Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our buddy read of the penultinate Nigel Strangeways mystery The Sad Variety .
This is the fifteenth in the series, first published in 1964.

The government's security department have asked private detective Nigel Strangeways to keep a discreet eye on Professor Alfred Wagley, a research scientist who is spending the Christmas holidays in the South-West of England. But someone else is also very interested in the professor and his work, and when his young daughter is kidnapped, Nigel finds himself in a race to avert a tragedy.

Please do not post spoilers in this thread. Thank you.

I know that this has quite poor reviews, but I found this quite gripping and got very involved in the story. Who else is reading this and, if you are, or did, how do you think it stands alongside previous books?

Overall, I find this quite an odd series and I am saying that as someone who really likes it! However, Blake, or Day-Lewis, never really seemed to take it in a particular direction. It really does feel, sometimes, that this was a definite afterthought and, even though there are some really good mysteries, characters seem to drop out suddenly, there isn't an overall story arc, and sometimes - as in this book - we veer from crime to a sort of B movie spy story.

I have read this and also found it gripping, but have to say I thought it wasn't nearly as good as the others in the series.

I don't think spy thrillers are Blake's strong point, and there is an awful lot of mocking of 1960s slang, etc, similar to late Christie books.

Hoping the last book in the series will be a better one, as I have really enjoyed these overall!

Yes, last one coming, which is quite sad. At his best, Blake is very good indeed. Minute for Murder, Malice in Wonderland and, of course, The Beast Must Die, are excellent.

I’ve just started this and am enjoying it a lot. I can see why it’s not everyone’s favourite, but I like his writing. I’ll be sad when we finish the series and am glad I joined this group and discovered Blake

Glad to hear you are enjoying it, Pamela.

I was wondering about the title, The Sad Variety - I googled it and looks as if it comes from a poem by Delmore Schwartz "The Journey of a Poem Compared to All the Sad Variety of Travel".

https://mypoeticside.com/show-classic...

Blake/Day-Lewis loves to use quotes from poetry for his titles, and this book does include quite a lot of travelling.

Judy wrote: "Glad to hear you are enjoying it, Pamela.

I was wondering about the title, The Sad Variety - I googled it and looks as if it comes from a poem by Delmore Schwartz "The Journey of a ..."

I also wondered about the title and glad you found a reference but I think he could have done better.

I enjoyed this story quite a lot, especially for the child heroine.

Good to hear we liked it - especially as it did have poor reviews.

Did anyone understand why the professor's family is staying in a guest house at the start? I may have missed something, but this didn't seem very likely to me, that they would go and live with strangers when they are requiring protection.

I think it was supposed to be a celebratory rest after working so hard to come up with his great secret and to spend some time with his wife and daughter. Not a great idea, no! It was a little like a B movie, wasn't it, but I have to say that I really loved this one somehow.

Susan wrote: "I think it was supposed to be a celebratory rest after working so hard to come up with his great secret and to spend some time with his wife and daughter. Not a great idea, no!..."

Ah, I see - thanks Susan! Not the most exciting place to go for a holiday though! Blurbs for the book seem to suggest that it takes place around Christmas, but I didn't notice any festivities at the guest house.

Of course, it does give a good house party type set-up for the mystery/adventure, though.

I really liked it too, even though I agree the plot had a few holes!

Judy wrote: "Did anyone understand why the professor's family is staying in a guest house at the start? I may have missed something, but this didn't seem very likely to me, that they would go and live with stra..."

My understanding was that the professor did not know he was receiving protection and Strangeways was undercover.

It was quite an odd collection of guests, each having a secret of some sort. Before Judy found the poem I wondered if that was variety of the title.

Yes, nobody seemed very festive, did they? There was mention of Christmas presents, but a distinct lack of festive cheer...

Sandy wrote: "My understanding was that the professor did not know he was receiving protection and Strangeways was undercover..."

Ah, that could make sense, thank you. I'm still a bit puzzled as to why they wanted to stay there, though!

And I think I totally missed the Christmas presents mention, Susan!

There is mention of a doll that Lucy received but felt she had grown out of. That's all I can recall though.

Oh yes, I do remember the doll. Thanks, Susan.

Hello, Susan, Judy, Sandy, and Pamela! Hope everyone is doing well. I just finished the book this week, and look forward to further discussion.

Judy, thank you for the information on Delmore Schwartz and his use of the term! That's an interesting connection. He was a contemporary poet of Day-Lewis', so I wonder if the phrase was fresh in his mind because of it.

My paperback copy of the story has the quote attributed to John Dryden, from "The State of Innocence and the Fall of Man." Here are the opening lines, spoken by Lucifer:

These Regions and this Realm my Wars have got;
This Mournful Empire is the Loser’s Lot:
In Liquid Burnings or on Dry to dwell,
Is all the sad Variety of Hell.

Ah, that's very interesting, thank you Jason - Schwartz must have been quoting Dryden. The "sad Variety of Hell" is a much more wide-ranging concept than travel. Thanks again.

Certainly lots of literary allusions, although Strangeways doesn't quote quite as much in this mystery as some others.