Sunset over Soho by Gladys Mitchell (1943)

This novel – one of the Mrs Bradley mystery series for which its author is chiefly known – centres around the strange discovery of the body of an old man in a makeshift coffin following a London air raid. The opening of the novel finds the inscrutable sleuth-psychologist (her day job is working as psychiatric … Continue reading →

The Shapes of Sleep by J. B. Priestley (1962)

Review by David R: Ben Sterndale, a freelance journalist, is offered a commission by a friend. The boss of the advertising agency where the friend works has lost, or had stolen a sheet of paper. This paper was covered in figures, but no-one knew what they meant. Sterndale establishes who visited the boss’s office, and … Continue reading →

The Day of Temptation by William Le Queux (1899)

William Tufnell Le Queux (1864-1927) is a fascinating figure. His Wikipedia entry paints a rather splendid and exotic picture of an Anglo-French bestselling author and journalist, who travelled widely, made pioneering radio broadcasts, and was an early ‘flying buff’. However, it does caution that Le Queux’s own account of his exploits and abilities were usually … Continue reading →

Clouds of Witness (1926) by Dorothy L. Sayers

This is the first book review by Daniel, who is joining me at the Special Collection for a work placement. Daniel is a second year English and History student, and thus perfectly placed to get involved with the collection. Welcome Daniel! Review by Daniel G: As the first book of the Readerships and Literary Cultures … Continue reading →

The Three Taps: A Detective Story Without a Moral (1927) by Ronald Knox

Review by John S: Miles Bredon, a brooding gentleman detective, and his very witty wife, Angela, travel to a god-forsaken village in the Midlands to investigate the death of a businessman called Mottram, found gassed in his hotel bedroom. If the cause of death is suicide, the Indescribable Insurance Company, on whose behalf Bredon is … Continue reading →

Fountain Inn (1939) by the prolific and almost forgotten Victor Canning (1911-1986)

Review by John Higgins. Victor Canning (1911-1986) wrote at an extraordinary rate at the start of his career. Fountain Inn was his twelfth book, and it appeared only five years after his first, the hugely successful Mr. Finchley Discovers his England published in 1934. If you include the short stories he was also writing at … Continue reading →

‘The Fashion in Shrouds’ (1938) by Margery Allingham

For the reading groups so far I’ve been picking out novels which share a subject, such as last month’s World War I fiction; this month I thought it would be interesting to read a particular genre. Detective fiction was the obvious choice – it was such a popular genre in the period (indeed you could … Continue reading →

Read detective stories along with us

This month we are reading Detective Stories. (After last month’s World War I fiction I thought some light relief was called for.) I pulled out a selection of the many detective novels we hold in the collection. Reading Group members chose books by well-known writers Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham (I am reading … Continue reading →

A Golden Age detective novel to pass the time: ‘Jumping Jenny’ by Anthony Berkeley (1933)

Review by Clare G: This is a good example of a ‘passes the time’ detective novel from the Golden Age. It is typically knowing and self-referential, having a fictitious crime novelist – Roger Sheringham –  as its main character, and a setting in which the cast attend a themed fancy-dress party, each coming as an … Continue reading →