Appointment With Agatha discussion

Can you believe that it is time to start taking nominations for the January, 2021 mystery side read? Holy cow, people, it looks like this year will actually come to an end at some point.

Our theme for January is:

January: Planes, Trains and Boats - Murder by Transport

I jiggled themes about a bit for next year. A good chunk of our January Christie - The Man in the Brown Suit - takes place on a steamer bound for Africa. So, for January, our side-read will be a mystery published in 1971 or earlier, in which a mode of transport plays a prominent role (that was written by anyone other than Agatha Christie, obviously)!

So, let the nominations begin...

The nomination process will close on 11/14/2020, poll will go live on 11/15/2020.

Nominations:

Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate (nominated by BrokenTune)
Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh (nominated by Lillelara)
The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White (nominated by Mark)
Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries (anthology edited by Martin Edwards (nominated by Themis-Athena)
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (nominated by Deborah)
The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart (nominated by Tara)
Death of an Airman by Christopher St. John Sprigg (nominated by Michaela)
Flying Finish by Dick Francis (nominated by Peregrina651)

I was reeeealy tempted to nominate Graham Greene's Stamboul Train but I've decided to go instead with John Dickson Carr's Murder in the Submarine Zone.

Ok, I have not read this one yet but am planning to, so my nomination is: Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate.

(I have, however, read Postgate's Verdict of Twelve and thought it was excellent!)

Mark wrote: "I was reeeealy tempted to nominate Graham Greene's Stamboul Train but I've decided to go instead with John Dickson Carr's Murder in the Submarine Zone."

I thought of Stamboul Train, too, but...

BrokenTune wrote: "Mark wrote: "I thought of Stamboul Train, too, but..."

But what? Wouldn't it qualify?

Mark:

I have done some preliminary checking and it looks to me like that book is out of print and very difficult to source. I checked Amazon, and there are about 8 used copies under the alternative name of Nine and Death Makes Ten; my library has zero copies of the book under either title, and there are just a few copies available on Abebooks.

Do you have a reliable source for the book that I'm missing? If not, I think I will have to reject that nomination because I don't think enough people will be able to locate it. Let me know if I'm missing something here! It's too bad, because it looks really good.

Stamboul train definitely qualifies - I read it last year.

Christine PNW wrote: "Do you have a reliable source for the book that I'm missing?"

I checked using BookFinder; while the Murder in the Submarine Zone search didn't identify copies cheaper than $35, when I tried with Nine and Death Makes Ten I turned up some for under $10.

I´m going to nominate Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh.

Mark wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "Do you have a reliable source for the book that I'm missing?"

I checked using BookFinder; while the search didn't identify copies cheaper than $35, when I tried with Nine an..."

I don't think that there is enough availability for that book to put it on the nominations list - would you like to go with your second choice of Orient Express by Graham Greene instead?

Christine PNW wrote: "I don't think that there is enough availability for that book to put it on the nominations list - would you like to go with your second choice of Orient Express by Graham Greene instead? "

No; I'll nominate Ethel Lina White's The Wheel Spins instead.

Mark wrote: "No; I'll nominate Ethel Lina White's The Wheel Spins instead."

Oooh - good one! That's already on one of my potential lists for next year!

Mark wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "Mark wrote: "I thought of Stamboul Train, too, but..."

But what? Wouldn't it qualify?"

Oh, it definitely qualifies. And I really woldn't mind a re-read but there are so many, many books to choose from for nominations for this category. And I haven't read the Postgate, yet. :)

Lillelara wrote: "I´m going to nominate Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh."

That also looks great!

Mark wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "I don't think that there is enough availability for that book to put it on the nominations list - would you like to go with your second choice of Orient Express by Graham Gree..."

That's The Lady Vanishes, isn't it? That is a great nomination.

BrokenTune wrote: "That's The Lady Vanishes, isn't it? That is a great nomination."

It is indeed. I'm curious to see how they compare.

Mark wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "That's The Lady Vanishes, isn't it? That is a great nomination."

It is indeed. I'm curious to see how they compare."

I have a reading project in mind for next year - classic mysteries to classic movies - and this is definitely on my prospective list. I want to read the book and then watch the movie.

Do we have to nominate novels? If not, I'd like to nominate the British Library Crime Classics "Blood on the Tracks" anthology -- which I read this summer and thought was one of the more enjoyable entries in the BLCC series of short story anthologies, edited by Martin Edwards.

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Do we have to nominate novels? If not, I'd like to nominate the British Library Crime Classics "Blood on the Tracks" anthology -- which I read this summer and thought was one of the more enjoyable ..."

Anthologies are fine, as long as they aren't too obscure - so this one works!

I´d like to read both of the BLCC! :)

I nominate strangers on a train

Christine PNW wrote: "I have a reading project in mind for next year - classic mysteries to classic movies - and this is definitely on my prospective list. I want to read the book and then watch the movie."

The movie is interesting as an anti-appeasement call-to-arms in the face of the growing dangers on the Continent. I'm also curious to see how it compares to the source material.

Christine PNW wrote: "I have a reading project in mind for next year - classic mysteries to classic movies - and this is definitely on my prospective list. I want to read the book and then watch the movie."

That's a fun idea! I've started doing that with our Christie reads and its interesting to see the similarities and differences.

I would like to nominate The Man in the Lower Ten, written by Mary Roberts Rinehart, who was dubbed the American Agatha Christie.

So many good books, but there´s still one I want to nominate: Death of an Airman by Christopher St. John Sprigg

Michaela wrote: "So many good books, but there´s still one I want to nominate: Death of an Airman by Christopher St. John Sprigg"

I was having difficulty finding an air-centric mystery -- this looks like a good one!

On the bright side, we will no doubt use this theme on multiple occasions!

Lillelara wrote: "I´m going to nominate Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh."

Clutch of Constables was also great, but didn't want to nominate 2 Marsh books.

Mark wrote: "Michaela wrote: "So many good books, but there´s still one I want to nominate: Death of an Airman by Christopher St. John Sprigg"

I was having difficulty finding a..."

Another good one is The 12:30 from Croydon.

Tara wrote: "Mark wrote: "Michaela wrote: "So many good books, but there´s still one I want to nominate: Death of an Airman by Christopher St. John Sprigg"

I was having difficu..."

There are so many, and it's a theme that I really enjoy!

I did open up a thread under "Themes and Variations" to discuss this type of book more broadly. Whether you want to nominate a book or not (and remember, only one nomination per person, please), feel free to post it over there. It would be fun to get some themed booklists going, so if members want a specific type/theme/element in their reading, they can find some suggestions!

The early Dick Francis tales fit our time frame, so I am going to nominate Flying Finish (1966) -- one of two early books that feature airplanes prominently/centrally in the plot.
Flying Finish

Peregrina651 wrote: "The early Dick Francis tales fit our time frame, so I am going to nominate Flying Finish (1966) -- one of two early books that feature airplanes prominently/centrally in the plot.
[book:Flying Fin..."

Very nice! I've never read Dick Francis, but that looks like fun. It's not available for kindle, but there are a lot of inexpensive MMPB copies floating around used.

It's not available for kindle, but there are a lot of inexpensive MMPB copies floating around used.

I have it on audio but it is no longer available on AudibleUS :-(. Don't know about AudibleUK, etc.

It is on KindleUS: https://smile.amazon.com/Flying-Finis...

Also, lots of libraries will have Flying Finish - Dick Francis continues to be popular.

Christine PNW wrote: "Mark:

I have done some preliminary checking and it looks to me like that book is out of print and very difficult to source. I checked Amazon, and there are about 8 used copies under the alternativ..."

Stamboul Train is available on AudibleUSA:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Stamboul-T...

We've been stable with the nominations for well over a week, so I went live with the poll!

Barring a clear winner, the top two vote getters will go to a runoff after the initial poll closes. You have 10 days to vote!

Find the poll here!

Christine PNW wrote: "We've been stable with the nominations for well over a week, so I went live with the poll!

Barring a clear winner, the top two vote getters will go to a runoff after the initial poll closes. You h..."

Lots of good choices Christine, its hard to pick just one!