Monthly Archives: January 2011

My Favourite Mysteries – Part Two

Posted on January 30, 2011 by

For those who want a more European flavour, Mrs Peabody has presented her list of Top Five Nordic Crime. In the meantime, here is the rest of mine. I’ve thought about how to talk about the mysterious number 8 (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Ellery Queen, Inspector Banks, Jasper Fforde, Mark Billingham, Mervyn Stone, Nev Fountain, Peter Robinson, Science Fiction, Terry Pratchett, Tom Thorne, Top Fives | 4 Comments

There Was An Old Woman by Ellery Queen

Posted on January 30, 2011 by

Ellery Queen is confusing – not only is he the detective in his books, the character is a writer of detective fiction, although in the books he writes, he is not the detective. So Ellery Queen writes about Ellery Queen … Continue reading →

Posted in Ellery Queen | 15 Comments

Water-blue Eyes (Ojos de Agua) by Domingo Villar

Posted on January 29, 2011 by

I promised myself when I started writing this blog to always start with the positive things about a book. Well, Water-blue Eyes is short. Um… can’t think of much else at the moment. This book is from 2006 originally having … Continue reading →

Posted in Domingo Villar, Leo Caldas, Translated Fiction | 3 Comments

My Favourite Mysteries – Part One

Posted on January 29, 2011 by

There are a few “Top Twenty” mystery lists floating round at the moment, but I’m not going to try for twenty. I have a habit of finding an author that I like and sticking to them like glue until I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Agatha Christie, Carter Dickson, Ellery Queen, Gideon Fell, Hercule Poirot, Jeffery Deaver, John Dickson Carr, Katherine Dance, Lincoln Rhyme, Locked Rooms and Impossible Murders, Miss Marple, Sir Henry Merrivale, Top Fives | 11 Comments

The False Inspector Dew by Peter Lovesey

Posted on January 27, 2011 by

Another new author for the blog, but it certainly won’t be his last appearance – I bought a job lot of four of his books from eBay! Peter Lovesey has been writing crime fiction for forty years now, with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Peter Lovesey | 7 Comments

A Couple of Other Blogs

Posted on January 22, 2011 by

Anyone interested in my burblings might like to check out a couple of other crime fiction blogs that have come my way. First, there’s The Game’s Afoot, written by José Ignacio Escribano. It’s got plenty of reviews of both modern … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 2 Comments

More Things Impossible: The Second Casebook of Dr Sam Hawthorne by Edward D Hoch

Posted on January 22, 2011 by

The second collection of the cases of Dr Sam Hawthorne is a significant step-up from the first. That was a high quality set of locked room murders and impossible crimes, but as it detailed the first stories in the series, … Continue reading →

Posted in Edward D Hoch, Locked Rooms and Impossible Murders, Sam Hawthorne, Short Stories | 6 Comments

4:50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie

Posted on January 21, 2011 by

An interesting set-up for this one – as a train overtakes another, a friend of Jane Marple spots, in the other train, a man strangling a woman. She reports it, but, being a little old lady, no-one believes her, especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Agatha Christie, Miss Marple | 3 Comments

Cursed Among Sequels by Nev Fountain

Posted on January 19, 2011 by

Sometimes when you read a mystery novel, you start to worry that the writer isn’t trying very hard. While the villain of the piece is being kept secret, it seems to be stunningly obvious who it is from the start, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mervyn Stone, Nev Fountain, Science Fiction | 13 Comments

Mrs Peabody

Posted on January 19, 2011 by

Just thought I’d draw my readers’ attention to Mrs Peabody Investigates, another crime writing blog. Mrs Peabody seems better read than me, and has more of a taste for European fiction, so I would encourage anyone reading my posts to … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 1 Comment