Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our December 24 group read of Impact of Evidence A book in the Julian Rivers series, first published in 1954, by E.C.R. Lorac, aka Carol Carnac.

Near St. Brynneys in the Welsh border country, isolated by heavy snow and flooding from the thaw, a calamity has occurred. Old Dr. Robinson, a known ‘menace on the roads’, has met his end in a collision with a jeep on a hazardous junction. But when the police arrive at the scene, a burning question hints at something murkier than mere accident: why was there a second body―a man not recognised by any locals―in the back of Robinson’s car?

As the local inspectors dive into the muddy waters of this strange crime, Chief Inspector Julian Rivers and Inspector Lancing are summoned from Scotland Yard to the windswept wilds, where danger and deceit lie in wait.

Puzzling and atmospheric, this exceedingly rare mystery from one of the masters of crime fiction’s Golden Age returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1954.

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

As it is December on Sunday, I thought it best to open the thread now in case I forget!

Thanks - i just read this for the first time last winter, but whizzed through it as so much happens in the first couple chapters, I was pulled right in. Anyway, I was ready to reread at a slower pace this time, and enjoyed it again! I love the way Lorac (or Carnac) writes her characters and settings, they really ground me in the story.

I liked this one. I thought it was interesting to read the introduction about Lorac moving near her sister in wartime and learning about the hardship of farming. She was a writer who used every experience and you can obviously imagine people resettling, if they could afford to, outside of the cities to avoid the bombing - like the doctor - and locals being a bit huffy about it!

I'm about 1/3 of the way in and really enjoying this-as so many have said, I'm surprised Lorac seemed to have disappeared for a while and glad that she is being reissued and read again.

Yes, we are extremely lucky. I remember scouring bookshops for so many of the titles that have reappeared in the last few years.

Goodreads doesn't seem to have merged its Lorac and Carnac lists-I have the Impact of Evidence listed as currently reading but it hasn't linked it to the BLCC version.

I think Goodreads is pretty useless with these things, Frances. I regret the fact they no longer allow members to add books if they are not a librarian and wish I had bothered to become one back in the day, but it didn't seem necessary.

I really enjoyed this book, good to hear that others are too. I wonder if many readers at the time spotted that Lorac and Carnac were the same writer! Frances, thanks for pointing out about the editions - I'll have a look at that this week and see if I can sort it out, as I am a librarian though not very active.

This is the second Carnac book I've read, both featuring the main detective Julian Rivers (the surname is very close to the author's real name, Rivett!)

While he seems very pleasant, I don't think I've got much sense of his personality so far and he doesn't seem all that different from Robert Macdonald, the detective in the Lorac books. Has anyone else noticed many differences between them? Rivers doesn't seem to have any family, as with Macdonald.

Another Carnac book, Murder as a Fine Art is being republished by British Library in January in the UK - great to see more Lorac and Carnac titles gradually being reissued.!

I'm not quite finished yet but what I'm really enjoying is the great depiction of rural life at the time, particularly when isolated-they're good for meat/eggs/milk in their little community, but have to get other things like flour and and sugar in, maybe even conscripting the army to help. I loved the plan to get out the butter equipment to deal with the huge surplus of milk they would have! It's also interesting to see how, even if they don't like each other, they will pitch in and help as they know they are all interdependent at a time like this.

Yes and it was published in 1954, the year rationing ended, so the country still had food shortages at that time. Farming was, of course, absolutely essential during the war and the army would have been involved if necessary.

This is my second Carnac book, I've read three Lorac. I got it through my library - this copy came from somewhere in Baltimore and is an original hardback - the pages are so dry the edges are flaking off as I read it!

I started it last night and finally forced myself to stop with twenty pages left, since I wanted to think about the book so far without knowing the ending. This story starts with a bang and really doesn't let up, because the situation of the characters is so fascinating. Snow, floods, murder, and yet life goes on when you live on a farm.

That's part of what I enjoyed so much about this story. I grew up on a small family farm in Colorado, and there was work to be done every day of the year. Christmas? Animals still needed to be fed and watered. Tornado? You had to protect the animals and the crops, then repair the damaged outbuildings. Summer vacation? Endless hours in the garden and the kitchen.

Most books I read set on farms really don't understand the constant work, and we had all the mod cons as they say, including gas stoves, freezers and a steady supply of electricity. Still, after every snow my Dad had to shovel out our driveway - about three quarters of a mile of hilly road - so we could get to school. (My Mom was a teacher, we never missed a day school was open. lol)

I also liked the people living on these farms in this book. Mostly if you're successful as a small farmer you're hard-working, intelligent and resourceful. If you're not you probably will go hungry. So the successful farms here were well-run and they were prepared for just about any emergency, including the old butter churning equipment. The folks who didn't work hard weren't doing as well, though bad luck could bring anyone down, so there is compassion for others. And the farm people never like to see animals suffer, so they go out of their way to take care of them. (On the other hand, just because you "work the land" it doesn't make you more noble than folks in the city. That's a trope I really dislike, and we don't see it here.)

I'm also a sucker for "snowed in" stories, so this was an extra delight. I'm only worried about who the murderer will be. I really don't want it to be anybody but the obvious suspect, and that doesn't seem likely!

Thank you, Teri-K, for verifying the portrayal of farm life and the constant work it took to make a successful life. I love this author (whatever she calls herself), because of her painstaking research, as my intro says, she was fascinated by the hard work of rural life, and came to respect and love it. I feel that in all of her books I’ve read in rural settings.

Judy wrote: "This is the second Carnac book I've read, both featuring the main detective Julian Rivers (the surname is very close to the author's real name, Rivett!)

While he seems very pleasant, I don't thin..."

The only differences I see are physical, Rivers is described as big and fair, with deceptively sleepy eyes, whereas Macdonald is dark. Also, it seems Rivers is more irreverent with Lancing, making references to the big nasty farm wife (Evans, I think) being a vicious slut or something - could never imagine the reserved Macdonald saying something like that to Jenkins!

Susan in NC wrote: "I love this author (whatever she calls herself), because of her painstaking research, as my intro says, she was fascinated by the hard work of rural life, and came to respect and love it. I feel that in all of her books I’ve read in rural settings."

That's good to know! I've only read her London ones, plus Crossed Skis, which also had a great sense of place. I'm looking forward to many more.

Oh, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have! I love that she doesn’t just have characters from country gentry, there are also farmers, doctors, lawyers, tradespeople, etc.

Teri-K and Frances, thanks for the great comments about the farming content of this book. I also really liked the part where they have to turn all the milk into butter to avoid it being wasted, something that I think may well stick in my mind long after I forget the details of the plot!

Looks like I managed to combine the Carnac/Lorac editions of this book...though there's always the risk that someone separates them out, or adds another one in that isn't attached.

I wouldn't worry too much, Judy. Goodreads generally is a mess. However, I do get annoyed when I can't add a book and end up reading something that I don't link to the site, as this is where I go when I am looking for 'that book' I liked a few years ago and that I have forgotten the title of!

Susan wrote: "I wouldn't worry too much, Judy. Goodreads generally is a mess. However, I do get annoyed when I can't add a book and end up reading something that I don't link to the site, as this is where I go w..."

Yes, especially if it’s one of a score of series you’d started and would like to carry on with, but have no idea where you left off! 😏

I have, finally started this and agree that it starts with a bang. This and then Bobby Owen and I can put December behind me.

Sandy wrote: "I have, finally started this and agree that it starts with a bang. This and then Bobby Owen and I can put December behind me."

I hope you enjoy this! It's a good way to end the year, I think. And a very wintery read, too.

Yes, you really feel the cold, and wet, misty, foggy weather! They had to be hearty souls to live and farm there!