English Mysteries Club discussion
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Two-Way Murder
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October Group Read - Two Way Murder by E.C.R. Lorac
Just downloaded the little puppy....
since this is a relatively recent read for me, I will go for Thirteen Guests, bit will check out how others feel about this book.
Oh, just saw Jean's post that Thiteen Guests will be the November pick, so I will wait until then to read it and look for Suicide Excepted instead.
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Who'll be joining us for our group read of Two-Way Murder?
I read it earlier this year but still remember it (it was good) so hope to join in with the discussions
I´ll of course read it, as I nominated it. :) Love Lorac/Carnac (pseudonyms), though not all her books are equally good. Thanks for the surprise! :)
I have never read any book by Lorac, but I want to try it as well, so I'm in.
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I like this author but our library system doesn't have this book. I have read the four they do have and enjoyed every one!Happy reading every one!
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Bionic Jean wrote: "Oh what a shame Rosemarie. It's on kindle, audio CD and Audible too, if they are any help. Sometimes I find my various libraries have different paper and e-books to borrow."They do keep adding more titles all the time, so you never know.....
I hope to! Just have to find it 🤦🏻♀️
I got this one and started it. So far I like it quite a bit.
I just read this one a few weeks ago! I couldn't remember why it was on hold at my library but I read it and can discuss; I enjoyed it.
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do we discuss in this thread?
How did I miss this nomination — yeah, that little vacation thing!Anyway, I've just started a book but as soon as I finish it, I'll be all over this. I've read four books by E.C.R. Lorac and always enjoyed them very much. I'm looking forward to this.
Yep, just started the book myself. One thing I'll say: I notice that women's attributes were still a big topic of discussion, even in the 30s... sigh, men haven't changed much.
Finished. I hadn’t read any of her previous books, a pretty easy/pleasant book to read. I don’t know if it was common thing back then or a kindle thing for hours to be written as 1.0 for one o’clock instead of 1.00 or just ‘one’. Also references to petting, as a youngster I was puzzled by signs like no heavy petting in swimming pools!
This was my first by this author and I enjoyed it at the time, but it's been long enough I had to go back to my review to remember what I said:"3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I have never read this author before but would look for more of the same: a fast, easy mystery with an interesting location and characters."
I did guess the murderer because it kept looking like (view spoiler)
This author is new to me too. I’m halfway done with the book in my first reading session! I am loving it! I have one question - what did the word “creating” mean back then? The word is used in a few incidents when people are very angry in the book. Any ideas?
BTW! If you are in the US and your local library belongs to Hoopla for digital books, they have an ebook of “Two-Way Murder”. Open Library online has other books by this author.
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As a(n English) child I was sometimes told to "Stop creating!" It implies creating a scene, but that bit is implied. We might say "showing off" or "making a fuss". Does this fit?
Jean - Thank you for that explanation of “creating”. I had never heard that expression used in America. Your answer definitely makes sense.
My wife still uses the term ‘creating’, mainly if the dogs are barking like crazy (creating a fuss) Hadn’t heard it myself growing up in the south of England
I'm about 1/3 of the way through. Have to keep myself from getting as upset as some of the characters when talk of the father comes about, with his controlling nature to his daughter. And of course, the class distinctions! A hallmark of any book of the era, of course.
Joan wrote: "BTW! If you are in the US and your local library belongs to Hoopla for digital books, they have an ebook of “Two-Way Murder”. Open Library online has other books by this author."Thanks, Joan. I just grabbed a Hoopla copy.
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Bionic Jean wrote: "This read begins today! I hope everyone who wants to, manages to find a copy :)"I could not find this book but borrowed "Bats in the Belfry" on audio. I think the story was good but did not like the narration. Too slow and laboured.
Just finished. Very much enjoyed it! Kicking myself I didn’t follow the clues to solve the mystery myself!🤓
Helen wrote: "I'm about 1/3 of the way through. Have to keep myself from getting as upset as some of the characters when talk of the father comes about, with his controlling nature to his daughter. And of course..."yes, I was having trouble with the father character also. I can over-look the classism easily in this kind of book.
Well, all finished now. Perhaps Cervantes summed it up best: “Faint heart never won fair maiden.” Boy oh boy, you-know-who was bound and determined he was going to get the girl, doncha know.And another observation: Looks like Hoyle will get his wish at last.
I finished it yesterday and I posted a review with a 4 star rating and no spoilers for people still reading! I really liked this book!
Great review Joan! I read this in February this year and thought it was a very clever and puzzling detective story. I liked Inspector Waring very much. My only tiny gripe is I wished there had been a map!
I almost always wish there was a map! When I open a book and find one I am so pleased.
Oooh, great point! I think if there was a map with the visual, it would really have helped me solve the mystery quicker ;)
I love book with maps and floor plans of houses - if relevant to the mystery. I always bookmark them, if reading in ebook format, so I can refer back to the drawings as I read the book.
Great suggestion for the ereader, Joan! Thanks 🙂
Joan wrote: "I love book with maps and floor plans of houses - if relevant to the mystery. I always bookmark them, if reading in ebook format, so I can refer back to the drawings as I read the book."I have a kindle fire and I can bookmark a page, but darned if I can figure out how to then get back to it.
Since they made so much of her, I thought I would look up the meaning of the name. This is what Wikipedia says:"Dilys is a feminine given name of Welsh origin, which translates into English as genuine, steadfast, valid, true or perfect."
With the way that the author described the character, I'm assuming that the use of this name was deliberate -- especially the perfect part. Also a shame that all she was good for was as a foil for murder, but, oh, well.
Ironic that I do know of a Dilys, as also mentioned on Wikipedia. And she has a mystery connection. She was the first owner of Mystery Ink, the great mystery bookstore in Manhattan, which I frequented once upon a time.
yes, it is a shame she wasn't a character that was interesting at all for herself: only for how all the men were attracted to her.
Lisa wrote: "Oooh, great point! I think if there was a map with the visual, it would really have helped me solve the mystery quicker ;)"I think it would have probably been too many clues with the map. Although I didn’t figure it out until near the end!
To Jackie and others wondering about Kindle bookmarks - I just went to my Kindle to make sure how to explain to find your saved bookmarks. You click on any book page and at the top of the page little icons come up. There will be one that looks like a page with lines like a list. If you click on this, it will show all your saved bookmarks on an annotated list. I hope that helps those of you that wanted to save maps, house plans, the page where you stopped reading, or book quotes. Happy reading! P.S. Thank you to those of you who liked my recent book reviews. I am flattered by your attention. It is so nice to know someone reads the reviews and likes them! You make my day each time!
Joan wroteYou click on any book page and at the top of the page little icons come up. There will be one that looks like a page with lines like a list. If you click on this, it will show all your saved bookmarks on an annotated list.
thanks for helping out, Joan, it made me look again to figure it out.
my icon is labeled "notes" and for some reason I never tried it before.
I loved this. Confession I live in the area it is roughly set so can easilyimagine the settings which probably added to my enjoyment. I have no problems with the classisim as that was the way of when it was written. Fathers do sometimes control. I think that he was a character who felt that he had little control over some events around him - Hoyle's 'parties', so would have tried to exercise what other control he had - over Dilys. He can't of been that bad considering what his housekeeper planned. I loved the way that ideas of the hero (as thought of at that time) were played with. The solution was one that certainly would have been aided by a map. But possibly a map would have given too much away. This was my first by this author but certainly won't be my last. Thank you for introducing her to me.
English Mysteries Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Suicide Excepted (other topics)Two-Way Murder (other topics)
Two-Way Murder (other topics)
Reading will begin on October 1st and last all month.
Who's in for this one? I know we have a few fans of this author in the "English Mysteries Group", and it's a chance for others to try a new Golden Age author :)