Reading the Detectives discussion
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Favourite books of 2021
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Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?
I really loved Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham, one of my favourite classic crime writers. I think I've read this in the past but didn't remember it - it wasn't so much the plot as the atmosphere and Albert Campion, older in this one but still such a wonderful character.
This is going to be a controversial choice as I think most people didn't really like it, but I really enjoyed Calamity in Kent by John Rowland, one of the British Library Crime Classics reprints, even though the plot wasn't perfect. I remember it a lot better than most books I read this year!
My favourite from the Christie challenge was the first one, Why Didn't They Ask Evans?.
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
This one was actually a group read a while back but I only caught up with it this year - The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey was a historical mystery I really liked. I now have the sequel, and plan to get to it soon.
Which authors do you want to read more of?
Definitely E.C.R. Lorac - I've read a few by her this year and have some more on my Kindle! I enjoy her style a lot. Also Moray Dalton and Brian Flynn... and I need to get back to Rex Stout.
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
I had a few 5-star reads, but the one that sticks in my mind the most is probably Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, maybe because I listened to it on audio so it took me a long time to get through. I suppose it is a mystery in a way but I don't think of it as one.
I also loved the enormous history book The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Flanders.
What fun! I love scanning these summaries.Read in this group
Like Judy, I enjoyed Why Didn't They Ask Evans? and was sorry I didn’t have enough time to continue with the obscure-Christie challenge. Other favorites from our reads were The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude and, of course, Edmund Crispin’s The Case of the Gilded Fly. I can never get enough Crispin or Innes!
Other mysteries read
I’ve read two Louise Penny books this year, and any Penny book I read will always make my favorites list: A Better Man and State of Terror, the latter interesting for its insider info and for placing two middle-aged women at the center of a thriller. I reread a Stephanie Barron, Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron, one of the better ones in her Jane-Austen-as-sleuth series; and in the Jane Austen vein, enjoyed Reginald Hill’s A Cure For All Diseases, which is a modern mystery inspired by Austen’s “Sanditon” fragment. I might also mention a couple of lighter mysteries I quite enjoyed by Carol J. Penny, from her series set in Salem, Massachusetts: It Takes a Coven and Bells, Spells, and Murders—cozy in the sense that they focus as much on relationships and characters as detection. The witchy stuff is very much in the background.
Authors to read more of
I would go for E. C. R. Lorac as well, and am wondering: is Charlotte MacLeod too late for this group? I love her hilarious mysteries and am overdue for rereading. I always want to read more Michael Innes but know he is not a vote-getter—nothing stopping me from rereading them on my own, since I have them all.
Non-mystery books
I read quite widely this year, from classics to pulp fiction, and had enjoyable reads across that spectrum. Among classics I was surprised to be very much impressed by Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which I had always placed in the kiss-of-death category of “boy books” (where folks like Hemingway and Melville live in my mind). This was really an extraordinary book with a sly strategy, too layered and clever for most high school students to appreciate. Glad to have read it again as an adult.
My favorite fiction lane is British novels by women from the first half of the twentieth century, and I enjoyed a number of books from that group: A City of Bells and Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge, for my money she’s the best author of the lot (though I haven’t read Elizabeth Taylor); Rhododendron Pie, Margery Sharp’s sophisticated debut; and a few by Stella Gibbons, who wrote books more to my taste than Cold Comfort Farm: Nightingale Wood and The Woods In Winter.
Historical fiction that I loved included The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley, which does things with Anne de Bourgh that Jane Austen never could have imagined; Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell; The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow, which intermingles some fantasy elements with a gritty portrait of late nineteenth-century America; and a little-known book set in 1814, which could be seen as a romance but is really much more: An Independent Heart by Elizabeth Grant.
Finally, a women’s fiction book that was exceedingly well done and tackled a tough topic (the inner lives and experiences of overweight people), Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins. She has a way of being accessible while still coming off as smart and original.
Mod
Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?Much to my surprise I've only read one mystery with this group this year - Murder in Stained Glass which I liked rather than loved. Enjoyed the discussion though.
Three years later I read Slow Horses - I loved this & joined in the discussions - just very late!
Other mysteries read
I really haven't read many this year at all! But I did enjoy my rereads of two Georgette Heyer's Detection Unlimited & Duplicate Death
Which authors do you want to read more of?
Mick Herron for sure. I am keeping an eye out for E.C.R. Lorac & I didn't read any Sayers this year - what an oversight!
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
Ok, this is where it gets hard. But top of the list would have to go to my reread of my favourite Regency by my favourite author Cotillion by Georgette Heyer.
Two flawed but brilliant books Auē debut book by NZ author Becky Manawatu & A Town Like Alice
Favourite NZ nonfiction The Years Before My Death by NZ comedy genius, the late David McPhail.
I'm not sure I can a favourite from international non fiction. They were very different but both were awesome I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings & Me by Elton John.
Thanks for highlighting NZ fiction for us, Carol!
Mod
Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?
I enjoyed Moray Dalton and would like to read more by her. My biggest disappointment this year was The Mystery of Fig Tree Hall - taken in by reviews....
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
Richard Osman, Anthony Horowitz and Mick Herron. Other notable books for me were A Killing in November, The Marlow Murder Club and Rabbit Hole
Which authors do you want to read more of?
I want to read the next volume of Chips Channon's diaries and lots more crime books next year. To continue my re-read of Jane Haddam and Phil Rickman's books and to pick some new crime series as well as read those on my TRB list forever like Craig Robertson, Rory Clements Tom Wilde series and the Cormoron Strike books... I have also enjoyed my reading of David Kynaston's history of post-war Britain and have the next, On the Cusp: Days of '62 loitering on my kindle.
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
Fiction:
Dinner Party: A Tragedy
The Apparition Phase
The Fortnight in September
The Stranger Times
Non-Fiction:
Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell
Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell Fall The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston
Henry 'Chips' Channon: The Diaries (Volume 1): 1918-38
The Velvet Mafia: The Gay Men Who Ran The Swinging Sixties
Frostquake: The frozen winter of 1962 and how Britain emerged a different country
Here goes…Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?
As always, I loved the Allingham books. I enjoyed most of the Punshon books, although they are a mixed bag. I also enjoyed George Bellairs and Moray Dalton.
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
Most of all the 3rd and 5th books in Abir Mukherjee’s Wyndham and Bannerjee series, Smoke and Ashes and The Shadows of Men (I wasn’t so keen on the 4th one Death in the East). The Richard Osman ones were great fun. I also liked Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series
Which authors do you want to read more of?
Golden Age - more Bellairs, Freeman Wills Crofts, Moray Dalton
Other - Vaseem Khan’s Malabar House series, want to start Ann Cleeves’ Vera series
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge was a surprise gem. Another great discovery was the Malgudi books of R. K. Narayan - will definitely read more of these in 2022. In non fiction I was fascinated by The Medical Detective: John Snow, Cholera And The Mystery Of The Broad Street Pump, very readable and eye opening (and with some relevance to how pandemics are still being handled!)
Overall I had far more hits than misses in my reading this year. Here’s to 2022!
Susan wrote: "The first Vera book The Crow Trap is currently 99p, Pamela. Another series I want to start too."Thanks Susan, I think I already have that one but I’ll check. I really enjoyed the Shetland ones, but I hadn’t watched the TV series for those. I’ve watched most of the Vera ones so I hope it won’t spoil my enjoyment of the books.
Mod
Thanks for starting this thread Judy. Here's my take on 2021's reading...Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?
I have been enjoying the assorted Agatha Christie challenge, with Endless Night being my favourite.
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
More Christie with Sleeping Murder. Also enjoyed working my way through some JDC (a bundle of tattered paperbacks from ebay) with The Seat of the Scornful being the highlight there. The latest slow horses instalment from Mick Herron was fantastic too.
Which authors do you want to read more of?
I read my first Christianna Brand (Green for Danger), first Georgette Heyer (Death in the Stocks) and first Margaret Millar (Vanish in an Instant) this year. Looking forward to exploring more by these authors.
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
Regeneration by Pat Barker, although have yet to finish the trilogy.
Have been reading a lot of YA this year. Plenty of chalet school escapism from Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. And the truly devious YA mysteries from Maureen Johnson.
Mod
Tracey, I used to love the Chalet School books as a kid but haven't revisited as an adult. They made me want to travel, with the Swiss setting and all the French, German and Italian words thrown in. Maybe I should - I'm quite curious about some of those that were out of print when I was about 12 to 14, such as those that were set in the war.
Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?I think I enjoyed the Assorted Christie’s the most - just about every book was new to me!
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
Abir Mukherjee’s Sam Wyndham series; the Thursday Murder Club; Alys Clare’s two historical mystery series, Gabriel Taverner and the World’s End Bureau; CS Harris’s St. Cyr series; Christopher Fowler’s Bryant & May series, I won the most recent and want to start it soon! Also, one of my favorites of the last couple years, Allison Montclair’s Sparks & Bainbridge series, set in London right after WWII.
Which authors do you want to read more of?
Definitely more Lorac, I ordered several as a birthday present to myself over summer, still have to read! I liked George Bellairs, I just finished our January book, Catherine Aird’s “Religious Body”, and would like to move on with that series, and continue with the Cadfael rereads.
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
I was so proud to finally finish Bleak House, and enjoyed it immensely. I also got a lot out of Fiona Hill’s memoir, “There is Nothing for you here”
Judy wrote: "I've really enjoyed reading everyone's lists of good reading so far and will add a few to my TBR.Tracey, I used to love the Chalet School books as a kid but haven't revisited as an adult. They ma..."
Chalet school books passed me by as a child, I have no idea why, as they are just like the type of books I loved then. It was actually a mention on the Shedunnit podcast that got me interested. And now I seem quite heavily invested in the goings on of that school. The books can be a little difficult to track down, so I've been reading what I can out of the original order. To escape to an alpine retreat would be marvellous right now!
Mod
I think I enjoyed the Assorted Christie’s the most - just about every book was new to me!
Which personal crime/mys..."
I am enjoying the Catherine Aird series. Was thinking it might be a good buddy series, if there is enough interest.
Mod
I think I enjoyed the Assorted Christie’s the most - just about every book was new to me!
Which personal crime/mys..."
Allison Montclair is a new one for me, hadn't heard of that series, but sounds like something I would enjoy. I also like the St Cyr series,
Ooh, love these sort of threads - though my TBR list grows!Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?
As I've just joined the group I didn't take part though I did read The Sittaford Mystery in December (which I enjoyed apart from the rushed ending) and I also read The Cornish Coast Murder - really enjoyed this.
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
I discovered both Louise Penny and Elly Griffiths this year.
Which authors do you want to read more of?
Golden Age - Francis Duncan, E.C.R. Lorac, Clifford Witting and rereads Dorothy L Sayers and Poirot.
Contemporary - Louise Penny, Elly Griffiths, Robert Galbraith and finish Sue Grafton's series - V is for Vengeance is next.
I'd also like to start Ann Cleeves Shetland and Vera series
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
Transcription
Mod
I agree completely! My tbr list is groaning. Let's hope 2022 brings lots of reading time.I like the sound of the Sparks and Bainbridge books, and want to read more Elly Griffiths too.
Susan wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?I think I enjoyed the Assorted Christie’s the most - just about every book was new to me!
Whic..."
Oh, I would enjoy that, I’m only up to book three, The Stately Home Murder. I’ve got plenty to be going on with, I’ll hold off to see if there is any interest in the group after we discuss Religious Body.
I’m not sure what Chalet school books are, I’m assuming YA mysteries? I have been so tempted over the last several stressful years to track down and reread my beloved Three Investigators mysteries, I read those to shreds in grade school. They were three young teen boys, but I discovered them at my school library and read them all at least twice- they had such grand adventures! I believe they’ve become something of a collector’s item now. The first book, if I remember, was The Secret of Terror Castle
by Robert Arthur. Yikes, published in 1964, the year before I was born! Yes, they are old, but I wonder if I could recapture that same thrill of adventure? LOL, seems very appealing - Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone, let us hope 2022 brings health, sanity and clarity!
Susan wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?I think I enjoyed the Assorted Christie’s the most - just about every book was new to me!
Whic..."
Oh, Sparks and Bainbridge, Montclair’s heroines, are a treat - one, a war widow, the other, a former spy in the war who has Done Things, but Official Secrets Act and all…anyway, they start a marriage bureau in 1946 in bombed out London. Lots of great, dry British humor (well, I imagine it’s just humour to you), and two female detectives is a treat - especially when one is rather dangerous when need arises!
Elletee wrote: "Ooh, love these sort of threads - though my TBR list grows!Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?
As I've just joined the group I didn't take part thoug..."
Wow, talk about making the TBR pile grow - your list certainly did! Thanks, I think…
Tracey wrote: "I agree completely! My tbr list is groaning. Let's hope 2022 brings lots of reading time.I like the sound of the Sparks and Bainbridge books, and want to read more Elly Griffiths too."
Ok,that’s two mentions of Elly Griffiths - every time I see a cover of hers, I think I’ve read it, but then I realize I haven’t. I think your mentions clinch it - I’m meant to read her! Anywhere in particular I should start, doesn’t she have more than one series? I’m one of those read from the beginning types…
I would love a buddy read through of the Sloan series! I read them many years ago, and remember enjoying them, if not the plots.
Mod
They are girls' school stories, not mysteries - set at a boarding school which starts off in the Austrian Tyrol, then in other locations during the war and ends up in Switzerland. School stories used to be very popular in the UK - the Chalet School stories were my favourites out of those I read, because of the exciting setting in the mountains, but there were also lots of others.
Mod
I like the sound of the Sparks and Bainbridge books, and want to read more Elly Griffiths t..."
I avidly follow her Ruth Galloway series, which definitely should be read in order. It is current day and Ruth is an archaeologist. She also has an historical series (1950's?) that I mean to read but haven't started yet. First book is The Zig Zag Girl. Then there are two other recent books seem to be the start of yet another series; they are excellent.
Notice I can only remember the title of the book I want to read, not the ones I've read.
Susan in NC wrote: "Tracey wrote: "I agree completely! My tbr list is groaning. Let's hope 2022 brings lots of reading time.I like the sound of the Sparks and Bainbridge books, and want to read more Elly Griffiths t..."
The first series I came across was the Ruth Galloway series: I read several, but then felt that they had reached a rut. I am still going ahead with the Brighton Mysteries - set in the 1950s, and enjoyed the two Harbinder Kaur mysteries. I see she also wrote some children's mysteries set in a school! But I haven't tried those.
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https://www.ggbp.co.uk/
I have4 read the first 6 books of the Ruth Galloway series, but none of her other books. Like Sandy, I like the private lives of these characters.
I absolutely love the Ruth Galloway series and agree they should be read in order because of the private lives of the characters. I don't think the mysteries are that good, and they can be pretty samey, but the quirky characters and clever, witty writing are just my thing.
Judy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "I’m not sure what Chalet school books are, I’m assuming YA mysteries? ..."They are girls' school stories, not mysteries - set at a boarding school which starts off in the Aust..."
Thanks, Judy, I had not heard of them.
Sandy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Tracey wrote: "I agree completely! My tbr list is groaning. Let's hope 2022 brings lots of reading time.I like the sound of the Sparks and Bainbridge books, and want to read m..."
Lol! Thanks, Sandy.
Rosina wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Tracey wrote: "I agree completely! My tbr list is groaning. Let's hope 2022 brings lots of reading time.I like the sound of the Sparks and Bainbridge books, and want to read m..."
Wow, thanks Rosina, I’ve seen the Ruth Galloway, the forensic archeology caught my attention , had no idea she was so prolific!
Sandy wrote: "P.S Ruth Galloway is a series that involves the personal lives of the detectives and their friends and family. I like that but many people don't."I like a series like that, I get invested in the characters.
Thanks, everyone, for the information on Ruth Galloway - that series has been suggested to me so many times over the years by those “if you like this, you may enjoy this title” algorithms, I began to think I had read them at some point! Throw in the brain fog from a couple brain surgeries, and 😶🌫️ You don’t know where you are!Our discussions here on books enjoyed and authors to explore is helping me clarify my thinking on what I want to read next year. Looking back at my year in reading, I realize much of it is a blur - partly the bizarre hanging on of the never ending pandemic, making time seem to both rush by, and freeze, and partly reading too much, too fast. I plan to knock my goal back to around 50, and try and read what I want and enjoy or find informative (ideally, both!), and not be afraid to DNF and move on to another book.
Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?My favourites this year are Tether's End Margery Allingham and Death of a Busybody George Bellairs I am really enjoying the E R Punshon's books.
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
That has to be both the Richard Osman books, Rest You Merry Charlotte MacLeod Vanish in an Instant Margaret Millar
Which authors do you want to read more of?
I am looking forward to more of Bellair's, E.C.R. Lorac, Charlotte MacLeod, Rex Stout
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?
The Siege Helen Dunmore. Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission Hampton Sides. Crooked Heart and Old Baggage both by Lissa Evans The Darling Buds of May and A Breath of French Air both by H.E. Bates
Susan in NC wrote: "Susan wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?I think I enjoyed the Assorted Christie’s the most - just about every book was new..."
The Allison Montclair books sound like my cup of tea too! Adding to my list - thank you!
My favourite book which I hadn’t read before was MI5 And Me by Charlotte Bingham. When she was 18,her father told her that he was a spy who worked for MI5 (he was one of the models for George Smiley in John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). As Charlotte kept getting jobs and then losing them, her father decided she should go to work at MI5 too and got her an interview for a secretarial post. To her dismay, she was accepted. Her account of her time working at MI5 is extremely funny and,apparently, all true.
Elletee wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Susan wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?I think I enjoyed the Assorted Christie’s the most - just abou..."
You’re welcome, hope you enjoy it!
That does sound really interesting. Thank you Louise, added to the tbr list.
Reading the Detectives
Books mentioned in this topic
The Siege (other topics)Rest You Merry (other topics)
Tether's End (other topics)
A Breath of French Air (other topics)
Vanish in an Instant (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
H.E. Bates (other topics)E.R. Punshon (other topics)
Margery Allingham (other topics)
Charlotte MacLeod (other topics)
Richard Osman (other topics)
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A few questions you may want to think about...
Which mysteries/crime books that you read with the group did you enjoy the most?
Which personal crime/mystery reads did you enjoy the most?
Which authors do you want to read more of?
What were your favourite non-mystery/detective books in 2021?