There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
Recently, I read J.M. Walsh's The Hand of Doom. The author was new to me and the book proved to be no great shakes but the book had a list of other novels on its back pages. The books listed, except for those of Brian Flynn, were absolutely new to me. I hadn't even heard … Continue reading From the Back Pages: How many have you read? [Part I]
Grennel and Crammond (I think they have first names too but they never registered and I am too bored to look them up) are two collectors but while Crammond is someone who is generally interested in the antique artifacts that come his way as a way of increasing his knowledge, Grennel is a fence who … Continue reading Black Magic: The Hand of Doom by J.M. Walsh (1927)
"One of them did it, of course," he told himself, "but we shall never know which, so what the hell?" A tense figure waits near a staircase, in anticipation. Suddenly there is a cry of fire and panicked figures come running out of the dark, converging near the staircase. A candle is lighted but before … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Mouse who wouldn’t play Ball by Anthony Gilbert (1943)
He seemed like a grim facade that half hides and half reveals the ruin behind. The Modstone detective agency receives an unusual caller. Lord Barbury wants to enter into politics but fears that his wife is having an affair with Stephen Crawley, a labour MP. He wants the agency (which is known for its integrity … Continue reading Debut: Murder in Bostall by Paul McGuire (1931)
Have you ever noticed in murder cases how often it's some trivial detail that tips the scale? Some flower-seller or some old woman running out to the post or a dog getting run over at a moment when you couldn't allow for any of those things happening... Janet Scott, wife of a young solicitor, Gerald … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: Treason in My Breast by Anthony Gilbert (1938)
Betty Willcock and Kenneth Strange are enjoying some stolen moments at a river bank when a man with a dog walks by them. The two young people are deeply in love and want to get married but there are financial considerations that are hindering their path and both of them are tense regarding their relationship … Continue reading Marital Conflict: The Seeds of Hate by Harry Carmichael (1960)
Author Belton Cobb had been on my reading radar since I read this post @ Pretty Sinister Books. Though I didn't get the book that John has praised so handsomely, recently I was able to borrow two other mysteries by him. Inspector Burmann's Black Out "You may know, Inspector- but I don't - that you … Continue reading Two Books by Belton Cobb
The Coles, Margaret and her husband Douglas, were activists and intellectuals who wrote on weighty subjects but also wrote some 30+ mysteries. Over the years since I first read them, I have read a few more of their books but have been amiss in reviewing them. This week, however, I finished two more of their … Continue reading Two Mysteries by G.D.H. and Margaret Cole
a hot cup of pleasure 