Post-Golden Age Archives - Playing Detective

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

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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

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Authors / Book Reviews / Carol Carnac / Novels / Post-Golden Age

Crossed Skis (1952) – Carol Carnac

Stifled by grey post-WW2 London, Bridget Manners and a group of her friends (and friends of friends) escape to the beautiful ski slopes of Lech in Austria. Their bliss is only slightly disrupted by a few odd incidents.Meanwhile, back in London, Mrs Stein's house has burned down - and sadly, one of her tenants seems to have perished from the blaze. A chance observation - the print of a ski pole - links the case to a daring bank robbery from a few months…

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25 May, 2024

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Authors / Book Reviews / Helen McCloy / Novels / Post-Golden Age

Mr. Splitfoot – Helen McCloy (1968)

Fifteen year old Lucinda's parents Francis and Folly are hosting a dinner party at their mansion high in the Catskill Mountains; the invited guests are Francis' literary agent David Crowe and his wife Serena, and the head of the publishing house Bradford Alcott and his wife Ginevra. Resentful of the adults - particularly her stepmother Folly - Lucinda plots with her friend Vanya to scare them with a supernatural manifestation of "Mr Splitfoot". But things don't quite go to plan. First, Dr. Basil Willing…

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5 November, 2023