Reading the Detectives discussion

Happy New Year, all, and nominations please for our March 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. Also, only one book by any individual writer can be nominated per month.

I nominate The Verdict of You All

Henry Wade was the pseudonym of the wonderfully named Major Sir Henry Lancelot Aubrey-Fletcher (1887-1969), English writer and baronet. Published in 1926, this is his first mystery.

Geoffrey Hastings is doing very well for himself: having survived the Great War, he is not only working for wealthy financier Sir John Smethurst but is engaged to his daughter, Emily. Hastings has a rival for Emily's affections in the form of Samuel McCorquodale, a successful businessman and both friend and rival of Sir John, and there is no love lost between the two men.

Then Sir John is found murdered, and suspicion falls on Hastings until an unexpected alibi sets him free.

But who did murder Sir John? Layer after layer of deception is peeled away until the shocking truth emerges . . .

This year I have been enjoying the Murder Most Unladylike series. Like the Flavia de Luce stories (which the group has been reading) they are written for children, but thoroughly enjoyable for grown-ups, equally paying homage to Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton.

So I will nominate the first , set in 1934.

When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up a secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find a truly exciting mystery to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't.)

But then Hazel discovers the body of the Science Mistress, Miss Bell - but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls have to solve a murder, and prove a murder has happened in the first place before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally),

Those both sound enticing, enjoyed what I've read of that series too Rosina, tried Mistletoe and Murder recently and enjoyed it immensely.

I’ll nominate Murderer's Mistake by E.C.R. Lorac, published originally in 1946 as The Theft of the Iron Dogs . Currently .99 on kindle in the U.S.

From Amazon:

It's not long after the end of WWII, rationing is still in force in the UK, and Chief Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard is hot on the heels of a coupon racketeer, Gordon Ginner. Just then he gets a letter from Lancastrian farmer Giles Hoggett about some odd goings on recently in Lunesdale. Normally he'd pass on the letter to some subordinate, but the possibility that Giles's suspicions might link to the Ginner investigation are just too tantalizing to leave alone, so off to Lancashire goes Chief Inspector Macdonald... soon to discover the murdered body of Gordon Ginner!

Susan in NC wrote: "I’ll nominate Murderer's Mistake by E.C.R. Lorac, published originally in 1946 as The Theft of the Iron Dogs[..."

99p in the UK too, Susan.

Rosina, I read [book:Murder Most Unladylike|18070753] with my daughter - great fun.

Oh, good!

Some great nominations!

So far we have:

Susan: The Verdict of You All by Henry Wade

Rosina: Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

Susan in NC: Murderer's Mistake by E.C.R. Lorac

I haven't read any of these and they all sound really good.

I nominate Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery by Carol Carnac.

Michaela, only one book by an author can be nominated for a poll - this is to avoid splitting the vote. Don't know if you are aware, but Carol Carnac is a different pseudonym for E.C.R. Lorac and we already have a nomination for her. (I do slightly wonder why BLCC didn't use the Lorac name for this reprint.)

So please could you save Crossed Skis for another month and maybe nominate something else this time? Crossed Skis is a fantastic read though!

Yes, of course, thanks Judy!

I´ll nominate another one I´ve got at home: The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude

The Reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside - but heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across his seaside parish.

But the vicar's peace is shattered one stormy night when Julius Tregarthan, a secretive and ill-tempered magistrate, is found at his house in Boscawen with a bullet through his head.
The local police inspector is baffled by the complete absence of clues. Luckily for Inspector Bigswell, the Reverend Dodd is on hand, and ready to put his keen understanding of the criminal mind to the test.

Thanks Michaela - it has been read here before but that was five years ago (one of the group's very first reads!), so it is fine to nominate again. :)

Our nominations so far:

Susan: The Verdict of You All by Henry Wade

Rosina: Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

Susan in NC: Murderer's Mistake by E.C.R. Lorac

Michaela: The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude

I would like to nominate Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare.

Judy, can you please let me know if it is available at a reasonable price?

Shaina wrote: "I would like to nominate Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare.

Judy, can you please let me know if it is available at a reasonable price?"

In the US it is available on kindle from Amazon for $2. Might have been free at sometime as I own a copy.

Sandy wrote: "Shaina wrote: "I would like to nominate Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare.

Judy, can you please let me know if it is available at a reasonable price?" ..."

In the UK it's £1.49 on Kindle, so that is very reasonable! Thanks for the nomination, Shaina, and thanks for checking the US price, Sandy.

Some great nominations here. Will be so hard to choose.

Thank you, Judy and Sandy! The GR description of the book seems different from the Amazon description hence I didn't add that bit. If someone has a reliable description of the plot please feel free to share it.

Thanks, Shaina - I haven't read it, but I have seen one or two comments in reviews saying the Amazon description has spoilers.

I've just had a look around and I think this is a reliable description (from the Faber Finds edition):

An Inspector Mallett mystery, originally published in 1939, by one of the best-loved Golden Age crime writers, Cyril Hare. Inspector Mallett's stay at the country house hotel of Pendlebury Old Hall has been a disappointment.

Room, food and service have been a letdown and he eagerly anticipates the end of his holiday.

His last trial is to sit and listen when an elderly and boorish man, whose family once owned the house, joins his table.

The next day the man is dead and Mallett unwittingly finds himself investigating the suspicious 'suicide'.

Thank you, Judy! I appreciate your effort.

Judy wrote: "Thanks Michaela - it has been read here before but that was five years ago (one of the group's very first reads!), so it is fine to nominate again. :)"

Sorry! Didn´t find it on the bookshelf...

Michaela wrote: "Judy wrote: "Thanks Michaela - it has been read here before but that was five years ago (one of the group's very first reads!), so it is fine to nominate again. :)"

Sorry! Didn´t find it on the bookshelf..."

It's no problem - most current members probably didn't belong to the group then! And those of us who did have probably forgotten the plot by now (speaking for myself anyway!)

Sandy wrote: "Shaina wrote: "I would like to nominate Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare.

Judy, can you please let me know if it is available at a reasonable price?"

In the US it is ..."
It’s available on Scribd, also. All of these sound good!

Another recap on our nominations so far:

Susan: The Verdict of You All by Henry Wade

Rosina: Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

Susan in NC: Murderer's Mistake by E.C.R. Lorac

Michaela: The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude

Shaina: Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare

Any more nominations to add to this great selection?

I'll pass on a nomination this month.

The poll for our March group read is now open - please cast your votes!

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

For those in the US, 'Murder Most Unladylike' is 'Murder is Bad Manners' (heavens only knows why - we understand the term "unladylike").

Sandy wrote: "For those in the US, 'Murder Most Unladylike' is 'Murder is Bad Manners' (heavens only knows why - we understand the term "unladylike")."

Oh, yay, it sounded so fun, but I couldn’t find it under that title - but Scribd has Murder Is Bad Manners - thanks so much! i want to read them all, but that was the only title I couldn’t find, I think.

Thanks for the info, Sandy. I'm really surprised by that change of title - publishers don't make it easy for us by having so many different titles in different countries!

Have you voted yet? The poll is open for a few more days. The Cornish Coast Murder is currently winning, with Murder Most Unladylike aka Murder Is Bad Manners in second spot.

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

I couldn't see how to vote.. Link just showed me what has already been tallied. What am I doing wrong??? Actually, they all seem good to me.

ChrisGA wrote: "I couldn't see how to vote.. Link just showed me what has already been tallied. What am I doing wrong??? Actually, they all seem good to me."

It normally only shows the score so far if you have already voted (and if so, it will have 'change your vote' beneath it). It looks as if you voted for The Cornish Coast Mystery. If this is so, there will be an asterisk beside the title.

That's strange! I'm not sure why that is, Chris, unless it thinks you have already voted - do you have a "change your vote" option?!

From memory (I can't test it as I have already voted) it is really easy to vote without meaning to if you click on the box intending to look at the book.

Sandy wrote: "From memory (I can't test it as I have already voted) it is really easy to vote without meaning to if you click on the box intending to look at the book."

That happened to me in the beginning, but you can always change your vote.

Whatever happened, I am happy with Cornish Mystery. I'll be more alert next time. Thanks for the advice.

At the bottom of the vote is comments and then, beneath that, is an option to change your vote. If the vote is close and people know their choice won't win, then they can opt for another one.

We have a winner - The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude, which will be our March group read.

Full results:

The Cornish Coast Murder (Inspector Bigswell) 11 votes, 42.3%

Murder Most Unladylike (Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries, #1) 9 votes, 34.6%

Suicide Excepted 4 votes, 15.4%

Murderer's Mistake 2 votes, 7.7%

The Verdict of You All 0 votes, 0.0%

The poll result means we'll have group reads by John Bude two months running, as we also have The Cheltenham Square Murder in February.

This shows how popular John Bude is with group members - looking forward to both discussions, but we will be asking for no Bude nominations in the next couple of polls, to give other authors a chance!