Thursday, September 5, 2024

Marbles and Murder

 


My Guy and I are currently (sadly) nearing the end of PBS’s Inspector Alleyn mysteries on Amazon Prime. Based on the novels by Ngaio Marsh, they were aired in 1993-94, but you don’t really feel their age because the stories are set in post-WWII London, so unlike other television productions of the ‘90s, it makes sense that there are no cell phones or DNA to help solve the crime. (I suspect My Guy really watches it for the vintage cars.)

Last night’s episode showed Alleyn meeting someone in The British Museum but I completely missed whatever he and his informant had to say. 


I was distracted by the sudden memory of visiting those same cavernous rooms myself and seeing those same stolen Elgin Marbles when I lived in London briefly as a teenager and realizing I had walked across those same floors. Amazing.

          I’ll be visiting Garden State daughter this weekend, so I need to take some reading material with me. I hit a snag, though. I have two library books left to read, but after a few pages have rejected them both.

          One is by Cara Black, who I now realize I’ve tried unsuccessfully to read before. For me her choppy sentences and dependence on showing her character’s off-beat trendiness through constant references to things like vintage Chanel is off-putting. The second, by S.J.Bolton is possibly terrific but I always worry too much about characters who go undercover. Picky, picky.

          All was solved by Kindle-ing a freebie from the library by Sulari Gentill, plus an oldie-but-goodie by the brilliant Donald Westlake. That and an un-read New Yorker should see me through till Sunday.

4 comments:

  1. I really like the Ngaio March mysteries. I much prefer them to Agatha Christie. I like the Sulari Gentill I have read too. Have a wonderful time away - and happy reading.

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  2. I miss being able to read whenever I want to. These days I need to use my Kindle on the "low vision" setting so I tend to listen to podcasts or audio books.

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  3. When I read any of the books on my kindle, I make a note of the author if the books are unreadable for any reason, so I don't buy that author again, and if any are really excellent I make a note of that author too with a * by the name.

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  4. You can't stand to read about characters who go undercover?! That's surprising for a mystery writer! It's always good to have a New Yorker on hand. (I usually have about half a dozen!)

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