Appointment With Agatha discussion

We are a little bit behind in the selection process for the February side-read. I apologize.

Our main read for February is The Secret of Chimneys, which combines thriller/political intrigue in a very Agatha Christie fashion. To match up with Chimney's we are looking for nominations of golden age mysteries with political themes - maybe it involves a member of parliament, or something related to the foreign service, or a plotting about a far-away country, real or imagined!

I'll start with a nomination of a book that I quite enjoyed when I read it:

1. The Division Bell Mystery by Ellen Wilkinson
2. Below the Clock by J.V. Turner
3. Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout
4. The Third Man by Graham Greene
5. Call for the Dead by John le Carré

Because we are on a bit of a short timeframe, nominations will remain open either untll we get six nominations or Sunday, January 3rd, at which point I'll set up the poll.

That´s on my tbr list, great! :)

Christine PNW wrote: "I'll start with a nomination of a book that I quite enjoyed when I read it:

The Division Bell Mystery by Ellen Wilkinson"

That would have been my first choice, too! I'll happily reread it.

Though, J.V. Turner's "Below the Clock" makes for an interesting companion read, I suppose, so I'll go with that one as my nomination.

I will nominate Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout. Featuring fencing, international skulduggery, royals, and the gang at the brownstone on W. 35th St. in the late 30s.

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads wrote: "I will nominate Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout. Featuring fencing, international skulduggery, royals, and the gang at the brownstone on W. 35th St. in the late 30s."

Oh, I love the looks of this one!

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads wrote: "I will nominate Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout. Featuring fencing, international skulduggery, royals, and the gang at the brownstone on W. 35th St. in the late 30s."

Oh yes, that's a great one, too!

I would like to nominate The Third Man by Graham Greene. I've never read, but of course the movie is a classic, and I'm betting the book is even better!

Tara wrote: "I would like to nominate The Third Man by Graham Greene. I've never read, but of course the movie is a classic, and I'm betting the book is even better!"

Good one!

You had me at skulduggery, Susanna!
I nominate Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout.

Marie wrote: "You had me at skulduggery, Susanna!
I nominate Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout."

Thanks, Marie - it does look good. Once I get the poll up, I'll post the link here so that you can officially vote for it as well!

This is a much less common theme for mysteries, and I suspected that we would have fewer nominations. I'm leaving the nominations open for a couple more days - through Sunday - so if you can come up with something, post it here!

What about Le Carré's 'Call For The Dead' (1961)?

That definitely fits, and I will add it to our nominations list! The different tones of these two books would make for a potentially interesting discussion.

Some very interesting nominations!

The poll is up!

Christine PNW wrote: "The poll is up!"

Thank you!

The February poll was a squeaker!

I was considering a runoff, but given that it would necessarily be a 3 way runoff, there's a really good chance that we could end up in a virtual tie again.

So, we are reading The Third Man by Graham Greene, which won by one vote!

Excellent! Looking forward to re-reading it again.

I’m excited about this one. I’ve only seen the movie.

I totally blanked out on the poll and didn´t even vote, but I´m okay with the winner :)

I've seen the movie and read the book. Both are good in their own way. The plot is much more understandable in the book. The movie is visually stunning, which tends to distract me, whereas in a book I am more focussed.

I would like to read The Third Man as well.

Living in Vienna, I just have to read the book! ;)

Michaela wrote: "Living in Vienna, I just have to read the book! ;)"

Double win for you then!