So, a while back, you might have spotted some of my fellow bloggers posting their top ten mysteries from the 1940s because that was the topic for discussion at our book group that week. To my disappointment, the schedule didn’t work for me, so my fellow book-buddies have been sitting for the last few weeks wondering what the correct titles that they should have included were. So it’s time to reveal the actual Top Ten Mysteries of the 1940s.

The rules – well, rule – is simple. Only one book per author, including pseudonyms. Off we go.

• The Case Of The Constant Suicides by John Dickson Carr. There’s a really good case for ignoring the rule and filling the list with titles by Carr/Carter Dickson and it’s really hard to select just the one. But this one – not The Hollow Man that I read beforehand – that really switched me on to Carr. Yes, there’s a lot of nonsense here, but it’s genuinely fun and genuinely funny. And the method is clever if you don’t think about it too hard.

• The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie. I think Christie is also hard to pick as a lot of her best work has already gone by. I’m sure Five Little Pigs would be suggested, or maybe The Hollow, but The Moving Finger includes one of my misdirections and, slightly creepy romance aside, it’s just a fun read.

• Death Of Two Brothers by Miles Burton. One thing that I’m endlessly fascinated by is crime fiction that was written during the war when the outcome was uncertain. John Rhode/Miles Burton wrote a lot of titles that fall into this category, but I think the most interesting is this one, with its different structure. The first half is set pre-war, the second once war has broken out and Desmond Merrion is notably missing, leaving Inspector Arnold to sort out the two murders. Rare as hen’s teeth, unfortunately…

• The Case Of The Murdered Major by Christopher Bush. Another wartime mystery, this time drawing on the author’s own experience. Set in a prisoner of war camp, although primarily on the officers’ side of things, this is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at this aspect of life at the time, as well as being a first-rate murder mystery.

• The Case Of The Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin. Another author where I did struggle a little picking a title – Love Lies Bleeding and Swan Song (not The Moving Toyshop!) were vying for the pick – but the Oxford setting, the locked room and the introduction of the wonderful Gervase Fen puts this one on the list.

• Green For Danger by Christianna Brand. This is probably the trickiest to pick, with Death of Jezebel also on the table – and maybe Suddenly At His Residence – but I still think the mechanics of Jezebel are a little over-elaborate. Still, all of the titles are well worth reading.

• Rope’s End, Rogue’s End by E C R Lorac. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the Lorac titles that I’ve read, but this is the best, featuring a locked room mystery, with Lorac also handling well a small circle of suspects without making things obvious. Definitely one for reprinting, British Library!

• Rim Of The Pit by Hake Talbot. The second best locked room mystery of all time (according to that list that thinks The Hollow Man is the best) and it’s crammed full of weirdness and fun. It’s been reprinted by the American Mystery Classics range and definitely worth your time.

• Traitor’s Mountain by Showell Styles. The first appearance of the great actor-manager-sleuth Abercrombie “Filthy” Lewker. As a mystery, it is rather obvious, but it’s more of a spy-thriller-adventure and a bundle of fun. Even if the Glyn Carr books get reprinted at some point, I doubt that this and the other two Styles/Lewker titles (Kidnap Castle and Hammer Island) will see the light of day, given that Lewker is only a supporting character and this is the only one that really deserves it.

• Men For Pieces by Brian Flynn. Saving the best for last, obviously… A smashing mystery concerning a bloody murder and a misplaced bathplug. This, Anthony Bathurst’s 36^th mystery, has alas never been reprinted so good luck finding… Hold on, that’s my phone. What’s that? July 1^st? Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? And there are four more as well? Thanks, Dean Street Press.

So there you go – the top ten mystery novels from the 1940s. How many did you get right?