My Book Club is changing things up a little for May with a collection of short stories. Under the aegis of author and editor Martin Edwards, the British Library has published a number of these collections. Although they all tend to provide a mini-survey of mystery fiction, ranging from the pre-GAD era to the modern … Continue reading LONDON SHORTS WEATHER: Book Club Reads Capital Crimes
My Book Club
DEATH AND DELIGHT ON THE HIGH C’S: Edmund Crispin’s Swan Song
Picture, if you dare, last month’s meeting of Book Club: We gathered on Zoom with grave faces, struggling to figure out how to fill the two hours with talk about a very dull book. As it turned out, we made short shrift of a desultory conversation about The Gutenberg Murders and devoted the bulk of our time in a group … Continue reading DEATH AND DELIGHT ON THE HIGH C’S: Edmund Crispin’s Swan Song
BOOK CLUB BLUES: Bristow/Manning Sequel Drags the Marsh
Three months after the fact, the world is still reeling from my extraordinary upset win in the 2021 Reprint-of-the-Year Awards, when Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning’s 1930 debut novel, The Invisible Host, beat out J.D. Carr’s Till Death Do Us Part for the grand prize, (a deluxe lounge suite from Broyhill). The folks over at Dean Street Press … Continue reading BOOK CLUB BLUES: Bristow/Manning Sequel Drags the Marsh
BOOK CLUB ’22: January, Going In Blind
“‘We are at war’ he whispered into the darkness. ‘Every combatant in the world is against us - fighting our peace with every weapon they know.’ He sat up suddenly and shook his fist into the darkness. ‘I’ll beat you,’ he exclaimed so loudly that Schnucke stood up and came to the bedside. ‘You think you’ve wrecked … Continue reading BOOK CLUB ’22: January, Going In Blind
BOOK REPORT #5: The Flynn Dilemma
“Let me admit, first of all, that I am a perfectly rotten hand at telling a story.” Truer words have never been stated. Dr. Michael Bannerman, the narrator of Brian Flynn’s 11th (or is it 12th) Anthony Bathurst myustery, The Edge of Terror, is a terrible narrator. He uses twelve words where one would suffice. He out … Continue reading BOOK REPORT #5: The Flynn Dilemma
BOOK REPORT #4: Death Walks in Eastrepps
Way back in the Fun Times – early 2019, to be exact – I stumbled (almost literally) upon a new/old author (for me) named Francis Beeding in my favorite local bookstore, bought and read the book, Murdered One by One, and subsequently shared my thoughts in high epistolary style with my buddy, Bev Hankin, who … Continue reading BOOK REPORT #4: Death Walks in Eastrepps
BOOK REPORT #2: The Red Right Hand
I am a slow reader. I’ll grant you it’s a bit of a liability when you blog about books. I’ve complained about it to my friends, but they aren’t sympathetic. Not the Puzzle Doctor, who posts every day, usually about these big historical mysteries or heavyweight psychological thrillers or dull, er, dense, um . . . John … Continue reading BOOK REPORT #2: The Red Right Hand
Ah Sweet Mystery! 