geex2
GenXer who moved from the US to Australia. I love classics, mysteries, lit fic, true crime, memoir, but I'm very much a mood reader and what I read changes from time to time.
4478 points
geex2 started reading...
1h
The Clue (Fleming Stone #1)
Carolyn Wells
An heiress has been murdered, and only Fleming Stone can see the vital evidence Madeleine Van Norman is the most eligible young woman in the state, a beautiful young lady who is soon to come into her fortune. From her countless suitors, she makes a peculiar choice, agreeing to marry a stuffy man who loves someone else. On the eve of the wedding, Madeleine shuts herself away in a locked room to think about what she is about to do—and in the morning, she is found gruesomely murdered. Every member of the household is a suspect, but no one understands how the killer could have slipped through the locked doors of Madeleine’s bedroom. As the town whirls into a tailspin of suspicion and fear, it falls to the brilliant detective Fleming Stone to pick out the person who stabbed Madeleine to death—a baffling mystery that hinges on the discovery of a single, all-important clue. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
geex2 finished a book
14h
The Unicorn Murders (Sir Henry Merrivale, #4)
Carter Dickson
Gasquet, France's best policeman, pursues Flamande, France's greatest criminal, on a flight from Marseilles to Paris and when the plane makes an emergency landing and a murder takes place, it is Sir Henry Merrivale's job to identify both men, each a master of disguise
geex2 started reading...
2d
The Unicorn Murders (Sir Henry Merrivale, #4)
Carter Dickson
Gasquet, France's best policeman, pursues Flamande, France's greatest criminal, on a flight from Marseilles to Paris and when the plane makes an emergency landing and a murder takes place, it is Sir Henry Merrivale's job to identify both men, each a master of disguise
geex2 finished a book
2d
The Roman Hat Mystery (Ellery Queen Detective, #1)
Ellery Queen
A fine silk custom top-hat is missing from a crooked lawyer who was poisoned by lead alcohol in the Roman theater at the close of the second act, 9:55 pm. Inspector Richard Q, sneezing snuff; a thin, multi-faced, small "Old Man"; and the Inspector's large writer son Ellery, puffing cigarettes, investigate. They start with maps of theater, the victim's bedroom, and a list of names appended with flavorful commentary: the finder of the body is "cranially a brachycephalic", and Dolly "a lady of reputation". The flavor of 1929 costume and culture, with evening attire de rigeur, and hip flasks full of bootleg liquor.
From a Quest you joined
I read somewhere that this book is like a mix between Agatha Christie and The Wind in the Willows, and I love both of those, so I hope I love this series as well :)
geex2 commented...
4d
What are you currently reading? The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen. A 1928 mystery about a murder that takes place in a theater. Lots of fun so far!
What have you recently finished reading? Through a Glass, Darkly by Helen McClure. A 1961 suspense/dark academia thriller. I loved this one.
What are you planning on reading next? I think it'll probably be The Postman Always Rings Twice by James McCain.
Happy Wednesday everyone! hmu with the answers to these three questions:
- What are you currently reading?
- What have you recently finished reading?
- What are you planning on reading next?
Looking forward to seeing y'all's answers!
geex2 started reading...
5d
The Roman Hat Mystery (Ellery Queen Detective, #1)
Ellery Queen
A fine silk custom top-hat is missing from a crooked lawyer who was poisoned by lead alcohol in the Roman theater at the close of the second act, 9:55 pm. Inspector Richard Q, sneezing snuff; a thin, multi-faced, small "Old Man"; and the Inspector's large writer son Ellery, puffing cigarettes, investigate. They start with maps of theater, the victim's bedroom, and a list of names appended with flavorful commentary: the finder of the body is "cranially a brachycephalic", and Dolly "a lady of reputation". The flavor of 1929 costume and culture, with evening attire de rigeur, and hip flasks full of bootleg liquor.
This was very exciting at the beginning, and had great atmosphere, but I didn't think the characters were well made. It is John Dickson Carr's first book, and the weakest of his I've read, but his books are top tier so even a weak one for him is pretty good.
The story is set in France at the time of a wedding where the bride was previously married to a murderer. Her groom is found murdered, and the murder is an "impossible crime" as John Dickson Carr likes to construct. The style of murder makes it appear the crime was committed by her former husband.
I read this as a teenager, and now re-read it decades later. Really interesting story with lots of atmosphere and suspense. The story was well constructed. This would be a good dark academia choice, though it's at a prep school rather than a university.
geex2 finished a book
5d
Through a Glass, Darkly (Dr. Basil Willing #8)
Helen McCloy
The story belongs to the Dickson Carr tradition - a supernatural puzzle.... The quiet violence of families and wills and slow-stalking terror, woven of themes which have served novelists as diverse as Wilkie Collins and Mauriac, can still cast ripples of terror across the mind when the rattle of gunfire dies quickly in the wind' -Punch
geex2 commented...
6d
I have really mixed feelings about this as someone who reads classic mystery and crime fiction. Some books from earlier times were horrifically racist. There are Agatha Christie books I wouldn't be able to even have on my shelves. I feel fine about copyright holders choosing to edit future editions to make them more marketable, and I'm glad racism isn't marketable.
Then there are other classic mystery books still full of racism and other bigotry. At least it gives a real understanding of what life was during those times. It seems unhealthy to sanitize the past - it leads to an unhealthy version of nostalgia. Actually, things have changed for the better, and it isn't bad for us to see that.
As for changing ebooks, once you buy a book, it shouldn't be changed, even if it's an ebook. People can make new editions if they want, but what you bought is what you have.
At what point does an author's right to revise their own work conflict with a reader's right to the book they actually purchased?
Do you think authors should be able to make substantial, retroactive changes to a published book--including removing or rewriting entire scenes--without releasing or clearly marketing the revision as a new edition? And should those changes be pushed to copies readers have already purchased?
I'm asking because I've seen this come up with a popular romantasy series where the author is retroactively removing all of the sex scenes and changing them to fade-to-black. It's sparked a lot of discussion about authors' rights, readers' rights, ownership, and whether a published book is ever really "finished."
I'm deliberately not asking about this specific author or situation, which is why I'm posting this in Club. I'm more interested in the broader question: Where do you draw the line? Are authors free to change anything they want after publication because it's their work, or does a reader have some reasonable expectation that the version they purchased will remain the version they purchased?
And if you think authors should be able to make these kinds of changes, what would you consider significant enough to warrant labeling or selling the revision as a separate edition?
geex2 started reading...
6d
Through a Glass, Darkly (Dr. Basil Willing #8)
Helen McCloy
The story belongs to the Dickson Carr tradition - a supernatural puzzle.... The quiet violence of families and wills and slow-stalking terror, woven of themes which have served novelists as diverse as Wilkie Collins and Mauriac, can still cast ripples of terror across the mind when the rattle of gunfire dies quickly in the wind' -Punch
This one wasn’t for me. Lina is the most annoying character of all time. Next to Johnny, maybe.
