Alwynne’s Comments (group member since Oct 28, 2020)

Alwynne’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

I finished a novella from 1982 newly translated into English Suspicion from Japanese author Seichō Matsumoto. Through the coverage of one woman's arrest and trial for murder, Matsumoto examines the role of the media and media bias and its impact on the justice system. It starts out slow and detached but then the tension rapidly mounts.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished the first in a projected series by Robert Holtom A Queer Case set in London in the 1920s and featuring a gay amateur sleuth. Likely to appeal to fans of writers like Nicola Upson and Jacqueline Winspear. Lots of social commentary/historical detail but the writing can be a little clunky in places.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Hannah Deitch's Killer Potential literary crime with a twist, likely to appeal to fans of books like Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and/or Scrap Didn't quite work for me but still enjoyable.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished a classic crime novel Murder at Mt. Fuji by prolific, award-winning Japanese author Shizuko Natsuki, sometimes referred to as the Agatha Christie of Japan. It's about to be reissued for English-language audiences. Thought it was interesting as an exploration of toxic masculinity and an investment in reputation/public appearance in 1980s Japan but disappointing overall.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Frances wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "*I first read these in my teens because the local librarian recommended them after I'd made my way through all the Jeeves and Wooster books.
."
What a clever librarian to make that ..."

I wish I had too, mine were really lovely, used to put books aside for me that they thought I'd like, possibly because I spent so much time there!

Judy wrote: "Interesting discussion! I've just looked up how old Ian Carmichael and Edward Petherbridge were when they started playing Wimsey. They were both in their early 50s. But of course Carmichael was pla..."

Thanks for the link Judy, I agree with the person who commented about the harlequin scenes in 'Murder Must Advertise' they really don't do Carmichael any favours. I'm not sure that I agree with Edwards that Carmichael is just Woosterish. I think part of that is the persona Wimsey adopts to divert people from his detective work. In a number of the adaptations Carmichael's Wimsey shifts between the hapless, posh - plays it up when undercover in the ad agency in Murder Must Advertise for instance - and more considered as when he's with Parker or Bunter or others he considers his peers or fellow detectives.

Fascinating that Petherbridge was roughly the same age, he seems younger somehow. Wimsey was born in 1890, I think, so should be late 30s upwards in most of the books. I'm also not sure I'd compare him to Astaire. Astaire has a lot more charm - and can also goof around - but he's also a huge favourite of mine particularly the 1930s movies with Ginger Rogers, although also love Band Wagon. Although I think I saw somewhere that Sayers may have been influenced by Astaire in her later Wimsey outings.

Jackie wrote: "Interesting post, Alwynne! I plan to read the rest of the series and re-reads are also very likely, so may be looking at more audio version options."

That's great Jackie although I'm biased because I love this series, read it umpteen times!

Judy wrote: "l wondered if there was a version read by Ian Carmichael - that one must cost extra on Spotify. I can't really justify buying it as I'm mainly reading it on Kindle, but I bet he's brilliant. I thin..."

He's my favourite too, Wimsey's supposed to be a cross between Bertie Wooster* and Holmes and Carmichael's performance really nails that. I watched them all including the Petherbridge ones during lockdown and thought Petherbridge was too stiff. But I agree Carmichael is a lot older than the character on the page - really shows in the action scenes in 'Clouds of Witness' but I assumed that was why they skipped the novels featuring Wimsey and Vane, so that he wasn't expected to be a particularly romantic figure.

*I first read these in my teens because the local librarian recommended them after I'd made my way through all the Jeeves and Wooster books.

I like this one a lot more than Whose Body? but I still feel that it's an example of Sayers feeling her way about the character. Wimsey's more man of action, less analytical in this one than in later instalments. The approach suggests the influence of the 'ripping yarns' that were still fairly popular. I much prefer later novels particularly Strong Poison and The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club. Bellona Club is probably my favourite I think it deals particularly well with the lingering aftereffects of the war. I'd love to know if Sayers read Mrs Dalloway though, there are definite resemblances between Septimus in that and George Fentiman in Bellona, as well as the predicaments of their respective wives.

I finished a vintage Japanese crime novel by Tetsuya Akuyawa The Black Swan Mystery a gripping blend of puzzle-style mystery and surprisingly sensitive social commentary - particularly good on the lingering aftermath of war, gender and 1950s Japan, would love to read more in this ongoing detective series.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Marisha Pessl's Darkly This is technically for a YA readership but should have a broader appeal. It centres on a crime linked to long-dead artist/board game designer Louisiana Veda, and has a gothic, Christie-like flavour. Lots of twists and turns and pleasing details - and bizarre character names. Read this in one sitting and enjoyed it immensely.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished a novel by up-and-coming, Japanese writer Uketsu Strange Pictures A bestseller in Japan, I thought it was an intriguing, entertaining variation on a standard murder mystery. For anyone not a fan of horror don't be put off by the labelling of this one, it's essentially a conventional, not-too-graphic, puzzle-style crime novel with the odd creepy scene.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished a new Virago edition of Caroline Blackwood's 1981 novel The Fate of Mary Rose with an introduction by writer Camilla Grudova who's recently championed Blackwood's work. Blackwood's literary output's been unfairly overshadowed by her reputation as a muse: she was married to painter Lucien Freud and later poet Robert Lowell. A Northern Irish writer whose work's hard to find in the UK, although two of her novels have been republished by NYRB Classics. This is a perverse pageturner - Barbara Comyns meets Celia Fremlin meets Shirley Jackson. It revolves around a devastating crime in a small Kent village, although some readers may find the unconventional ending frustrating.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lady Clementina wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "I finished Seicho Matsumoto's Inspector Imanishi Investigates dating from 1960, it's a classic and a bestseller in Japan, a glorious mix of detection and social rea..."

I liked Tokyo Express too but this felt more mature in terms of characters, there are the drier elements but also some very moving/poignant ones.

I finished Seicho Matsumoto's Inspector Imanishi Investigates dating from 1960, it's a classic and a bestseller in Japan, a glorious mix of detection and social realism that rivals the work of Sjowall and Wahloo.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Calla Henkel's art world thriller Scrap inventive and entertaining it follows Esther whose hopes for a quiet life are dashed when her girlfriend leaves her and a new project leaves her caught up in a mystery regarding her wealthy patron Naomi. Henkel blends together a range of influences from vintage lesbian/feminist crime to Patricia Highsmith's Ripley to Gillian Flynn.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed Alice Slater's debut Death of a Bookseller there's an element of Caroline Kepnes in the obsessive Roach but the plot is far more inventive than I'd anticipated, and the style more literary. I also liked the fact that it didn't end in any way that I'd anticipated, and it was far less sour than I'd imagined it might be. Also loved the details around books and bookselling, the slightly grungy feel, although the portrayal of Walthamstow tends towards the generic.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed Jake Lamar's hard-boiled, noir Viper's Dream although the ending didn't totally work for me it's a fascinating, fast-moving journey through mid-twentieth century Harlem through the seamier side of its developing jazz scene. Likely to appeal to fans of writers like Walter Mosley and Chester Himes.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I appreciated more than I enjoyed the recent edition of Japanese mystery The Mill House Murders it has some marvellously grisly undercurrents and it's carefully plotted but I found it hard to relate to the characters which made it difficult to connect to the novel overall.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished the second in a series of three mysteries - available in translation that is, think there are a lot more books published in Japan - centred on homicide detective Inspector Kaga who's based in central Tokyo. The first one I read Malice was very intriguing but found the attempt to be unconventional contrived and the style claustrophobic. I much preferred this one A Death in Tokyo a fairly restrained detective novel which also contained some fascinating insights into contemporary Japan. He's very influenced by Japanese crime writing traditions but also by Golden Age writers and Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr etc So more centred on the puzzle and the people and no long descriptions of graphic violence etc I'm now reading the second book of the three available Newcomer which is closer to this one than to 'Malice' and enjoying it so far.


Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...