New Leaf Nominations for March 2019 • Murder, They Wrote: Deadly Pursuits

[Bookworm_Girl]

Catlady, FYI, Shutter Island was read by the old book club. Looking back at the discussion thread, there are 5 of us who participated in it. I really liked it though and thought it made for an interesting discussion.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I will third The Bride Wore Black.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Catlady, FYI, Shutter Island was read by the old book club. Looking back at the discussion thread, there are 5 of us who participated in it. I really liked it though and thought it made for an interesting discussion.

I have to admit I forget to check, but I just looked at the spreadsheet, which shows it as eligible; it was discussed in March 2012. If I'd checked, I probably would've gone with Mystic River instead, since I was undecided between the two. Oh well.

[CRussel]

I didn't nominate this book, primarily because it's not available in North America as an ebook, but many might find it of interest: A Very British Murder, The Story of a National Obsession, by renown English historian Lucy Worsley. It's been on my TBR for ages, and I think I'm going to just go ahead and move it up to the top of the list.

This is the story of a national obsession.

Ever since the Ratcliffe Highway Murders caused a nation-wide panic in Regency England, the British have taken an almost ghoulish pleasure in 'a good murder'. This fascination helped create a whole new world of entertainment, inspiring novels, plays and films, puppet shows, paintings and true-crime journalism - as well as an army of fictional detectives who still enthrall us today. A Very British Murder is Lucy Worsley's captivating account of this curious national obsession. It is a tale of dark deeds and guilty pleasures, a riveting investigation into the British soul by one of our finest historians.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yes, I saw that, and will be purchasing myself. I suspect it's only free for active members.

Any thoughts on the audio versions? None of the narrators jumped out at me, either as good or bad.

I have the David Thorn narration in my Audible library--I suspect it was a freebie, so many of us might already have it as well.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I didn't nominate this book, primarily because it's not available in North America as an ebook, but many might find it of interest: A Very British Murder, The Story of a National Obsession, by renown English historian Lucy Worsley. It's been on my TBR for ages, and I think I'm going to just go ahead and move it up to the top of the list.

The name Lucy Worsley rang a bell. It IS available in the U.S. under the title The Art of the English Murder.

I just put it on hold at my library. Thanks--sounds like fun.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yes, I saw that, and will be purchasing myself. I suspect it's only free for active members.

Any thoughts on the audio versions? None of the narrators jumped out at me, either as good or bad.

I figured I'd go with David Timson. If you buy this free Kindle edition, the Timson narration is only $0.99 and it's the highest rated also. (I don't have the Thorn in my library.)

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Catlady

The name Lucy Worsley rang a bell. It IS available in the U.S. under the title The Art of the English Murder.

I just put it on hold at my library. Thanks--sounds like fun.

I think that's a different book, but also interesting. I say that because I can see both in the UK. And I can see A Very British Murder as a pBook in the US. Just not as an eBook.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I think that's a different book, but also interesting. I say that because I can see both in the UK. And I can see A Very British Murder as a pBook in the US. Just not as an eBook.

Same book. I looked at the table of contents.

[Bookpossum]

The Worsley book sounds interesting, but it’s probably a bit late in proceedings to nominate it.

So I shall use my last vote to second Fadeout.

[soonerchick]

I vote for Wiseguy.

[sufue]

I'm jumping in late, but for my take on the "Murder, They Wrote" theme, I'll nominate a title by Sarah Caudwell (pen name for Sarah Cockburn), in which telexes play a big role. (This is not a spoiler...) Hence - "Murder, They Wrote" - or at least - "Murder, They Telexed".

Anyway, the book I'm suggesting is the third in Caudwell's woefully-too-short four book series, The Sirens Sang of Murder.

I would have liked to propose the first book in the series, Thus Was Adonis Murdered, since some folks like to read in order, but it doesn't seem to be available in the US. So I'm going with Sirens, which did, BTW, win an Anthony for Best Mystery in 1990. It's nice, but not super important, IMO, to read the books in order.

This series is one of the few that I have to read alone, since I tend to laugh out loud a lot - it has some of the driest British wit I have run into. I searched around a bit among the various threads here on MR, and found that a bunch of folks had read and liked Adonis a while back - hopefully some are still around and would like to give Sirens a try.

A while back I wrote a paean to this series in another thread - if you want to take a look, here's the link: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=1606024

I'm about to get on a plane, but will come back and add links when I get a chance.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by sufue

Anyway, the book I'm suggesting is the third in Caudwell's woefully-too-short four book series, The Sirens Sang of Murder.

I would have liked to propose the first book in the series, Thus Was Adonis Murdered, since some folks like to read in order, but it doesn't seem to be available in the US. So I'm going with Sirens, which did, BTW, win an Anthony for Best Mystery in 1990. It's nice, but not super important, IMO, to read the books in order.

Oddly enough, Overdrive offers the e-books for all four titles in the series, even though Amazon and Kobo sell only the last two. Weird.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by sufue

This series is one of the few that I have to read alone, since I tend to laugh out loud a lot - it has some of the driest British wit I have run into. I searched around a bit among the various threads here on MR, and found that a bunch of folks had read and liked Adonis a while back - hopefully some are still around and would like to give Sirens a try.

This is a wonderful series; I'll add that it really doesn't matter if you read them out of order. I don't know how many nominations are still available, though. I'll add that thematically there's a link to Left Hand of Darkness.

Originally Posted by soonerchick

I vote for Wiseguy.

Thanks! Wiseguy's been fully nominated; it's a two-stage process.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

The name Lucy Worsley rang a bell. It IS available in the U.S. under the title The Art of the English Murder.

I just put it on hold at my library. Thanks--sounds like fun.

Hoopla's got the audiobook.