lyzard's list: Reading until I'm out of my mind in 2024 - Part 1

This year I will be counteracting my thread-quote (see below) in my thread-toppers, by introducing what are officially the world's sleepiest animals.

And yes, that does mean a bonus sloth...but not at #1, where we find---


18-22 hours per day:

  

Welcome!

2023 - in the immortal words of Miles Franklin - went bung.

A difficult personal year and a difficult reading year combined to bring my figures way down and leave my reviewing a disastrous mess.

Possibly it's tempting fate to say "the only way is up", but I am cautiously optimistic about 2024.

I'm keeping my ambitions severely in check, however. This year I want only to---

1. Read more.

I know, it's not about the numbers. My numbers, however, usually do reflect the enjoyment (or not) that I'm taking from my reading, which brings me to---

2. Enjoy my reading more.

You can say it's my own fault if I don't, since I allow my reading choices to be dictated by my challenges; but still, last year served up what I hope was a uniquely difficult series of overlong books which ate up my limited reading time and were as often as not an obligation rather than a pleasure, and which kept me from my comfort reads. This year I want a much better balance.

3. Keep my reviews up-to-date.

Also my own fault. 2023 really fell apart in this respect, and I will be maintaining an add-on thread where I can catch up, in addition to trying to keep things ticking here.

4. Keep in contact with my reading partners.

Shared reads are another dominant part of my reading, but while the reads themselves happened, the conversation around those reads stopped dead as I failed even to keep up with my thread-visiting. I have a lot of catching up to do here, too.

My thread title this year comes courtesy of Miguel de Cevantes, from Don Quixote:

Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.

****

Currently reading:



The Hobgoblin Murder by Kay Cleaver Strahan (1934)



The Brinley Shell; or, The Miser And His Niece by John Meadows (1848)

2024 reading:

January:

1. The Eight Strokes Of The Clock by Maurice Leblanc (1922)
2. McLean Investigates by George Goodchild (1930)
3. Vampire by Hanns Heinz Ewers (1921)
4. Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King (1992)
5. The Case Of The Unfortunate Village by Christopher Bush (1932)
6. The Mystery Of The Disappearing Cat by Enid Blyton (1944)
7. The Moving Finger by Natalie Sumner Lincoln (1918)
8. Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (1992)

February:

9. Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope (1867)
10. Number Nineteen by J. Jefferson Farjeon (1952)
11. The Lonely House by Arthur Gask (1929)
12. The Bridges Of Madison County by Robert James Waller (1992)
13. Coroner's Pidgin by Margery Allingham (1945)

March:

14. They Never Looked Inside by Michael Gilbert (1947)

Books in transit:

To borrow:
The Three Strings by Natalie Sumner Lincoln {Fisher storage}

On loan:

Ongoing reading projects:

Blog reads:
Chronobibliography: The Penitent Hermit by "A Lady" / The Post-Boy Rob'd Of His Mail by Charles Gildon
Authors In Depth:
- Adelaide; or, The Countercharm by Catherine Cuthbertson
- Shannondale (aka "The Three Beauties; or, Shannondale: A Novel") by E.D.E.N. Southworth
- Lady Audley's Secret / The White Phantom by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Anecdotes Of The Altamont Family by "Gabrielli"
- The Cottage by Margaret Minifie
- The Abbess by Frances Trollope
Reading Roulette: Pique by Frances Notley
Australian fiction: Narrative of the capture, sufferings, and miraculous escape of Mrs. Eliza Fraser by Eliza Fraser
Gothic novel timeline: Anecdotes Of A Convent by Anonymous
Early crime fiction: The Mysteries Of London by G. W. M. Reynolds
Silver-fork novels: Tremaine; or, The Man Of Refinement by Robert Plumer Ward
Related reading: Gains And Losses by Robert Lee Wollf / The Man Of Feeling by Henry Mackenzie / Le Loup Blanc by Paul Féval / Theresa Marchmont; or, The Maid Of Honour by Catherine Gore

Group reads:

NEXT: Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope

General reading challenges:

Virago chronological reading project:
Next up: The Heir Of Redclyffe / The Daisy Chain by Charlotte Yonge

America's best-selling novels (1895 - ????):
Next up: Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King (1992)

Nobel Prize / fiction challenge:
Next up: ???? by Rabindranath Tagore (1913 winner)

The C.K. Shorter List of the Best 100 Novels:
Next up: Consuelo by George Sand (1843)

A Century Of Reading:
Next up: 1825 - Tremaine; or, The Man Of Refinement by Robert Plumer Ward

Mystery League publications:
Next up: The Bungalow On The Roof by Achmed Abdullah

Banned In Boston!: (here)
Next up: Black April by Julia Peterkin

Rex Stout - Nero Wolfe series (shared reads):
Next up: The Silent Speaker (#11)

Arthur Upfield - Bony series (shared reads):
Next up: An Author Bites The Dust (#11)

Margery Allingham - Albert Campion series (shared reads):
Next up: Pearls Before Swine (#13)

"The Three Investigators" (shared reads):
Next up: The Mystery Of The Shrinking House by William Arden (#18)

The evolution of detective fiction:
Next up: Clement Lorimer by Angus B. Reach

Random reading 1940 - 1969:
Next up: The Snake Pit by Mary Jane Ward

Potential decommission / re-shelving:
Next up: ????

Completed challenges:
- Georgette Heyer historical romances in chronological order
- Agatha Christie mysteries in chronological order
- Agatha Christie uncollected short stories
- Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver series
- Georgette Heyer historical fiction

Possible future reading projects:
- Daily Telegraph's 100 Best Novels, 1899
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize
- Berkeley "Books Of The Century"
- Collins White Circle Crime Club / Green Penguins
- Dell paperbacks
- "El Mundo" 100 best novels of the twentieth century
- 100 Best Books by American Women During the Past 100 Years, 1833-1933
- 50 Classics of Crime Fiction 1900–1950 (Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor)
- The Guardian's 100 Best Novels
- Life Magazine "The 100 Outstanding Books of 1924 - 1944" (Henry Seidel Canby)
- "40 Trashy Novels You Must Read Before You Die" (Flavorwire)
- best-novel lists in Wikipedia article on The Grapes Of Wrath
- Pandora 'Mothers Of The Novel'
- Newark Library list (here)
- "The Story Of Classic Crime In 100 Books" (here)
- Dean's Classics series
- "Fifty Best Australian Novels" (here)
- "The Top 100 Crime Novels Of All Time" (here)
- Haycraft Queen Cornerstones (here)
- Cyril Connolly's 100 Key Modern Books (here)

TBR notes:

Rare Books:
Dead Men At The Folly by John Rhode (Dr Priestley #13)
Thieves' Nights by Harry Stephen Keeler
The Rum Row Murders by Charles Reed Jones
The Torch Murder by Charles Reed Jones (Leighton Swift #2)
The Crooked Lip by Herbert Adams (Jimmie Haswell #2)
Death By Appointment by Francis Bonnamy (Peter Utley Shane #1)
The Inconsistent Villains by N. A. Temple-Ellis {Montrose Arbuthnot #1)
The Unexpected Legacy by E. R. Punshon (Carter and Bell #1)
Rope To Spare by Philip MacDonald (Anthony Gethryn #9)

State Library NSW, held:
The White-Faced Man (aka "The Praying Monkey") by Gavin Holt (Luther Bastion #2)
Pitiful Dust by Vernon Knowles
The Brink (aka "The Swaying Rock") by Arthur J. Rees
The Black Joss by John Gordon Brandon
This Way To Happiness (aka "Janice") by Maysie Greig
The Top Step by Nelle Scanlan

Interlibrary loan:
The Solange Stories by F. Tennyson Jesse {JFR}
The Vagrant Heart by Deirdre O'Brien {JFR}
Jinks by Oliver Sandys {JFR}
Storms And Tea-Cups by Cecily Wilhelmine Sidgwick (Mrs Alfred Sidgwick) {JFR}
Pawns & Kings (aka "Pawns And Kings") by Seamark (Austin J. Small) {JFR}
The Agent Outside by Patrick Wynnton {JFR}

Online:
The Whisperer by J. M. Walsh {online; possibly abridged? / Mitchell Library}
About The Murder Of A Night Club Lady by Anthony Abbot {serialised}

CARM / National Library / academic loan:
The Black Death by Moray Dalton {CARM}
Storm by Charles Rodda {National Library}
The Trail Of The Lotto by Anthony Armstrong {CARM}

Series back-reading:
The Tannahill Tangle by Carolyn Wells {Rare Books}
The Click Of The Gate by Alice Campbell {Kindle}
The Creeping Jenny Mystery by Brian Flynn {Kindle}
The Net Around Joan Ingilby by A. Fielding {Rare Books}
Corpse In Canonicals (aka "The Corpse In The Constable's Garden") by George and Margaret Cole {Rare Books}
Alias Dr Ely by Lee Thayer {Rare Books}
McLean Investigates By George Goodchild {Internet Archive}
Murder On The Bus by Cecil Freeman Gregg {Rare Books / Kindle}
The Case Of The Marsden Rubies by Leonard Gribble {Rare Books}
The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen {Rare Books / ILL / Internet Archive / ZLibrary}
A Family That Was by Ernest Raymond {State Library NSW, JFR}
The Cancelled Score Mystery by Gret Lane {Kindle}
Jalna by Mazo de la Roche {State Library NSW, JFR / ILL}

Completist reading:
Thieves' Nights by Harry Stephen Keeler (#5) {Rare Books}
Marked "Personal" by Anna Katharine Green (#14) {Project Gutenberg}
Dangerous Days by Mary Roberts Rinehart (#10) {Project Gutenberg}
The White Cockatoo by Mignon Eberhart {Rare Books / Internet Archive}

A Century (And A Bit) Of Reading:

At least one book a year from 1800 - 1900!

1800: Juliania; or, The Affectionate Sisters by Elizabeth Sandham
1801: Belinda by Maria Edgeworth
1802: The Infidel Father by Jane West
1803: Thaddeus Of Warsaw by Jane Porter
1804: The Lake Of Killarney by Anna Maria Porter
1805: The Impenetrable Secret, Find It Out! by Francis Lathom
1806: The Wild Irish Girl by Sydney Owenson
1807: Corinne; ou, l'Italie by Madame de Staël
1808: The Marquise Of O. by Heinrich Von Kleist
1809: The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter
1810: Forest Of Montalbano by Catherine Cuthbertson / Zastrozzi by Percy Bysshe Shelley / St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian by Percy Bysshe Shelley
1811: Self-Control by Mary Brunton
1812: The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth
1813: The Heroine; or, Adventures Of A Fair Romance Reader by Eaton Stannard Barrett
1814: The Wanderer; or, Female Difficulties by Frances Burney
1815: Headlong Hall by Thomas Love Peacock
1816: Glenarvon by Lady Caroline Lamb
1817: Harrington by Maria Edgeworth
1818: Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock
1819: The Vampyre by John William Polidori
1820: The Sketch Book Of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving
1821: The Ayrshire Legatees; or, The Pringle Family by John Galt / Valerius: A Roman Story by J. G. Lockhart / Kenilworth by Walter Scott
1822: Bracebridge Hall; or, The Humorists by Washington Irving
1823: The Two Broken Hearts by Catherine Gore
1824: The Adventures Of Hajji Baba Of Ispahan by James Justinian Morier
1826: Lichtenstein by Wilhelm Hauff / The Last Of The Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
1827: The Epicurean by Thomas Moore / The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
1828: The Life Of Mansie Wauch, Tailor In Dalkeith by David Moir
1829: Wilhelm Meister's Travels by Johann Goethe / The Collegians by Gerald Griffin / Louisa Egerton; or, Castle Herbert by Mary Leman Grimstone / Richelieu: A Tale Of France by G. P. R. James
1830: Alfred Dudley; or, The Australian Settlers by Sarah Porter
1831: The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
1832: The Refugee In America by Frances Trollope
1833: Tom Cringle's Log by Michael Scott
1836: Mr Midshipman Easy by Frederick Marrat / The Tree And Its Fruits; or, Narratives From Real Life by Phoebe Hinsdale Brown
1837: Rory O'More by Samuel Lover / Jack Brag by Theodore Hook
1839: Fardorougha The Miser; or, The Convicts Of Lisnamona by William Carleton
1840: The Life And Adventures Of Valentine Vox, The Ventriloquist by Henry Cockton / Ten Thousand A Year by Samuel Warren
1841: Old Saint Paul's by William Harrison Ainsworth / Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon by Charles James Lever
1842: Taras Bulba (revised edition) by Nikolai Gogol
1843: The Last Of The Barons by Edward Bulwer Lytton
1845: Zoe: The History Of Two Lives by Geraldine Jewsbury / The Mysteries Of London (Volume I) by G. W. M. Reynolds
1846: The Mysteries Of London (Volume II) by G. W. M. Reynolds
1847: Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë / The Macdermots Of Ballycloran by Anthony Trollope / The Mysteries Of London: Volume III by G. W. M. Reynolds
1848: The Kellys And The O'Kellys by Anthony Trollope / The Mysteries Of London: Volume IV by G. W. M. Reynolds
1850: Pique by Frances Notley
1851: The Mother-In-Law; or, The Isle Of Rays by E.D.E.N. Southworth
1856: Recollections Of A Detective Police-Officer by "Waters"
1857: The Three Clerks by Anthony Trollope / Synnøve Solbakken by Bjornstjerne Bjornson
1859: The Semi-Detached House by Emily Eden / The Bertrams by Anthony Trollope / The Lifted Veil by George Eliot
1860: The Semi-Attached Couple by Emily Eden / Castle Richmond by Anthony Trollope
1861: The Executor by Margaret Oliphant / The Rector by Margaret Oliphant
1862: Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope / The Struggles Of Brown, Jones, And Robinson by Anthony Trollope
1863: The Doctor's Family by Margaret Oliphant / Marian Grey; or, The Heiress Of Redstone Hall by Mary Jane Holmes / Salem Chapel by Margaret Oliphant
1864: Brother Jacob by George Eliot
1865: Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope / The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope
1867: The Claverings by Anthony Trollope / Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope
1869: He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope
1873: Had You Been In His Place by Lizzie Bates
1874: Chaste As Ice, Pure As Snow by Charlotte Despard
1875: The Children Of The World by Paul Heyse
1876: Phoebe, Junior by Margaret Oliphant
1877: Elsie's Children by Martha Finley
1880: The Duke's Children: First Complete Edition by Anthony Trollope / Elsie's Widowhood by Martha Finley
1881: Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen / The Beautiful Wretch by William Black / The Autobiography Of Mark Rutherford by William Hale White
1882: Grandmother Elsie by Martha Finley
1883: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson / Elsie's New Relations by Martha Finley / X Y Z: A Detective Story by Anna Katharine Green
1884: Elsie At Nantucket by Martha Finley
1885: The Two Elsies by Martha Finley / Two Broken Hearts by Robert R. Hoes
1886: The Mill Mystery by Anna Katharine Green / Elsie's Kith And Kin by Martha Finley
1887: Elsie's Friends At Woodburn by Martha Finley
1888: Christmas With Grandma Elsie by Martha Finley
1889: Under False Pretences by Adeline Sergeant / Elsie And The Raymonds by Martha Finley
1890: Elsie Yachting With The Raymonds by Martha Finley
1891: Elsie's Vacation And After Events by Martha Finley / The Old Stone House And Other Stories by Anna Katharine Green / The Story Of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf
1892: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman / Elsie At Viamede by Martha Finley / Blood Royal by Grant Allen / Cynthia Wakeham's Money by Anna Katharine Green
1893: Elsie At Ion by Martha Finley
1894: Martin Hewitt, Investigator by Arthur Morrison / The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen / Elsie At The World's Fair by Martha Finley
1895: Chronicles Of Martin Hewitt by Arthur Morrison / Elsie's Journey On Inland Waters by Martha Finley
1896: The Island Of Dr Moreau by H. G. Wells / Adventures Of Martin Hewitt by Arthur Morrison
1897: Penelope's Progress by Kate Douglas Wiggin
1898: A Man From The North by Arnold Bennett / The Lust Of Hate by Guy Newell Boothby / Elsie On The Hudson And Elsewhere by Martha Finley
1899: Agatha Webb by Anna Katharine Green / Dr Nikola's Experiment by Guy Newell Boothby / Elsie In The South by Martha Finley
1900: The Circular Study by Anna Katharine Green / Elsie's Young Folks In Peace And War by Martha Finley

Timeline of detective fiction:

An examination of the roots of modern crime and mystery fiction:

Pre-history:
Things As They Are; or, The Adventures Of Caleb Williams by William Godwin (1794)
Mademoiselle de Scudéri by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1819); Tales Of Hoffmann (1982)
Richmond: Scenes In The Life Of A Bow Street Officer by Anonymous (1827)
Memoirs Of Vidocq by Eugene Francois Vidocq (1828)
Le Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac (1835)
Passages In The Secret History Of An Irish Countess by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1838); The Purcell Papers (1880)
The Murders In The Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales by Edgar Allan Poe (1841, 1842, 1845)

Serials:
The Mysteries Of Paris by Eugene Sue (1842 - 1843)
The Mysteries Of London by Paul Feval (1844)
The Mysteries Of London by George Reynolds (1844 - 1848)
- The Mysteries Of London: Volume I
- The Mysteries Of London: Volume II
- The Mysteries Of London: Volume III
- The Mysteries Of London: Volume IV
The Mysteries Of The Court Of London by George Reynolds (1848 - 1856)
John Devil by Paul Feval (1861)

Early detective novels:
Recollections Of A Detective Police-Officer by "Waters" (William Russell) (1856)
The Widow Lerouge by Emile Gaboriau (1866)
Under Lock And Key by T. W. Speight (1869)
Checkmate by J. Sheridan LeFanu (1871)
Is He The Man? by William Clark Russell (1876)
Devlin The Barber by B. J. Farjeon (1888)
Mr Meeson's Will by H. Rider Haggard (1888)
The Mystery Of A Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume (1889)
The Queen Anne's Gate Mystery by Richard Arkwright (1889)
The Ivory Queen by Norman Hurst (1889) (Check Julius H. Hurst 1899)
The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill (1892)

Female detectives:
The Diary Of Anne Rodway by Wilkie Collins (1856)
Ruth The Betrayer; or, The Female Spy by Edward Ellis (1862-1863)
The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester (1864)
Revelations Of A Lady Detective by William Stephens Hayward (1864)
The Law And The Lady by Wilkie Collins (1875)
Madeline Payne; or, The Detective's Daughter by Lawrence L. Lynch (Emma Murdoch Van Deventer) (1884)
Mr Bazalgette's Agent by Leonard Merrick (1888)
Moina; or, Against The Mighty by Lawrence L. Lynch (Emma Murdoch Van Deventer) (sequel to Madeline Payne?) (1891)
The Experiences Of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective by Catherine Louisa Pirkis (1893)
When The Sea Gives Up Its Dead by Elizaberth Burgoyne Corbett (Mrs George Corbett)
Dorcas Dene, Detective by George Sims (1897)
- Amelia Butterworth series by Anna Katharine Grant (1897 - 1900)
Hagar Of The Pawn-Shop by Fergus Hume (1898)
The Adventures Of A Lady Pearl-Broker by Beatrice Heron-Maxwell (1899)
Miss Cayley's Adventures by Grant Allan (1899)
Hilda Wade by Grant Allan (1900)
Dora Myrl, The Lady Detective by M. McDonnel Bodkin (1900)
The Investigators by J. S. Fletcher (1902)
Hagar's Daughter by Pauline Hopkins (1902)
Lady Molly Of Scotland Yard by Baroness Orczy (1910)
Constance Dunlap, Woman Detective by Arthur B. Reeve (1913)
Miss Madelyn Mack, Detective by Hugh C. Weir (1914)

Related mainstream works:
Adventures Of Susan Hopley by Catherine Crowe (1841)
Men And Women; or, Manorial Rights by Catherine Crowe (1843)
Hargrave by Frances Trollope (1843)
Clement Lorimer by Angus Reach (1849)
Clara Vaughan by R. D. Blackmore (1864)

True crime:
Clues: or, Leaves from a Chief Constable's Note Book by Sir William Henderson (1889)
Dreadful Deeds And Awful Murders by Joan Lock

Series and sequels, 1866 - 1919:

(1866 - 1876) **Emile Gaboriau - Monsieur Lecoq - The Widow Lerouge (1/6) {ManyBooks}
(1878 - 1917) **Anna Katharine Green - Ebenezer Gryce - The Mystery Of The Hasty Arrow (13/13)
(1896 - 1909) **Melville Davisson Post - Randolph Mason - The Corrector Of Destinies (3/3)
(1894 - 1903) **Arthur Morrison - Martin Hewitt - The Red Triangle (4/4)
(1895 - 1901) **Guy Newell Boothby - Dr Nikola - Farewell, Nikola (5/5)
(1897 - 1900) **Anna Katharine Green - Amelia Butterworth - The Circular Study (3/3)
(1899 - 1917) **Anna Katharine Green - Caleb Sweetwater - The Mystery Of The Hasty Arrow (7/7)
(1899 - 1909) **E. W. Hornung - Raffles - Mr Justice Raffles (4/4)
(1900 - 1974) Ernest Bramah - Kai Lung - Kai Lung: Six / Kai Lung Raises His Voice (7/7)
(1903 - 1904) **Louis Tracy - Reginald Brett - The Albert Gate Mystery (2/2)
(1905 - 1925) **Baroness Orczy - The Old Man In The Corner - Unravelled Knots (3/3)}
(1905 - 1928) **Edgar Wallace - The Just Men - Again The Three Just Men (6/6)
(1907 - 1942) R. Austin Freeman - Dr John Thorndyke - The Jacob Street Mystery (26/26)
(1907 - 1941) *Maurice Leblanc - Arsène Lupin - The Countess Of Cagliostro (aka "The Memoirs Of Arsène Lupin") (11/25) {Project Gutenberg}
(1909 - 1942) *Carolyn Wells - Fleming Stone - The Tannahill Tangle (25/49) {Rare Books}
(1909 - 1929) *J. S. Fletcher - Inspector Skarratt - Marchester Royal (1/3) {Kindle}
(1910 - 1936) *Arthur B. Reeve - Craig Kennedy - Avatar, The Dream Dancer (16/24) {AbeBooks??}
(1910 - 1946) A. E. W. Mason - Inspector Hanaud - The House In Lordship Lane (7/7)
(1910 - 1917) Edgar Wallace - Inspector Smith - Kate Plus Ten (3/3)
(1910 - 1930) **Edgar Wallace - Sergeant / Inspector Elk - White Face (6/6)
^^^^^(1910 - 1932) *Thomas, Mary and Hazel Hanshew - Cleek - The Amber Junk (aka Riddle Of The Amber Ship (9/12) {rare, expensive}
(1910 - 1918) **John McIntyre - Ashton-Kirk - Ashton-Kirk: Criminologist (4/4)
^^^(1910 - 1928) **Louis Tracy - Winter and Furneaux - The Black Cat (8/9) {Rare Books}

(1911 - 1935) G. K. Chesterton - Father Brown - The Scandal Of Father Brown (5/5)
^^^(1911 - 1940) Bertram Atkey - Smiler Bunn - Arsenic And Gold (10/11) {Rare Books}
(1912 - 1919) **Gordon Holmes (Louis Tracy) - Steingall and Clancy - The Bartlett Mystery (3/3)
(1913 - 1973) Sax Rohmer - Fu Manchu - Emperor Fu Manchu (13/14) {Rare Books / JFR / ILL / Kindle}
(1913 - 1952) Jeffery Farnol - Jasper Shrig - Heritage Perilous (7/9) {owned}
(1914 - 1950) Mary Roberts Rinehart - Hilda Adams - Episode Of The Wandering Knife (5/5)
(1914 - 1934) Ernest Bramah - Max Carrados - The Bravo Of London (5/5)
(1915 - 1936) *John Buchan - Richard Hannay - The Thirty-Nine Steps (1/5) {Fisher Library / Project Gutenberg / branch transfer / Kindle}
(1916 - 1917) **Carolyn Wells - Alan Ford - Faulkner's Folly (2/2) {owned}
^^^(1916 - 1927) **Natalie Sumner Lincoln - Inspector Mitchell - The Three Strings (4/10) {Fisher storage}
^^^^^(1916 - 1917) **Nevil Monroe Hopkins - Mason Brant - The Strange Cases Of Mason Brant (1/2) {expensive}
(1918 - 1923) **Carolyn Wells - Pennington Wise - Wheels Within Wheels (8/8)
(1918 - 1939) Valentine Williams - The Okewood Brothers - The Fox Prowls (5/5)
(1918 - 1944) Valentine Williams - Clubfoot - Courier To Marrakesh (7/7)
(1918 - 1950) *Wyndham Martyn - Anthony Trent - The Mysterious Mr Garland (3/26) {Rare Books / CARM}
(1919 - 1966) *Lee Thayer - Peter Clancy - Alias Dr Ely (8/60) {Rare Books}
(1919 - 1922) **Octavus Roy Cohen - David Carroll - Midnight (4/4)

^^^^^ Remainder of series unavailable
^^^ Incompletely available series
** Series complete pre-1931
* Present status pre-1931

Series and sequels, 1920 - 1927:

(1920 - 1948) H. C. Bailey - Reggie Fortune - Black Land, White Land (12/23) {Rare Books}
(1920 - 1975) Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot - Curtain (38/38)
(1920 - 1921) **Natalie Sumner Lincoln - Ferguson - The Unseen Ear (2/2)
(1920 - 1937) *"Sapper" (H. C. McNeile) - Bulldog Drummond - The Third Round (3/10 - series continued) {Roy Glashan's Library}

(1921 - 1929) **Charles J. Dutton - John Bartley - Streaked With Crimson (9/9)
(1921 - 1925) **Herman Landon - The Gray Phantom - Gray Magic (5/5)

(1922 - 1973) Agatha Christie - Tommy and Tuppence - Postern Of Fate (5/5)
^^^^^(1922 - 1927) *Alice MacGowan and Perry Newberry - Jerry Boyne - The Seventh Passenger (4/5) {Amazon}
(1922 - 1931) Valentine Williams - Inspector Manderton - Death Answers The Bell (4/4)
(1922 - ????) *Armstrong Livingston - Jimmy Traynor - The Doublecross (aka "The Double-Cross") (2/?) {AbeBooks}

(1923 - 1937) Dorothy L. Sayers - Lord Peter Wimsey - In The Teeth Of The Evidence (14/14)
(1923 - 1924) **Carolyn Wells - Lorimer Lane - The Fourteenth Key (2/2)
(1923 - 1927) Annie Haynes - Inspector Furnival - The Crow's Inn Tragedy (3/3)

(1924 - 1959) Philip MacDonald - Colonel Anthony Gethryn - Rope To Spare (8/24) {Rare Books}
(1924 - 1957) Freeman Wills Crofts - Inspector French - Sudden Death (8/30) {Rare Books / ILL}
^^^(1924 - 1935) *Francis D. Grierson - Inspector Sims and Professor Wells - The Yellow Rat (aka "Murder At The Wedding") (9/13) {Rare Books}
(1924 - 1940) *Lynn Brock - Colonel Gore - The Mendip Mystery (aka "Murder At The Inn") (5/12) {Kindle}
(1924 - 1933) *Herbert Adams - Jimmie Haswell - The Crooked Lip (2/9) {Rare Books}
(1924 - 1944) *A. Fielding - Inspector Pointer - The Net Around Joan Ingilby (5/23) {Rare Books}
(1924 - 1936) *Hulbert Footner - Madame Storey - The Kidnapping Of Madame Storey (11/11)
^^^^^(1924 - 1931) R. Francis Foster - Anthony Ravenhill - The Missing Gates (1/7) {unavailable}

(1925 - 1961) ***John Rhode - Dr Priestley - Dead Men At The Folly (13/72) {Rare Books}
(1925 - 1953) *G. D. H. Cole / M. Cole - Superintendent Wilson - Corpse In Canonicals (aka "Corpse In The Constable's Garden") (8/?) {Rare Books}
(1925 - 1932) Earl Derr Biggers - Charlie Chan - Keeper Of The Keys (6/6)
(1925 - 1944) Agatha Christie - Superintendent Battle - Towards Zero (5/5)
(1925 - 1934) *Anthony Berkeley - Roger Sheringham - The Second Shot (6/10) {academic loan / Rare Books / Internet Archive}
(1925 - 1950) *Anthony Wynne (Robert McNair Wilson) - Dr Eustace Hailey - Sinners Go Secretly (4/27) {CARM}
^^^(1925 - 1939) *Charles Barry (Charles Bryson) - Inspector Lawrence Gilmartin - The Detective's Holiday (2/15) {Rare Books / GooglePlay}
(1925 - 1929) **Will Scott - Will Disher - Disher--Detective (aka "The Black Stamp") (1/5) {HathiTrust}
(1925 - 1927) **Francis Beeding - Professor Kreutzemark - The Hidden Kingdom (2/2)
(1925 - ????) *Livingston Armstrong - Peter Creighton - On The Right Wrists (1/?) {AbeBooks}

(1926 - 1968) Christopher Bush - Ludovic Travers - The Case Of The April Fools (9/63) {Kindle / CARM}
(1926 - 1939) S. S. Van Dine - Philo Vance - The Winter Murder Case (12/12)
(1926 - 1952) J. Jefferson Farjeon - Ben the Tramp - Number Nineteen (8/8) {ILL / Kindle / Internet Archive}
(1926 - ????) *G. D. H. Cole / M. Cole - Everard Blatchington - Burglars In Bucks (aka "The Berkshire Mystery") (2/6) {Fisher Library}
(1926 - ????) *Arthur Gask - Gilbert Larose - The Lonely House (3/27) {Roy Glashan's Library}
(1926 - 1931) *Aidan de Brune - Dr Night - The Green Pearl (2/3) {Roy Glashan's Library}

^^^(1927 - 1933) *Herman Landon - The Picaroon - The Picaroon: Knight Errant (7/8) {State Library NSW, JFR}
(1927 - 1932) *Anthony Armstrong - Jimmie Rezaire - The Trail Of The Lotto (3/5) {CARM / AbeBooks}
(1927 - 1937) *Ronald Knox - Miles Bredon - The Body In The Silo (3/5) {Kindle / Rare Books}
(1927 - 1958) *Brian Flynn - Anthony Bathurst - The Creeping Jenny Mystery (7/54) {Kindle / ZLibrary}
(1927 - 1947) J. J. Connington - Sir Clinton Driffield - The Boathouse Riddle (6/17) {Kindle / mobilereads / Internet Archive}
(1927 - 1935) *Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Malleson) - Scott Egerton - Mystery Of The Open Window (4/10) {Rare Books}
^^^^^(1927 - 1932) *William Morton (aka William Blair Morton Ferguson) - Kirker Cameron and Daniel "Biff" Corrigan - Masquerade (1/4) {expensive}
^^^^^(1927 - 1929) **George Dilnot - Inspector Strickland - The Crooks' Game (1/2) {AbeBooks / Amazon}
(1927 - 1949) **Dornford Yates - Richard Chandos - Blood Royal (3/8) {State Library, JFR / Kindle / Internet Archive}

^^^^^ Remainder of series unavailable
^^^ Incompletely available series
** Series complete pre-1931
* Present status pre-1931

Series and sequels, 1928 - 1930:

(1928 - 1961) Patricia Wentworth - Miss Silver - The Girl In The Cellar (32/32)
(1928 - 1936) *Gavin Holt - Luther Bastion - The White-Faced Man (aka "The Praying Monkey") (2/17) {academic loan / State Library NSW, held}
(1928 - 1936) Kay Cleaver Strahan - Lynn MacDonald - The Hobgoblin Murder (6/7) {Kindle}
(1928 - 1937) John Alexander Ferguson - Francis McNab - Death Of Mr Dodsley (6/6)
^^^(1928 - 1960) *Cecil Freeman Gregg - Inspector Higgins - Murder On The Bus (3/35) {Rare Books / Kindle}
(1928 - 1959) *John Gordon Brandon - Inspector Patrick Aloysius McCarthy - The Black Joss (2/53) {State Library NSW, held / JFR}
^^^^^(1928 - 1935) *Roland Daniel - Wu Fang / Inspector Saville - The Society Of The Spiders (1/6)
(1928 - 1946) *Francis Beeding - Alistair Granby - Pretty Sinister (2/18) {academic loan}
(1928 - 1930) **Annie Haynes - Inspector Stoddart - The Crystal Beads Murder (4/4)
(1928 - 1930) **Elsa Barker - Dexter Drake and Paul Howard - The Cobra Candlestick (aka "The Cobra Shaped Candlestick") (1/3) {AbeBooks / Rare Books}
^^^(1928 - ????) Adam Broome - Denzil Grigson - The Queen's Hall Murder (4/10) {Trove}
(1928 - 1931) **John Stephen Strange (Dorothy Stockbridge Tillet) - Van Dusen Ormsberry - The Clue Of The Second Murder (2/3) {GooglePlay / Rare Books}

(1929 - 1947) Margery Allingham - Albert Campion - Coroner's Pidgin (13/35) {Fisher Library / SMSA / fadedpage.com}
(1929 - 1984) Gladys Mitchell - Mrs Bradley - The Devil At Saxon Wall (6/67) {interlibrary loan / Kindle}
(1929 - 1937) Patricia Wentworth - Benbow Smith - Down Under (4/4)
^^^(1929 - 1954) Mignon Eberhart - Nurse Sarah Keate - Man Missing (7/7)
^^^(1929 - ????) Moray Dalton - Inspector Collier - The Belgrave Manor Crime (5/14) {Kindle}
^^^(1929 - 1930) * / ***Charles Reed Jones - Leighton Swift - The Torch Murder (1/3) {Rare Books}
(1929 - 1931) Carolyn Wells - Kenneth Carlisle - The Skeleton At The Feast (3/3) {Kindle}
(1929 - 1967) *George Goodchild - Inspector McLean - McLean At The Golden Owl (3/65) {Internet Archive}
(1929 - 1979) *Leonard Gribble - Anthony Slade - The Case Of The Marsden Rubies (1/33) {AbeBooks / Rare Books / re-check Kindle}
(1929 - 1932) *E. R. Punshon - Carter and Bell - The Unexpected Legacy (1/5) {Rare Books}
(1929 - 1971) *Ellery Queen - Ellery Queen - The Roman Hat Mystery (1/40) {interlibrary loan / Internet Archive}
(1929 - 1966) *Arthur Upfield - Bony - The Devil's Steps (10/29) {SMSA / Fisher Library}
(1929 - 1937) *Anthony Berkeley - Ambrose Chitterwick - The Piccadilly Murder (2/3) {interlibrary loan / Internet Archive}
^^^^^(1929 - 1940) *Jean Lilly - DA Bruce Perkins - The Seven Sisters (1/3) {rare, expensive}
(1929 - 1935) *N. A. Temple-Ellis (Nevile Holdaway) - Montrose Arbuthnot - The Inconsistent Villains (1/4) {Rare Books}
(1929 - 1943) *Gret Lane - Kate Clare Marsh and Inspector Barrin - The Cancelled Score Mystery (1/9) {Kindle}
(1929 - 1961) Henry Holt - Inspector Silver - The Necklace Of Death (3/16) {Rare Books}
(1929 - 1930) **J. J. Connington - Superintendent Ross - The Two Tickets Puzzle (2/2)
(1929 - 1941) H. Maynard Smith - Inspector Frost - Inspector Frost And The Whitbourne Murder (6/7) {Kindle}
(1929 - 1932) Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson - Sir John Saumarez - Re-Enter Sir John (3/3)
(1929 - 1940) *Rufus King - Lieutenant Valcour - Murder By The Clock (1/11) {Rare Books / Kindle / ZLibrary}
(1929 - 1933) *Will Levinrew (Will Levine) - Professor Brierly - For Sale - Murder (4/5) {AbeBooks}
(1929 - 1932) *Nancy Barr Mavity - Peter Piper - The Body On The Floor (1/5) {AbeBooks / Rare Books / State Library NSW, JFR}
(1929 - 1934) *Charles J. Dutton - Professor Harley Manners - The Circle Of Death (4/6) {newspapers.com}
(1929 - 1932) Thomas Cobb - Inspector Bedison - Who Closed The Casement? (4/4)
(1929 - ????) * J. C. Lenehan - Inspector Kilby - The Silecroft Case (2/?) {Kindle}
(1929 - 1936) *Robin Forsythe - Anthony "Algernon" Vereker - The Polo Ground Mystery (2/5) {Kindle}
^^^^^(1929 - 1931) */***David Frome (Zenith Jones Brown) - Major Gregory Lewis - The Murder Of An Old Man (1/3) {rare, expensive}

(1930 - ????) Moray Dalton - Hermann Glide - The Strange Case Of Harriet Hall (4/?) {Kindle}
^^^(1930 - 1960) Miles Burton - Desmond Merrion - The Platinum Cat (17/57) {Rare Books}
^^^(1930 - 1960) Miles Burton - Inspector Arnold - The Platinum Cat (17/57) {Rare Books}
(1930 - 1933) Roger Scarlett - Inspector Kane - Murder Among The Angells (4/5) {expensive}
(1930 - 1941) Harriette Ashbrook - Philip "Spike" Tracy - Murder Comes Back (6/7) {Kindle}
(1930 - 1943) Anthony Abbot - Thatcher Colt - About The Murder Of The Night Club Lady (3/8) {AbeBooks / serialised}
^^^^^(1930 - ????) ***David Sharp - Professor Fielding - I, The Criminal (4/?) {unavailable?}
(1930 - 1950) *H. C. Bailey - Josiah Clunk - Garstons (aka The Garston Murder Case) (1/11) {HathiTrust}
(1930 - 1968) *Francis Van Wyck Mason - Hugh North - The Vesper Service Murders (2/41) {Kindle}
(1930 - 1976) Agatha Christie - Miss Jane Marple - Miss Marple's Final Cases (14/14)
(1930 - 1939) Anne Austin - James "Bonnie" Dundee - Murdered But Not Dead (5/5)
(1930 - 1950) *Leslie Ford (as David Frome) - Mr Pinkerton and Inspector Bull - The Hammersmith Murders (1/11) {AbeBooks / Rare Books}
^^^^^(1930 - 1935) *"Diplomat" (John Franklin Carter) - Dennis Tyler - Murder In The State Department (1/7) {Amazon / Abebooks}
(1930 - 1962) *Helen Reilly - Inspector Christopher McKee - The Diamond Feather (1/31) {Rare Books}
(1930 - 1933) *Mary Plum - John Smith - The Killing Of Judge MacFarlane (1/4) {AbeBooks / Rare Books}
(1930 - 1945) *Hulbert Footner - Amos Lee Mappin - The Nation's Missing Guest (3/10) {fadedpage.com}
^^^(1930 - 1933) Monte Barrett - Peter Cardigan - The Wedding March Murder (3/3)
(1930 - 1931) Vernon Loder - Inspector Brews - Death Of An Editor (2/2)
^^^^^(1930 - 1931) *Roland Daniel - John Hopkins - The Rosario Murder Case (1/2) {unavailable?}
^^^(1930 - 1961) *Mark Cross ("Valentine", aka Archibald Thomas Pechey) - Daphne Wrayne and her Four Adjusters - The Grip Of The Four (1/53) {Rare Books}
^^^(1930 - 1937) Elaine Hamilton - Inspector Reynolds - Peril At Midnight (6/9) {Kindle}
(1930 - 1932) *J. S. Fletcher - Sergeant Charlesworth - The Borgia Cabinet (1/2) {fadedpage.com / Kindle}
(1930 - ????) *Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew - The Bungalow Mystery (3/?) {original text unavailable}
(1930 - 1937) John Dickson Carr - Henri Bencolin - The Four False Weapons (5/5)

^^^^^ Remainder of series unavailable
^^^ Incompletely available series
** Series complete pre-1931
* Present status pre-1931

Series and sequels, 1931 - 1932:

^^^(1931 - 1940) Bruce Graeme - Superintendent Stevens and Pierre Allain - Not Proven (5/8) {Trove}
(1931 - 1951) Phoebe Atwood Taylor - Asey Mayo - The Tinkling Symbol (6/24) {Rare Books / academic loan}
(1931 - 1955) Stuart Palmer - Hildegarde Withers - The Puzzle Of The Silver Persian (5/18) {Kindle / ILL / ZLibrary}
(1931 - 1933) Sydney Fowler - Inspector Cleveland - Arresting Delia (4/4)
(1931 - 1934) J. H. Wallis - Inspector Wilton Jacks - The Capital City Mystery (2/6) {Rare Books}
(1931 - ????) Paul McGuire - Inspector Cummings - Daylight Murder (aka "Murder At High Noon") (3/5) {academic loan / State Library NSW, held}
(1931 - 1936) Carlton Dawe - Leathermouth - The Missing Treaty (5/12) {State Library NSW, held}
(1931 - 1947) R. L. Goldman - Asaph Clume and Rufus Reed - Death Plays Solitaire (3/6) {Kindle}
^^^(1931 - 1959) E. C. R. Lorac (Edith Caroline Rivett) - Inspector Robert Macdonald - The Affair On Thor's Head (2/46) {State Library NSW, JFR}
(1931 - 1935) Clifton Robbins - Clay Harrison - Methylated Murder (5/5)
(1931 - 1972) Georges Simenon - Inspector Maigret - Le Fou de Bergerac (16/75) {ILL / Internet Archive}
^^^(1931 - 1942) R. A. J. Walling - Garstang - Murder At Midnight (2/3) {Rare Books}
(1931 - ????) Francis Bonnamy (Audrey Boyers Walz) - Peter Utley Shane - Death By Appointment (1/8) {AbeBooks / Rare Books}
(1931 - 1937) J. S. Fletcher - Ronald Camberwell - Murder In The Squire's Pew (3/11) {Kindle / State Library NSW, held}
(1931 - 1933) Edwin Dial Torgerson - Sergeant Pierre Montigny - The Murderer Returns (1/2) {Rare Books)
(1931 - 1933) Molly Thynne - Dr Constantine and Inspector Arkwright - He Dies And Makes No Sign (3/3)
(1931 - 1935) Valentine Williams - Sergeant Trevor Dene - The Clue Of The Rising Moon (4/4)
(1931 - 1942) Patricia Wentworth - Frank Garrett - Pursuit Of A Parcel (5/5)
(1931 - 1931) Frances Shelley Wees - Michael Forrester and Tuck Torrie - The Mystery Of The Creeping Man (2/2)
(1931 - 1948) Alice Campbell - Tommy Rostetter - The Click Of The Gate (1/?) {CARM}
^^^(1931 - 1939) Roland Daniel - Inspector Walk - The Stool Pigeon (4/8) {Rare Books}

(1932 - 1954) Sydney Fowler - Inspector Cambridge and Mr Jellipot - The Bell Street Murders (1/11) {AbeBooks / Rare Books}
^^^^^(1932 - 1935) Murray Thomas - Inspector Wilkins - Buzzards Pick The Bones (1/3) {AbeBooks, expensive}
(1932 - ????) R. A. J. Walling - Philip Tolefree - Mr Tolefree's Reluctant Witnesses (aka "The Corpse In The Coppice") (7/22) {Kindle}
(1932 - 1962) T. Arthur Plummer - Detective-Inspector Andrew Frampton - Frampton Of The Yard! (3/50) {Rare Books}
(1932 - 1946) David Hume - Mick Cardby - Bullets Bite Deep (1/29) {Rare Books}
(1932 - 1936) John Victor Turner (David Hume) - Amos Petrie - Amos Petrie's Puzzle (3/7) {Kindle}
(1932 - 1944) Nicholas Brady (David Hume) - Ebenezer Buckle - The House Of Strange Guests (1/4) {Kindle}
(1932 - 1933) Barnaby Ross (aka Ellery Queen) - Drury Lane - Drury Lane's Last Case (4/4)
^^^(1932 - ????) Richard Essex (Richard Harry Starr) - Jack Slade - Slade Scores Again (2/?) {Rare Books}
(1932 - 1933) Gerard Fairlie - Mr Malcolm - Mr Malcolm Presents (2/3) (unavailable?}
(1932 - 1934) Paul McGuire - Superintendent Fillinger - Murder By The Law (2/5) {State Library, held}
^^^^^(1932 - 1946) Roland Daniel - Inspector Pearson - The Crackswoman (1/6) {unavailable}
(1932 - 1951) Sydney Horler - Tiger Standish - Tiger Standish (1/11) {Rare Books}

^^^^^ Remainder of series unavailable
^^^ Incompletely available series

Series and sequels, 1933 onwards:

(1933 - 1959) John Gordon Brandon - Arthur Stukeley Pennington - West End! (1/?) {AbeBooks / State Library, held}
(1933 - 1940) Lilian Garis - Carol Duncan - The Ghost Of Melody Lane (1/9) {fadedpage.com / Internet Archive}
^^^^^(1933 - 1934) Peter Hunt (George Worthing Yates and Charles Hunt Marshall) - Allan Miller - Murders At Scandal House (1/3) {AbeBooks / Amazon}
(1933 - 1968) John Dickson Carr - Gideon Fell - Hag's Nook (1/23) {Better World Books / State Library NSW, interlibrary loan}
^^^^^(1933 - 1939) Gregory Dean (Jacob D. Posner) - Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Simon - The Case Of Marie Corwin (1/3) {AbeBooks / Amazon}
(1933 - 1956) E. R. Punshon - Detective-Sergeant Bobby Owen - Information Received (1/35) {academic loan / State Library NSW, held / Rare Books}
(1933 - 1934) Jackson Gregory - Paul Savoy - A Case For Mr Paul Savoy (1/3) {AbeBooks / Rare Books}
(1933 - 1957) John Creasey - Department Z - The Death Miser (1/28) {State Library NSW, held}
^^^^^(1933 - 1940) Bruce Graeme - Superintendent Stevens - Body Unknown (2/2) {expensive}
(1933 - 1952) Wyndham Martyn - Christopher Bond - The Denmede Mystery (3/8) {State Library NSW, JFR}

^^^^^(1934 - 1949) Richard Goyne - Paul Templeton - Strange Motives (1/13) {unavailable?}
^^^^^(1934 - 1941) N. A. Temple-Ellis (Nevile Holdaway) - Inspector Wren - Three Went In (1/3) {unavailable?}
(1934 - 1953) Carter Dickson (John Dickson Carr) - Sir Henry Merivale - The Plague Court Murders (1/22) {Fisher Library}
(1934 - 1953) Leslie Ford (Zenith Jones Brown) - Colonel Primrose - The Strangled Witness (1/17) {Rare Books}
(1934 - 1975) Rex Stout - Nero Wolfe - The Silent Speaker (11/?) {SMSA}
(1934 - 1935) Vernon Loder - Inspector Chace - Murder From Three Angles (1/2) {Kindle / ????}

(1935 - 1939) Francis Beeding - Inspector George Martin - The Norwich Victims (1/3) {Roy Glashan's Library}
(1935 - 1976) Nigel Morland - Palmyra Pym - The Moon Murders (1/28) {State Library NSW, held}
(1935 - 1941) Clyde Clason - Professor Theocritus Lucius Westborough - The Fifth Tumbler (1/10) {HathiTrust}
(1935 - ????) G. D. H. Cole / M. Cole - Dr Tancred - Dr Tancred Begins (1/?) (AbeBooks, expensive / State Library NSW, held / Rare Books}
(1935 - ????) George Harmon Coxe - Kent Murdock - Murder With Pictures (1/22) {ebook? / AbeBooks}
^^^(1935 - 1959) Kathleen Moore Knight - Elisha Macomber - The Tainted Token (6/16) {Rare Books}

(1936 - 1974) Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Malleson) - Arthur Crook - Murder By Experts (1/51) {Kindle / interlibrary loan}
(1936 - 1940) George Bell Dyer - The Catalyst Club - The Catalyst Club (1/3) {Rare Books}
^^^(1936 - 1956) Theodora Du Bois - Anne and Jeffrey McNeil - Death Dines Out (4/19) {Rare Books}
(1936 - 1945) Charles Kingston - Chief Inspector Wake - Murder In Piccadilly (1/7) {Kindle}
(1937 - 1953) Leslie Ford (Zenith Jones Brown) - Grace Latham - Ill Met By Moonlight (1/16) {Kindle / Internet Archive}
(1938 - 1944) Zelda Popkin - Mary Carner - Time Off For Murder (2/6) {Kindle}
^^^^^(1938 - 1939) D. B. Olsen (Dolores Hitchens) - Lt. Stephen Mayhew - The Clue In The Clay (1/2) {expensive}
(1939 - 1953) Patricia Wentworth - Inspector Lamb - Vanishing Point (11/11)
^^^(1939 - 1940) Clifton Robbins - George Staveley - Death Forms Threes (2/2) {Rare Books}
(1939 - 1956) D. B. Olsen (Dolores Hitchens) - Rachel Murdock (check Stephen Mayhew) - The Cat Saw Murder (1/12) {Kindle / ZLibrary}

^^^(1940 - 1943) Bruce Graeme - Pierre Allain - The Corporal Died In Bed (1/3) {CARM}
(1941 - 1951) Bruce Graeme - Theodore I. Terhune - Seven Clues In Search Of A Crime (1/7) {Kindle / GooglePlay}
(1943 - 1961) Enid Blyton - Five Find-Outers - The Mystery Of The Secret Room (3/15) {fadedpage}
(1945 - 1952) D. B. Olsen (Dolores Hitchens) - Professor Pennyfeather - Bring The Bride A Shroud (aka "A Shroud For The Bride") (1/6) {Rare Books / National Library}
(1947 - 1953) Michael Gilbert - Inspector Hazelrigg - The Doors Open (3/6) {State Library NSW, JFR / Internet Archive}
(1950 - 1956) Sax Rohmer - Sumuru - The Sins Of Sumuru (1/5) {Rare Books / CARM / US KIndle}
(1955 - 1991) Patricia Highsmith - Tom Ripley - Ripley's Game (3/5) {SMSA}
(1957 - 1993) Chester B. Himes - The Harlem Cycle - The Big Gold Dream (4/9) {Fisher Library}
(1957 - 1971) G. G. Fickling (Gloria and Forest Fickling) - Honey West - This Girl For Hire (1/11) {Kindle}
(1961 - 2017) - John le Carré - George Smiley - Smiley's People (7/9) {Sutherland Library / Fisher Library / SMSA}
(1964 - 1987) Robert Arthur / William Arden / Nick West / M. V. Carey - The Three Investigators - The Mystery Of The Shrinking House (18/43) {freebooklover / Internet Archive}
(1965 - 1975) Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö - Martin Beck - The Fire Engine That Disappeared (5/10) {SMSA}
(1972 - 1998) Lillian O'Donnell - Norah Mulcahaney - The Phone Calls (1/17) {ILL}
(1982 - 2016) Warren Adler - Fiona Fitzgerald - American Quartet (1/9) {AbeBooks}
(1991 - 2011) Lynda La Plante - Jane Tennison - Prime Suspect (1/3) {SMSA}
(1992 - 2000) Barbara Neely - Blanche White - Blanche Passes Go (4/4)
^^^^^(2001 - 2012) Esmahan Aykol - Kati Hirschel - Divorce Turkish Style (3/4)

^^^^^ Remainder of series unavailable
^^^ Incompletely available series

Non-crime series and sequels:

(1861 - 1876) **Margaret Oliphant - Carlingford - Phoebe Junior (7/7)
(1867 - 1905) **Martha Finley - Elsie Dinsmore - Elsie And Her Namesakes (28/28)
(1867 - 1872) **George MacDonald - The Seaboard Parish - Annals Of A Quiet Neighbourhood (1/3) {ManyBooks}
(1893 - 1915) **Kate Douglas Wiggins - Penelope - Penelope's Postscripts (4/4)
(1894 - 1898) **Anthony Hope - Ruritania - Rupert Of Hentzau (3/3)
(1898 - 1918) **Arnold Bennett - Five Towns - Tales Of The Five Towns (3/11) {Fisher storage / Project Gutenberg / Internet Archive}

(1901 - 1919) **Carolyn Wells - Patty Fairfield - Patty And Azalea (17/17)
(1901 - 1927) **George Barr McCutcheon - Graustark - Beverly Of Graustark (2/6) {Project Gutenberg}
(1906 - 1933) John Galsworthy - The Forsyte Saga - Over The River (12/12)
(1907 - 1912) **Carolyn Wells - Marjorie - Marjorie's Vacation (1/6) {ManyBooks}
(1908 - 1924) **Margaret Penrose - Dorothy Dale - Dorothy Dale: A Girl Of Today (1/13) {ManyBooks}
(1909 - 1912) **Emerson Hough - Western Trilogy - 54-40 Or Fight (1/3) {Project Gutenberg}
(1910 - 1931) Grace S. Richmond - Red Pepper Burns - Red Pepper Returns (6/6)
(1910 - 1933) Jeffery Farnol - The Vibarts - The Way Beyond (3/3) {Fisher Library storage / fadedpage.com}
(1910 - 1921) **Hanns Heinz Ewers - Frank Braun - Vampire (3/3)

(1911 - 1937) Mary Roberts Rinehart - Letitia Carberry - Tish Marches On (5/5)
^^^(1911 - 1919) **Alfred Bishop Mason - Tom Strong - Tom Strong, Lincoln's Scout (5/5)
(1913 - 1934) *Alice B. Emerson - Ruth Fielding - Ruth Fielding In The Far North (20/30) {expensive}
(1916 - 1941) John Buchan - Edward Leithen - Sick Heart River (5/5)
(1915 - 1923) **Booth Tarkington - Growth - The Magnificent Ambersons (2/3) {Project Gutenberg / Fisher Library / Kindle}
(1917 - 1929) **Henry Handel Richardson - Dr Richard Mahony - Australia Felix (1/3) {Fisher Library / Kindle}

(1920 - 1939) E. F. Benson - Mapp And Lucia - Trouble For Lucia (6/6)
(1920 - 1952) William McFee - Spenlove - The Adopted - (7/7)
(1920 - 1932) *Alice B. Emerson - Betty Gordon - Betty Gordon At Bramble Farm (1/15) {ManyBooks}
^^^(1923 - 1931) *Agnes Miller - The Linger-Nots - The Linger-Nots And The Secret Maze (5/5)
(1924 - 1928) **Ford Madox Ford - Parade's End - Last Post (4/4)
(1926 - 1936) *Margery Lawrence - The Round Table - Nights Of The Round Table (1/2) {Kindle}
(1927 - 1960) **Mazo de la Roche - Jalna - Jalna (1/16) {State Library NSW, JFR / fadedpage.com}

(1928 - ????) Trygve Lund - Weston of the Royal North-West Mounted Police - The Vanished Prospector (6/9) {AbeBooks}
(1929 - 1931) *Ernest Raymond - Once In England - A Family That Was (1/3) {State Library NSW, JFR}

(1930 - 1932) Hugh Walpole - The Herries Chronicles - Vanessa (4/4)
(1930 - 1932) Faith Baldwin - The Girls Of Divine Corners - Myra: A Story Of Divine Corners (4/4)
(1930 - 1940) E. M. Delafield - The Provincial Lady - The Provincial Lady In Wartime (4/4)
(1930 - 1937) *Nina Murdoch - Miss Emily - Miss Emily In Black Lace (1/3) {State Library, held}

(1931 - 1951) Olive Higgins Prouty - The Vale Novels - Fabia (5/5)
(1931 - 1934) T. S. Stribling - The Vaiden Trilogy - The Store (2/3) {Internet Archive / academic loan / State Library, held}
(1931 - 1935) Pearl S. Buck - The House Of Earth - A House Divided (3/3)
(1932 - 1932) Lizette M. Edholm - The Merriweather Girls - The Merriweather Girls At Good Old Rockhill (4/4)
(1932 - 1952) D. E. Stevenson - Mrs Tim - Mrs Tim Flies Home (5/5) {interlibrary loan}

(1933 - 1970) Dennis Wheatley - Duke de Richlieu - The Forbidden Territory (1/11) {Fisher Library}
(1934 - 1936) Storm Jameson - The Mirror In Darkness - Company Parade (1/3) {Fisher Library}
(1934 - 1968) Dennis Wheatley - Gregory Sallust - Black August (1/11) {interlibrary loan / omnibus}
(1936 - 1952) Helen Dore Boylston - Sue Barton - Sue Barton, Student Nurse (1/7) {interlibrary loan}

(1940 - 1953) Upton Sinclair - Lanny Budd - Between Two Worlds (2/11) {Fisher Library}
(1947 - 1974) Dennis Wheatley - Roger Brook - The Launching Of Roger Brook (1/12) {Fisher Library storage}
(1948 - 1971) E. V. Timms - The Gubbys - Forever To Remain (1/12) {Fisher Library / interlibrary loan}
(1953 - 1960) Dennis Wheatley - Molly Fountain and Colonel Verney - To The Devil A Daughter (1/2) {Fisher Library storage}
(1955 - 1956) D. E. Stevenson - The Ayrton Family - Summerhills (2/2) {interlibrary loan}
(1980 - 2011) Jean M. Auel - Earth's Children - The Shelters Of Stone (5/6) {Fisher Library / Penrith Library}
(1984 - 2013) Tom Clancy (continued by others) - Jack Ryan - Patriot Games (2/16) {Blacktown Library}
(1989 - ????) Nancy A. Collins - Sonja Blue - Darkest Heart (5/7) {AbeBooks}
(1992 - 2019) Kim Newman - Dracula - The Bloody Red Baron (2/6) {owned}

*** Incompletely available series
** Series complete pre-1931
* Present status pre-1931

Unavailable series works (Part 1: series partially available):

Mignon Eberhart - Sarah Keate
Dead Yesterday And Other Stories (multiple Eberhart characters) {expensive / limited edition}

Esmahan Aykol - Kati Hirschel
Istanbul Tango (#4) {untranslated}

John Rhode - Dr Priestley
The Hanging Woman (#11) {rare, expensive}

Miles Burton - Desmond Merrion / Inspector Arnold
The Three Crimes (#2 Merrion / #1 Arnold) {rare, expensive}
The Menace On The Downs (#2 Arnold) {rare, expensive}
Fate At The Fair (#4 Merrion / #4 Arnold) {unavailable}
Tragedy At The Thirteenth Hole (#5 Merrion / #5 Arnold) {unavailable}
Death At The Cross-Roads (#6 Merrion / #6 Arnold) {unavailable}
The Charabanc Mystery (#7 Merrion / #7 Arnold) {unavailable}
To Catch A Thief (#8 Merrion / #8 Arnold) {unavailable}
The Devereux Court Mystery (#9 Merrion / #9 Arnold) {unavailable}
Murder Of A Chemist (#11 Merrion / #11 Arnold) {unavailable}
Where Is Barbara Prentice? (aka "The Clue Of The Silver Cellar") (#13 Merrion / #13 Arnold) {rare, expensive}
Death At The Club (aka "The Clue Of The Fourteen Keys") (#14 Merrion/ #14 Arnold) {unavailable}
Murder In Crown Passage (aka "The Man With The Tattoed Face") (#15 Merrion / #15 Arnold) {unavailable}

Louis Tracy - Winter and Furneaux
The Park Lane Mystery (#6) {unavailable}

Moray Dalton - Inspector Collier
The Harvest Of Tares (#4) {unavailable}

E. C. R. Lorac - Inspector Robert MacDonald
The Murder On The Burrows (#1) {unavailable}
The Greenwell Mystery (#3) {unavailable}

R. A. J. Walling - Garstang
Stroke Of One (#1) {unavailable}

T. Arthur Plummer - Inspector Frampton
Shadowed By The C.I.D. (#1) {unavailable}
Shot At Night (#2) {unavailable}

Bruce Graeme - Superintendent Stevens
Body Unknown (#?) {unavailable}

Charles Barry (real name: Charles Bryson) - Inspector Gilmartin
The Smaller Penny (#1) {expensive}

Francis D. Grierson - Inspector Sims and Professor Wells
The Double Thumb (#3) {unavailable}
The Smiling Death (#6) {expensive}
The White Camellia (#7) {expensive}
The Blue Bucket Mystery (#8) {unavailable}

Cecil Freeman Gregg - Inspector Higgins
The Murdered Manservant (aka "The Body In The Safe") (#1) {HathiTrust/not accessible}
The Three Daggers (#2) {HathiTrust/not accessible}

Charles J. Dutton - Harley Manners
The Shadow Of Evil (#2) {rare, expensive}

Elaine Hamilton - Inspector Reynolds
Murder In The Fog (#2) {unavailable}
The Chelsea Mystery (#3) {unavailable}
The Green Death (Reynolds #4?) {unavailable}
The Silent Bell (Reynolds #5?) {unavailable}

Herman Landon - The Picaroon
The Picaroon Does Justice (#2) {CARM}
Buy My Silence! (#3) {rare, expensive}
The Picaroon Resumes Practice (#5) {unavailable}
The Picaroon In Pursuit (#6) {CARM}

Bertram Atkey - Smiler Bunn
The Smiler Bunn Brigade (#2) {rare, expensive}
Smiler Bunn, Man-Hunter (#3) {unavailable}
Smiler Bunn, Gentleman Crook (#4) {unavailable}
The Man With Yellow Eyes (#5) {unavailable}
Smiler Bunn: Byewayman (#6) {unavailable}
Smiler Bunn, Gentleman-Adventurer (#7) {unavailable}
Smiler Bunn, Crook (#8) {unavailable}
The House Of Clystevill (#11) {unavailable}

Charles Reed Jones - Leighton Swift
The King Murder (#1) {unavailable}
The Van Norton Murders (#3) {Complete Detective Novel Magazine}

Monte Barrett - Peter Cardigan
Murder Off Stage (aka "Knotted Silk") (#2) {expensive shipping}

Roland Daniel - Inspector John Walk
Dead Man's Vengeance (#1) {unavailable}
Ann Turns Detective (#2) {unavailable}
Ruby Of A Thousand Dreams (#3) {Ramble House} (NB: Wu Fang)

George Dilnot - Inspector Strickland
Crooks' Game (#1) {expensive}
The Black Ace (#2) {expensive}

Richard Essex (aka ) - Jack Slade
Slade Of The Yard (#1) {expensive}

Mark Cross aka Archibald Thomas Pechey aka Valentine - Daphne Wrayne and the Four Adjusters
The Shadow Of The Four (#1) {rare, expensive}

Bruce Graeme - Stevens and Allain
Satan's Mistress (#4) {unavailable}

Wyndham Martyn - Christopher Bond
Christopher Bond, Adventurer (#1) {unavailable}
Spies Of Peace (#2) {unavailable}

Clifton Robbins - George Staveley
Six Sign-Post Murder (#1) {expensive}

Agnes Miller - The Linger-Nots
The Linger-Nots And The Secret Maze (#5) {unavailable}

Unavailable series works (Part 2: series effectively unavailable):

R. Francis Foster - Anthony Ravenhill
The Missing Gates (#1) {unavailable}
Anthony Ravenhill, Crime Merchant (#2) {expensive}
The Music Gallery Murder (#3) {unavailable}
The Moat House Mystery (#4) {unavailable}
The Dark Night (#5) {unavailable}

David Sharp - Professor Fielding
When No Man Pursueth (#1) {unavailable}
I, The Criminal (#4) {rare, expensive}
The Inconvenient Corpse (#5 rare, expensive}
Marriage And Murder (#6) {unavailable}

Adam Broome - Denzil Grigson
Crowner's Quest (#2) {rare, expensive}
The Island Of Death (#3) {rare, expensive}
The Crocodile Club (#5) {unavailable}
The Black Mamba (#6) {rare, expensive}
Snakes And Ladders (#7) {unavailable}
The Red Queen Club (#8) {unavailable}
Flame Of The Forest (#9) {rare, expensive}

Roger Scarlett - Inspector Kane
Murder Among The Angells (#4) {expensive}
In The First Degree (#5) {expensive}

Alice MacGowan and Perry Newberry - Jerry Boyne
The Seventh Passenger (#4) {expensive}
Who Is This Man? (#5) {available, expensive shipping}

Roland Daniel - Wu Fang
The Society Of The Spiders (#1) {Ramble House}
Wu Fang (#2) {unavailable}
Ruby Of A Thousand Dreams (#3) {Ramble House}
Wu Fang's Revenge (#4) {unavailable}
The Son Of Wu Fang (#5) {Ramble House}
The Return Of Wu Fang (#6) {Ramble House}

The Hanshews - Cleek
The Amber Junk (aka "Riddle Of The Amber Ship") (#9) {rare, expensive}
The House Of Seven Keys (#10) {rare, expensive}
The Riddle Of The Winged Death (#11) {unavailable}
Murder In The Hotel (#12) {unavailable}

William Morton (aka William Blair Morton Ferguson) - Daniel "Biff" Corrigan / Police Commissioner Kirker Cameron
Masquerade (#1) {expensive}
The Mystery Of The Human Bookcase (#2) {expensive}
The Murderer (aka "The Pilditch Puzzle") (#3) {expensive}
The Case Of Casper Gault ????

Jean Lilly - DA Bruce Perkins
The Seven Sisters (#1) {rare, expensive}
False Face (#2) {rare, expensive}
Death In B-Minor (#3) {rare, expensive}
Death Thumbs A Ride (#4) {rare, expensive}

David Frome (Zenith Jones Brown) - Major Gregory Lewis
Murder Of An Old Man (#1) {rare, expensive}
In At The Death (#2) {rare, expensive}
The Strange Death Of Martin Green (#3) {rare, expensive}

John Franklin Carter (aka "Diplomat") - Dennis Tyler
Murder In The State Department (#1) {unavailable}
Murder In The Embassy (#2) {unavailable}
Scandal In The Chancery (#3) {unavailable}
The Corpse On The White House Lawn (#4) {unavailable}
Death In The Senate (#5) {unavailable}
Slow Death At Geneva (#6) {unavailable}
Brain Trust Murder (#7) {unavailable}

Murray Thomas - Inspector Wilkins
Buzzards Pick The Bones (#1) {unavailable}
Inspector Wilkins Sees Red (#2) {rare, expensive}
Inspector Wilkins Reads The Proofs (#3) {unavailable}

Roland Daniel - John Hopkins
The Rosario Murder Case (#1) {unavailable}
The Shooting Of Sergius Leroy (#2) {unavailable}

Roland Daniel - Inspector Pearson
The Crackswoman (#1) {unavailable}
The Green Jade God (#2) {unavailable}
White Eagle (#3) {unavailable}
The Crimson Shadow (#4) {expensive}
The Gangster's Last Shot (#5) {unavailable}
Murder At Little Malling (#6) {CARM}

Kathleen Moore Knight - Elisha Macomber
Death Blew Out The Match (#1) {expensive}
The Clue Of The Poor Man's Shilling (aka "The Poor Man's Shilling") (#2) {CARM / expensive}
The Wheel That Turned (#3) {expensive}
Seven Were Veiled (#4) {expensive}
Acts Of Black Night (#5) {expensive}

Peter Hunt (aka George Worthing Yates and Charles Hunt Marshall) - Alan Miller
Murders At Scandal House (#1) {expensive}
Murder For Breakfast (#2) {expensive}
Murder Among The Nudists (#3) {expensive}

Gregory Dean (aka Jacob D. Posner) - Benjamin Simon
The Case Of Marie Corwin (#1) {unavailable}
The Case Of The Fifth Key (#2) {unavailable}
Murder On Stilts (#3) {unavailable}

N. A. Temple-Ellis (aka Nevile Holdaway) - Inspector Wren
Three Went In (#1) {unavailable}
Dead In No Time (aka "Murder In The Ruins") (#2) {expensive}
Death Of A Decent Fellow (#3) {unavailable}

Richard Goyne - Paul Templeton
Strange Motives (#1) {unavailable}
Murder At The Inn (#2) {unavailable}
Produce The Body (#3) {unavailable}
Death By Desire (#4) {expensive}
Hanged I'll Be! (#5) {CARM}
Death In Harbour (#6) {unavailable}
Seven Were Suspect (#7) {unavailable}
The Merrylees Mystery (#8) {unavailable}
Who Killed My Wife? (#9) {unavailable}
Fear Haunts The Fells (#10) {unavailable}
Five Roads Inn (#11) {unavailable}
Murder Made Easy (#12) {unavailable}
Murderer's Moon (#13) {expensive}

Theodora du Bois - Anne and Jeffrey McNeill
Armed With A New Terror (#1) {unavailable}
Death Wears A White Coat (#2) {unavailable}
Death Tears A Comic Strip (#3) {expensive}

D. B. Olsen (aka Dolores Hichens) - Stephen Mayhew (overlaps with Rachel Murdock)
The Clue In The Clay (#1) {expensive}
Death Cuts A Silhouette (#2) {expensive}

Alfred Bishop Mason - Tom Strong
Tom Strong, Boy-Captain (#2) {unavailable}
Tom Strong, Junior (#3) {unavailable}
Tom Strong, Third (#4) {unavailable}

Books currently on loan:

Reading projects:

Blog:

        

        

Other projects:

        

        

Group read news:

Our next scheduled group read is Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope, which will be conducted in February. I will post around nearer the end of this month with reminders.

After that we will be resuming the Virago Chronological Read Project, probably in May---though we may be diverting from the main thread again. Technically our next read is Charlotte Yonge's The Daisy Chain, but there has been some discussion about tackling her first and most successful novel (albeit not a Virago), The Heir Of Redclyffe, first. If you have a preference either way, please post and let me know.

...and again:

Welcome, everyone!

Please come on in and make yourselves at home. :)

Welcome back! Love the koalas!

So glad to find you, Liz.

>22 drneutron:

Thanks, Jim!

>23 Matke:

Hi, Gail, welcome!

Okay, then---

Now reading The Eight Strokes Of The Clock by Maurice Leblanc.

Hi Liz, I'm happy to see you have your thread up and open for business! This year's group reads should be fun. I'm up for anything on Charlotte Yonge.

I'm sorry 2023 was such a difficult year for you. Here's to 2024 being better all around!

Happy reading in 2024, Liz!
Oh, to be as relaxed as that first koala...

Today I feel like those koalas look!

Good afternoon!

I've dropped a star and will be back. :)

>26 NinieB:

Hi, Ninie - thanks, and thank you for your input. :)

>27 FAMeulstee:

Hi, Anita! I can do that, it's doing anything productive that's a problem. :D

>28 rosalita:

Only today!?

So I guess now I have to go re-borrow that copy of The Silent Speaker, huh?? :D

>29 fuzzi:

Thanks, fuzzi, much appreciated!

>30 lyzard: I mean, I just finished Not Quite Dead Enough the evening of Dec. 31, so if you want to skip January and start up again in February I'm OK with that. Or did you already read it but now you don't remember it? Because I've definitely had that happen!

>31 rosalita:

I read Not Quite Dead Enough at the beginning of December which now feels like a lifetime ago (and was in fact two obnoxious chunksters ago, which is why).

Am I right that you still need to do The Devil's Steps? If so, why don't you tackle that this month, and then we can do The Silent Speaker in February and go on from there.

>32 lyzard: I do — in fact, you've reminded me to go buy it so I can get started. So we'll do that in January and follow your plan from there.

Hi, Liz, and Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best and hoping to stop by your thread from time to time this year. My reading is at an all-time slowness, but I love coordinating the TIOLI challenges so I’m still very highly active here on LT (although you may not hear from me much). Happy 2024 reading!

>33 rosalita:

Excellent!

>34 SqueakyChu:

Hi, Madeline - thanks so much for visiting! Know that all your hard TIOLI work is very much appreciated. :)

Hi Liz, and happy new year!

Oooooooh! Koalas! I am going to hang out on your threads a lot this year!

>36 PawsforThought:

Thanks, Paws! Looking forward to having you here. :)

Finished The Eight Strokes Of The Clock for TIOLI #1 (and got my first '2024' of the year right when I was tagging it, yay!).

Now reading McLean Investigates by George Goodchild.

Happy New Year, Liz!

>39 ronincats:

Thanks, Roni, you too!

Finished McLean Investigates for TIOLI #10.

Now reading Vampire by Hanns Heinz Ewers.

Okay. I don't know if this will work but---

2023 #63
Publication date: 1919
Genre: Mystery / thriller
Series: Arsène Lupin #9
Read for: Series reading / TIOLI (tagged 'Adventure')

The Secret Of Sarek (original title: L'Île aux trente cercueils / "The Island Of Thirty Coffins"; translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos) - Many years after being given reason to believe that her vengeful father and her abducted son are dead, Véronique d'Hergemont discovers that they may be living on Sarek, a small island off the coast of Brittany which is also known as 'The Island Of Thirty Coffins'. Véronique's arrival coincides with an explosion of violence, which culminates in her witnessing the murder of her father by her son, François. Even worse is to follow: as the other residents of the small island try to flee, their boats are sunk and the survivors shot by two people whom Véronique concludes in her horror can only be François and his tutor, Stéphane Maroux. Left alone amongst the dead, Véronique discovers that the massacre is part of an attempt by her estranged husband, Alex Vorksi, to enact a prophecy of power requiring no less than thirty victims---the last of whom will be herself, his wife, who must die by crucifixion... The ninth entry in Maurice Leblanc's increasingly peculiar and convoluted series featuring gentleman-criminal Arsène Lupin is a disturbing horror / adventure story, a million miles away in tone from the comic adventures that marked the early Lupin tales. The Secret Of Sarek features, rather, mass murder, torture, death-traps, insanity, doppelgängers and Druids, as Véronique and François - the real François, as opposed to his lookalike half-brother, Raynold - fight to avoid becoming the victims of Volski's bloody quest for power. Meanwhile, the actual secret of Sarek is something known as "the God-stone", an ancient power once worshipped by the island's original inhabitants---but which the modern reader will recognise as a source of radioactivity (its in-narrative powers marked by all the unnervingly incomplete contemporary knowledge of such things). Lupin himself enters the narrative late, in his 'Don Luis Perenna' persona, having much earlier become acquainted with M. d'Hergemont and François, learned of the medieval prophecy with which the insane Volski is obsessed, and at that time given his assurance that he would protect the boy with his life. By the time he arrives, however, one of the two boys is dead - François or Raynald - while one of Volski's two wives, Elfride or Véronique, has been crucified on an ancient oak tree...

    "Everything is possible," Don Luis Perenna went on, "including even what you think. But I repeat, what a silly beast you're making of yourself! Here are you playing the bold highwayman, the dashing adventurer; and you're frightened the moment you set eyes on one of your crimes! As long as it was just a matter of happy-go-lucky killing, you went straight ahead. But the first little jolt throws you off the track. Vorski kills; but whom has he killed? He has no idea. Is Véronique d'Hergemont dead or alive? Is she fastened to the oak on which you crucified her? Or is she lying here, on the sacrificial table? Did you kill her up there or down here? You can't tell. You never even thought, before you stabbed, of looking to see what you were stabbing. The great thing for you is to slash away with all your might, to intoxicate yourself with the sight and smell of blood and to turn live flesh into a hideous pulp. But look, can't you, you idiot? When a man kills, he's not afraid of killing and he doesn't hide the face of his victim. Look, you idiot!"
    He himself stopped over the corpse and unwrapped the veil around the head.
    Vorski had closed his eyes. Kneeling, with his chest pressed against the dead woman's legs, he remained without moving and kept his eyes obstinately shut.
    "Are you there now?" chuckled Don Luis. "If you daren't look, it's because you've guessed or because you're on the point of guessing, you wretch: am I right? Your idiot brain is working it out: am I right? There were two women in the Isle of Sarek and two only, Véronique and the other...the other whose name was Elfride, I understand: am I right? Elfride and Véronique, your two wives, one the mother of Raynold, the other the mother of François..."

2024 #1
Publication date: 1923
Genre: Mystery / thriller
Series: Arsène Lupin #10
Read for: Series reading / TIOLI (something to do with time)

The Eight Strokes Of The Clock (original title: Les huit coups de l'horloge; translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos) - The tenth entry in Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin series is a collection of short stories in which Lupin never appears under his own name, but features in yet another adopted persona, that of Prince Serge Rénine. This is also another instance of Lupin being involved with - sigh - "the only woman I ever loved" (I think we're up to a round dozen at this point) - this time around, Hortense Daniel---who in a touch we would only find at the time in French writing is married to a man confined for insanity and therefore unable to obtain a divorce: a point which bothers neither her nor Lupin as they combine crime investigation with an oblique courtship. The stories themselves are a mixed bag though entertaining enough; the sixth, with its surprisingly modern ideas about serial killing, is particularly interesting. In On The Top Of The Tower, Rénine brings home a double murder to Hortense's uncle-by-marriage, not for justice but to force him to make her independent. In The Water Bottle, Rénine and Hortense save a wrongly convicted man from execution by exposing the real criminal. In The Case Of Jean Louis, a romance founders on the peculiar situation of the young man involved, who has two mothers who hate each other with a passion. In The Tell-tale FilmThérèse and Germaine, Rénine overhears part of a murder plot, but not the identity of the intended victim. In The Lady With A hatchet a series of brutal murders becomes personal for Rénine when Hortense seems destined to become the next victim. In Footprints In The Snow, Rénine intervenes when a man rescuing the abused wife he loves is arrested for her husband's murder. In At The Sign Of Mercury, Rénine fulfills the seemingly impossible condition placed upon his future relationship with Hortense, by recovering for her a long-lost piece of jewellery believed to bring good fortune.

    "My Dearest Friend,---
    "There has been no letter from you for a fortnight; so I don't expect now to receive one for that troublesome date of the 5th of December, which we fixed as the last day of our partnership. I rather wish it would come, because you will then be released from a contract which no longer seems to give you pleasure. To me the seven battles which we fought and won together were a time of endless delight and enthusiasm. I was living beside you. I was conscious of all the good which that more active and stirring existence was doing you. My happiness was so great that I dared not speak of it to you or let you see anything of my secret feelings except my desire to please you and my passionate devotion. To-day you have had enough of your brother in arms. Your will shall be law.
    "But, though I bow to your decree, may I remind you what it was that I always believed our final adventure would be? May I repeat your words, not one of which I have forgotten?
    "'I demand,' you said, 'that you shall restore to me a small, antique clasp, made of a cornelian set in a filigree mount. It came to me from my mother; and every one knew that it used to bring her happiness and me too. Since the day when it vanished from my jewel-case, I have had nothing but unhappiness. Restore it to me, my good genius.'
"And, when I asked you when the clasp had disappeared, you answered, with a laugh: 'Seven years ago...or eight...or nine: I don't know exactly... I don't know when...I don't know how...I know nothing about it...'
    "You were challenging me, were you not, and you set me that condition because it was one which I could not fulfill? Nevertheless, I promised and I should like to keep my promise..."

Not sure why I am such a laggard this year, Liz, or maybe it is just that you intended the thread to be ... >1 lyzard: slothful!

Happy new year (a little belatedly) and I'll keep up as best I can.

I believe I’ll be giving those Lupin books a miss, Liz: far too gory for me. Excellent reviews, though.

>45 PaulCranswick:

Thanks, Paul! Feel free to sloth out. :D

>46 Matke:

Thanks, Gail. It's a strange series progression since the early stuff is basically comedy.

Well done knocking out two 2024 reviews! I'm sure some 2023 reviews are in the hopper ... ;-)

2024 #2
Publication date: 1930
Genre: Mystery / thriller
Series: Inspector McLean #2
Read for: Series reading / TIOLI (author has same first / last name initials)

McLean Investigates - The second entry in George Goodchild's ridiculously long-running series featuring Inspector Robert McLean of Scotland Yard is in effect, like its predecessor, a collection of short stories. However, the stories are not individually named, and there is no linking device here as there was in McLean Of Scotland Yard, with the recurring figure of "super-criminal" Doctor Fingal. Here, McLean simply moves from case to case, usually in company with his beefy but not overly intelligent underling, Sergeant Brook, dealing with murder and attempted murder, serial attacks, jewel robbery and money theft, counterfeiting, fraud, and even terrorism. This was one of the early British police-procedural series, and McLean is often involved in prosaic activities such as surveillance; though he is a bit of a lone wolf, too, and prefers to go undercover himself when required rather than delegate the task. While each story is satisfactory enough as far as it goes, the format means that there is rarely time for McLean to be wrong about anything or even just slow in getting on the trail; while luck plays a bigger part in his successes than it should. There are a few particular points of interest here, such as the terrorist behind various cross-Europe assassination plots turning out to be a woman; and the final story ends on a (for some of us) amusingly sympathetic note, when a different female criminal prioritises her dog over her co-conspirators; but overall there is a slightly hollow sense of Goodchild still coming to terms with this form of writing.

    Among McLean's treasures was a Crooks' Encyclopaedia of his own compiling. It gave the names of a multitude of men and women who were known to have adopted crime as a serious profession. Some of them had already paid large premiums, others had been more fortunate. Those who had paid the ultimate price were marked with a black star. The lucky ones---those fortunate few who had managed to steer clear of both jail and gallows---were indicated by a red cross.
    A considerable amount of information was appended---appearance, habits, peculiarities, modus operandi, rendezvous, et cetera. Some of these items were supplied by McLean's confrères, others were due entirely to his own investigations. Some were credited with crimes that had never been brought home to them, and in all probability never would. When McLean had moments of leisure on his hands, he would ramble through the book and keep his memory green...

>48 rosalita:

Uhhhhmmmmmm... :D

Finished Vampire for TIOLI #16...and FINISHED A SERIES.

Okay, a trilogy: Hanns Heinz Ewers' self-indulgent trilogy about his wish-fulfillment alter-ego, Frank Braun; but which features enough WORDS to feel like a series.

Consequently, have a marmoset---

Now reading Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King.

There you are. I'd missed your new thread.
Love the Koala, I think that could be my spirit animal.
Hey, we'll take any kind of finish if it means we get a cute creature.

Sad news about one of your regular visitors.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/357067#8355929

>53 Helenliz:

Thank you for tracking me down, Helen.

That is terrible, hurtful news.

>54 lyzard: It is a shocker. Mark (msf59) posted a picture of a meet-up at his house with Julia from 2014 here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/357175#8358319

Liz:

A special thread has been created here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/357293

to read at least 50 books from Julia's TBR (To Read collection) in her memory. I'm sure you and she have many books in common on your to-read lists, so hope you can participate.

I just saw the news about Julia last night. I know she was a frequent visitor to your thread and you will feel her absence.

>55 kac522:, >56 kac522:

Thank you for posting that link, Kathy, and for alerting me to the memorial challenge. I have been sadly looking over our planned shared reads and will choose one of those as the most appropriate tribute.

>57 cbl_tn:

Hi, Carrie, thanks for stopping by. Yes, very painfully.

So.

Finished:

- Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King for TIOLI #3
- The Case Of The Unfortunate Village by Christopher Bush for TIOLI #14
- The Mystery Of The Disappearing Cat by Enid Blyton for TIOLI #2
- The Moving Finger by Natalie Sumner Lincoln for TIOLI #15
- Anno Dracula by Kim Newman for TIOLI #5

That is very sad news about Julia, Liz. I didn't meet her in real life and we weren't exceptionally close but she was always a warm and witty presence around the threads and I will miss her.

>59 lyzard: I have yet to read anything by Stephen King. I keep meaning to but I just haven't managed to squeeze him in. And I've only read one Enid Blyton. I don't know how I managed to grow up without her, but somehow it happened.

>60 PaulCranswick:

Hi, Paul; thank you.

>61 cbl_tn:

'Reading Stephen King' offers a much wider variety of material these days than you might think, though I confess I'm still most drawn to the straight horror stuff.

Enid Blyton was a staple here back then and I grew up on a lot of the different threads of her writing. When I read The Mystery Of The Burnt Cottage, the first of the 'Five Find-Outers' series ('Disappearing Cat' is the second), it was a bit terrifying how much I remembered!

Forgot to add:

Now reading The Brinley Shell; or, The Miser And His Niece by John Meadows.

Another forgotten thing: To remind people that there will be a group read of Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope next month.

I should do some posting around...

>64 lyzard: Count me in!

I don't know how it would work with your plans, but Trollope is one of the featured authors in the British Author Challenge in April. It's also Trollope's birthday month. Would April be too soon for Linda Tressel, which I think is next after Nina Balatka?

I’m with you on Nina Balatka.

And I’m sorry for your loss.

>64 lyzard: I'm in. Nina Balatka is relatively short--a little over 200 pages; Linda Tressel is about the same length. My edition contains both and comes in at 440 pages.

>65 cbl_tn:

Excellent!

I'm happy to consider that, and Linda Tressel is the next novel. Technically Lotta Schmidt & Other Stories comes before it but I would imagine people would prefer to press on with the longer works.

>66 Matke:

Thanks, Gail! And thank you.

>67 kac522:

Thanks for that, Kathy: can't say I'm sorry to be dealing with a shorter novel. :)

>68 lyzard: Wonderful! I am happy to tackle either Linda Tressel or the short stories.

>68 lyzard: Agreed! Short is good--and just physically checked--each one is just under 200 pages. And I think there's enough in both novels to consider them separately; I don't think we need to do them together.

>70 kac522:

No, I would certainly not want to do that.

Well. Terrifying to think that it's February already. January was of course very difficult. I guess I need to start the year over, in effect: I have threads I haven't visited and projects I haven't touched; more reviews unwritten than I can bear to think about. Time for picking up some pieces.

Anyway---

Now reading Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope in preparation for the group read; I will probably be putting up the thread tomorrow.

Still reading The Brinley Shell; or, The Miser And His Niece by John Meadows. I meant that for January TIOLI but it's both terrible and tiny-fonted so it became more than I was prepared to push through. I'm not sure it fits this month's TIOLI, so I might just put it aside until a future slot presents itself.

>72 lyzard: January was a bit of a stinker really. Onwards & upwards.

>73 lyzard: If you want to keep reading The Brinley Shell, I think it would fit it in challenge #6. There are lots of ways you could go with shell - spell (which would be appropriate for a tale of witchcraft!), swell, smell (I would love to see you describe that one!), shill, or shelf.

Wow, your lists up top are amazing. Such grand reading plans, I am impressed :)

January was absolutely beastly for me, so here’s hoping for a better February.

>74 Helenliz:

Heigh-ho. :)

>75 cbl_tn:

True! - though with those sorts of challenges I like to try and make them funny if I can. We'll see. (Trust me, I'm in no rush to pick this one up again!)

>76 LovingLit:

Hi, Megan; thanks so much for visiting! Yes, I'm not very insane, you understand: so many projects, so little time... :D

>77 Matke:

Hear, hear!

The thread is now up for the group read of Anthony Trollope's Nina Balatka:

Here

All welcome!

Finished Nina Balatka for TIOLI #13.

I was going to read Leathermouth's Luck by Carlton Dawe next, the penultimate entry - I thought - in a rather dreary and annoying "thriller" series, which fitted Madeline's TIOLI challenge.

However...a little knowledge, as they say, can be a dangerous thing. While poking around trying to determine the exact date of publication I discovered that---

(i) there are six more books in this series than I was aware of;
(ii) the next one is actually The Missing Treaty, which doesn't fit that challenge (for which I'm now struggling to find a replacement book);
(iii) books in this series continued to be published for two years after their author's death...which is just sadistic.

So---

Now reading Number Nineteen by J. Jefferson Farjeon (online, though, so I'll probably have to pick a bath book); still reading The Brinley Shell; or, The Miser And His Niece by John Meadows.

Hope all is well, Liz.

Strangely quiet over here and I am missing finding out about some of the books I have never before heard about.

Liz, I've finished Pearls before Swine. I've not yet added it to TIOLI, I don't mind where it goes.
Hope all's OK with you.

So. Another fun month. Bloody hell.

Sorry, you guys, had very little time and had to give what I did have to Nina Balatka.

>83 PaulCranswick:

Hi, Paul, thanks for visiting. Still trying to get myself back on an even keel, hoping for better in March. :)

>84 Helenliz:

I DID remember - just - and DID get it finished - just. I haven't thought about TIOLI slots yet for any of the things I managed to get read this month (which speaks for itself). I guess this fits the two word / three word title challenge under either of its names; or the author born/died one. I will try to get this tidied up today.

Okay. So I've either had my worst reading month ever OR I've completely forgotten a book.

I'm not sure which is the most appalling...

>85 lyzard: I'm with you in challenge 15. Under a different title, which I always find intriguing. Not sure your title works any better than mine.

>86 lyzard: (Misguided joke retracted)

Having just recovered from a reading slump, I sympathize. It's good to see you back, Liz. +1 to your hope for a better March.

>87 Helenliz:

Yes, I just added a note to clarify the shared-read situation, thanks! I agree, I don't find either title appropriate, but perhaps Allingham had trouble coming up with something not war-related, which I gather was discouraged.

>88 swynn:

I know you're joking but *sob*... :D

Bit more than a slump (I really do feel like I forgot a book but nothing is ringing a bell), though I have been ticking away with the best-sellers if nothing else. (And have been EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for a couple of shorter ones.)

I'm so sorry, I don't think I've even visited you this year, have I?? That's one of those things I think about doing so much I end up fooling myself that I have done it. I got behind last year when there was so much there that I was interested in and wanted to comment on, and I keep putting it off until I had time to read it all properly, ha ha, and now here we are.

Thank you for the good wishes: my hopes for February have now rolled over, I guess; we'll see if I manage to do a bit better...

>1 lyzard: Koalas might be one of my most favourite local animal. But, I'm not going to lie, Echidna's are great. From those who aren't Australian, the platypus tends to blow people's minds too! Ha.

>90 KB23:

Hi! Thanks very much for visiting and welcome to LT and the 75ers. :)

Yes, I did a "Australian animals you may be less familiar with" series of thread-toppers a few years back which included an albino echidna. I don't know if it's a contradiction but I felt like the platypus was weird enough to be too well known!

Yes. So.

As far as my brain wants to cooperate, the rest of February looked like this:

I have finished---

- Number Nineteen by J. Jefferson Farjeon for TIOLI #14
- The Lonely House by Arthur Gask for TIOLI #1
- The Bridges Of Madison County by Robert James Waller for TIOLI #3
- Coroner's Pidgin by Margery Allingham for TIOLI #15

>89 lyzard: Yes, humor was the intent. Thank you for the grace to recognize that, and apologies for my failure to read the room.

Really, it's good to see you posting again; no worries about visiting my thread; it'll still be there when you find the time and you'll always be welcome.

>93 swynn:

Just a bit close to the bone at the moment! :D

Aww, thank you. :)

(And speaking of such thing...)

So. March.

The only definite this month is John Grisham's The Chamber, for the best-seller challenge. I'll need to run into town to pick up a copy, so I'll also need to think of something else in the meantime.

I have a couple of series that are nearing completion and I might focus on that. Otherwise, perhaps the simplest thing is just to let TIOLI pick my books...

ETA: Now reading They Never Looked Inside by Michael Gilbert; though I'm having to read that online, and will probably need to choose a bath book too.

>91 lyzard: Thanks so much! :)

Oh, yes! How amazing!!! Ha-ha. Yes, they are bizarre! I'll have a think and see if there are any more I can think of :)

Finished They Never Looked Inside for TIOLI #1.

Now reading The Hobgoblin Murder by Kay Cleaver Strahan; still reading The Brinley Shell by John Meadows (which I am desperately hoping is the "forgotten" book from last month).

Dear Liz, we shared a miserable reading month in February but I have bounced back a little with two books done already in March and a bit more enthused about my reading.

Hope the March winds will blow similarly for you. xx

Liz, passing this along in case you didn't see this announcement by one of Julia's (rosalita) friends:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/357293#8458718

Just sending loving thoughts to you, Liz.

Missing you around here, Liz.

Just checking in to let you know you're missed, Liz.