June 5, 2017Puzzle Doctor

Twenty Books Of Summer 2017

You may recall last year I undertook a particular challenge – not something that I normally do – concerning announcing twenty books that I was going to read between 1 June and 3 September. I picked this challenge as it helped make read some books that I was making a point of not reading for some reason. The inspiration post for this meme is over at 746books here. So what are the twenty books for this year?

This year, I’m going to tackle the ever-increasing pile of Golden Age books that are piling up – well, nineteen are Golden Age and the twentieth is about the Golden Age. And yes, I’ve cheated by not taking twenty different authors – can you spot the cheat?

Links will appear when the review is posted. Off we go…

UPDATE: OK, I’ve cheated and changed the Brian Flynn book. Tragedy At Trinket is so heavily cricket-based that it’s nigh unreadable in places. One day, but not just yet…

31 comments

    • It came down to the wire last year as I was still prevaricating over a couple of books that I put on the list that I felt that I ought to read but didn’t really want to. But I just made it in time…

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  4. So many brilliant books in your lineup! The Golden Age of Murder, Malice Aforethought, The Norwich Victims, Some Must Watch and Verdict of Twelve are all brilliant. Can’t believe you’ve been putting them off! Quick Curtain is funny but not as good as Death of Anton.

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  6. Two Rhodes diverged, eh, PD??

    I hope to make a big dent this summer in my TBR pile, too, and it’s safe to say that you and I overlap not a jot!! You showed me yours, but I dare not show you mine for fear of coming up short in execution!

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  8. Hamlet, Revenge! How lucky you are to be reading this for the first time. It has all the richness of the best Innes without, as I recall, being much marred by the embarrassing snobbisms that crop up in his other books.

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    • Funny. That’s the one book on the list that I’ve tried to start, but it seemed overly verbose. Admittedly, I was tired at the time, so fingers crossed for Round Two.

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      • Michael Innes can be a bit heavy going but I do love his books, and every once in awhile I find a new one that delights. Try APPLEBY PLAYS CHICKEN — very good!

        I like John Rhode, and some of the others. Some I haven’t read and some authors I haven’t even heard of. Ethel Lina White — could be a bit dramatic.

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  9. Your list ties in with my recent activities in a curious way.

    I acquired Malice Aforethought two days ago (along with Before the Fact) although it will be several months before I get to it.

    I finished Carter Dickson’s Fear is the Same this morning, and I find it to be very similar to The Demoniacs on many levels. I’ll leave it at that, but I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on the spoiler-section of my review once you’ve read the book. I suspect The Demoniacs is one of the titles that you refer to as not being enthusiastic about reading. I was the same way, but it’s hard not to get swept up in a historical Carr once you start it.

    I completed The Gilded Man last week (I have several reviews queued up because my main computer is being replaced and I’ve had nothing but phone and pad to type on). I found it to be a joy to read, although I read it directly after Ellery Queen’s The Roman Hat Mystery and The French Powder Mystery, so any plot beyond simple police investigation was bound to be a relief. I wouldn’t say The Gilded Man has the strongest mystery, but the plot is great and it’s a wonderful reminder of why I love Carr as a writer.

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  10. The basic plot of “The Gilded Man” is one that Carr used more than once, in a short story and one of the later historically-set novels. I didn’t enjoy “Verdict of Twelve” the first time I read it, but may try it again. “Hamlet, Revenge” is good but not my favourite Innes – that has to be “Lament for a Maker”, which I was surprised to find some people find hard work because of the use of Scottish dialect. “Quick Curtain” I found rather weak, and I’ve only read “Ring of Innocent” by Flynn – I will give his work another try sometime. “The Golden Age of Murder” is as good as you’d expect from all the reviews!

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  11. I have the same problem with Golden Age mysteries piling up. Most of mine are on my Kindle, which means that I forget they’re there because they’re not stacked on one of the tables in my house already groaning under the weight of books where I’ll see them every day.

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    • One of my problems with Golden Age Mysteries is that I want to keep them. Thus, even when read they go on the shelves, or, increasingly, in a stack on a floor.

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      • I’m running out of shelf space too. And as another tip, don’t value your collection – I did this with a small part of my collection and now I need to quote it on my house insurance… It adds up quickly.

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  13. Quick Curtain, The Demoniacs, and Verdict of Twelve are all sitting on my TBR pile as well. Along with several hundred others–mostly vintage mysteries that I can’t resist continually buying.

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