tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post7908685598183532623..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: An Almost Perfect AlibiTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-67882084599454005202017-09-23T15:13:23.227+02:002017-09-23T15:13:23.227+02:00thanks for that info. i preordered the kindle vers...thanks for that info. i preordered the kindle version from amazon.<br /><br />maps are important to me because i am such a mess when it comes to visualize stuff. i recall being completely confused during "the red right hand" because i couldn't picture the map/path/locations. and adding to that the confusing plot and narrative style...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-61620671513674178362017-09-22T23:09:36.348+02:002017-09-22T23:09:36.348+02:00I don't have that Bude in an oringal edition, ...I don't have that Bude in an oringal edition, so I can't say. <br /><br />On Crofts I highlight his historical significance in Masters of the Humdrum Mystery. I think back in the Golden Age he would have been seen as the "alibi king," because of his historical precedence. In fact he was actually referred to as such in one contemporary source.<br /><br />But I think Bush had a great flair for the alibi problem!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-80137745633256853922017-09-22T20:43:24.838+02:002017-09-22T20:43:24.838+02:00You noted the similarities in the work of Crofts a...You noted the similarities in the work of Crofts and Bush, i.e., the use of multiple police officers, international aspects of the case, use of alibis, and so on. In other words, the influence is moving from Crofts to Bush and not the other way around. I think that is an important consideration in trying to figure out who is the alibi king. <br /><br />On one of these blogs, someone recently did a review of Agatha Christie's Death in the Air, and he noted that one of the characters resembled Crofts; he assumed it was because a year before Christie's book, Crofts had done a book which also involved murder on an airplane (The Twelve Thirty from Croydon). I think that the influence of Crofts on detective fiction, both in the West and in Japan, is a point that seems to be overlooked sometimes. He was not one of Haycraft's Big Five for nothing.<br /><br />I rather like the Inspector Meredith books by John Bude being reprinted by the British Library; they often have a pleasant Croftsian flavor to them. I was checking out the introduction to The Cheltenham Square Murder, which has recently been reprinted, and the introduction appeared to state that there was a nice diagram of the square. I looked through the whole book and couldn't find a diagram at all. Either I was mistaken in my interpretation of what I read, or they left the diagram out, or I missed it. What gives?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-12914353795653107142017-09-22T13:18:15.842+02:002017-09-22T13:18:15.842+02:00"Isn't this one solved by Franklin?"..."<i>Isn't this one solved by Franklin?</i>"<br /><br />Franklin is at the front of the investigation, but actually solving the case is more of a team effort. The police does a lot of off-stage work and Travers notices some all-important clues that helps Franklin focus in on the murderer. <br /><br />Wharton is definitely not a Lestrade-type of police-inspector and noticeably enjoys the respect and admiration of everyone around him. For example, Franklin feels slightly guilty for having to double-check the alibis that had previously been looked into by Wharton. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-76162863292780542532017-09-22T13:13:31.378+02:002017-09-22T13:13:31.378+02:00Thanks for the recommendations, Curt! I've two...Thanks for the recommendations, Curt! I've two of the titles you mentioned on the short list of the big pile. So I'll get around to them presently. <br /><br />And from the next ten titles, I'm the most curious about <i>The Case of the Chinese Gong</i> and <i>The Case of the Missing Minutes</i>. They sound like my kind of detective stories. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-27900654610435509832017-09-22T13:09:18.436+02:002017-09-22T13:09:18.436+02:00I'm really looking forward to the Roger Scarle...I'm really looking forward to the Roger Scarlett reprints, Curt. Several years ago, Ho-Ling reviewed a (fairly) recent Japanese translation of <i>Murder Among the Angells</i> on his blog, which cost a mere pittance compared to the price of a secondhand copy of the original English edition. So good to know Coachwhip is finally getting them back into circulation. <br /><br />I have not (yet) read the BL edition of <i>The Hog's Back Mystery</i>, but I assume it doesn't have one, because nobody else seems to have mentioned it. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-90103393953089845002017-09-22T11:54:18.410+02:002017-09-22T11:54:18.410+02:00Yes, it struck me that Wharton is very far from yo...Yes, it struck me that Wharton is very far from your stooge policeman associated with such works from the Golden Age. Bush's approach to sleuths seems more unusual for the period, though Travers becomes the dominant sleuth ultimately, more resembling other greet sleuths from the period. The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-26023927303460307212017-09-22T11:36:34.959+02:002017-09-22T11:36:34.959+02:00Isn't this one solved by Franklin? Travers is...Isn't this one solved by Franklin? Travers is a recurring character, but not yet the focus. From memory, Franklin is gradually phased out, and Travers starts narrating the novels (in the mid-30s?). <br /><br />One of the joys of Bush's novels is the competing detectives. It's been 15 years since I read it, but I seem to remember Dead Man Twice showing three detectives, each with his own approach (detection as characterisation?).<br /><br />Wharton (a larger than life, complex policeman, with a dash of humbug and actor) may solve parts of the Case before Travers, or solve it from a different angle. Sometimes he keeps Travers completely in the dark, or leaves Travers fuming while he plays a dirty trick on a witness.Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-66531658038460669352017-09-22T08:50:53.751+02:002017-09-22T08:50:53.751+02:00Tomcat, I would recommend to you specifically, amo...Tomcat, I would recommend to you specifically, among the first ten, The Case of the April Fools, Dancing Death, Dead Man Twice and The Case of the Three Strange Faces. I have recently been rereading the second ten and have enjoyed immensely reading them in order. Wil have more to say next month. The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-4661075727227586142017-09-22T08:46:10.953+02:002017-09-22T08:46:10.953+02:00I noticed that the BL edition of Antidote to Venom...I noticed that the BL edition of Antidote to Venom did not have the wonderful endpaper map of the zoo and told the editor of the series. He explained they used the British edition, not surpringly of course, and had not been aware there was a map. It's a shame it was left out though. Does their edition of The Hog's Back Mystery have the endpaper map?<br /><br />I was recently involved with reprinting the Roger Scarlett mysteries, and goodness, did Scarlett (or the two women who wrote under that name) like floor plans. I think Murder Among the Angells has six of them! Love those things.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-68770809712048790332017-09-22T07:19:19.299+02:002017-09-22T07:19:19.299+02:00I intended to mention that, but yes, all of the ma...I intended to mention that, but yes, all of the maps and diagrams are present in the reprint editions of <i>The Perfect Murder Case</i> and <i>Cut Throat</i>. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-27130625607208595462017-09-22T01:31:33.527+02:002017-09-22T01:31:33.527+02:00I have an original hardcover copy of this book. I ...I have an original hardcover copy of this book. I note that there are a number of maps and diagrams in my copy. I was wondering if the maps and diagrams were reproduced in your copy by Dean Street Press? I ask because I note that these sorts of things have been left out in some of the British Library reprints I bought (which is why I stopped buying them).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com