Reading the Detectives discussion

As we approach the end of 2019, what were your favourite books you have read this year - both mystery and non-mystery? Please share your thoughts on your best reads of the year.

My favourite read with the group in 2019 was buddy read Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham- I've read this before and I think it is one of the best Campions, 

I think my favourites out of the group and challenge reads were Tenant for Death by Cyril Hare (I love his writing style) and either Opening Night or Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh - two of her books with enjoyable theatrical themes.

My favourite personal mystery read was probably British Library Crime Classics reprint The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons - this is one about someone who may or may not be a missing heir, something I always find a fascinating plot. I'm also enjoying reading the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout - I really liked And Be a Villain. 

One of my favourite non-mystery reads was Pereira Maintains by Italian author Antonio Tabucchi, a quirky novel with thriller elements which is a compelling portrait of life under dictatorship in 1930s Portugal.

My favorite reads with the group were probably the Poirot rereads, and the two or three new-to-me, or if I read them I didn’t remember them, like ABC Murders, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe and Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. Maybe not Christie’s best, but not easy to find one I don’t remember or may have missed years ago.

My favorite mystery reads from group nominees (even though they weren’t picked), were ECR Lorac’s Inspector Macdonald mysteries, I have read three through my library, and I just ordered two more from Amazon! Just have to wait for the British Library Crime Classics to reissue her titles - I also like George Bellairs, and look forward to trying Michael Gilbert in the new year - thanks to the group for bringing these authors to my attention!

I really enjoy well- written historical fiction and mysteries, and I follow several series, anticipating a book a year if I’m lucky! In that category, I’ve enjoyed Lethal Pursuit, two entries in Alys Clare’s current series I follow, The Woman Who Spoke to Spirits, and A Rustle of Silk; CJ Sansom’s Tombland, Paul Doherty’s The Godless, Alan Bradley’s The Golden Tresses of the Dead and CS Harris’ Who Slays the Wicked. New series introduced to me by the group that I will follow avidly are by Mariah Fredericks, Abir Mukherjee, and Anne Perry’s Daniel Pitt series (I read her for years, this is a wonderful spinoff series).

My favorite nonfiction for the year was: City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago, Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans, and The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. I look forward to reading more history next year!

While I enjoyed many of the books I read in this group, like Judy I found nothing that measured up to the Margery Allinghams; I loved rereading both The Fashion in Shrouds and The Case of the Late Pig. Another highlight for me was discovering a Michael Innes I had never read, though Stop Press was a baggy monster. The book may have been a bit of a mess, but I adore his language and have a soft spot for any author who leaves me panting in his wake trying to follow the gist. Maybe it’s time for us to consider one of his shorter mysteries, if others aren’t yet suffering from Innes fatigue?

Of the mysteries I read outside this group, the best was The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny. Any mystery by Louise Penny is basically my best mystery read of any year.

Biography was the genre in which I found the best reads of 2019. An oldie, Frances Burney: The Life in the Works by Margaret Doody, was a superb classic. And Ian Kelly’s Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style proved the beau idéal of biographical studies, telling a deep and absorbing tale of a surprisingly interesting person and richly illuminating the era in which he lived.

A couple of history reads stood out: The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss told in exhaustive but never exhausting detail the story of the final vote, in Tennessee, for the ratification of the amendment granting women the right to vote in the USA. Surprisingly relevant to today’s political divisions. And a very obscure little book by a group of amateur local historians got everything right in telling a small story with larger ramifications: Lonesome Lodge: A Lost Palladian Villa by the Capel History Group.

I don’t read travel essays very often but enjoyed A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor a lot despite its getting a bit lost in the weeds toward the end. Fermor set out on the eve of World War II, in the middle of winter, to walk across Europe, and the book tells a fascinating tale of a lost world.

Beyond that my greatest pleasures came from lighter “recreational” reading: in romantic fiction, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev (contemporary) and The Wrong Direction by Liz Treacher (set in the 1920s) were standouts. Both pushed the boundaries of the genre in ways that annihilate cliché. I also got to reread my all-time favorite Georgette Heyer, The Unknown Ajax. I occasionally enjoy fantasy, and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik was wonderful, deeply rooted in Russian and eastern European folklore.

Last, I continue to read great children’s books from time to time, and enjoyed two classics—The Little Grey Men and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase—this year. I am currently reading another very fine contemporary children’s book, Wildwood by Colin Meloy.

After a mediocre patch near the start, it has been another good reading year!

My favourite mystery was The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer. Widely considered her best mystery & I would agree with that. My favourite mystery read with this group was The Warrielaw Jewel

The biggest pleasure for me was rereading two favourites from my childhood Miss Happiness and Miss Flower & The Incredible Journey. They more than stood the test of time & were my favourite reads of the year.

I admire your courage in rereading The Incredible Journey! I remember loving it as a child but don’t think I have the grit to cope with animals in danger anymore.

You’re making me think I should have reread The Unfinished Clue, but this has been a terrible reading month for me.

Abigail wrote: "I admire your courage in rereading The Incredible Journey! I remember loving it as a child but don’t think I have the grit to cope with animals in danger anymore.

You’re making me think I should h..."

The threads in the GH group will be waiting for you when you have time, Abigail. :)

I'm surprised I coped with The Incredible journey as a child as I was one soft kid. I wasn't allowed to watch Lassie as a very young child because I got so upset!

Carol, you are reminding me that as a child I lay awake at night for weeks crying about the book Lassie Come Home!

And reminded me of The Small Miracle, or rather the film Never Take No for an Answer, which I saw at the age of four, and which reduced my slightly older brother to tears.

Abigail wrote: "While I enjoyed many of the books I read in this group, like Judy I found nothing that measured up to the Margery Allinghams; I loved rereading both The Fashion in Shrouds and Th..."</i>


Some great titles to explore here - and you reminded me of one of my best fiction reads, which you recommended to me, [bookcover:Unmarriageable.

I’m also in the Heyer group, and reading her books are always a treat, along with the discussions we have!
(Have no idea why my comment looks like this, tried to fix to no avail...)

Possibly a typo in an HTML code? I suspect someone else recommended Unmarriageable to you because I have not yet read it--just got my copy over the weekend when I attended the JASNA NorCal Jane Austen's birthday gala, where the author was the featured speaker. Now that I know you loved it, I am doubly interested to read it!

Abigail wrote: "Possibly a typo in an HTML code? I suspect someone else recommended Unmarriageable to you because I have not yet read it--just got my copy over the weekend when I attended the JASNA..."

Thanks- I thought it was you! Well, it’s a great read, i hope you enjoy it!