can, whether we know or not. We will also see how we did on the quiz Mystery Readers handed out at the last meeting. Miscellaneous We have a choice for August - Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. It is rather a strange story and I expect mixed reactions. Remember that just because you don’t like something is no reason not to July 1, 2003 say anything. It is interesting to hear why someone is not happy with a story - as well as why they do like it - as at our June meeting. Well, it has been since May 7 that a newsletter was sent out. I am sorry for the delay. It has been a very busy time for all of us. I hope you are all enjoying the weather and the reading. The Arthur Conan Doyle meeting was a great success. And congratulations are in order for Barbara Thanks to all. I don’t know exactly why or how, but Lane. She has purchased the screen printing people don’t have any trouble talking about Holmes business where she worked and is now self-employed! and Watson. These are immortal stories, though not Wonderful! We gave her a card last meeting as a perfect. And we certainly enjoyed Lewis Irish group. joining us for the discussion. You all were great. It is so much fun to take the stories, as if they were true accounts, and investigate the discrepancies. In July our meeting will be different. Chris Some of the explanations that have been published Wing has graciously allowed us to meet at her house, are quite ingenious. And the material “out there” is as Library space was not available. I am including a tremendous! map for those who were not at the June meeting. If you need a map and I have not included one here, please let me know. We will meet at 6pm, rather If you like espionage stories, you might like than 6:30pm. There will be hamburgers and hot some titles by “Quinn Fawcett” where Mycroft dogs, along with drinks of various kinds for all. Holmes and his assistant are the There is no need to bring any food, unless you have a detective/protagonist. need or want not listed here. One person has volunteered to bring a salad - YUM! - but don’t feel you have to do anything but attend. We will provide eats and a lovely site for us to sit and enjoy the discussion and evening. You might want to throw a blanket or folding chair in the car, but if the bugs are as bad as at my house - we may just go inside! If We had mixed reactions to Phoebe Atwood anyone has any questions, please feel free to call or Taylor in June. She is a period writer and reflects e-mail and I will help. AND - many thanks to Jane much that was good and bad about the 30s and 40s. who is giving Lee a ride out. If there is anyone else She wrote into the 50s, but a writer’s habits are needing any assistance, please let me know. If you formed early. Here is a list of her titles. think of it, could you let me know if you are or are not coming so we can plan a little? Please come if you Phoebe Atwood Taylor (Dana Freeman) (Alice Tilton) _________________________________________________ The Cape Cod Mystery .................................... 1931 Let’s keep thinking about what to choose. Death Lights A Candle ................................... 1932 Would something completely different be The Mystery of the Cape Cod Players ..................... 1933 acceptable? We dabbled with the boundaries of The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern ...................... 1934 mysteries with Lord Darcy. Would you like to push Sandbar Sinister ........................................ 1934 the envelope a little more? Whatever we do, we The Tinkling Symbol ..................................... 1935 Deathblow Hill .......................................... 1935 don’t want to be predictable! The Crimson Patch ....................................... 1936 Out of Order ............................................ 1936 Here are some authors to think about. I Figure Away ............................................. 1937 have already checked the catalogs to see if we have Octagon House ........................................... 1937 enough copies available. I think any of them would The Amulet of Gilt ...................................... 1938 Banbury Bog ............................................. 1938 give us a good change of pace. Spring Harrowing ........................................ 1939 The Deadly Sunshade ..................................... 1940 I. Raymond Chandler (Philip Marlowe) The Criminal C.O.D. ..................................... 1940 The Big Sleep The Perennial Border .................................... 1941 Three Plots for Asey Mayo ............................... 1942 Farewell My Lovely The Six Iron Spiders .................................... 1942 The Lady In the Lake Going, Going, Gone ...................................... 1943 The Long Goodbye Proof of the Pudding .................................... 1945 Punch with Care ......................................... 1946 II. Ross MacDonald (Lew Archer) The Asey Mayo Trio ...................................... 1946 Diplomatic Corpse .......................................1951 The Chill The Instant Enemy Written As Dana Freeman The Goodbye Look Murder At The New York World's Fair ..................... 1938 The Underground Man Written As Alice Tilton Sleeping Beauty Beginning with A Bash ................................... 1937 The Blue Hammer The Cut Direct .......................................... 1938 Archer In Jeopardy Cold Steal .............................................. 1939 The Left Leg ............................................ 1940 III. Rex Stout (great dialogue!) The Hollow Chest ........................................ 1941 File for Record ......................................... 1943 Before Midnight Dead Ernest ............................................. 1944 Champagne For One The Iron Clew (APA The Iron Hand) ....................... 1947 Death Of a Doxy The Father Hunt The Mother Hunt Since we read several titles, the discussions were often due to the title read. John was right IV. Archer Mayor about The Cape Cod Mystery being very good. I (Joe Gunther - mainly Vermont settings) thought The Mystery Of the Cape Cod Tavern was Open Season good, too. The other two were not quite as strong. I Borderlines tried to select titles across the years. Maybe that Scent Of Evil was not a good method? And she is like many authors The Skeleton’s Knee of that time - they are read more for fun. Though Fruits Of the Poisonous Tree there are exceptions - like the wonderful Ellery The Dark Root Queen, Clayton Rawson and others who stand up The Ragman’s Memory better to the glare of scrutiny. Bellow’s Falls The Disposable Man Occam’s Razor The Marble Mask Brat Farrar Tucker Peak To Love and Be Wise The Sniper’s Wife (NY - wonderful story) The Daughter Of Time (Inspector Grant is in hospital and V. Peter Robinson (Alan Banks) investigates the murder of the two Princes in the (We have read In a Dry Season (#10) before, but Tower from his bed.) some of the others are very, very good British police The Singing Sands procedurals.) A Necessary End If you want some unique stories, this is a good The Hanging Valley choice! (#3 and #4 in the series.) VII. Dickinson, Peter This is a series written set in Australia of the 30’s The Glass-Sided Ants Nest into the 60’s. The detective is a half-aborigine The Old English Peep Show orphan named for the book (biography) he was Lizard In the Cup holding where he was cared for: Napoleon The Yellow Room Conspiracy Bonaparte. He is called Boney. Death Of a Unicorn VI. Upfield, Arthur W. How about a peek at Hollywood in it’s hey-day! The Lure of the Bush The Toby Peters series gives us glimpses backstage. An Author Bites the Dust The Bone Is Pointed VII. Kaminsky, Stuart Death Of a Swagman Bullet For a Star The Widows Of Broome Buried Caesars . .many others. Catch a Falling Star We would have to do several titles of this Down For the Count series to find copies for everyone, but they are You Bet Your Life interesting. Murder On the Yellow Brick Road A Few Minutes Past Midnight This one is a historical series set in 7th century The Melting Clock Europe. Sister Fidelma is a Celtic sister and high Think Fast, Mr. Peters advocate of the courts of Ireland. Tomorrow Is Another Day V. Tremayne, Peter This is a great read! Gritty and dark, at times Absolution By Murder Spider’s Web VIII. Wambaugh, Joseph Valley Of the Shadow The Blooding The Monk Who Vanished Echoes In the Darkness Hemlock At Vespers (S.S.) At last, someone has a series in the 50’s and early 60’s! Sam McCain is the detective. For a beautifully plotted and written story, we could try the following. Very popular and of high quality, IX. Gorman, Ed too. The Day the Music Died Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool VI. Tey, Josephine Save the Last Dance For Me The Man In the Queue Wake Up, Little Susie A Shilling For Candles Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Miss Pym Disposes The Franchise Affair And to make an even ten - here is a pair of detectives, one an art dealer and the other on the Italian Art Fraud Squad. They are quite good. P.S. - I am not sending postcards this month. So X. Pears, Iain please mark July 17 at 6pm on your calendars. The Raphael Affair The Titian Committee The Instance Of the Fingerpost Call if I can help with anything, The Immaculate Deception The Bernini Bust The Dream Of Scipio Claudia Reynolds Death and Restoration Giotto’s Hand The Last Judgement Contact Info: If anyone has more ideas, please bring them in. I was trying to find more SF/Mystery titles, but http://www.rumford.lib.me.us am unable to get enough copies of Simon Hawke’s e-Mail: [email protected] Timewars series or Glen Cook’s Garrett series. 364-3661 There are not nearly enough Fredric Brown titles, either. A few of the SF writers of the 50s and 60s wrote these “crossover” stories, but they are long out of print and are no longer in many library collections.