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Category Archives: 2012 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge
STRANGLED PROSE (1986) by Joan Hess
I haven’t read many books in the ‘contemporary cosy’ genre but decided to check this one out after a strong review from that wise mathematician, the Puzzledoctor. It’s the first in the continuing series of Claire Malloy mysteries set in Farberville, … Continue reading
Posted in 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, Campus Crime, Cosy Cozy, Friday's Forgotten Book
Tagged Joan Hess
49 Comments
THE HORIZONTAL MAN (1946) by Helen Eustis
Phew! By the skin of my teeth I’ve managed to complete the 2012 Vintage Mystery Readers Challenge. To celebrate, and as my last blog post until late January, here is my (short) review of Helen Eustis’ influential Edgar-winning debut. Set … Continue reading
NIGHT WALKER (1954) by Donald Hamilton
Donald Hamilton (1916-2006) produced many different types of adventure books including Westerns such as The Big Country (filmed in 1958 with Gregory Peck). He is best known for his series of 27 Matt Helm novels, four of which were adapted … Continue reading
THE G-STRING MURDERS (1941) by Gypsy Rose Lee
Rose Louise Hovick (1914-70), better known under her stage name, ‘Gypsy Rose Lee’, had a brief but notable career. Her autobiography, Gypsy, detailing her rise to become the ‘Queen of Burlesque’ was a Broadway hit and was later filmed with … Continue reading
Buon Natale 2012
This site began back in January 2011 and here we are, two years and 270 posts later and the year is almost up. What have we learned from the Blogosphere? Well, for one thing, WordPress and Google’s blogger software like each … Continue reading
MURDER AT CAMBRIDGE (1932) by Q Patrick
This was the third novel by ‘Q. Patrick’, the byline belonging to the same family as ‘Patrick Quentin’ and ‘Jonathan Stagge’. The first two were collaborations between Richard Wilson Webb and Martha Mott Kelley but this was by Webb writing … Continue reading
2013 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge
The indefatigable and always welcoming Bev of My Reader’s Block is already laying out the groundwork for her 2013 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, which as always focuses on mystery fiction published pre-1960 to be eligible for inclusion. I’ve had a … Continue reading
THE HOUSE (1947) by Hilda Lawrence
John Norris has featured several postwar Gothic mysteries of late over at his fantabulous Pretty Sinister Books, whetting my appetite for something similar. So I finally decided to dust off this mystery by Hilda Lawrence (1906-76) and give it a … Continue reading
NIGHTMARE (1941) by Cornell Woolrich
During the 1940s Cornell Woolrich was one of the true masters of the psychological suspense yarn, as adept at creating ingenious and outlandish plots as painting an atmosphere of universal dread and irrationality. This is a case in point with … Continue reading
THE WENCH IS DEAD (1955) by Fredric Brown
This unconventional mystery by cult author Fredric Brown has unfortunately become a little bit scarce, its absentee status probably not helped by the fact that the title, taken from Christopher Marlowe, has been used for several other novels too. The … Continue reading
UNFINISHED PORTRAIT (1934) by Agatha Christie
When I started Fedora I promised myself that I would try to avoid Agatha Christie as much as possible, not because I don’t enjoy her work but simply out of a spirit of self-preservation. She is already so well represented … Continue reading
TRAITOR’S PURSE (1941) by Margery Allingham
This is an Albert Campion novel like no other. Margery Allingham had introduced the character in the late 1920s and deployed him in a broad range of books, alternating between whodunits like Police at the Funeral (1931), Death of a … Continue reading
REUNION WITH MURDER (1941) by Timothy Fuller
Harvard University is a real character in this novel, as a place rich in tradition, as a maker of men and as a source of continuity and reassurance ahead of America’s entry into the Second World War. However, while conventional … Continue reading
QUEEN IN DANGER (1952) by Adam Hall
Elleston Trevor doesn’t rate a single mention in The Oxford Companion to Crime & Mystery Writing (1999), and that’s a real shame. The author of some 100 novels, as Trevor he published exciting war and adventure stories that easily stand … Continue reading
THE EMPEROR’S SNUFFBOX (1942) by John Dickson Carr
Singled out by Carr himself as one of his best efforts, this is quite an anomalous title from the great writer’s oeuvre, though it displays many of his greatest virtues. Constructed with his trademark cunning, the story does not feature … Continue reading
MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD (1932) by Stuart Palmer
This book features one of the first, and funniest, examples of that mystery mainstay, the spinster sleuth. From Mary Roberts Rinehart’s plucky one-off heroines to the more professional investigating of Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple and Patricia Wentworth’s Maud Silver (both first … Continue reading
THE LONG WAIT (1951) by Mickey Spillane
Well, I suppose it had to happen sooner or later at Fedora! After a year and a half of blogging it is time to confront some potentially ingrained snobbery and decided if we have descended to the level of Mickey … Continue reading
DO EVIL IN RETURN (1950) by Margaret Millar
During the 1950s the Canadian author Margaret Millar proved herself, along with Patricia Highsmith, to be arguably the great innovator of the postwar crime and mystery genre. She was certainly crucial stepping stone in the later development of such notable … Continue reading
BRAT FARRAR (1949) by Josephine Tey
Imposture lies at the heart of this well constructed suspense novel by Elizabeth Mackintosh, the Scottish author best known today for the mysteries she published as ‘Josephine Tey’, though she also wrote books and plays using her own name and … Continue reading
THE TIGER AMONG US (1957) by Leigh Bracket
It is an oft-repeated cliché that reading can be a ‘magical’ experience. It is certainly a special kind of pleasure but sometimes I think ‘alchemical’ may be a more appropriate term, not least because it can rely on so many … Continue reading
THE SCARF (1947 / 1966) by Robert Bloch
“I have the heart of a young boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk” Robert Bloch was the prolific author of novels, short stories and screenplays in the horror, science fiction and mystery genres. He also possessed … Continue reading
MURDER AT SCHOOL (1931) by James Hilton
James Hilton is probably best-remembered today for his trio of highly romantic novels from the 1930s, all of which were turned into successful movies: Lost Horizon (1933), the tale of the lost civilisation of Shangri-La, first filmed with Ronald Colman … Continue reading
Posthumous collaborations: The April Robin Murders case
The recent BBC TV adaptation of Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood, that classic crime novel left unfinished at the time of the author’s death in 1870, got me thinking about ‘enforced collaborations’ where works were completed post-mortem by other … Continue reading
WHY SHOOT A BUTLER? (1933) by Georgette Heyer
This is my first excursion in to the upper crust world of Georgette Heyer, though she was hardly an obscure author and was very prolific. Making her publishing début while still in her teens, she went on to produce some … Continue reading
DARKNESS AT PEMBERLEY (1932) by TH White
Mike Ripley in his unmissable Getting Away with Murder column recently pointed to the reprint of this early campus mystery and it is through his auspices that I have very kindly been sent a review copy by those nice people … Continue reading
FALLEN ANGEL / MIRAGE (1952) by Howard Fast
I begin the second stage of Bev’s 2012 Vintage Mystery Readers Challenge with an early mystery from the pen of Howard Fast, probably still best known as the author of Spartacus, his epic tale of revolution in ancient Rome. Like … Continue reading
LANDSCAPE WITH DEAD DONS (1956) by Robert Robinson
I begin this year’s book challenges in high spirits thanks to a gift from Bev, the charming and generous host of the 2012 Vintage Mystery Readers Challenge. As part of the Challenge I have selected to read and review at … Continue reading
2012 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge
The indefatigable and always welcoming Bev of My Reader’s Block is already laying out the groundwork for her 2012 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, which as always focuses on mystery fiction published pre-1960 to be eligible for inclusion. I’ve had a … Continue reading
Tipping My Fedora 