Reading the Detectives discussion

It's time to nominate for our April 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.

Also, books by John Bude have now won two months running, so please don't nominate anything by him this time around, to give other authors a chance! :)

I will nominate The Layton Court Mystery

Long out of print, this is a classic locked-room Golden Age mystery that introduced amateur sleuth Roger Sheringham.

A party at Layton Court, the country house of Victor Stanworth, is disrupted when the host is found shot through the forehead in his own library, a suicide as far as the police are concerned. After all, the gun is found in his hand, a note has been left, and the room is locked from the inside. But one of the guests, author Roger Sheringham, has his doubts. The bullet wound is not positioned where it could have been easily self-inflicted.

With a house full of partygoers and servants, suspects abound. It will take Sheringham’s sharp wit and fearless investigating to deduce who brought the festivities to a fatal end.

The founder of the Detection Club in London, along with Agatha Christie and other writers, Anthony Berkeley wrote numerous novels, sometimes using the pseudonyms Francis Iles and A. Monmouth Platts. The Layton Court Mystery is his first book in the Roger Sheringham Cases, which includes The Poisoned Chocolates Case and The Silk Stocking Murders, among other titles.

I know we did have an Anthony Berkeley recently too, so I can nominate something else, if people think there is not enough variety. Say 'Boo! No!" and I'll come up with another title.

I could try again with Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery by Carol Carnac (E.C.R. Lorac).

Michaela wrote: "I could try again with Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery by Carol Carnac (E.C.R. Lorac)."

You read my mind, I had requested that from my library because one of our members reviewed it positively, and I just picked it up last week! I will be reading it in the next few weeks!

I don’t know if this is possible, but I thought a collection from British Library Crime Classics would be nice, several authors at once, but often a great chance to sample individual styles, see what we like. Maybe an older collection would be easier to get? Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries was published a few years ago.plus, for April, holiday themed- hopefully things will be improved a bit by then, we may see holidays on the distant horizon...

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder

"This volume in Poisoned Pen's British Library Crime Classics series is ideal summer vacation reading." —Publishers Weekly

Holidays offer us the luxury of getting away from it all. So, in a different way, do detective stories. This collection of vintage mysteries combines both those pleasures. From a golf course at the English seaside to a pension in Paris, and from a Swiss mountain resort to the cliffs of Normandy, this new selection shows the enjoyable and unexpected ways in which crime writers have used summer holidays as a theme.

These fourteen stories range widely across the golden age of British crime fiction. Stellar names from the past are well represented—Arthur Conan Doyle and G. K. Chesterton, for instance—with classic stories that have won acclaim over the decades. The collection also uncovers a wide range of hidden gems: Anthony Berkeley—whose brilliance with plot had even Agatha Christie in raptures—is represented by a story so (undeservedly) obscure that even the British Library does not own a copy. The stories by Phyllis Bentley and Helen Simpson are almost equally rare, despite the success which both writers achieved, while those by H. C. Bailey, Leo Bruce and the little-known Gerald Findler have seldom been reprinted.

Each story is introduced by the editor, Martin Edwards, who sheds light on the authors' lives and the background to their writing.

I’m sure some members have read this one, if there is any interest in a collection for a monthly read, I can suggest another.

This collection sounds good too! I loved the Railway mysteries collection.

I will nominate The Bungalow Mystery by Annie Haynes

"He had his tea as usual; when I knocked at the door with the tray (he always had afternoon tea), I found him--like this."

Dr Roger Lavington is dreading his debut performance with the village amateur dramatic society. But real-world drama takes over when Lavington's neighbour, a reclusive artist, is found murdered in his own sitting room. Also found on the scene are a lady's glove, a diamond ring, and a mysterious young woman who begs Lavington for his protection. Her safety will depend on her ability to take a role in the forthcoming village play--but is Lavington sheltering a wronged woman or a clever murderess?

Some great suggestions already. Spoilt for choice!

Wow, some great choices. I really liked Crossed Skis and Resorting to Murder, and am keen to read more Annie Haynes and The Layton Court Mystery. As you say, Susan, spoilt for choice!

Michaela wrote: "This collection sounds good too! I loved the Railway mysteries collection."

I haven’t gotten to that yet, glad you liked it! That was going to be my next suggestion, but I wasn’t sure if it was too recently published, and not as easy to find. I tried to find one published earlier, I thought that might make it easier to find.

I would like to nominate Murder in Stained Glass by Margaret Armstrong:

Meet Miss Trumbull, a stout talkative New Yorker with perfect manners and a passion for sleuthing.


When the remains of temperamental artist, Frederick Ullathorne, are found in his own fiery kiln it looks like a ghastly murder has been committed. But with only a few bones as evidence the local police are getting nowhere fast. Can Miss Trumbull pick up the clues that the police are missing? Or will her interfering get her into trouble in more ways that one?



This delightful whodunnit by Margaret Armstrong was first published in 1939. It is the first in the American Queens of Crime series from Lost Crime Classics

I enjoyed Murder in Stained Glass - another great nomination! Thanks, Tara.

Nominations so far:

Susan: The Layton Court Mystery by Anthony Berkeley

Michaela: Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery by Carol Carnac aka E.C.R. Lorac

Susan in NC: Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards

Jill: The Bungalow Mystery by Annie Haynes

Tara: Murder in Stained Glass by Margaret Armstrong

The poll is now open - please cast your votes! We have 5 great titles to choose from. (I know I always say the nominations are brilliant, but they always are.)

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

Thanks, Judy.

All of the books are reasonably priced too, which is good.
Murder in Stained Glass is currently free in the UK.
The Bungalow Mystery 99p
The Layton Court Mystery £1.89
The other two titles £2.99 each.

I have four of these. Not sure that I have started all of them yet.

Susan wrote: "All of the books are reasonably priced too, which is good.
Murder in Stained Glass is currently free in the UK.
The Bungalow Mystery 99p
[book:The Layton Court Myste..."

Two of them, Crossed Skis and Resorting to Murder, are $8 in the US, but those are also the two available through my library.

And the winner is...

Murder in Stained Glass by Margaret Armstrong, which will be our April read.

Thank you to Tara for nominating the winner, and to everyone who nominated and voted.


Full results:
Murder in Stained Glass 9 votes, 34.6%
The Bungalow Mystery 7 votes, 26.9%
The Layton Court Mystery (The Roger Sheringham Cases) 4 votes, 15.4%
Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery (Julian Rivers #8) 3 votes, 11.5%
Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries 3 votes, 11.5%

Thanks, Judy.

A book I've owned for four years so I'm glad to be pushed to read it.

Me too - it must have been one of the daily deals that I snapped up then forgot about.

So happy I'll finally read one of the freebies off my kindle!

Tara wrote: "So happy I'll finally read one of the freebies off my kindle!"

They do pile up.

I remember reading this one a few years ago and enjoying it - I think it was from a publisher which only operated for a short time and then closed down again, but brought out a few goodies.

Okay, I will give it another try. I have started Stained Glass some time ago and I wasn't that thrilled with it. But I will try it again.

It seemed kind of cozy to me. Maybe I was being too harsh and hadn't really given it a fair shot.

Sandy wrote: "Tara wrote: "So happy I'll finally read one of the freebies off my kindle!"

They do pile up."
truth! I have 2 dozen, I think. and I just downloaded Murder in Stained Glass, lol. it will be fun with a group and I am OK with cozy.

Judy wrote: "And the winner is...

Murder in Stained Glass by Margaret Armstrong, which will be our April read.

Thank you to Tara for..."
Thanks, Judy - was able to get it free on Kindle, so yay! Also, as always with other nominations, got several more titles for the TBR list - can recommend Crossed Skis so far, got it when my library reopened, and it was excellent!

I think we all got lots of the Patricia Wentworth books free and have only read 1 with the group. I keep meaning to get to them, but you all know how that doesn't work.

Jill wrote: "I think we all got lots of the Patricia Wentworth books free and have only read 1 with the group. I keep meaning to get to them, but you all know how that doesn't work."

Amen, sister!

I've read quite a lot of the Wentworth freebies - they are good fun but I've found nearly all of those I've read are far-fetched romantic thrillers, rather than mysteries. Lovely comfort reading, anyway!

And goodness knows we need those!

Sadly can’t join in. Our library only has 1 reference copy & we haven’t been able to go in to access any reference materials (or browse) since last March. Can’t believe it’s been a whole year! 😢