Merely Mystery Reading Challenge 2012: Wrap Up Post

I was very proud of myself for completing the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge in 2012.


There were two possible levels for this challenge.
Down on Her/His Luck Gumshoe - Read two or more books falling into any of the twelve sub-genres specified by the challenge (listed below).
Shamus Who Has Seen It All - Read at least one book from each of the sub-genres for a total of 12 books.

I chose to sign up for the Shamus Who Has Seen It All level. This was a true challenge for me, because several of the genres were not that appealing to me.



I did read more than one in many of the sub-genres, but I chose to list just one for each.

Below I have listed books I read with links to reviews...

The Whodunit: Political Suicide by Robert Barnard

Locked Room Mystery:  The Tattoo Murder Case by Akimitsu Takagi

Cozy: Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

Hard-Boiled/Noir:  Dying Light by Stuart MacBride

The Inverted Detective Story: The Suspect by L. R. Wright

The Historical Whodunnit: Bluffing Mr. Churchill by John Lawton

The Police Procedural:  The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

The Professional Thriller: With a Bare Bodkin by Cyril Hare

The Spy Novel:  The Company of Strangers by Robert Wilson

Caper Stories:  The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep by Lawrence Block

The Psychological Suspense: A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

Spoofs and Parodies:  The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson

The Affair of the Mutilated Mink: James Anderson

It is the 1930's, the Golden Age of the studio system in Hollywood. The Earl of Burford is smitten with films and especially with actors such as Errol Flynn and Rex Ransom. So when Hollywood producer Cyrus S. Haggermeir wants to use his country house for his next picture, Lord Burford invites him, and the star of his next film, Rex Ransom, to visit for a few days. The Countess is not pleased. And for this interesting weekend, a series of unplanned guests stream in until they have a large house party with a diverse set of characters.

This book is the second in a series of three country house mysteries by James Anderson. I had already read the first one (in 2005), and I remember enjoying that book very much. Why did it take me so long to get around to this one? Well, first I had to acquire a copy, and then, well... there are so many books I want to read. So, I just now got around to reading this one.

The Affair of the Mutilated Mink has a very convoluted plot and the surprises keep coming to the very end. It is definitely a humorous mystery. I am prejudiced against humor in mysteries but this one proves how wrong I can be. It was laugh out loud funny at times, and I did have affection for many of the characters. Even the irritating daughter (Lady Gwendolyn) who can't decide between two beaus, and plays them against each other.

I read this mystery as my choice for a mystery parody for the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge 2012. This book is often cited in reviews as a parody. But the definition I read of a parody implies some derision of the genre or author being parodied, and I don't see that in this book at all. One definition at dictionary.com was "a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing." I will go with that version.

One does get a clue that this is written with a tongue-in-cheek attitude when fictional detectives John Appleby and Roderick Alleyn are mentioned as possible investigators who could be called in to solve the case.

I am a big fan of the country house mystery sub-genre. I re-discovered this when I read Farthing, the first book in an alternate history series by Jo Walton. I loved especially the interplay between the upper classes and the servants. That element is not so prevalent in this mystery, although Merryweather the butler plays a  significant role.

There are excellent reviews of this series out there, if you are interested in knowing more about each book. Here are a few of them:

William I. Lengeman III has a detailed article at criminalelement.com with the title "Murder Among the Gentry: James Anderson’s Country House Mysteries." He also has individual posts on the books at his own blog, Traditional Mysteries. This mystery novel is also reviewed in detail here at the blog, At the Scene of the Crime. This blogger notes that this book is really a tribute rather than a parody.

Political Suicide: Robert Barnard

I have been a fan of Robert Barnard for years. He has been writing mysteries for over 35 years and has written over 40 mysteries, plus several non-fiction books. Many of his mysteries, especially the earlier ones, are satirical novels.  Political Suicide takes a look at politics in England in the mid-1980's.

Here are the opening sentences of the book:

''It was a quiet Friday morning in Downing Street. The Prime Minister was stewing over a draft bill to privatize the armed forces, many of the aides and secretaries who normally cluttered the place were already off for the weekend, and in the kitchens the cook was preparing a light lunch of staggering ordinariness.''

James Partridge, Member of Parliament for the Yorkshire district of East Bootham, has apparently committed suicide. In fact, his party and the party in power at the time, the Tories, are very eager for the death to be determined to be suicide, so they can move past that to the election to choose his successor. But there is no clear evidence of suicide, and the case is left open. Inspector Sutcliffe of New Scotland Yard investigates.

Sutcliffe takes the inquiry very seriously, to the extent of using his vacation to extend it. However, the focus of the plot is also on the mechanics of the by-election, the jockeying for position, the opportunism and deceit of the candidates and their supporters. Barnard tells the story with wit and charm.

I was recently thinking that a lot of Robert Barnard's books are like Ruth Rendell's suspense novels, in that the characters are often quirky and/or unattractive, and the ending is often not at all what you expect. The major difference for me is that reading Rendell's novels, other than her Inspector Wexford series, often make me feel very uncomfortable. Thus I have avoided them for years. Whereas Robert Barnard's books are lighter and I always enjoy them. They offer something different, not the standard mystery read (if there is such a thing).

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
A-Z Challenge
Merely Mystery Reading Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge
Spring Reading Challenge

The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep: Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block started publishing mysteries in the early 1960s. This first entry in the Evan Tanner series was published in 1966.

From the description of Evan Tanner at a UK publisher, No Exit Press:

He is 34 years old and hasn't slept a wink since a piece of shrapnel destroyed the sleep centre in his brain during the Korean War. Tanner loves lost causes and beautiful women.

This is a very entertaining caper novel. I went into it thinking it was the first book of a spy series, and in a sense it is. But it is more of a spoof than a real spy story, and much less realistic than most spy novels I read.

For the first half of the book I was thinking the story was just too fantastic, even though it was an easy read and entertaining. In fact, it did remind me of fantasy novels I have read where the most unusual things happen and the hero gets in lots of deep water and is rescued time and again magically. At about the half way mark, the story becomes a bit more realistic -- just a bit.

Even when I was having problems with the plot or the whole impossibility of the situations he gets into, I still found this a fast, entertaining read. I have the next book in this series, The Canceled Czech, and plan to read it. At that point, we will see if I continue on

An interesting note: Most of the book is a wild, funny ride. But parts of this book are set in Turkey, and a large part of the plot depends on Tanner's research related to the Turkish massacres of Armenians during and after World War I. Before reading this book, I did not know much on that subject. I discussed it with both my son and my husband, who are more knowledgeable of both history and current events than I am. And did a little research on my own.

A quote from the book:

But it was during World War I, when Turkey fought on the Axis side and feared her Armenian subjects as a potential fifth column, that the Armenian massacres reached their height and the phrase “Starving Armenians” found its way into our language. In mid-1915 the Turks went berserk. In one community after another the Armenian population was uprooted, men and women and children were massacred indiscriminately, and those who were not put to the sword either fled the country or quietly starved.

I don't read mysteries to educate myself, I read them for entertainment. But knowledge gained from reading fiction is a welcome side effect. There is an afterward by the author describing his circuitous route to coming up with this plot.

I have read some books from two of Lawrence Block's other series: the Matthew Scudder series, which is very dark, and the Bernie Rhodenbarr Burglar series, which is funny. I read those books long ago and have plans to re-read them soon (gradually, over time). I like his writing no matter whether it is light or heavy.

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
A-Z Challenge
1st in a Series Challenge
Merely Mystery Reading Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge

A Duty to the Dead: Charles Todd

For me, the main attraction of this book is the picture it gives us of life during World War I in England. The main character, Bess Crawford, is a nurse on the Britannic, a hospital ship, when it sinks. She survives, but an injury forces her return to England on leave. Each new book that I read about World War I or World War II leads me to new knowledge about those time periods and events.  I had no knowledge of hospital ships and know little about women's roles in those conflicts.  I did not know that the Britannic was a sister ship to the Titanic and that she also sank.

Bess has experienced nursing many men injured in the fighting and watching men die of horrible wounds. She is not a part of the fighting but she has been close enough to see the horrors that the soldiers have to experience. The author uses Bess's experiences to contrast with those at home who cannot sympathize with what the men have experienced in war.

After recovering from an injury incurred during the sinking of the ship, Bess is allowed to go home on leave, and plans to follow up on a request by a soldier to deliver a message to his family.  She had grown close to the soldier, and she ends up getting involved with his family. Her dedication in her nursing career gets her more and more deeply involved.

Did I like this book? My opinion is in the lukewarm range. The mystery itself was not compelling, but I did enjoy the story. It was more psychological suspense than whodunit. The actual crime committed is not clear until deep into the story. The writing was too slow for me, but I persevered and was rewarded. Several reviews described it as an old-fashioned mystery, and I suppose that fits with the time and setting. I found it somewhat unbelievable that the protagonist is able to successfully investigate the mysteries she is confronted with and that her family would (reluctantly) support her in this. But I don't usually require that mysteries be totally realistic and believable. Most interesting novels are not realistic, but take us to a place we haven't been.

Charles Todd is the pseudonym for a mother and son writing team. They have written three other books for this series (one to be published in June 2012) and also have written an earlier series about Ian Rutledge, a Scotland Yard Inspector suffering from shell shock following World War I. The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear is similar, although Maisie comes from the lower classes and that series takes place after World War I. I have read the first book in all of these series and I plan to read more of them.  So far I like the Maisie Dobbs series best.

This is an in-depth review of  A Duty to the Dead, with more background on the authors. A little warning: It has more detail about the plot than I like to know before reading a book.
At Open Letters Monthly.

Reading this book has inspired me to learn more about nurses in World War I and hospital ships in general.

• This review at HistoricalNovels.info lists other fiction set in this period and resources for more information on the Britannic.
• The website for the Women in World History Curriculum has reviews of many historical mysteries featuring women. Here is a review for A Duty to the Dead.

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Challenge
1st in a Series Challenge
Merely Mystery Reading Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge
World War I Reading Challenge

This book has been been on my TBR pile for about a year. But I was motivated to read it at this time by the 2012 reading challenge at War Through the Generations. I cannot say enough good things about this site. Not only does it encourage reading about history and war, providing lists of resources for both non-fiction and fiction books, it allows participation.

Bluffing Mr. Churchill: John Lawton

Description from review at Publisher's Weekly:
"In this stimulating prequel to Lawton's acclaimed Inspector Troy series (Black Out; Old Flames; etc.), London is in the middle of the blitz and 25-year-old Freddie Troy is a Scotland Yard sergeant, chafing at the limits of his post. As the novel begins, he is relegated to the background, the focus instead on a gawky American named Calvin Cormack, who has come to London to help find and debrief Wolfgang Stahl, a top aide to Hitler's SS chief, Heydrich, and a spy for the Americans who has been forced to flee Germany for England to avoid capture..."

This book was the fourth book published in the Inspector Troy series by John Lawton -- and the fourth book I read in the series.  It was my favorite of the four I have completed. I found the first three confusing and slow at times. And the characters seemed less sympathetic. (It could have been me and my frame of mind when reading the books.) However, I persevered through each of the books and found the journey rewarding.

It is worth noting that Bluffing Mr. Churchill is set in 1941. Thus, chronologically it precedes the first  book in the series, Black Out.  Black Out was set in 1944 (at the end of the Blitz). The second book, Old Flames, moves ahead to 1956, when Britain is still suffering the after effects of the war. The third book, A Little White Death, jumps forward to 1963. But if you order the series chronologically, A Little White Death is the seventh book in the series.


Some reviewers have suggested reading the series chronologically rather than in the order published. That disagrees with my personal rule: Always read a series as published. For this series, there are probably pros and cons no matter which way you go. Yes, you get back story on many of the characters in later books in the series, and, if you remember the details of the earlier books, you may know things about the characters you don't want to know. So far, it has not caused a problem for me. After this book, I decided to read Second Violin next, which begins in 1938, but was the sixth book published. I actually think I preferred reading them in this inverted order. In Second Violin, we get more background on Wolfgang Stahl and other characters central to this book ... So, I say ... maybe the order of reading does not matter.

On a page of Q&A at John Lawton's website, he answers the question about why the books jump around in time. Paraphrasing, he started out intending to write a trilogy, then later another author (Ariana Franklin) suggested he fill in the gaps. Which he has done with four additional books.

But to get back to my thoughts on this book. This one kept me interested throughout and I really liked all the "secondary" characters, although, as pointed out in the Publisher's Weekly review, a large part of the book covers Calvin Cormack and his relationship with Sergeant Stilton and his family. I have not felt that any of the books ended "happily" but they are not depressing. Realistic, I guess.

This book combines two of my favorite topics (especially in mystery novels): World War II and espionage.  I like books about the Cold War and this series covers that time period too. The British class system and the resentments it engenders are addressed, and we see the impact from both sides. That continues in Second Violin. The discrepancies in attitudes of the British and Americans in the early 1940's are also a focus.The fact that John Lawton writes so well makes it all the more enjoyable.

Lawton sees spies as the bad guys, as he states in this article: "I write what I call 'anti-spook' novels..."

"As Cormack told his tale, Troy found himself responding to it with a prism of feeling--to the end of the rainbow and all the way back again. He'd never understand the spooks if he lived to be a thousand. It seemed to require a degree of patriotism he could not imagine, a faith in one nation that defied intelligence. At the same time it was the biggest lie of all--all spooks were playing parts, all spooks were liars. Who, Troy wondered, did they see when they looked in the mirror?"

For me, this is a re-readable series. I have two more books to read after Second Violin. But I can easily see re-reading the whole series someday.

Another small thing that is unusual in these books is the way the chapter divisions are handled. The book is divided into a lot of very short chapters. This made it easy for me to read in short sessions when necessary and not lose the flow of the plot.  Sometimes with books that I cannot break away from easily, I end up stretching the book over several days when I can find longer periods to read.

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
A-Z Challenge
Finishing a Series Challenge
Merely Mystery Reading Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge

The Company of Strangers: Robert Wilson

Robert Wilson's description of The Company of Strangers in an article at the Crime Time website:

"The Company of Strangers is a spy thriller / love story which is set primarily in Lisbon in the July of 1944, has its continuation in East Berlin of early 1971 and a denouement in England in the early 1990s." 

A quote: 

     Cardew's conversation drifted toward work.

     "Yes, the fifties were terrific once we go rid of bugger boys Burgess and Maclean. Thought we were right on top of the game, only to find it was a complete bloody farce…

Khrushchev said to Kennedy once that we should give each other a list of all our spies and we'd probably find they read the same. Too bloody right."

There are two main protagonists, Karl Voss, a young intelligence officer in the German Army and Andrea Aspinall, who becomes a spy for the British during World War II in Lisbon at a very young age. The complications of their family relationships and their affair mold the rest of the story.

It is a love story, but I would not call it romantic. It is more about the harsh realities of life. It is about families, and relationships, and maturing. It seems like a lot of books I have read lately have had a theme of family relationships and how they affect us. Or maybe I am just focused on that topic right now.

Did I like this book? Yes, very much. I enjoyed the author’s storytelling and the characterizations. It did take me a long time to read. It was a big thick book but I don’t think that was the problem. There was a section in the middle where it slowed down and I would have like more explanation of that period of Andrea’s life, but then it would have been even longer. At the end, I felt that the author had set the stage well for the final events. 

This book also appealed to me because of the time period and subject matter. World War II and spy intrigue. And then it transitions into a Cold War novel and double agents. Was the depiction of spies and their double crosses and cynicism realistic? I don’t know, but I was convinced. It was real for me.

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
A-Z Challenge
Chunkster Challenge
European Challenge
Merely Mystery Reading Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge

Merely Mystery Reading Challenge

The Merely Mystery Reading Challenge 2012 is hosted by Musings of a Bookish Kitty.

Description:
"The focus of this challenge is to explore the different types of crime fiction out there. If you are new to the crime fiction genre, want to step outside your comfort zone and try another kind of mystery or are a mystery lover needing an excuse to join another crime fiction related challenge, here's your chance!"

There are two possible levels for this challenge.

Down on Her/His Luck Gumshoe - Read two or more books falling into any of the twelve sub-genres specified by the challenge (listed below). Each book can be from the same sub-genre or can be varied among the different sub-genres. You pick the combination and the number of books.

Shamus Who Has Seen It All - Read at least one book from each of the sub-genres (listed below) for a total of 12 books. If you are feeling ambitious, read more than one book from each sub-genre.

I am signing up for the Shamus Who Has Seen It All level.  At first I considered that level too much of a stretch for me, because several of the genres are not that appealing to me. Then I found that have at least three possible books in my TBR stacks for the Locked Room Mystery genre, and figured I should just make the effort to read the others too. That is what a challenge is all about, right?

Below I will list books I read with links to reviews...

The Whodunit: Political Suicide by Robert Barnard

Locked Room Mystery:  The Tattoo Murder Case by Akimitsu Takagi

Cozy: Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

Hard-Boiled/Noir:  Dying Light by Stuart MacBride

The Inverted Detective Story: The Suspect by L. R. Wright

The Historical Whodunnit: Bluffing Mr. Churchill by John Lawton

The Police Procedural:  The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

The Professional Thriller: With a Bare Bodkin by Cyril Hare

The Spy Novel:  The Company of Strangers by Robert Wilson

Caper Stories:  The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep by Lawrence Block

The Psychological Suspense: A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

Spoofs and Parodies:  The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson