Some news for John Rhode fans and potential fans and also a bit of a plea for information. About a month ago, some cheap ebook versions of his books have appeared on Amazon. This isn’t a plug for the company producing them – NightHawk Books – but I thought readers might want to know, as, potentially, there could be more on the way.
The books in question are all Dr Priestley books, mostly published under their US titles. They are:
- 2: Dr Priestley’s Quest (Amazon.ca only)
- 18: The Robthorne Mystery (Amazon.com only but not available to buy!)
- 21: Murder At The Motor Show (a.k.a. Mystery At Olympia)
- 24: In Face Of The Verdict (a.k.a. In The Face Of The Verdict)
- 26: Death Sits On The Board (Amazon.ca only)
- 27: Body Unidentified (a.k.a. Proceed With Caution)
- 57: The Case Of The Forty Thieves (a.k.a. Death At The Inn) (Amazon.com only)
- 65: Death Of A Bridegroom
- 67: Death Takes A Partner
- 68: Licensed For Murder
- 69: Murder At Derivale
- 71: The Fatal Pool
I’m not sure what the logic behind these choices is – I can’t seem to find any presence on the internet for NightHawk Books apart from the Amazon listings – but the reason that I’ve added the numbers to the titles is because the covers for the books do this, implying that the plan is to issue a complete set of them. But with two books only available in Canada, one in the US and Canada and eight in all three marketplaces (and Robthorne nowhere), it seems an odd publishing plan. And to be honest, some of the choices are very strange, with a bulk from the end of the catalogue including the distinctly sub-par The Fatal Pool.
So, dear reader, do you know anything about NightHawk Books and what their plans are? I’d love to see a full set of John Rhode books being made available to everyone and I’d love to stop trawling eBay to keep filling the holes in my collection. So does anyone know anything about these?
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 
“..eight in all three marketplaces …”
I presume you are referring to Canada, USA and UK market places.
I just checked and find that these 8 ebooks are also available at amazon.in, but not the remaining 4.
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Hello chum – you should ping Curtis on this as I’m sure he can help – have you got his email? If not I’ll send in a PM
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I’ve got his email address. But as Santosh has found the publisher’s, I’ll try there first.
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I’ve got in touch with Curtis – he’s better qualified to investigate this than me.
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The publisher is actually Steve W. Chadde, a botanist and plant ecologist who is also the author of several books on plants. A brief profile on him is available at https://www.amazon.com/Steve-W-Chadde/e/B004N54VAI
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Yes, I found him but wasn’t convinced it was the same person, despite the distinctive name.
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Have you try to contact them via Twitter at @NighthawkBooks?
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I’m not convinced it’s the same company – I think the twitter account last tweeted in 2010 and I think it’s from a bookshop rather than a publisher.
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Oh! Sorry then!
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No probs. Any leads are worth checking out.
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Yes, it was a bookshop in New Jersey, USA which closed down.
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The email address is steve@chadde.net
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If he’s the same person… any evidence apart from the name?
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It is mentioned in the first page of all the books on plants.
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Yes, but have you any evidence linking the botanist with the Rhode books apart from the name?
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Oh ! See the last sentence of the profile referred to above.
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Cheers. Missed that comment.
I’ll get in touch with him and see if I can find out a bit more
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These books seem to correspond with those posted on the internet archive (interpret this as you will).
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Now that is a very good point – a quick check confirms that every one of these are available (somewhat dubiously) on that website. Which does make me somewhat suspicious about this enterprise…
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