Mystery Monday

Hello Fellow Wanderers in the Written Word! (That's perhaps a bit too wordy, though it is meant endearingly.)

It's Monday but, in this part of the world at least, a provincial holiday. It's also pretty darn hot. Olive has never been known for coping well with the heat, and now that I'm a bit old for my mother to bounce me up and down under a cool tree, the only thing for it is to head into a book and forget the perspiration (to put it delicately).

What better time to initiate a new tradition then: Mystery Monday! I'd say it's pretty self-explanatory: Monday rolls around, I suggest a new mystery.

Except the heat is making me rebellious, so for this first time around I am offering the mysteries I hope to read before the summer is out. If you've read them, tell me: are they worth the hot drive to the library?

Pour the iced tea (I take mine unsweetened, thanks). It's not getting any cooler.

I've read nothing of Josephine Tey, but was put on to her by author Gretchen Rubin (whose own Happier at Home I'm currently reading).

Are there any Tey fans out there? Should I start with The Daughter of Time?

Now to Nicolas Freeling's Gun Before Butter (yes, the title caught me first). I heard about this one through yet another author, this time Jason Goodwin (who himself writes an excellent mystery series set in 19th century Istanbul). Is Mr. Goodwin correct to give it five stars on Goodreads?

 

Finally, what of Margery Allingham's The Tiger in the Smoke? This one was read of via J.K. Rowling in her interview with mystery author Val McDermid at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. She said The Tiger in the Smoke is "a phenomenal novel." Do you agree?

Well! I'm so excited to wait for your responses that I've not complained about the heat for a full twenty minutes! So go on, keep me cool and let me know your recommendations for Mystery Monday.

PS. I didn't set out to include only mysteries from Penguin's green Crime Classics series, but the colour cohension is so pleasant I'm thinking of starting a collection for my bookshelf. Wouldn't that look crisp and orderly.

Links:   

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

Gretchen Rubin's mention of it.

Gun Before Butter by Nicolas Freeling

Jason Goodwin on Goodreads.

The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham

J.K. Rowling's mention of it.

Penguin Crime Classics to start your collection (and mine)