Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our Feb/March 22 buddy read of The Deadly Joker by Nicholas Blake - a stand-alone mystery, published in 1963.

When John Waterson and his young wife chose Netherplash Cantorum, Dorset, for their retirement years, they could not have predicted that this idyllic spot had one severe but unforeseeable drawback: among its inhabitants was a practical joker whose fertile mind ran to the most bizarre and grotesque designs.

The Village was no place for a quite retirement, or for a gentle recuperation from the nervous breakdown that had afflicted Waterson's wife. In Netherplash, the peace is continually disrupted with extraordinary events tripping over each other which, in the end, lead to a hideous and painful murder.

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

Opening up this buddy read today - thanks for the introduction, Susan.

A link to the spoiler thread is below:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I am currently reading this one, Judy. As always, I like Blake/Day-Lewis's writing, but this is a strange mystery. Odd, as well, after reading Fear Stalks the Village to have any storyline which mentions poison pen letters.

I have finished this one and enjoyed the writing style and first-person narrator, but a strange story, as you say, Susan.

I was also surprised to have another poison pen story set in an idyllic village, and started getting mixed up at times!

Me too. I think a lot of Cecil Day-Lewis enters his books and he doesn't sound like a very nice man! I would, though, be fascinated to read his biography. I do have C. Day Lewis: An English Literary Life sitting on my bookshelves and must get around to it.

I am half done, and agree with all the above: strange story, confusion over poison pens, and Day-Lewis doesn't sound like a pleasant person.

I haven't finished yet, but - although I do like his crime novels - he almost seems to push the reader by being as offensive as possible at times.

Talking of offensive elements, in this novel there is a lot of racist language in the first chapter - one character does object strongly but no one else seems to take it seriously. I wasn't sure how Day-Lewis is expecting readers to react - maybe it is part of the aim to be as offensive as possible, as you say, Susan.

I have almost finished this now. It really is a very odd mystery but I am quite glad that we did read the stand alones. Of all the characters, I think I like Sam, the journalist son, best. I could say best of a bad bunch - it isn't really a village I would care to visit!

I really liked the voice of the narrator, with all the intriguing hints about things he doesn't fully explain, but not sure what I think of the character as a person.

I have just managed to get hold of this - the Kindle edition was incredibly expensive compared with all his other books. So I’ll read Bobby Owen first, and then pick this up.

It was expensive, wasn't it, Pamela? I have one more chapter to go and will wait until I am home and out of this weather to finish it this evening.

I was lucky and found a library reprint from 1977. Somebody checked off all the Blake books they've read.

Writing in books you don't own has to be a no-no....

I've just realised Day-Lewis wrote a mystery novel for children under his own name, The Otterbury Incident - has anyone read that one? I don't think I ever read it as a child, but it looks pretty good from a quick "look inside" at Amazon!

It does look good, but I don't recall reading it.