Reading the Detectives discussion

Nominations please for our December 2020 group read!

Please nominate mystery/detective books written in/set in the GA period, or a little earlier or later. Christmas or winter-themed titles would be especially welcome.

As usual, just one nomination per group member. Also, only one book by any individual writer can be nominated per month.

I nominate Portrait of a Murderer by Anne Meredith.

"Adrian Gray was born in May 1862 and met his death through violence, at the hands of one of his own children, at Christmas, 1931." Thus begins a classic crime novel published in 1933, a riveting portrait of the psychology of a murderer.

Each December, Adrian Gray invites his extended family to stay at his lonely house, Kings Poplars. None of Gray's six surviving children is fond of him; several have cause to wish him dead. The family gathers on Christmas Eve - and by the following morning, their wish has been granted. This fascinating and unusual novel tells the story of what happened that dark Christmas night; and what the murderer did next.

Yay! Already on my TBR list!

Great nomination, Michaela, thank you - the British Library has published it under a Christmassy title, Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story, with a very snowy cover scene!

I see the same author wrote under the name Anthony Gilbert.

I like the series, thanks Judy! Have to get the book!

I'll nominate The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery

London. 22nd December. Chief Inspector Brett Nightingale and Sergeant Beddoes have been called to a gloomy flat off Islington High Street. An elderly woman lies dead on the bed, and her trunk has been looted. The woman is Princess Olga Karukhin – an émigré of Civil War Russia –and her trunk is missing its glittering treasure...

Out in the dizzying neon and festive chaos of the capital a colourful cast of suspects abound: the downtrodden grandson, a plutocratic jeweller, Bolsheviks with unfinished business? Beddoes and Nightingale have their work cut out in this tightly-paced, quirky and highly enjoyable jewel of the mystery genre.

Never sure how Christmassy these books really are, when they are re-published, but let's hope we find something for December which is fairly seasonal!

Ooh thank you Susan, I hadn't heard of The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery or the author, Mary Kelly. It sounds very Christmassy and intriguing from the description.

I already have Portrait of a Murderer, so win-win so far!

Yay, another on my TBR list!

Of course, nominations for December don't have to be Christmassy. Feel free to nominate something different.

Just two nominations so far - both great choices:

Michaela: Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story by Anne Meredith

Susan: The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery by Mary Kelly

Any more suggestions?

Susan wrote: "Of course, nominations for December don't have to be Christmassy. Feel free to nominate something different."

Very true - I said Christmas/winter themes would be welcome, but others are welcome too. :)

I'll nominate Her Royal Spyness, the first in a historical mystery series by Rhys Bowen, an author I really enjoy - it's not set at Christmas but looks as if it would be a fun read and does involve one or two banquets!

Georgie, aka Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, cousin of King George V of England, is penniless and trying to survive on her own as an ordinary person in London in 1932.

So far she has managed to light a fire and boil an egg... She's gate-crashed a wedding... She's making money by secretly cleaning houses... And she's been asked to spy for Her Majesty the Queen.

Everything seems to be going swimmingly until she finds a body in her bathtub... and someone is definitely trying to kill her.

So now we have three nominations...

Michaela: Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story by Anne Meredith

Susan: The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery by Mary Kelly

Judy: Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Any more nominations? The poll will go up mid-week.

I'll nominate Starring Miss Seeton which has been on my Christmas reading list for four years though I don't know why as it is well into the series and I'm usually a strict read-in-sequence sort. It may mean I own it (somewhere).

GR description: Retired art teacher Miss Seeton goes behind the scenes in Plummergen's annual Christmas pageant to work backstage. But, as usual, she soon finds herself in the spotlight when she accidentally uncovers a collection of rare silver. When murder soon follows, Miss Seeton plays the role of detective.

I don't read by season, so I have nothing to offer.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I don't read by season, so I have nothing to offer."

You can nominate anything else too! :)

Love the Royal Spyness series, though I haven´t come far yet! There´s also a holidays book, The Twelve Clues of Christmas, which I think is the sixth book in the series.

Michaela wrote: "Love the Royal Spyness series, though I haven´t come far yet! There´s also a holidays book, The Twelve Clues of Christmas, which I think is the sixth book in the series."

Thanks Michaela, I noticed there was a festive book, but thought I'd go with the first one anyway! Perhaps I will be up to that one next Christmas. :)

Sandy wrote: "I'll nominate Starring Miss Seeton which has been on my Christmas reading list for four years though I don't know why as it is well into the series and I'm usually a strict read-in-s..."

Thanks Sandy, looks good. I've been meaning to try Miss Seeton - she is supposed to have similarities with Miss Marple, I think?

Nominations so far:

Michaela: Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story by Anne Meredith

Susan: The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery by Mary Kelly

Judy: Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Sandy: Starring Miss Seeton by Hamilton Crane

Judy wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I'll nominate Starring Miss Seeton which has been on my Christmas reading list for four years though I don't know why as it is well into the series and I'm usually a st..."

I haven't read any of the books. Looking at this title, it is a continuation of the series started by a different author.

I couldn't find any Christmas related.

The Mystery of the Skeleton Key by Bernard Capes, published originally in 1919, republished by Detective Club Crime Classics in 2015. Currently $3.99 on Kindle.

Involves an "accident" at a shooting party. Accident apparently becomes less likely as the action shifts from Hampshire to Paris. My assumption is that others also fall victim.

These all sound really interesting. If people are starting to think about Christmas-themed reads in general then Dashiell Hamnett's The Thin Man is set over the Christmas holidays iirc, as is Celia Fremlin's The Long Shadow. I've read both of those so can't nominate them for this read. The Hamnett's pretty good but not as good as the movie version, and the Fremlin's not bad but not a patch on her The Hours Before Dawn

The Long Shadow is a buddy read on mine and Judy's other group, Reading the 20th Century, should anyone be interested. I am a big fan of Celia Fremlin, Alwynne - just discovered her this year and have been very impressed by what I have read so far.

Thank you Jan - The Mystery of the Skeleton Key looks like another interesting nomination. Bernard Capes is a new name to me.

Nominations so far:

Michaela: Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story by Anne Meredith

Susan: The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery by Mary Kelly

Judy: Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Sandy: Starring Miss Seeton by Hamilton Crane

Jan: The Mystery of the Skeleton Key by Bernard Capes

Last call for any other nominations - the poll will go up tomorrow.

Judy wrote: "Thank you Jan - The Mystery of the Skeleton Key looks like another interesting nomination. Bernard Capes is a new name to me."

I think it was his only mystery. He died shortly afterwards. He had other books but not in this genre.

Thanks Susan, I'll check that out. And yes I agree Fremlin's a really interesting writer, I'd definitely like to read more of her work.

I can't find Portrait of a Murderer available anywhere. Amazon says it's not available at this time.

Carol wrote: "I can't find Portrait of a Murderer available anywhere. Amazon says it's not available at this time."

Carol, this Kindle edition is available in the US.

Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Carol wrote: "I can't find Portrait of a Murderer available anywhere. Amazon says it's not available at this time."

Carol, this Kindle edition is available in the US.

[book:Portrait of a Murderer..."


Thanks! $10 is a little high for me, but since I wrote my comment, I found out that they have it in my library. So -- that's a win-win for me! :-)

Carol wrote: "I found out that they have it in my library."

Even better!

The poll is now up - please vote for the book you want to read!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

Oh, a draw at the moment. Who will break the deadlock?!

And the winner is... Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story by Anne Meredith, which will be our December group read.

Thanks to Michaela for the winning nomination and to all who nominated.

Full results:

Portrait of a Murderer: A Christmas Crime Story 12 votes, 44.4%
Her Royal Spyness (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #1) 6 votes, 22.2%
The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery 4 votes, 14.8%
Starring Miss Seeton (Miss Seeton, #16) 4 votes, 14.8%
The Mystery of the Skeleton Key 1 vote, 3.7%

Thanks, Judy.

Thanks, Judy, and thanks, Michaela!

oh, good, I found the ebook.
thank you for all your work on the poll!