Well, you can blame Cleopatra Loves Books for this one…
Apparently My Name In Books was a meme that went around over the summer (and over my head as well – never noticed it) but I thought I’d give it a go – namely spelling out my name in the titles of my favourite books. Now, there’s an obvious problem with a name like The Puzzle Doctor – can you spot it? But nevertheless, I thought it was worth a go. But try as I might, the only thing I could come up with for Z was Zzzz for any of the Brother Cadfael books. But this is a friendly blog, so I couldn’t possibly say that. Instead, I thought I’d do My Blog Name In Books. Here goes…
(By the way, as a lot of mystery novels start with “The” or “A”, I’m choosing to ignore those).
- In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward – a very well received debut from a fellow blogger.
- Nightshade by Paul Doherty – the book that started an obsession for me
- Seven Wonders Of Crime, The by Paul Halter – seven impossible crimes!
- Egyptian Cross Mystery, The by Ellery Queen – one of the early ones
- Armada Boy, The by Kate Ellis – the second of the Wesley Peterson series
- Raven Black by Ann Cleeves – the first of the Shetland trilogy, quadrilogy, etc
- Crack In The Lens, The by Steve Hockensmith – Holmes on the Range mystery
- Hoodwink by Bill Pronzini – a locked room mystery by an author I’ve neglected
- Original Skin by David Mark – too grim for some but well worth a look
- Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie – the favourite Poirot of the connoisseur
- Ten Little Herrings by L C Tyler – one of my favourite discoveries this year
- Honk, Honk, My Darling by James Finn Garner – Clown Noir!
- Everyone Lies by A D Garrett – a gripping forensic thriller with proper science
- Chef Maurice and a Spot Of Truffle by J A Lang – why haven’t you read it yet?
- Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton – an unputdownable thriller
- Axeman Cometh, The by Nev Fountain – the finest audio mystery you’ll ever hear
- Shatter The Bones by Stuart MacBride – with one of my favourite ever clues
- Spark Of Death, A by Bernadette Pajer – another author who I’ve neglected.
- Ice Princess, The by Camilla Lackberg – one of my few forays into Scandinoir
- Chessman, The by Dolores Gordon-Smith – a great homage to the Golden Age
- Meditation On Murder, A by Rob Thorogood – a great Death in Paradise novel
- Yesterday’s Papers by Martin Edwards – the fourth of the Harry Devlin series
- Sticklepath Strangler, The by Michael Jecks – a dark medieval mystery
- Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon – a sequel to Twelfth Night
- Emperor’s Snuff Box, The by John Dickson Carr – a non-series classic
- Red Right Hand, The by Joel Townsley Rogers – a neglected classic
- Yellow Room, The Mystery Of The by Gaston Leroux – a must-read
- Nine Man’s Murder by Eric Keith – a twisty puzzle of a novel, a real treat
- Our Lady Of Darkness by Peter Tremayne – the ninth Sister Fidelma mystery
- Vigilante by Kerry Wilkinson – Book Two of the Jessica Daniels series
- End of Chapter by Nicholas Blake – a Nigel Strangeways mystery
- Last Policeman, The by Ben H Winters – Apocalypse Noir!
OK, E was a bit tricky – End Of Chapter isn’t the finest Blake book but it’s not bad… And sorry about the bit of the cheat on the second Y. But that was rather fun. Apologies for anyone that I missed out – Frances Brody started a lot of her books with M but Rob Thorogood said too many nice things for me to miss out A Meditation for Murder, but I think I caught everyone else. Anyone else fancy a try?
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 
Absolutely brilliant – and thank you for my shout out – You’ve got some fantastic choices in your selection too – I really enjoyed A Meditation on Murder and I really hope Rob Thorogood writes another one for us (and I love the TV series too) Good to see there is a AC in there and you’ve highlighted Ten Red Herrings which sounds like one for me!
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There is another DIP book coming very soon – again featuring Richard Poole. There’ll be a review of it as soon as I can get my hands on a copy…
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Oh I hope I get one too 🙂
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Honestly can’t recall if I got a review copy of book one. I think I bought it myself – well worth it.
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“….there’s an obvious problem with a name like The Puzzle Doctor”
Well, you should have no problem with your real name. 🙂
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A different set of problems
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Eagerly awaiting the next book by Robert Thorogood titled The Killing Of Polly Carter to be released on 3rd December 2015.
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Interesting list, PD. I thought I’d give this a try. That wound up being more difficult than anticipated–Especially since I was determined to stick with mysteries/thrillers that I rated with four or more stars. But I finally found enough for my blog name:
Murder Stone, The by Charles Todd
Yellow Room, The by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (one of the few thrillers you’ll find on my list)
Estate of the Beckoning Lady, The by Margery Allingham
Abominable Man, The by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
Death in a Tenured Position by Amanda Cross
English School of Murder, The by Ruth Dudley Edwards
Rules for Murder by Julianna Deering
Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
Bodies in a Bookshop by R. T. Campbell
List of Adrian Messenger, The by Philip MacDonald
One Step Beyond by Henning Mankell
Champagne for One by Rex Stout
Key, The by Patricia Wentworth
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Well done chum – a bit mind boggling though!
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It did take a disproportionate amount of time to do…
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I am in awe … Though at least I would have had a Z in my reviews (Ross Macdonald’s THE ZEBRA-STRIPED HEARSE, great book).
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I did have one, The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths but was reluctant to use it because I wasn’t much of a fan. At least with End Of Chapter, there were other better Blake books
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Oops! Missed out Paul Halter – an adjustment has been made. Apologies to the person who’s now off the list…
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Oh for goodness sake! I thought you were going to tell me that your blog was appearing in new books. That is, that your blog reviews were being blurbed in published books’ PR material that appears on the back covers or in the front matter. Have you ever checked that? I’m curious how many good blogs like yours, Steve, have been blurbed. Periodically I find one of my reviews has been quoted in a book and I’m floored. I’ve found three so far, all through serendipitous browsing in stores. No one ever tells you when this happens. There may be more. Has it ever happened with you? You certainly review a lot more new books than I do. Must’ve happened at least once by now.
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Not that I’m aware of, John. I’m quoted on a few websites but I haven’t spotted myself in print yet.
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It’s one of my blogging ambitions on fact. They go 1) get on a blurb 2) get a character named after me 3) get off my backside and write my own book. No luck yet – thought I’d managed 2) with The Herald Of Hell but Paul tells me it was subconscious at best…
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Well, while advertising her book The Masque Of A Murderer at her website, the author mentions your blog, even revealing your name ! http://www.susannacalkins.com/the-masque-of-a-murderer.html
Perhaps, in a later edition, your name may appear on the blurb. 🙂
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[…] next time as I approach 800 posts – but in the meantime, you can find a multitude of books in My Blog Name In Books – two hours well spent, I’m sure you’ll agree. So next month, Kerry Wilkinson, […]
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Your blog is quite an unique but peculiar read indeed. I love reading mystery novels especially from the classic book collections for that thrill they offer. The names you have mentioned are really very beguiling and I am looking forward to reading a few of these at least if not all. For instance ‘Everyone Lies’ reminds me of the famous Gregory House.
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