A Scattering of Jades - art by Guillaume Sorel (2006)

a mystery novel and a chai latte on an autumn day

Got a question about Lord Peter Wimsey

Please spread this because it's applicable to about five people and I would like to find all of them.

Roger's work in Tana French's The Hunter, just won the Earphone Award from AudioFile Magazine!

The Earphone Awards are given to "truly exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterizations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text."

If you interested in Roger's latest work, you can get The Hunter from the following retailers:

Apple Books ✰ Audible ✰ Audiobooks.com ✰ AudiobooksNow.com ✰ AudiobookStore.com ✰ Barnes & Noble ✰ Binge Books ✰ Chirp Books ✰ Everand ✰ Downpour ✰ Google Play ✰ Hoopla ✰ Libro.fm ✰ Overdrive + Libby ✰ Rakuten Kobo ✰

What are some good PI/mystery novels you enjoy that you can recommend?

When I felt in the mood for a comfort read, I’d often turn to Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder novels or his Bernie Rhodenbarr series -- the Scudders are dark, the Bernies are funny, but a stack of those would keep me reading not just for the plots but to see the leads and the ongoing supporting characters interact and develop over time. Others that work well for me: John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport novels (and his Virgil Flowers novels, which are sort of a second-track for the Davenports, interacting often) have a very satisfying sense of work-related bullshitting -- the mystery always gets addressed, but the crime-solvers have a great sense of co-workers who’ve been together for long enough to comfortably banter back and forth. Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller novels work very well as series reads too -- it’s actually worth reading Connelly in publication order, because even when he starts a different series or does a standalone novel, characters from those books wind up showing up in other series books, so it’s rewarding to take in the whole universe of Connelly crime. [Sandford does this too -- there are a few novels that focus on other characters and then they show up in the Lucasverse, which is enjoyable.] Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole mysteries are not only enjoyable reads, but the characters and mood develop a lot over the series, so they make good multi-book reads, too -- and again, there are characters who start out in their own novels and then feed into the Elvisverse. The standalones that don’t connect tend to be extremely good, as well.

Donald E. Westlake’s Dortmunder series and his Parker series (under the name Richard Stark) are very much not PI novels -- both characters are professional thieves, though Dortmunder’s world is one of comedic disaster and Parker’s is tough and spare and mean, and both are great. There’s even one book (JIMMY THE KID) where the Dortmunder gang decides to follow a crime plan from a Parker novel and the chapters alternate between the tough-guy procedural and the comic everything-goes-wrong. Dick Francis’s racing mysteries rarely have series leads (there are a couple of leads that recur here and there), but the novels all take place in the horseracing world and the leads tend to be similar, so reading through a stack of them can be a lot of fun too. I’m sure there are plenty I’m leaving out -- I like the first 13 or so Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker, but think that after that they largely get less and less interesting, though the banter is always readable. Laura Lippmann’s Tess Monaghan novels have a lot of engaging growth and change to them, too. Chelsea Cain’s Archie Sheridan/Gretchenn Lowell serial-killer novels are unsettling but, again, have change and growth over the series. When I was younger I loved John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee, but I fear those haven’t aged well. Hammett and Chandler are the classics of the form, but the Continental Op doesn’t change or grow, and I never read Chandler’s novels in chronological order. I also remember scarfing down Leslie Charteris’s Saint novels and Manning Coles’s Tommy Hambledon, but haven’t read either for years. I’m still sure I’m forgetting series I love, but that ought to be a respectable list. As for where to start in all these series, I’d say start at the beginning for most of them. Maybe start four or five books in with Lucas Davenport, because he got more interesting as he went. The same might be true for Elvis Cole, and with Robert B. Parker I’d say start with MORTAL STAKES. If you like them you’ll eventually want to read the early ones, and they’re not bad, it’s just that the series kinda rev up a few novels in as the writers find their footing.

The black frock fitted her like a glove. It was made with the small square yoke and long, close sleeves, softened by a wrist-frill falling nearly to the knuckles. It outlined her figure to the waist and fell full- skirted to the ground, with a suggestion of the medieval robe. Its dull surface effaced itself not outshining the dull gleam of the academic poplin.

Yes, I want this dress, an urge I often feel when reading of fashion in fiction.

This one was described in 1936 by Dorothy L. Sayers in her novel Gaudy Night, a book in which Sayers made clear that she believed a woman of sense knew how to dress appropriately for every occasion. The occasion here was Gaudy Night when the alums of the women’s college set at Oxford University in England came back for a celebration. Her heroine, Harriet Vane, herself a writer of mysteries wears the dress. The dress is not only quietly magnificent, Vane also knows just how to wear it with the academic robe, the “academic poplin” mentioned, which she must wear over the dress, a tradition of the college.

Vane has come back as an alum and ends up trying to solve two mysteries: who is harassing the women of the college with threats and vandalism? and should she marry Lord Peter Wimsey, the impossibly charming, erudite and wealthy investigator who save her from a murder conviction? The answer to the second question seems obvious to me--yes, go marry the man!-- but Sayers takes just as long to explore the question of marriage for a woman with a professional career in 1936 as she does to uncover the mystery.

One time I went on a date to see one of the Hercule Poirot movies and he didn't like it and said Agatha Christie was a "bad mystery writer and too predictable" so I ghosted him and now the only predictable mystery he is solving is why I don't respond to his texts

You know what, Tumblr? Let's talk about a book series that I think you'll love that no one ever talks about.

Y'all should read the Cat Who mystery series by Lilian Jackson Braun.

They are wonderful and the main character is named James Mackintosh Qwilleran, or Qwill for short, a 40 something and single (when the books start) reporter who keeps getting put on strange beats by the paper and ends up with two Siamese cats named Kao K'o-Kung (Koko for short) and Yum Yum (queen bitch, honestly). This guy has an extremely bad habit of stumbling into mysteries he would really rather not have any part of, but them's the breaks for our dear Qwill. Fortunately, Koko is oddly good at helping him work out clues. Then a few books in, he inherits a place in a tiny town up north called Pickax and moves up there, only to have to deal with the sheer number of charmingly odd people that make Pickax their home. Oh, and he and the chubby librarian are a thing, too, and it's ADORABLE.

Qwill basically has classic Tumblr sexyman stamped all over him.

Every library ever has these books, and you can usually also find most of them at used bookstores for super cheap.

Here are the first five books:

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern

The Cat Who Turned On and Off

The Cat Who Saw Red

The Cat Who Played Brahms

Once you start reading, you'll be hooked. But look out, the whole series is thirty books.

Have fuuuuuuuuuun. ♥️

Red Team Blues

A very novel novel, reviewed

tl;dr - it's a good book and if detective stories or thrillers are of interest to you, I would recommend checking it out.

Warning: possible minor spoilers below. If you want to go in blind, stop reading.

A mixture of a noir detective story and a cyber dystopian alternate reality nearly indistinguishable from our own, Red Team Blues is a roller coaster ride. The story follows our hero, Martin "Marty" Hench, a 67-year-old bachelor forensic accountant for hire on his last job before retirement. A prodigious sleuth at finding assets that some people would rather stay hidden, he has had a long and storied career stretching back to the beginnings of Silicon Valley. When Marty's old friend Danny Lazer calls in a favor to discreetly retrieve some stolen cryptographic keys that allow for control over Danny's revolutionary new blockchain system, Marty diligently works to find the keys. Fortunately, Marty is good at his job. He returns the keys and receives his payment for finding the assets: a cool 300 million dollars. Unfortunately, he also happens to find some dead bodies along with said assets. Consequently, he finds himself in a race against time to solve the mystery of what really happened and to clear his name before either the family of the dead or the people they double-crossed take him out.

The story is not just a gumshoe thriller taken on the road, but also a commentary about Silicon Valley, the impacts that technology has on our world and the people in it, and the differences between the haves and have-nots. It touches on the difficulties of playing defense (the blue team), the ease of playing the offense (the red team), and the benefits of playing to your strengths. 

The characters are well written and feel like real, actualized people. They have their own lives, their own experiences, and their own voices. And Marty has to rely on them. He can't keep himself safe without the help of friends and strangers, and he does what he can to help keep them safe in return.

Ultimately, it's a masterfully written book (and well narrated by Wil Wheaton) that is hard to put down. I listened to the audiobook nearly non-stop. When it was done, I had to fight the urge from starting it back from the beginning. I'm truly excited that this is the beginning of a series, and especially one that has the interesting twist where it is, chronologically, the end of the story.  As stated previously, Red Team Blues is a good book and if detective stories or thrillers are of interest to you, I would highly recommend checking it out.

You can get a copy of the ebook or audiobook directly from the author here. You can also buy the audiobook from libro.fm or get a physical copy from bookshop.org

Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space - art by Tom Kidd (1984)

I'm working on a little something so I'd like to know.

Vigilante justice/revenge is one hard drug

Maitres-Détectives

Brève collection française de romans policiers; 5 titres en 1932.

"Weird Tales Magazine No. 367: The Cosmic Horror Issue"

Authors: Jonathan Maberry, et al. Narrators: Scott Brick, Robert Fass, James Anderson Foster, Heath Miller, Neil Hellegers, Roger Clark, Joe Hempel, Edoardo Ballerini, Eunice Wong, Simon Vance, Holly Adams, Chris Henry Coffey, Ralph Lister, Natalie Naudus Release Date: July 11, 2023 Length: 5 hours, 56 minutes

Overview:

The first issue in the second century of Weird Tales features a new HELLBOY story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Editor Jonathan Maberry has built a collection of cosmic horror that will destabilize your worldview.

Listen to a sample of Roger's contribution to this collection:

Weird Tales No. 367 includes a variety of stories by different authors and narrators.

If you are interested in the story narrated by Roger in this collection, the tale Night Fishing by Caitlín R. Kiernan is the one you're looking for. Or if you have an interest in another tale, author or narrator, check out the table below.

Weird Tales No. 367 is available from:

Apple Books ✰ Audible ✰ Audiobooks.com ✰ AudiobooksNow ✰ AudiobookStore.com ✰ Barnes & Noble ✰ Chirp Books ✰ Downpour ✰ Everand ✰ Google Play ✰ Hoopla ✰ Libro.fm ✰ Overdrive + Libby ✰ Rakuten Kobo ✰

hercule poirot or miss marple? why?

OOF THAT'S SO HARD. miss marple tho i think just because unlike poirot she isn't an actual detective she's just constantly finding herself in Situations. also i do enjoy her personality a lot + she's the sort of character it's very fun to come up with backstories for. i do love both of them very much tho <3

however if you like poirot and miss marple can i quickly recommend the inspector alleyn series by ngaio marsh? because that's actually probably my fav mystery series and all the characters are so developed! and inspector alleyn is very charismatic and interesting in particular. it's so underrated for a series that is just as good as agatha christie's novels if not better and ngaio marsh's writing style is gorgeous