Nominations for January 2026 group read

[Judy]

It's time to nominate for our January 2026 group read - can you believe it? Please nominate books which were either written in the Golden Age, or a little earlier or later, or are set in that period. If in doubt whether a title is eligible, just ask.

Usual rules apply. Only one nomination per group member. Only one book by any individual writer can be nominated per month, and authors can't nominate their own books. If you aren't sure whether we have read something, the group bookshelves may help, or just ask. If it was at least 3 years ago that we read it, it's fine to re-nominate.

[Ellen]

I just bought a group of the Otto Penzler American Mystery Classics marked down to a great price by my local independent mystery bookstore so I'm going to nominate one of them. Death on the Aisle by Frances Lockridge and Richard Lockridge.

[Sandy]

Ellen wrote: "I just bought a group of the Otto Penzler American Mystery Classics marked down to a great price by my local independent mystery bookstore so I'm going to nominate one of them. [book:Death on the A..."

Available on kindle in US but $10. Should be cheaper!

[Susan]

Is Scandalize My Name by Fiona Sinclair available in the US?

[Sandy]

Not until next June, for $8

[Judy]

Death on the Aisle is £3.99 on Kindle in the UK so OK on this side of the Atlantic. Would US libraries have it?

[Susan in NC]

My library doesn’t have it - checked kindle, and annoyingly enough, some of the series are cheaper (book 2 is $1.99), but most are $7.99 or 9.99

[Jennifer]

Judy wrote: "Death on the Aisle is £3.99 on Kindle in the UK so OK on this side of the Atlantic. Would US libraries have it?"

I'm in South Carolina. It is available as an ebook at my library through Hoopla.

[Jan C]

I believe I picked most of this set (Mr. & Mrs. North) up on kindle a few years ago when they were on sale. Not that I've read any of them. But I have watched a couple of the old TV shows on Netflix or Prime. I think we watched them when they were originally on. I just have a vague remembrance of them having been fairly young at the time. It was probably on after my bedtime.

[Sandy]

My library has both print and ebook through Hoopla. Massachusetts.

[Susan]

How about The Vase Mystery by Vernon Loder?

[Ellen]

I will need to check more carefully on the Kindle price next time before I make a nomination.

[Sandy]

Susan wrote: "How about The Vase Mystery by Vernon Loder?"

In US, $1 on kindle. A price I like.

[Judy]

I'm going to include Death on the Aisle in the poll as it looks as if there is some library availability - fingers crossed for a Kindle price change in the US. Thanks for the nomination, Ellen.

Description: Death on the Aisle by Frances Lockridge and Richard Lockridge

Life is far from quiet for Mr and Mrs North. Despite Mr North's attempts to live a peaceful life, Mrs North's constant efforts as an amateur detective give them more than enough excitement - and not a little danger.

So when the wealthy backer of a play is found dead in the seats of a New York theatre, the Norths aren't far behind, led by Mrs North's customary flair for eccentric murders. Alongside Lieutenant William Weigand of the New York Police Department, they'll employ illogical logic and bizarrely tangential suggestions to draw the curtains on a killer.

[Judy]

Susan, thanks for the nomination of The Vase Mystery by Vernon Loder, first published in 1929. I see it's 77p on Kindle in the UK!

At Hallsea, on England’s South Coast, the guests at the Hotel Haut Ton, are drifting leisurely through an uneventful winter season. Quite suddenly they are plunged, one and all, into a baffling murder mystery. Mr Grange, a universally unpopular resident at the seaside hotel, is found dead by his wife in their private rooms.

The corpse is lying in a pool of blood beside the shattered remains of a large ornamental vase which formerly stood on the mantel-shelf. Facts all but prove Grange’s death to have been an accident, but Superintendent Fox has discovered something which suggests foul play…

[Judy]

I think I'll go for a Ngaio Marsh as it seems a long time since we read any of her books. How about Death and the Dancing Footman, first published in 1941? It's £5.49 on Kindle and a lot of libraries should have it hopefully.



A winter weekend ends in snowbound disaster in a novel which remains a favourite among Marsh readers.

It began as an entertainment: eight people, many of them enemies, gathered for a winter weekend by a host with a love for theatre. They would be the characters in a drama that he would devise...

[sabagrey]

Judy wrote: "I think I'll go for a Ngaio Marsh as it seems a long time since we read any of her books. How about Death and the Dancing Footman, first published in 1941."

It's also in vol. 4 of the Inspector Alleyn Collection (each has four titles at 12 € as e-book)