tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post6011448682994753194..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Dead in the WaterTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-83576839118502593932017-04-18T18:04:33.265+02:002017-04-18T18:04:33.265+02:00The Connelly that might -- heavy on the might -- a...The Connelly that might -- heavy on the might -- appeal to you is Blood Work, made into a deeply derivative film starring (and directed by) Clint Eastwood, but actually a very good book and about as close as he got to classic-era detective plotting.JJ @ The Invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-9796671720627976872017-04-11T18:55:53.889+02:002017-04-11T18:55:53.889+02:00Honestly, I'm not really enticed to put Connel...Honestly, I'm not really enticed to put Connelly on my wish list. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-46772176701622984792017-04-11T12:13:43.995+02:002017-04-11T12:13:43.995+02:00An excellent Crofts novel. And I agree with the co...An excellent Crofts novel. And I agree with the comments on the superiority of Crofts compared to modern exponents of the police procedural.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-52502349320008208672017-04-11T00:58:02.836+02:002017-04-11T00:58:02.836+02:00Michael Connelly writes the Harry Bosch mysteries....Michael Connelly writes the Harry Bosch mysteries. Recently they were made into a TV series. The early books are better than the later ones when, as usual, he started to get very political. I thought that his book Angels Flight (1999) was such a superb procedural as to be well worth reading even though highly political. It gives off a real sense of apocalyptic dread.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-4350279397777445152017-04-10T07:59:20.157+02:002017-04-10T07:59:20.157+02:00Oh, there's no doubt that Crofts wrote better ...Oh, there's no doubt that Crofts wrote better (and more accurate) police procedurals than most of today's crime writers. <br /><br />Granted, I've not looked extensively into the modern police procedural, but my impression is that only a handful of writers, such as Ed McBain and M.P.O. Books, had police<i>men</i>, rather than a policeman, as their protagonist. <br /><br />Basil Thomson is another (early) example of someone who did the police procedural right. <br /><br />I never heard of Michael Connelly, but did he wrote something a hopeless classicist, like me, would enjoy? TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-20445822925928088132017-04-10T07:58:17.505+02:002017-04-10T07:58:17.505+02:00I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have, Jona...I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have, Jonathan. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-6763183186639168492017-04-10T07:57:12.730+02:002017-04-10T07:57:12.730+02:00You picked a really obscure one! I'll be await...You picked a really obscure one! I'll be awaiting your review to see whether it will end up on my wish list or not. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-1978333737613176002017-04-10T07:12:09.894+02:002017-04-10T07:12:09.894+02:00It seems to me that Crofts did not write predecess...It seems to me that Crofts did not write predecessors to the police procedural, but rather wrote the real thing; in fact is one of its inventors, along with Henry Wade and some others. For instance, Crofts understands very well that the police act as an organization, rather than as single investigators. The fact that it is in Golden Age style is a plus. The police procedurals we see nowadays strike me as being a lazy way to write mysteries; all too often the detective just walks around talking to people until he stumbles over the solution. About the only modern procedurals I enjoy reading are those by Michael Connelly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-13895278666820015232017-04-10T06:17:36.806+02:002017-04-10T06:17:36.806+02:00The impossible crime is Murder in Black and White,...The impossible crime is Murder in Black and White, by Milward Kenedy writing as Evelyn Elder. I'm not entirely sure I knew it was an impossibility when I bought it, I just remember hearing about its slightly unusual structure.<br /><br />However, more news if/as/when I read it...JJ @ The Invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-81315664004939047382017-04-10T01:27:39.371+02:002017-04-10T01:27:39.371+02:00I've only read Hog's Back, and have quite ...I've only read Hog's Back, and have quite a few other Crofts titles sitting on my literal and metaphorical TBR pile. Glad that this one is a good one - as I own it. :) Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-20878939010500071222017-04-09T21:45:10.126+02:002017-04-09T21:45:10.126+02:00Rejoice, Yvette. The era when Crofts' detectiv...Rejoice, Yvette. The era when Crofts' detective novels were scarce and hard to come by are ending! As I said above, several publishers are in the process of reprinting his work. You'll sure love <i>Mystery in the Channel</i>, if you liked any of his other books. <br /><br />Just noticed Collins Crime Club reprinted <i>The Box Office Murders</i> last month. I had not noticed that before, but believe that was also one of his scarcer, or lesser-known, titles. So, once again, rejoice! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-33798124007788373032017-04-09T21:31:32.623+02:002017-04-09T21:31:32.623+02:00Well, it seems one part of the posting problem has...Well, it seems one part of the posting problem has come to an end. Most blogs still queue my comments, until they're approved, but at least they get posted. Eventually. Strangely enough, I can post comments without a problem on Ho-Ling's blog. Anyhow...<br /><br />You aroused my curiosity about that impossible crime novel. Care to share the author/title with us? Because, you know, I'm a locked room addict. A very curious one. <br /><br />I suppose I'll settle for <i>The Hog's Back Mystery</i> as my next Crofts, but there are also two old, battered paperback editions of <i>The Groote Park Murder</i> and <i>Inspector French and the Starvel Tragedy</i> buried, somewhere, in my TBR-pile. So I might excavate them as well. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-71093532152491808692017-04-09T20:00:45.609+02:002017-04-09T20:00:45.609+02:00Once upon a time my then husband and I indulged in...Once upon a time my then husband and I indulged in reading any Freeman Wills Croft we could find. I loved them then and love them now. But oh, are they hard to find. I have the audible version of THE HOG'S BACK MYSTERY which I enjoyed very much. I've been meaning to get my hands on more Croft books. Your review makes me think I'm going to be looking for MURDER IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL asap.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-18664423836077363082017-04-09T18:01:57.279+02:002017-04-09T18:01:57.279+02:00Emboldened by my commenting success, here I go aga...Emboldened by my commenting success, here I go again: I'm tempted to make AtV my next Crofts, though I've just discovered that I own an impossible crime that doesn't appear to hav a proper review online anywhere, so I might make that my next review. <br /><br />But Crofts after that. And then I'll get The Sea Mystery. And hopefully Andrew Harrison and Sudden Death will be reissued in due course...JJ @ The Invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-22097396873452560942017-04-09T14:19:03.872+02:002017-04-09T14:19:03.872+02:00Your comment came through instead of vanishing int...Your comment came through instead of vanishing into the void! Yay! <br /><br />You're right that Crofts can be overwhelming when he gives full attention to every small detail of his plots or begins to sound like your algebra teacher, but loved that he assumed his readers are intelligent people who can handle a time-table. So you know you're getting a plot-driven detective story when cracking open one of his books. And that's always reassuring. <br /><br />A reading tip: Collins Crime Club has reissued <i>The Sea Mystery</i>. I loved that one and D, from Vintage Pop Fiction, called it a favorite of his. You might want to toss that one on your pile as well. <br /><br />My next Crofts will be a toss up between <i>The Hog's Back Mystery</i> and <i>Antidote to Venom</i>. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-75959916396708865032017-04-09T13:30:59.796+02:002017-04-09T13:30:59.796+02:00I ended up with a few Crofts books following The H...I ended up with a few Crofts books following The Hog's Back Mystery and have yet to actually read any of them: I don't have this, but I have the other BL reprints and Sir John Magill's Last Journey which someone recommended as a top tier Crofts.<br /><br />When you say "The devilish clever and twisted plot here was unraveled by slow, determined police work, but carries all the hallmarks of a vintage detective novel", that's exactly what I'm hoping to hear about Crofts and his work. The fascination in detail is something that can possibly be overwhelming -- in a different mood, Hog's Back would have been far too much for me -- but his commitment to every aspect of the minutiae is actually kind of staggering when you look at the number of books and the number of years he sustained it over.<br /><br />But, well, in order to say that with an athority I need to actually read some more of him. So it looks like I have a date with FWC in my near future...JJ @ The Invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com