Golden Age of Detective Fiction

I love book sales and I found a few gems at a library book sale about an hour away. There were about 25,000 books stacked on and around rows and rows of tables in an old armory. I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular so it was nice to come home with a few gems.

Series: American Mystery Classics

Publisher: American Mystery Classics

Publication Date: May 2, 2023.

C. Daly King’s debut mystery is a tale of murder, travel, and psychiatry set aboard a luxury transatlantic liner The smoking room on a transatlantic cruise ship is bound to be a hotbed of activity ― but it’s less common for it to be the site of a murder. Yet, when the lights flicker aboard the luxury Meganaut, making its way from New York to Paris, this is precisely what happens; in the darkness, a gunshot rings out, and when the light is restored, a man is found dead. The situation becomes all the more curious when it’s discovered that the deceased had apparently ingested cyanide just seconds before being penetrated by the bullet.  Luckily, for the other passengers, there are two detectives aboard the Meganaut, ready to leap into action. There are also four psychiatrists, and those psychiatrists convince the captain to let them take a stab at solving the crime, using their professional understanding of the human psyche to determine who could have been capable of such a crime ― and why. But will they be able to deduce the puzzle’s solution before the killer strikes again? The first of seven novels by psychologist C. Daly King, Obelists at Sea is intelligent and enjoyable Golden Age mystery fare, featuring an atmospheric setting, carefully placed clues, and a complex whodunnit plot explained with sharp-witted ratiocination.

Goodreads

I was so excited to find a nearly new hardback copy of this recent American Mystery Classic publication, Obelists at Sea. It’s one of my #20booksofsummer23 reads and I was content to just borrow my libraries copy, but it’s always nice to have my own copy.

I love books set on ships, ocean liners, or other water craft during the interwar period because there’s so much excitement and inherent danger in sailing during this time. I am especially enamored with the food and luxurious furnishings writers embellish the stories.

Mysteries set on ships usually involve a closed circle of suspects and are often locked room affairs which are some of my favorite elements in Golden Age Mysteries.

Series: Robert Macdonald (#21)

Publisher: Collins Crime Club.

Publication Date: Originally published in 1942. This edition was published in 1951.

Format: Hardcover, 192 pages.

Wulfstane Manor, a rambling old country house with many unused rooms, winding staircases and a maze of cellars, had been bequeathed to Veronica Mallowood and her brother Martin. the last time the large family of Mallowoods had all foregathered under the ancestral roof was on the occasion of their father’s funeral, and there had been one of those unholy rows which not infrequently follow the reading of a will. That was some years ago, and as Veronica found it increasinly difficult to go on paying for the upkeep of Wulfstane, she summoned another family conference–a conference in which Death took a hand–Rope’s End, Rogue’s End is, of course, an Inspector MacDonald case, in which that popular detective plays a brilliant part

Goodreads

This book has been through some rough times. It’s an ex-library copy and is basically falling apart, but I love old, scuffed books with lots of library stamps and markings. It also has underlining and margin notes from several people so it’s been well loved and sparked a lot of interest in its readership. I can’t wait to read the story and all of the comments left previous readers.

I was also jazzed about being able to find a book published by the Collins Crime Club since they are such a seminal publisher of mystery fiction. I have enjoyed all of the books I have read by E.C.R. Lorac so far, Fell Murder, These Names Make Clues, and Post After Post-Mortem, this was an easy purchase.

Series: Malcolm Warren Mysteries (#2).

Publisher: Faber & Faber.

Publication Date: Originally published January 1, 1934. Published by Faber & Faber on October 1, 2015.

Format: Paperback, 250 pages.

A Christmas party in Hampstead is rudely interrupted by a violent death. Can the murderer be one of the relatives and intimate friends celebrating the festive season in the great house? The stockbroker sleuth Malcolm Warren investigates, in this brilliantly witty mystery from this classic crime writer. First published in 1934, the second in the Malcolm Warren series sees our some-time detective unravel the mystery behind two gruesome deaths in a mere twenty-four hours. A master of suspense and surprise, Kitchin sets the festive scene by conjuring up the most vivid of characters and presents us with a likeable narrator to guide us through. ‘Kitchin’s knowledge of the crevices of human nature lifts his crime fiction out of the category of puzzledom and into the realm of the detective novel. He was, in short, ahead of his day.’ H .R. F. Keating

Goodreads

I recognized the name C. H. B. Kitchin as a well known Golden Age author and thought the wintery country house mystery will be great fun to read around the holiday season. Since it’s the second book in the Malcolm Warren series, it will also galvanize me to read the first book: Death of My Aunt, which is just sitting on my shelves, soon.

Series: British Library Crime Classics.

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press.

Publication Date: Originally published January 1, 1940. Published August 2, 2016 by Poisoned Pen Press.

Format: Paperback, 224 pages.

Soho during the blackouts of the Second World War. When a piercing scream rends the air and a blooded knife is found, Detective Inspector McCarthy is soon on the scene. He must move through the dark, seedy Soho underworld – peopled by Italian gangsters, cross-dressing German spies and glamorous Austrian aristocrats – as he attempts to unravel the connection between the mysterious Madame Rohner and the theft of secret anti-aircraft defence plans.

This evocative and suspenseful London novel from the golden age of British detective fiction is now republished for the first time since the 1950s with an introduction by the award-winning crime novelist Martin Edwards.

Goodreads

I picked A Scream in Soho to add to my growing British Library Crime Classics collection. I have featured several British Library Crime Classics reviews on my blog including: These Name Make Clues, The Body in the Dumb River, Fell Murder, Death on the Riviera, Murder in the Basement, Post After Post-Mortem, The Poisoned Chocolates Case, Mystery in the Channel, Antidote to Venom and Murder by the Book and I am a big fan of the books selected for the series so far.

I’m not a huge fan of books set during WWII, but I find the idea of gangsters, spies, and aristocrats as advertised on the blurb to be intriguing. Hopefully A Scream in Soho will exceed my expectations.

Series: British Library Crime Classics.

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press.

Publication Date: Originally published January 1, 1964. This edition, August 2, 2016.

Format: Paperback, 269 pages.

In 1864, the British writer James Redding Ware, under the pseudonym Andrew Forrester, published The Female Detective , introducing readers to the first professional female detective character, Mrs. Gladden, and paving the way for the more famous female detectives of the early twentieth century, namely Miss Marple and Nancy Drew.
           
Mrs. Gladden’s deductive methods anticipate those of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, who would not appear for another twenty years–and like Holmes, she regards the regular constabulary with disdain. But her energetic and savvy approach to solving crimes is her greatest appeal, and the reappearance of the original lady detective is sure to captivate a new generation of crime fiction fans.
           
In 2012 The Female Detective was made available to the general public for the first time since its original publication; the British Library is now reissuing this foundational crime novel as part of its Crime Classics series.

Goodreads

A British Library Crime Classic about the first female detective has be hyped. I can’t wait to read the contextual introduction to get a better historical understanding of this character. I also can’t wait to see how she stacks up against her more famous male counterparts such as Sherlock Holmes and how she influences female detectives that are her antecedents.

Series: Death in Paradise (#2)

Publisher: HarperCollins.

Publication Date: 2015.

Format: Hardcover, 333 pages.

Supermodel Polly Carter was famed for her looks and party-girl lifestyle. Now she’s dead, apparently having thrown herself from the clifftop near her home on the island of Saint-Marie. Those who knew her say Polly would never have killed herself…and when he is called in to investigate, DI Richard Poole is inclined to agree there is more to Polly’s death than meets the eye.

Already fighting a losing battle against the intense summer heat of the Caribbean, Richard now faces fresh adversaries: a stream of alibis; a host of conflicting motives; and, worst of all, a visit from his mother. A frenzy which would surely allow a murderer to slip away unnoticed…yet Richard is certain that the guilty party is still on the island.

As his team closes in on Polly’s household, Richard becomes convinced that the model’s death was an inside job. And he’s determined to prove who planned the killing of Polly Carter, and why…

Goodreads

I recently reviewed two Robert Thorogood mysteries, The Marlow Murder Club and Death Comes to Marlow and I am pumped to start reading the Death in Paradise series. I am a huge fan of the TV show, but somehow never knew that there was a corresponding book series until recently. I am going on a trip to South Carolina in a few weeks and I can’t wait to read The Killing of Polly Carter by the pool.

Series: Albert Campion (#12)

Publisher: Ipso Books

Publication Date: First published January 1, 1945. This edition was published December 24, 2016.

Format: Paperback, 270 pages.

World War II is limping to a close and private detective Albert Campion has just returned from years abroad on a secret mission. Relaxing in his bath before rushing back to the country, and to the arms of his wife Amanda, Campion is disturbed when his servant, Lugg, and a lady of unmistakably aristocratic bearing appear in his flat carrying the corpse of a woman. The reluctant Campion is forced to put his powers of detection to work as he is drawn deeper into the case, and the eccentric Caradocs household, dealing with murder, treason, grand larceny, and the mysterious disappearance of some very valuable art.

Goodreads

The cover of this Albert Campion mystery has me so intrigued. What is happening to that poor woman? The blurb on Goodreads is giving away no clues to the plot, but I my interest is piqued. You can read my other Albert Campion reviews: The Tiger in the Smoke and The Crime at Black Dudley,

Series: Philip Trent (#1)

Publisher: Dover Publications.

Publication Date: First published January 1, 1913. This edition, July 11, 1997.

Format: Paperback, 176 pages.

The case begins when millionaire American financier Sigsbee Manderson is murdered while on holiday in England. A London newspaper sends Trent to investigate, and he is soon matching wits with Scotland Yard’s Inspector Murth as they probe ever deeper in search of a solution to a mystery filled with odd, mysterious twists and turns. Called by Agatha Christie “one of the best detective stories ever written,” Trent’s Last Case delights with its flesh-and-blood characters, its naturalness and easy humor, and its style, which, as Dorothy Sayers has noted, “ranges from a vividly coloured rhetoric to a delicate and ironical literary fancy.” New Introduction by Douglas G. Greene.

Goodreads

I mean, if Agatha Christie thinks Trent’s Last Case is one of the best mysteries ever written who am I to argue? On her recommendation alone, I purchased it.

What do you think of my library sale book haul? Have you read anything that I bought, if so leave your (non-spoiler) thoughts below and help me decide which book to read first.