Agatha Christie / Authors / Book Reviews / Golden Age / Novels / Post-Golden Age

4.50 From Paddington (1957) – Agatha Christie

When Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a murder through her train window, who else could she turn to for help but her friend Jane Marple? Even Miss Marple might find it difficult to locate the body, though. But after some clever reasoning, Miss Marple sends for housekeeper extraordinaire, Lucy Eyelesbarrow, who proves more than up to the task of investigating. She charms her way into the hearts of the isolated and unhappy Crackenthorpe family, but finding the corpse is only the first obstacle, as uncovering its…

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17 December, 2024

Anthony Gilbert / Authors / Book Reviews / Golden Age / Novels

Death in Fancy Dress (1933) – Anthony Gilbert

Lawyer Tony Keith bumps into his old friend Jeremy Freyne, who has decided to give up his life of adventure and marry the vivacious Hilary Feltham. Unfortunately for Jeremy, civil servant Arthur Dennis has got there first. When Tony is called in to investigate the possibility of a blackmail ring centering on Hilary's home at Feltham Abbey, Jeremy jumps at the invitation. Their contact at the Abbey is one Arthur Dennis…They find the Abbey in an uproar - Hilary has given Arthur the slip…

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1 December, 2024

Color Gray Games / Developers / Video games

The Rise of the Golden Idol (2024) – Color Gray Games

I've always been meaning to sprinkle a few reviews of mystery games onto the blog, but haven't got round to it until now.The Rise of the Golden Idol is a sequel to The Case of the Golden Idol, which released in 2022. That was a game which I did enjoy, but found frustrating at times. The basic gameplay remains the same between the two titles:On selecting a case, you're presented with a scene, paused at a particular moment (to be exact, it's like time…

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24 November, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Golden Age / John Dickson Carr / Novels

Hag’s Nook (1933) – John Dickson Carr

Old, decrepit, and disused, Chatterham Prison still stoops out of the damp earth of the Lincolnshire fens, its crumbling stones held together by ivy and tradition. One tradition is written out in legal documents drafted by Anthony Starberth, the first Governor of the prison: on his twenty-fifth birthday, the Starberth heir must unlock the door to the Governor's old office, unlock the safe, then read what's inside. The other tradition is written in no documents, but still holds true: the Starberths die of broken…

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9 November, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Joseph Hone / Modern / Non-fiction

The Book Forger (2024) – Joseph Hone

I first discovered the story of Thomas Wise and the 19th Century Pamphlets via two reviews - one from Dorothy L. Sayers and one from Anthony Boucher. They were reviewing two different books, but seemed to find the real life case they both centred on to be a fascinating example of a real-life detective story. Faced with these endorsements, I had to look up the Enquiry Into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets - and I quickly became obsessed. Since reading that book…

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27 October, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Novels / P. D. James / Post-Golden Age

An Unsuitable Job For A Woman (1972) – P. D. James

Young Cordelia Gray finds herself the sole owner of a private detective agency after the suicide of her partner Bernie. Fortunately for the business, wealthy scientist Sr Ronald Callendar soon hires her to investigate the death of his son. Not that there was anything suspicious about it. It's just that Mark Callendar committed suicide, and Sir Ronald wants to know why. Cordelia travels to Cambridge to investigate, and inserts herself into Mark's social circle. After spending time at the cottage where he stayed in…

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19 October, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / E. C. R. Lorac / Golden Age / Novels

These Names Make Clues (1937) – E. C. R. Lorac

A chance encounter with publisher Graham Coombe leads to Chief Inspector Macdonald getting an invite to his "Treasure Hunt"; a party where attendees must solve cryptic clues in order to find treasure. With all the guests apparently unknown to each other and going under literary pseudonyms, the evening gets off to a good start - until the lights go out, and a body is found in the telephone room. The dead man is Andrew Gardien, mystery writer, and something of a mystery himself. Further…

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12 October, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Georgette Heyer / Golden Age / Novels

Behold, Here’s Poison (1936) – Georgette Heyer

The objectionable patriarch truly is the most dangerous role in detective fiction. Gregory Matthews pops his clogs via poison at a time when almost every member of his family has reason to wish him ill. Might the culprit be his thrift-obsessed sister, Harriet? The dramatic Zoe, wife of his late brother, who goes out of her way to perform virtue; or maybe her children, Stella and Guy, who both have reasons to fear being severed from the inheritance. And who could leave out the…

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5 October, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Golden Age / H.C. Bailey / Short Stories

Mr. Fortune, Please (1927) – H.C. Bailey

I've previously come across H.C. Bailey's Reggie Fortune short stories via their appearances in the British Library Crime Classics anthologies, and I often count them as my favourites when they appear. Reggie Fortune is a medical doctor who becomes a consultant for the police. He often acts childishly, though he has a ruthless streak, and has an odd, elliptical way of speaking. He can seem omniscient at times, which is lucky, as he seems happy to cause justice to occur outside the limits of…

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21 September, 2024

Agatha Christie / Authors / News

Agatha Christie Festival 2024!

Every year, on the week of Agatha Christie's birthday, a festival is held in Torquay, her birthplace, to celebrate her life and works. There's a great variety of events, centring around talks on Christie-related topics, but also featuring plays, tours, and murder mystery events. This year, I attended it for the first time! I've always been put off by the distance, but it was very much worth making the trip. I started things off by watching the Peter Ustinov Evil Under the Sun for…

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17 September, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / John Finnemore / Modern

A Puzzle in Postcards – The Researcher’s First Murder

I received a mysterious package in the post last week. It appeared to be a book, but was really a box containing 100 curious postcards, which told the story of many murders. OK, so it was only mysterious because I'd forgot that I backed The Researcher's First Murder on Unbound several months ago and the "book" only just released. I'll call it a book for lack of a better term. This project is the brainchild of John Finnemore - noted British comedy writer. Those…

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7 September, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Golden Age / Novels / Rex Stout

The League of Frightened Men (1935) – Rex Stout

Twenty-five years ago, a group of Harvard students pulled a "prank" on underclassman Paul Chapin that went wrong and permanently damaged his leg. Some students became friends with Paul, and the more guilt-stricken ones formed a "League of Atonement". Now, Paul is a successful novelist who writes stories that may be violent revenge fantasies. Or are they just fantasies? Two members of the League have died recently, and an anonymous writer has sent threats to the remainder of the League. When league member Andrew…

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24 August, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Golden Age / John Dickson Carr / Novels

Poison In Jest (1932) – John Dickson Carr

When Jeff Marle returns home to Pennsylvania for the first time in years, he visits his old friends the Quayles. But the respectable family isn't as he remembered them - he's shocked by the tattered state of both the house and the Quayles' nerves. Patriarch Judge Quayle is poisoned right in front of Jeff and nearly dies, and this near-tragedy is followed by another poisoning, and then a more brutal attack. Without the help of his friend Bencolin, will Jeff manage to find the…

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17 August, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Christopher Bush / Golden Age / Novels

The Case of the Missing Minutes (1937) – Christopher Bush

The house of Highways, just outside the resort village of Seabreak, is home to Quentin Trowte and his granddaughter Jeanne. The servants live in a bungalow close by. Fearful of losing their positions, they ignore the screaming they hear every night, until at last they call in Ludovic Travers - via his sister Helen - to investigate.But on Travers' first night-time visit to the house, he finds Quentin dying of a stab wound.While Travers begins to uncover the truth about Highways, young Jeanne goes…

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10 August, 2024

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Authors / Book Reviews / Novels / Seicho Matsumoto

Tokyo Express – Seichō Matsumoto (1958 trans. Jesse Kirkwood 2022)

Two bodies are found lying together on a windswept beach in southern Japan. Toki was a waitress at a Tokyo restaurant, and Sayama worked in a government department under investigation for corruption. The police believe the two must have committed suicide together. All except local inspector Jūtarō Torigai, who begins to have doubts. When dynamic Inspector Mihara of Tokyo's anti-corruption police hears about this, he picks up the investigation with a vengeance. He becomes suspicious of a successful businessman with friends in high places…

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3 August, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Clayton Rawson / Golden Age / Novels

Death From a Top Hat (1938) – Clayton Rawson

Freelance journalist Ross Harte finds a story right on his doorstep when his creepy neighbour Cesare Sabbat is murdered in his locked apartment - seemingly after summoning a demon. The problem seems impossible, and with the suspects full of magicians and psychics and showmen of every kind, knowing whose story can be believed is even more impossible. Enter The Great Merlini, whose magical mind is the only hope for finding the killer - but not before a few more impossible happenings are added to…

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27 July, 2024

Authors / John Dickson Carr

The Corpse in the Waxworks (1932) – John Dickson Carr

If Paris's Augustin Waxworks are known at all, it's for their frighteningly realistic Chamber of Horrors. So when a woman disappears there, and a ghost appears, naturally Henri Bencolin is interested. But a night-time investigation brings more than he bargained for, as a fresh corpse has been added to the roster of horrors. The trail soon leads to the manipulative Etienne Galant, and a secret club for high-class Parisians. It's been a long time since I've written about Carr. I'd been anticipating The Corpse…

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13 July, 2024

Authors / Joel Townsley Rogers

The Red Right Hand (1945) – Joel Townsley Rogers

Dr Harry Riddle and Elinor Darrie are sheltering in a remote Connecticut holiday home. Outside lurks a crazed killer. The police are out searching for him. His next target is Elinor, who lies asleep on the couch. Dr Riddle, desperate, trawls back through the nightmarish events of that day in search of answers. Dr Riddle has seen nothing - and yet, the madman's joyride must have driven right through him. Dr Riddle searches his memories for the killer, and finds only echoes… In looking…

4 Comments

29 June, 2024

Authors / Book Reviews / Golden Age / Nicholas Blake / Novels

The Beast Must Die (1938) – Nicholas Blake

"I am going to kill a man. I don't know his name, I don't know where he lives, I have no idea what he looks like. But I am going to find him and kill him…" - so begins mystery writer Frank Cairnes' diary. Already a widower, after his son dies in a hit-and-run accident, he devotes himself to the goal of murdering the man responsible. A chance discovery sets him on the right path, and he soon inveigles his way into his would-be…

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18 June, 2024

News

Bodies From the Library 2024, and some London book-hunting

A few days ago, on June 1st, I went to Bodies From the Library for the second time. In case you're not familiar, Bodies From the Library is a conference hosted each year at the British Library, dedicated to classic detective fiction. This year's talks featured live sound effects, an abundance of pierrots and harlequins, enough academic mysteries to fill several blackboards, more Edmund Crispin and historic true-crime facts than would fit in 30 minutes, some Miss Marple myths firmly busted, a few classic…

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3 June, 2024