Historical Mystery Lovers discussion

Move: 1

Roll: 4
Space: Income Tax
Selected Book: I'm listening to Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints, avg rating 3.29. It's not going well.

Done - thank God - with my income tax book ... actually filing my taxes was more fun.

Roll: 1
Space: KING'S CROSS / READING RAILROAD: Rail travel has existed since the 6th century. However, railways as a form of mass transportation began in the 1800s in England. Read a book set in the 19th century (1800-1899).

Selected book: Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Because I think it's utterly marvelous that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who only ever entered my consciousness as (duh) a basketball player) is not only a damn good Jeopardy contestant but the author of a Holmes pastiche. I have the Audible edition.

Tracey wrote: "Because I think it's utterly marvelous that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who only ever entered my consciousness as (duh) a basketball player) is not only a damn good Jeopardy contestant but the author of a Holmes pastiche."

That's really interesting. I didn't know that he had written a book. Looking forward to your comments on it.

Me too!

Done with Marylebone Station & Mycroft Holmes. It was a very different Holmesian book, filled with characters and a setting that are a complete change from the usual. I need to think about it a little before I get a review written, but on the whole I really enjoyed it.

Roll: 5
Space: Free Parking - the book of my choice. Woo hoo!

I choose The Ill-kept Oath, a long-overdue Netgalley book.

Oh; The Ill-kept Oath is not, apparently, a mystery. Huh.

Instead I'll try another Netgalley: A Rustle of Silk.

Finished with A Rustle of Silk; what a disappointment. I loved the writing, loved the characters, thought the solution to the mystery was ridiculous. Oh well - on to the next.

Roll: 1

THE STRAND / KENTUCKY AVENUE: Read a book from the Regency and Victorian Mysteries Listopia OR a book with a red cover.

I choose The Devil's Feast -

- Which should be on that Listopia (set in 1842 London), but does have a (mostly) red cover.

I guessed One of the murders at the beginning because of the brother-in-law's character description! However the other murderer was out of left field for me! Rustle of Silk was my first book in the series so I have no basis for comparison! I also agree that everything else in the book was great!

I think that was my problem - the one that was so out of left field. It just came out of nowhere, with no relation to anything else. Darn it!

Finished with The Devil's Feast; it was ok. I don't think I'd be bothered with any more of the series.

Roll: 4
FENCHURCH ST. STATION / B&O RAILROAD: Read a book where the protagonist sets out on a journey at some point during the investigation.

Well, that's kind of a challenge; it's hard to tell if there's a journey in a book you haven't read unless it's a feature in the book description. Hm. I've got The 12.30 from Croydon, but it seems like the journey is by the murderer, not the detective. And I have A Ring of Truth, but the journey apparently comes before the investigation.

I think I'm going to go with The Magpie Lord; it seems the investigator/magician is called in to figure out what's going on. I hope this fits the requirements...

I am doing the same read. I agree that it is hard to find a book that meets the requirement before you have read it! My solution to finding a book was to ask my knowledgeable and well-read fellow Historical Mystery Lovers!

I should have done that! I sat here for a good couple of hours trying to find something which a) I owned (no money right now), b) owned on Kindle (or could get cheap) (since 90% of my "real" books are in storage), and preferably c) I hadn't read before. I mean, there's always something like Murder on the Orient Express or Dorothy L. Sayers's Clouds of Witness (in which Lord Peter makes a death-defying journey), or Days of the Dead (which I have only in paperback in a box somewhere) ... But fortunately Magpie Lord does, in fact, fit, as the main characters make several trips by train in the course of the story, so yay!

Done with The Magpie Lord, which was a fast and wonderful read (the one might have something to do with the other). I was worried that it might not fit the parameters of the challenge, but it was definitely a mystery (just not a murder). Really lovely.

Roll: 4
Where the heck am I?Ah - arriving at Marvin Gardens, aka Piccadilly. "Read a book from the Historical Mysteries and Thrillers Featuring Women Listopia OR a book with a flower, tree or garden on the cover." Well, now might be a good time to listen to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie; I've heard amazing things about it, and the Audible sample was good, so hopefully it'll overcome my loathing of child main characters.

I've enjoyed all the Flavia books on audio, but I don't think I have loathing of child main characters ... though I can't think of any others I've read (not counting Harry Potter). Flavia is strangely mature in many ways.

Precocious children usually get on my last nerve, but Flavia works. I'm really enjoying Sweetness; Jayne Entwistle is a terrific narrator, a young voice that isn't childish, and I love that Northwest accent.

While I'm listening to the end of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (which is better than I dared to hope - really very good), I figure I might as well see what's next.

Roll: 1
Go To Jail

Oh dear

"Roll the die again; move backwards that many spaces, and complete the task for the property you land on."

Oh - phew. I thought it would be something scary.

Roll: 3
COVENTRY STREET / VENTNOR AVENUE: Read a book that contains at least one real historical figure as a character or a book set in Medieval times (AD 500-1500).

Hmmm... Well, I'm not sure if anything I have on Kindle has real people in it, and I don't want to start another audiobook at home to listen to Mr. Churchill's Secretary... So rather than wait till Monday I will start a medieval on Kindle - The Apothecary Rose. Which, by the way, is still $1.99 along with most of the rest of the series on Amazon.

And another one down; The Apothecary Rose actually filled both requirements, as Archibishop John Thorseby was a real historical figure used as a character.

Roll: 1 (Was this why Monopoly games always took forever when I was a kid? I'm just inching my way around the board): Water Works.

"Read a book with a body of water on the cover (sea, lake, river, stream, etc.)"... Okie dokie. I'll go find one. (Can I just say I'm having a blast with this?)

Got it - I can use another Netgalley book: Scarweather, the title referring to a "lonely house on the windswept northern coast of England".

Finished Scarweather... It was beautifully written, but I pretty much saw the whole plot about eight miles away.

Roll: 2
Well, crap: Go to Jail. Again.

Penalty roll: 3
COVENTRY STREET / VENTNOR AVENUE: Read a book that contains at least one real historical figure as a character or a book set in Medieval times (AD 500-1500).

This feels familiar. I think I'll read the next book in the Owen Archer series, The Lady Chapel, since I enjoyed revisiting Owen and Lucie for the first time in many years. Hopefully I won't be stuck in this loop long enough to read the whole series.

I suppose there could be a worse fate! The Apothecary Rose has been on my TBR for a very long time.

True! It is an excellent series.

Finished with the second excellent installment in the Owen Archer series; I can't believe I let all these years go by without revisiting it.

Roll: 2

PICCADILLY / MARVIN GARDENS: Read a book from the Historical Mysteries and Thrillers Featuring Women Listopia OR a book with a flower, tree or garden on the cover.

I'm going with yet another Netgalley book, A Death by Any Other Name, which features a woman and has (kind of small) trees on the cover.

Sandy wrote: "I suppose there could be a worse fate! The Apothecary Rose has been on my TBR for a very long time."
Very good series one of my favorites

Me too!

Finished A Death by Any Other Name, thank goodness - that was not good. *rolls* Come on six!

Roll: 6 (!)
LIVERPOOL ST. STATION / SHORT LINE RAILROAD: Read a book of 150 to 250 pages in length.

Well, that makes sense. Let's go see what I can find.

Woops. I really messed up my game almost immediately.

I thought it would be fun to check off where I've been, so I did this:



- - And suddenly realized that I landed on Marylebone Station/Pennsylvania Rrd, but took the prompt for and kept moving from Fenchurch Station/B&O. ... Er, all railroad stations look alike...? Should I start over, or keep going, or go back and fill in the gap ...? What an idiot.

I think I'll start by doing the square I should have done - Marylebone, which is Read a book set in a place you’d like to visit. Which should be pretty easy.

No need to start over, Tracy. Just go back as you said and move on from there.

Thank you! I can't believe I did that.

As my belated Marylebone book, I'm reading The Innocence of Father Brown, because on I very much want to visit England, and more specifically I'd very much love to visit Father Brown's village of Kembleford. Though a few stories into the collection I'm starting to wonder if Kembleford is an invention of the tv series ...

Since I screwed up royally I am also doing my Short Line Railroad prompt - I'm listening to an Audible edition of Whose Body?, which in paperback is 212 pages.

OK: finished Whose Body? at work, for Short Line RRD.

Now I just need to finish Father Brown so that I can fill in that gap. After which I will read (since I rolled already)

Roll: 3
EUSTON ROAD / VERMONT AVENUE: Read a book from the Cozy Historical Shelf OR a book set in one of the New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont)

Done with Father Brown - yup, the tv series took major liberties.

Wow - there's not a whole lot out there set in New England that I can find... There's the Nell Sweeney series, set mostly in and around Boston, and the Concordia Wells books set in Connecticut - which I know because I've read them already ... And the Bracebridge Mysteries by Margaret Miles, also in Boston, which I haven't read all of ... but my paperbacks are in storage. OK - I'm going with an audio reread of Still Life With Murder.

I read a debut book The Strangers' Tomb for that category as it was written by a very local author who gave a book talk. I enjoyed it but I do live where the novel is set, Cambridge Mass, outside Boston, and that always helps.

Good find! I'm tempted to create a massive spreadsheet to make these challenges easier - and I might yet.

Some of the fun is in the hunt ... but only if you succeed!

True. :)

On the other hand, I just remembered this site:
http://stopyourekillingme.com/

It's pretty much the spreadsheet I was thinking of, in website form! How could I forget?!

Done with my audio reread of Still Life with Murder by P.B. Ryan. I loved it the first time I read it - so many fun soap opera-esque things going on (it just needed someone with amnesia!), but so well written and well handled, with really great characters. The narration wasn't the best ever, but it was good. Next ...

Roll: 2 ... VISITING JAIL: Roll the die again, move forward and do the task for the property you land on.
2nd Roll: 4

NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE / VIRGINIA AVENUE: Read a book set during the Roman Empire (27 BC - 1453 AD) OR during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). The book can take place in any country.

This is actually perfect, because it lands me right beside the square I accidentally jumped to. And it's a great prompt - I can think of several of both possibilities. If I had access to my paperbacks, I'd be golden.

OK - I really should not have bought a new book, but I did: Horses of the Night by Geoffrey Aggeler. I have a soft spot for Christopher Marlowe, and if the Amazon reviews are true the author knows him very well indeed. As soon as I finish the Netgalley I'm reading now, this will be the one.

Tracey wrote: "Done with my audio reread of Still Life with Murder by P.B. Ryan. I loved it the first time I read it - so many fun soap opera-esque things going on (it just needed..."

Have you read many of the Ryan series? I've read two or three; its one of my 'fill in' series but I get really behind in the ones that aren't my top priority. And new books / series keep popping up.

I read all six of the Nell Sweeney in 2014, and loved the whole series. I like this Monopoly challenge for the opportunity to reread the good stuff!

True to form, I've changed my mind - I am not reading Horses of the Night. I started it, and the style was too convoluted. I thought about reading an old favorite, Search the Seven Hills, set in 1st century Rome, but I think I've just read it too recently. So I'm going with Steven Saylor's Roman Blood. Enjoying it so far, a lot.

Finished Roman Blood; add ancient Rome to the list of places I don't really want to time travel to.

Returning to where I was before I doubled back to fill in the hole I'd left - I'm picking back up at Short Line,

Roll: 4
Ooh! Boardwalk!

MAYFAIR / BOARDWALK: Read a book set in London or one set in a seaside town.

Tracey wrote: "Finished Roman Blood; add ancient Rome to the list of places I don't really want to time travel to.

Returning to where I was before I doubled back to fill in the hole I'd left - I'm ..."

I have often thought time travel was over rated. I really like indoor plumbing.

Indoor (or any) plumbing, not quite so much casual murder, no slavery, basic hygiene, antibiotics...

I started A Proposal to Die For, but ... no. Not long in I had to go back and read the description to make sure it was a historical mystery, because there was no sign of it in the book itself. Yep: London, 1920's. Which made me wonder why so many probably-anachronistic words were being used - like the straw that broke the camel's back, hassle: "First recorded in 1935-40; origin uncertain". I have no patience for a tin ear - why write a historical if you have no feel for the language? Basically, this seemed like a poor attempt at a London-based Phryne Fisher.

So I quit and picked up Enemy Action, set in London in the middle of the Blitz. Not perfect, but better.

Tracey wrote: "I started A Proposal to Die For, but ... no. Not long in I had to go back and read the description to make sure it was a historical mystery, because there was no sign of it in the b..."

It annoys me when authors of historical fiction don't do basic research.

Lauren wrote: "It annoys me when authors of historical fiction don't do basic research. ..."

I mean, why bother? Just set the book in 2017 and save the grief.

Finished Enemy Action; a bit disappointing.

Roll: 1
GO, which means - -

OLD KENT ROAD / MEDITERRANEAN AVENUE: Read a book with a brown cover OR one set in a Mediterranean country (Wikipedia List)

For Old Kent Road, I read a brown-covered book:



It was not bad - slow as cold molasses, but not bad.

Roll: 5
THE ANGEL ISLINGTON / ORIENTAL AVENUE: Read a book with a blue cover OR a book set in the Orient (Wikipedia List - British English List)

I think I have a blue cover ...

I do have a blue cover:



And if this bombs out I'll go with



- Because for some reason I have a bad feeling about the first one.

My instinct unfortunately was right - Murder at Cleeve Abbey was not good, so I did read The Nun's Tale, another in the Owen Archer series. Yay.

Roll: 4
Visiting Jail
Re-roll: 5
Again - MARYLEBONE STATION / PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD: Read a book set in a place you’d like to visit.

That shouldn't be too hard. ETA: I'm reading a Phryne Fisher, Blood and Circuses, because I'd love to visit Australia and/or backstage at the circus.

That was fun - and that was quick. Next:

Roll: 4
VINE STREET / NEW YORK AVENUE: Read a book with a protagonist who is a police detective or a book set in a large city.

I'll try another Netgalley that has both (one main character is an investigator and it's at least partly set in Chicago): A Ring of Truth. But, as before, I don't have a good feeling about it... my backup is The White Feather Murders (also from Netgalley), set in 1914 Toronto.