Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and is currently revived by Taking on a World of Words. You can participate by answering the three questions below and leaving a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

What Are You Currently Reading?

What Did You Recently Finish Reading?

Forty years ago, Steven “Smithy” Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. When he showed it to his remedial English teacher Miss Iles, she believed that it was part of a secret code that ran through all of Twyford’s novels. And when she later disappeared on a class field trip, Smithy becomes convinced that she had been right.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Smithy decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. In a series of voice recordings on an old iPhone, Smithy alternates between visiting the people of his childhood and looking back on the events that later landed him in prison. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code holds a great secret, and Smithy may just have the key.

“Filled with numerous clues, acrostics, and red herrings, this thrilling scavenger hunt for the truth is delightfully deceptive and thoroughly immersive” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Amazon

When two newlyweds discover that a corpse has been buried in the basement of their new home, a grueling case begins to trace the identity of the victim. With all avenues of investigation approaching exhaustion, a tenuous piece of evidence offers a chance for Chief Inspector Moresby and leads him to the amateur sleuth Roger Sheringham, who has recently been providing cover work in a school south of London.

Desperate for evidence of any kind in the basement case, Moresby begins to sift through the manuscript of a satirical novel Sheringham has been writing about his colleagues at the school, convinced that amongst the colorful cast of teachers hides the victim—and perhaps their murderer.

A novel pairing dark humor and intelligent detection work, this 1932 mystery is an example of a celebrated Golden Age author’s most inventive work. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award–winning author Martin Edwards.

Amazon

A mad man’s outburst about a body in a mill calls Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard to a sleepy English village.

It’s a rainy, uneventful evening in the Oddfellows’ Arms until a man bursts into the pub, clearly unstable, and ranting about a body in Fennings’ Mill.

The police investigate and stumble upon a body-the face smeared with theatrical make-up and a false mustache pasted neatly over the lip. Once the national news descends, Inspector Faddiman calls in Inspector Littlejohn to help him uncover the dark, hidden secrets in this quiet, provincial town. Soon it becomes clear that a lot of people can’t, and won’t tell the truth…

About Inspector Littlejohn.

Inspector Thomas Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is a shrewd yet courteous sleuth who splits his time between quaint English villages, the scenic Isle of Man, and French Provinces. With a sharp tongue and a dry sense of humor, Littlejohn approaches his work with poise and confidence, shifting through red-herrings and solving even the most perplexing of cases.

©1949 George Bellairs (P)2019 Tantor

Amazon

When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joined the fishing class, she wasted no time in ruffling the feathers – or was it the fins? – of those around her. Among the victims of her sharp tongue and unladylike manner was Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet not even Hamish thought someone would permanently silence Lady Jane’s shrills – until her strangled body is fished out of the river. Now, with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish must angle through the choppy waters of the tattler’s life to find the murderer. But with a school of suspects who aren’t ready to talk and dead women telling no tales, Hamish may be in over his head, for he knows that secrets are dangerous, knowledge is power, and killers usually do strike again. Includes the bonus story “Knock, Knock You’re Dead”.

©2013 M. C. Beaton (P)2016 Blackstone Audio

Amazon

In this mystery classic, Perry Mason takes on the case of a young woman whom the authorities accuse of exploiting her wealthy uncle.

The Case of the Beautiful Beggar is part of Erle Stanley Gardner’s massively popular, always compelling Perry Mason series. Everyone’s favorite crusading attorney must use all his investigative and interrogatory skills to crack the case and win the trial.

©1988 Erle Stanley Gardner (P)1988 Dove Audio, Inc.

Amazon

As any herpetologist will tell you, the fer-de-lance is among the most dreaded snakes known to man.  When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin knows he’s getting dreadully close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president.  As for Wolfe, he’s playing snake charmer in a case with more twists than an anaconda — whistling a seductive tune he hopes will catch a killer who’s still got poison in his heart.

Amazon

In Agatha Christie’s They Do It with Mirrors, the indomitable Miss Marple investigates some rather deadly doings at a rehabilitation center for delinquents.

Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in Stoneygates, a rehabilitation center for delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when someone shoots at the administrator. Although he is not injured, a mysterious visitor is less fortunate—shot dead simultaneously in another part of the building.

Pure coincidence? Miss Marple thinks not, and must use all her cunning to solve the riddle of the stranger’s visit … and his murder.

©1952 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers.

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What Will You Read Next?

A girl employed in the box office of a London cinema falls into the power of a mysterious trio of crooks. A helpful solicitor sends her to Scotland Yard. There she tells Inspector French the story of the Purple Sickle. Her body is found floating in Southampton Water the next day. French discovers that similar murders have taken place. After gathering evidence he learns the trio s secret and runs them to ground.

Amazon

After years of bullying and cajoling others as a high-flying public relations boss, Agatha Raisin’s early retirement to the picture-postcard village of Carsley in the Cotswolds is a dream come true. And how better to begin making herself a local leading light than by entering the village quiche-making competition? Unburdened by old-fashioned ideas of fair play, the ruthless Agatha decides to ensure she wins by buying her entry from a London delicatessen. Alas, Agatha’s perfect product is soon exposed – as not only store-bought but poisoned. The contest judge succumbs after eating it, and with him go Agatha’s reputation and her chances of rural bliss – unless she can expose the poisoner….

©1992 M. C. Beaton (P)2012 AudioGO