Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Vintage Crime by Martin Edwards

Each story is a hidden gem and edited by Martin Edwards.  Some are vintage others are more contemporary but they will stay in your bookshelf because good works of writing always do. I discovered new Authors, and others I had read, but the stories were new to me. I had a hard time putting this down but you will love the variety. Highly recommended...five stars...



Blurb:

Vintage Crime is a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members’ work over the years. The book will gather stories from the mid-1950s until the twenty-first century by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers. The first CWA anthology, Butcher’s Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many award-winning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

This new edition includes an array of incredible and award-winning authors: Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Lesley Grant-Adamson, HRF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons and Andrew Taylor.

Monday, August 24, 2020

George Bellairs has quickly become one of my favorite writers. His characters are quirky and not always pleasant but add to the story. Penelope Blow is one of those books that remind me of what a wonderful story teller does for a plot. The gentle, timid Penelope who is quite insistent about seeing Inspector Littlejohn leaves her name but the information is never received. A murder occurs...

This books was first published in 1951. Bellairs is often referred to as having dark humor in his books but it is done with a dry twist. I always enjoy his books and I think you will too...


Blurb:

In the wake of Mr William Blow’s death, his surviving relatives find themselves tangled up in family secrets and financial mystery.

So when Miss Penelope Blow suddenly dies by falling out her bedroom window, suspicions are raised.

With Scotland Yard under pressure to determine the widow’s fall was really accidental, Inspector Littlejohn is called in to get to the bottom of the case.

But the deeper Littlejohn delves into the case, the more secrets he finds.

From malice to madness, there is one possible cause. Can Littlejohn uncover the truth before another tragedy befalls the Blows?