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It's time to nominate for our November group read!. You are welcome to nominate books by Golden Age authors, or titles which were written later but are set during the Golden Age. Just one nomination per group member, please.

Please don't nominate The Lake District Murder by John Bude or Information Received by E.R. Punshon, as these are already going forward to our Second Chance Poll in December.

Hmm I can't remember if we have read An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson , if not can I recommend this!

I checked with Judy that it is ok to nominate books by Robert van Gulik He wrote historical mysteries, set in China. Now the problem is which one!

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee van Gulik was "just" the translator & he did this a long time before deciding to write a fictionalised version.

It looks like his timeline jumped around a bit so, I'm going for the order the events took place & am nominating The Chinese Gold Murders

Well dang - the Chinese Gold Murders isn't coming up on Amazon for me!

If it isn't coming up for anyone else I can change my nomination to the The Chinese Maze Murders This is the first one he wrote.

The Chinese Maze Murders is available on kindle in the UK, Carol. The Chinese Gold Murders has second hand paperback copies available, but is not so easy to get hold off.

Hilary, I don't think Nicola Upson has been nominated before. Good choices so far.

oooh Judge Dee!!! Love those stories

Susan wrote: "The Chinese Maze Murders is available on kindle in the UK, Carol. The Chinese Gold Murders has second hand paperback copies available, but is not so easy to get hold off.

Hilary, I don't think Ni..."

Ok switch my nomination to The Chinese Maze Murders. van Gulik's stuff is mildly collectable over here, so print copies may be hard for people to find.

I have The Chinese Maze Murders lined up for one of my next reads anyway. I've borrowed a copy from my Dad, so maybe I'll have to raid his shelves for another one and see if this one wins for November.

I'd like to nominate The Documents in the Case, the only non-Wimsey crime novel by Dorothy L. Sayers - this was nominated once before, but I'll give it another try!

Ooh, good nominations. I am torn already!

I don't see The Documents in the Case on kindle in the US, but my libraries have multiple copies. Sounds like an interesting concept.

I will nominate Cyril Hare's 1939 mystery Suicide Excepted. This is the 3rd Inspector Mallett book but I don't think that they need to be read in order. However, if people feel strongly about that, the first one (Tenant for Death) would also be a good nomination.

Sandy wrote: "I don't see The Documents in the Case on kindle in the US, but my libraries have multiple copies. Sounds like an interesting concept."

Thanks, Sandy. I've just had a look at Amazon.com and it looks as if, as well as not being on Kindle, the book is also out of print in the US, with only used copies available there.

So I'll withdraw the nomination for now and maybe suggest it for a future buddy read instead.

I'm surprised by this, given Sayers' popularity, but I suppose it's because this is a lesser-known title.

Sounds like an excellent idea for a buddy read, Judy. I will add it to the list.

Thanks, Susan, that will be great. It is in print and on Kindle in the UK, so maybe the publishers will also issue it in other countries - fingers crossed.

Everyone who would like to join in will have plenty of time to find a copy - our buddy list is now fairly long and well into 2018!

The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer. This is the first in the Hildegarde Withers series.

I see that it is now on Kindle - it wasn't when I got the book.

On kindle in the UK too, Jan, but pretty expensive at over £7 in paperback and kindle versions. I like a lot of Mysterious Press books, but they are always fairly expensive - is that the same in the US? It looks a good read though and I always prefer to start at the first in a series.

I'd like to try Stuart Palmer - The Penguin Pool Murders and his other books are available on Kindle Fire from Scribd, (similar to Kindle Unlimited but I think it only works on tablets) if anyone else belongs to that - I'm finding their selection of books has improved since I belonged before.

I'll have another try and nominate Dead Men's Money by J.S. Fletcher - this was first published in 1920 and is about a lawyer's clerk on the Scottish border who gets caught up in a mystery. It's in the public domain so I think it should be available free or cheap everywhere hopefully. I enjoyed our previous group read of a book by Fletcher, The Paradise Mystery.

Just the name Penguin Pool Murders 🐧 sounds like a fun read so I'll second that. I'm already on board for the Miss Marple case plus buddy read so it's looking like a busy month.

Susan wrote: "On kindle in the UK too, Jan, but pretty expensive at over £7 in paperback and kindle versions. I like a lot of Mysterious Press books, but they are always fairly expensive - is that the same in th..."

It is $8 for a kindle edition in the states, but one of my libraries has it on both ebook and hoopla, and the other has the physical book. Others may be as lucky.

Judy wrote: "I'd like to try Stuart Palmer - The Penguin Pool Murders and his other books are available on Kindle Fire from Scribd, (similar to Kindle Unlimited but I think it only works on tablets) if anyone e..."

I think Penguin pool murders is available on kindle unlimited.

Michelle wrote: "I think Penguin pool murders is available on kindle unlimited...."

Ooh, so it is - in the UK anyway. Thanks Michelle.

Any more nominations? The poll will go up on the 15th.

Crooked House

A wealthy Greek businessman is found dead at his London home��

The Leonides were one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That was until the head of the household, Aristide, was murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection.

Suspicion naturally falls on the old man’s young widow, fifty years his junior. But the murderer has reckoned without the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiance of the late millionare’s granddaughter��

Ooh, I want to read Crooked House, especially with the new film of it coming up in a few months ... decisions, decisions.

Susan wrote: "Crooked House

A wealthy Greek businessman is found dead at his London home��

The Leonides were one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramsha..."

I liked it when I read it a few years ago.

The poll is up! Please vote for your choice for our November read.

/poll/show/1...

Crooked House has gone into the lead in early voting, but The Penguin Pool Murder is hot on its heels. Could be another close poll.

Crooked House still in the lead but it's looking close and not many people have voted yet! Please do vote and remember the 2nd book will go into our runners-up poll. :)

I put this on another thread, but An Expert in Murder is currently listed at 98p on Amazon UK

Thanks, Susan! I've switched my vote to that one as it looks really good and my own nomination was a no-hoper...

It is a great read, Judy. This could be to the detriment of my own nomination, but all for the good of the group, etc. ;)

Susan, I'd love to read Crooked House too, and it is building up a lead at the moment!

I was only joking, Judy. I enjoyed the Nicola Upson and I would be happy to re-read it. Crooked House is currently also reduced to £2.99, so - if anyone does want to buy it - that might be worth mentioning too; although it is not as cheap.

We always have so many good choices :)

Only a few days to go now - Crooked House has pulled well ahead, but the battle is on for second place and a spot in the runners-up poll...

Interesting poll this month. Some early front runners that I thought were likely contenders have not been. I think we just have so many great suggestions each month the choice is too difficult!

Yes, so many good choices - I've been thinking I will look back through past polls to remind myself of some of the ones which got away!

Exactly. Quite often I find myself reading the books in polls that don't win, so those nominations are really appreciated.

We have a winner! It's Crooked House by Agatha Christie - one of her stand-alone titles.



The runner-up is An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson, which will go into our runners-up poll in December.

Full results:

Crooked House 10 votes, 34.5%
An Expert in Murder (Josephine Tey, #1) 7 votes, 24.1%
Suicide Excepted 4 votes, 13.8%
The Chinese Maze Murders 4 votes, 13.8%
The Penguin Pool Murder (Hildegarde Withers #1) 3 votes, 10.3%
Dead Men's Money 1 vote, 3.4%

We are going to have some very difficult choices to make in December!

Yes indeed, but we have difficult choices every month, Susan! :)

Susan wrote: "We are going to have some very difficult choices to make in December!"

Yep - all the runner up ones were excellent choices!