Reading the Detectives discussion

New month, new poll! Nominations please for our September group read. Please only nominate books written and published in the Golden Age period, or a little earlier or later - if in doubt whether a title is eligible, please ask. As usual, just one nomination per group member, and only one book by any individual writer can be nominated per month.

If you aren't sure whether we have read something, the group bookshelves may help, or just ask. If it was at least 3 years ago that we read it, it is fine to renominate.

As September is for me the New Year (I think of years academically rather than Jan-Dec!) I will go for something with an academic theme.

Gaudy Night

Harriet Vane has never dared to return to her old Oxford college. Now, despite her scandalous life, she has been summoned back . . .

At first she thinks her worst fears have been fulfilled, as she encounters obscene graffiti, poison pen letters and a disgusting effigy when she arrives at sedate Shrewsbury College for the 'Gaudy' celebrations.

But soon, Harriet realises that she is not the only target of this murderous malice - and asks Lord Peter Wimsey to help.

I will nominate The Polo Ground Mystery by Robin Forsythe Hoping it is obtainable in US

Mr Sutton Armadale, the financier, was shot dead on the private polo ground of his palatial home. Before expiring in his gamekeeper’s arms, he muttered the one word “murder”.

Among the suspects are Armadale’s second wife; a drunken, loud-mouthed stranger in the neighbourhood; and an irresistibly attractive ballerina. The amiable and eccentric Algernon Vereker finds the case as befuddling as a crack on the head from a polo mallet. Two witnesses were certain they heard two shots fired, yet only one spent cartridge case was found on the ground by the dead man’s body. What is the “Sutton Stakes” connection… and is a “Bombay Head” part of the solution?

The Polo Ground Mystery (1932) is a classic country house whodunit, with a sporting equestrian theme. The second of the Algernon Vereker mysteries, this new edition is the first published in over 70 years. It features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

Jill wrote: "I will nominate The Polo Ground Mystery by Robin Forsythe Hoping it is obtainable in US

Mr Sutton Armadale, the financier, was shot dead on the private polo groun..."

Polo Ground is $1 on kindle in the US.

I still have to read The Polo Ground Mystery, having bought it when it was on offer!

Sandy wrote: "Jill wrote: "I will nominate The Polo Ground Mystery by Robin Forsythe Hoping it is obtainable in US

Mr Sutton Armadale, the financier, was shot dead on the priva..."

Thanks Sandy

The four (or seven with JP Walsh's 'extras') Wimsey/Vane 's are my absolute favourites. I can read them over and over and never tire of them as is all of Sayers output. I enjoy just reading her scholarly style of writing although I keep finding small errors of facts which demonstrate that she is (was) not 'allknowing' (a coloured biracial man, Hallelujia Dawson,from the West Indies, cannot be Polynesian )

Thanks for the nominations so far, two enticing choices - Sayers is one of my favourites and I also really enjoy Robin Forsythe's style.

As I'm enjoying a book by E.C.R. Lorac at the moment, I'll nominate another of hers, Murder by Matchlight. I thought I'd read this war-time tale but looks like I'm wrong.

London, 1945. The capital is shrouded in the darkness of the blackout, and mystery abounds in the parks after dusk.

During a stroll through Regent’s Park, Bruce Mallaig witnesses two men acting suspiciously around a footbridge. In a matter of moments, one of them has been murdered; Mallaig’s view of the assailant is but a brief glimpse of a ghastly face in the glow of a struck match.

The murderer’s noiseless approach and escape seems to defy all logic, and even the victim’s identity is quickly thrown into uncertainty. Lorac’s shrewd yet personable C.I.D. man Macdonald must set to work once again to unravel this near-impossible mystery.

Nominations so far:

Susan: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Jill: The Polo Ground Mystery by Robin Forsythe

Judy: Murder by Matchlight by E.C.R. Lorac

Last call for nominations! The poll will go up tomorrow, so please let us have any nominations as soon as possible.

Great choices, Judy. I've enjoyed everything I have read by Lorac so far and I love a wartime setting.

Thanks, Susan! I was wrongly convinced I'd read Murder by Matchlight because I think I'd mixed it up with her previous book, Checkmate to Murder, which is also in war-time London!

'Gaudy Night' is just about my favourite book of all time! I have no idea how many times I have reread it and every time I find yet another facet in the tale which keeps the story 'fresh' for me. It is the same with all our Dorothy's books. Peter begins in 'Whose Body' as a silly ass but slowly develops into a 'real' three dimensional individual as does Harriet although her strength of character and sense of humour is apparent from the beginning in 'Strong Poison'.

For US members: I found two versions of Murder by Matchlight available on kindle for either $1 or $10. And my library has a copy, saving me the dollar (or ten).

Great choices!

Very good choices - two are in my 'queue' and I have read the third (Gaudy Night), and have it as an audio book.

The poll is now open - please vote for the book you'd prefer to read in September.

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

We have a tie at the moment, so please vote if you haven't done so!
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

One book is nudging ahead, but they are all doing fairly well to be fair.

Sorry to be slow in announcing the result again, but we have a winner. It's Murder by Matchlight by E.C.R. Lorac, which will be our September group read.

Full results:
Murder by Matchlight (Robert MacDonald, #26) 8 votes, 44.4%

Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey, #12) 5 votes, 27.8%

The Polo Ground Mystery 5 votes, 27.8%