporting directly to the Assistant Commissioner, Sir Mortimer Ellison. French soon discovers that Moxon's is on the brink of collapse. One and a half million pounds have gone missing, and so has one of the partners in the business. Moxon and Deeping seem to have been fleeing the country with their ill-gotten gains, but who killed them, and how? French faces one of the toughest challenges of his career, and in a dramatic climax, risks his life in a desperate attempt to ensure that justice is done.

[Judy]

Wow, so many great nominations already - it's going to be another tough poll.

[Rosina]

Judy wrote: "Wow, so many great nominations already - it's going to be another tough poll."

Yes - I was trying to decide on which book I wanted to nominate, and all of a sudden there were so many great books to choose from!

[Sandy]

From my exploration of Kindle in the US:

Death of a Busybody available, $8
The Billiard-Room Mystery: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery $3
Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery $8
The Spoilt Kill: A Staffordshire Mystery $8

I also own Death in Vienna, so it must have been available, and cheap, at some time.

Many of the British Library Classics are available in my libraries.

[Judy]

Thanks for the US prices, Sandy.

Latest round-up of nominations (with thanks to Susan):

Jill: Death of a Busybody
Susan: The Billiard-Room Mystery: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery
Michaela: Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery
Shaina: The Spoilt Kill: A Staffordshire Mystery
Susan in N.C.: Mystery in the Channel

Any more? As we already have 5 nominations, I'll put the poll up this weekend.

[Tara]

Have we read a Charlie Chan mystery before? If not, I'd like to nominate The House Without a Key

Biggers brings Honolulu to life with his deft descriptions of the landscape and its hybrid ethnic communities. And with the creation of Inspector Chan, Biggers also shatters stereotypes and is ahead of his time in highlighting the positive aspects of Chinese-Hawaiian culture.

In this first novel, published in 1925, Chan comes to the aid of an aristocratic Boston family who find themselves in dire straits over what has befallen Dan Winterslip, the black sheep of the family, who lives in a mansion on Waikiki Beach — the house without a key.

The troubles begin when a young nephew is dispatched by the family in Boston to retrieve a wayward aunt who has overstayed her welcome in Dan Winterslip's house.

[Susan]

Oddly, only the first book available in the UK in any format, Tara. Quite expensive, but it is on kindle.

[Susan]

Oh, totally wrong! When I search by title, only one comes up, but if I search for 'Charlie Chan' there are lots of collections.

If anyone is interested, use this ISBN to search: B097TTLZDV
There's a big difference in price for the same edition.

[Rosina]

Susan wrote: "Oddly, only the first book available in the UK in any format, Tara. Quite expensive, but it is on kindle."


The entire works of Biggers, including the six Charlie Chan books are available on Amazon UK as a Kindle book for 49 pence.

[Susan]

Yes, as I mentioned, I searched for the title first and there was nothing else listed on the author page, but, when I searched for just 'Charlie Chan,' there was much more choice. For the first novel, the same edition is listed as £6+ or £2+. There are collections, but personally I am never a fan of those - often so hard to negotiate and, where possible, I prefer individual books, rather than those vast collections - cheap as they are...

[Judy]

We haven't ever read a Charlie Chan book here and it's fine to nominate - thank you, Tara. The poll will go up shortly. :)

[Judy]

The poll is now open - please go along and choose which of these 6 tempting titles you would prefer to read.

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

[Judy]

The votes are quite evenly spread so far - Charlie Chan is winning at the moment.

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

[Judy]

And it's now a draw - still several days to go, but if you haven't voted, or may want to change your vote, take a look!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

[Valerie]

Oo! Yay.... I voted for Mystery in the Channel. The books I vote for hardly ever win, so my fingers are crossed!

[Susan in NC]

Don’t think we can lose - the books I haven’t read sound great, and are on my TBR list, and the couple I have read were a couple years ago, and worth a reread!

[Susan]

Oh, it's a tie again. Anyone voted for a book that is unlikely to win and wants to change their vote?

[Susan in NC]

If they stay tied, maybe we can do both? Or one September, one October?

[Jill]

Susan in NC wrote: "If they stay tied, maybe we can do both? Or one September, one October?"

That probably is the best idea, like we did the last time that happened.

[Susan]

Or someone can run one as a buddy read, if they wish, which is always an option.

[Tr1sha]

For information, but no longer relevant to the current monthly vote. I just received an email from Amazon promoting various kindle books including Two-Way Murder & Checkmate to Murder both by E.C.R. Lorac. It made me wonder if they are reissuing some of these books & if the ones you particularly wanted will become available some time soon.

[Jill]

Looks like we have a clear winner now. Problem over.

[Judy]

Yes, in the end there was a clear winner - Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts will be our September group read. Thanks to all who nominated and voted.

Full results:
Mystery in the Channel 12 votes, 44.4%
The House Without a Key (Charlie Chan, #1) 7 votes, 25.9%
Death of a Busybody (Chief Inspector Littlejohn #3) 5 votes, 18.5%
Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery (Julian Rivers #8) 3 votes, 11.1%
The Billiard-Room Mystery: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery 0 votes, 0.0%
The Spoilt Kill: A Staffordshire Mystery (British Library Crime Classics Book 79) 0

[Susan]

Thanks, Jill. Will add it to the upcoming reads.