This mammoth anthology is divided into two main parts with further subdivisions. The first Detection and Mystery starts with Biblical mysteries: The History of Bel (considered to be the first locked-room mystery) where Daniel reveals that the food offered to Bel is actually eaten by the priests. Daniel plays detective again in The History of … Continue reading #ClassicsClub: The Omnibus of Crime (ed.) by Dorothy L. Sayers (1929)
Tag: Thrillers
#Classic Club: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (1971)
There are certain books about which you know a lot despite never having read them. The book under review is one such. Frederick Forsyth is my father's favourite writer in English and his books used to adorn the showcase in the drawing room. Papa would also narrate the stories to us or some of the … Continue reading #Classic Club: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (1971)
A Traitor in Our Midst: Les Mystifies by Alain Reynaud-Fourton (1962)
Johny Gaddar (Johny the Traitor), released in 2007 and directed by Sriram Raghavan, is a Hindi neo-noir film that I absolutely love. So when recently I came to know that it is based on a French novel, Les Mystifies, I simply had to read that novel. Thankfully, I found it at that invaluable site, Internet … Continue reading A Traitor in Our Midst: Les Mystifies by Alain Reynaud-Fourton (1962)
#1954 Club: The Desperate Hours by Joseph Hayes
While looking around for a book to read for The 1954 Book Club jointly hosted by Karen @ Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings and Simon @ Stuck in a Book , I came across this little-known book by Joseph Hayes. A look at the blurb and I knew that it was the source of a taut Hindi … Continue reading #1954 Club: The Desperate Hours by Joseph Hayes
#GermanLitMonth: Three Crime Novels
The German Literature month has given me a wonderful opportunity to read three authors who had long been on my wishlist. Splinter by Sebastian Fitzek (2009) 'Back to the default position?' said Marc. 'A total reset?' Marc Lucas is a psychiatrist who has enough problems of his own. A few months prior to the beginning … Continue reading #GermanLitMonth: Three Crime Novels
In Pursuit: The Hunted Man by Walter S. Masterman (1938)
"Here, steady on! we are not in Chicago, you know."..."We are in London and that is far more dangerous because it is safer." Earlier this year I read The Death Coins by an author new to me - Walter S. Masterman. I did not enjoy the book but was also not ready to dismiss the … Continue reading In Pursuit: The Hunted Man by Walter S. Masterman (1938)
Friday’s Forgotten Book: … And Presumed Dead by Lucille Fletcher (1963)
The shadows stretched their arms to her. They cried in broken voices, just beyond, always beyond. There was no end. The ultimate cruelty, the ultimate uncertainty remained. The Indo-Pak war of 1971 resulted in the creation of Bangladesh (till then the East wing of Pakistan) and was won by India. However, like any other victory … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: … And Presumed Dead by Lucille Fletcher (1963)
# The 1920 Club: E.P. Oppenheim’s The Great Impersonation
The year is 1920. Kaiser Wilhelm II has abdicated. The Treaty of Versailles has been imposed signed. Contours and colours of possession have changed across the globe. The sun still doesn't set over the British Empire. Time perhaps to put the past behind... The Prince of Storytellers, however, has different ideas. In 1920 comes his … Continue reading # The 1920 Club: E.P. Oppenheim’s The Great Impersonation
Forgotten Book: Black-Out in Gretley by J.B. Priestley (1942)
Already he was somewhere else, muttering explanations in a German I couldn't follow. Suddenly he smiled, as if they were all friends again wherever he was and had begun playing Mozart, and a minute later he was dead.I stared from one to the other of these dead Germans, so far from anything they really understood, … Continue reading Forgotten Book: Black-Out in Gretley by J.B. Priestley (1942)
Trail of Blood: Henning Mankell’s The Man from Beijing
History can never give us exact knowledge of what will happen in the future: rather, it shows us that our ability to prepare ourselves for change is limited. (375)A couple of years ago, Stieg Larson and Scandanavian crime fiction were the flavour of the season. Everybody, but everybody, was talking about them. Finally, I too … Continue reading Trail of Blood: Henning Mankell’s The Man from Beijing
a hot cup of pleasure