Here are short notes on three mysteries read this year which began well but ultimately turned out to be disappointing. The Creaking Chair by Laurence Meynell (1941) My first disappointment by Laurence Meynell . Barbara's marriage with Captain Gerald Gale is falling apart. Once a handsome soldier, Gerald has slowly become an alcoholic who has … Continue reading Three Disappointing Vintage Mysteries
Tag: 1935
#WIT #Classics Club: Men Never Know by Vicki Baum (1935)
We all die at some time in our lives without being buried. Our destiny has been fulfilled; we have received all that life had to give us, and we have given all that was in us to give. What succeeds no longer deserves the name of life. The world is full of people who are … Continue reading #WIT #Classics Club: Men Never Know by Vicki Baum (1935)
Last read of 2023: The Deadly Jest by Virgil Markham (1935)
As 2023 draws to a close (where did it go?) I am scribbling a few lines about my last finished read of the year: Virgil Markham's The Deadly Jest. https://www.dustjackets.com/pages/books/17913/virgil-markham/deadly-jest-the The book opens with an avaricious and unnamed English Lord who wants a particular object for his collection and is willing to try even illegal … Continue reading Last read of 2023: The Deadly Jest by Virgil Markham (1935)
Cupidity: Third Time Unlucky by Laurence W. Meynell (1935)
Chris Jansen is a harassed young man. His landlady is asking for her rent to be paid. His fabrication that he is about to inherit money is unravelling. His boss, Arthur Stevens, according to him, does not appreciate his talents. And Julian Bayleck, a moneylender he had borrowed money from is threatening him with dire … Continue reading Cupidity: Third Time Unlucky by Laurence W. Meynell (1935)
Last Read of 2022: The Twisted Tree by Frank Baker (1935)
Oh, my dear Lord! thought Tansy. What are we all here for at all, if it's nothing but a long walk from cradle to grave? I had wanted to read more of British author Frank Baker since the time I read his intriguing Miss Hargreaves. Finally, I was able to get a copy of his … Continue reading Last Read of 2022: The Twisted Tree by Frank Baker (1935)
Two Mysteries by G.D.H. and Margaret Cole
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
Friday’s Forgotten Books: Two Books by Val Gielgud and Holt Marvell
I have been facing a major blogging block but now the review pile has grown so big that I must really start writing or else... Val Gielgud and Holt Marvell are new authors for me. Little information is available on the duo except that both worked at the BBC, Marvell's real name was Eric Mashwitz, … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Books: Two Books by Val Gielgud and Holt Marvell
Top Ten (+4) Tuesdays: New Authors 2021
This week in Top Ten Tuesdays hosted @That Artsy Reader Girl, we have been asked to name top ten (or more or less) new authors whom we discovered last year. Well, last year I read a host of new authors from those whom I made a special point to read like Reginald Hill and Shelley … Continue reading Top Ten (+4) Tuesdays: New Authors 2021
(Impossible) Crime in Translation: The Seventh Guest by Gaston Boca (1935)
Then a dispute arose between d’Arlon, his wife, and Émile. There were six of us, including Émile, who were supposed to share the table. But seven settings had been laid.Émile claimed he had taken the number of place settings prepared by his mistress. She claimed to have laid out the correct number. According to John … Continue reading (Impossible) Crime in Translation: The Seventh Guest by Gaston Boca (1935)
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Poison in the Parish by Milward Kennedy (1935)
Miss Tomlin's body is exhumed six months after she died thanks to vicious rumours going round the village. O perhaps not merely rumours for the body is found to be full of arsenic. The Chief Constable asks his friend, the physically challenged Francis Antony to dig around a little so that they can find the … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: Poison in the Parish by Milward Kennedy (1935)
a hot cup of pleasure