Not a physical holiday unfortunately. After a trip back to Greece in June where, incidentally, this blog began I now need to spend the rest of August finishing the edits to my own book ‘In Bitter Chill’. So I’m taking a two week break from blogging and will be back in September with a bunch of new reviews.
I am, however, off to Oxford tomorrow for the annual Mystery and Crime Weekend at St Hilda’s College. It’s an event I’ve been meaning to go to for years and given the subject of this year’s lectures, ‘Crimes of the Past: War and Other Evils’, I think it will be a fascinating weekend.
As well as editing, I’m going to use my break to catch up on some books that I’ve been wanting to read for a while. It’s a mixed bag, not just crime fiction, and includes:
– Marina Warner’s No Go the Bogeyman: a rich book looking at representations of terror in fiction, art and ritual
– P D James’ The Maul and the Peartree: another non-fiction book I’ve been dying to read for a long time.
– Wilkie Collins – The Moonstone: one of the first true detective novels. I first read it as a teenager and want to see how I feel about it now.
So I hope regular readers of the blog also enjoy a restful holiday and I’ll leave you with an illustration that I discovered in PD James’ Talking About Detective Fiction. It’s a 1936 Punch cartoon entitled ‘The British Character: Love of Detective Fiction’ I think it sums up the bedtime reading for us crime fiction fans. And I’ll see you all in September.
I think we’ll all let you off blogging because we’re anxious for you to get on with your book Sarah. Have a good break and enjoy the planned reading…
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Sarah, I hope you have a good break and I wish you success with your book. “The Moonstone” is on my TBR pile and it’d be my first time.
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If you enjoy true crime of the more historical kind, I cannot recommend The Invention Of Murder by Judith Flanders.
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I wish you well finishing your edits, Sarah – can’t wait to read the final product. And enjoy your visit to Oxford.
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I do hope your edits go well. I have Moonstone on my bottom shelf (full of the TBR) as I have never read it but it sounds wonderful. I love the sound of the Crimes of The Past weekend, historical crimes fascinate me, on the one hand without modern policing techniques you’d imagine it would be easier to escape justice but on the other it was harder to blend into the background when communities were far more cohesive than now.
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Very true Cleo, I’d never considered that. Plus people all dress MUCH the same nowadays. It’s not quite as easy to ascertain people’s “station in life”, or job of work nowadays – there weren’t so many different jobs then! And as well as communities being more cohesive, travel was a laborious task, not a pleasure, so a stranger would be a curiosity. And I do wonder if, due to the lack of tv, radio, internet etc. people were more nosey?! Sarah – can’t WAIT for your book, good luck with the editing, you’re on the home straight now! I’ll e-mail you shortly regarding Stirling. xxx
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Will miss you and your posts, but the work on the book is important. Enjoy your time off.
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Enjoy your reading time and editing your book — and the Oxford conference, of course (she says enviously).
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Enjoy your time off, Sarah. We’ll see you when you get back.
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Hi Sarah Hope all goes well with the editing. I am really looking forward to reading the book when it is published. Have just been reading some reviews to help me decide what to buy on Kindle. English language crime novels are thin on the ground here in backwater Malaysia.
Kathy Byrne
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Hi Sarah, I am very impressed with your blog and would like to link up with you. My blog is: http://www.goldenagecrime.com. Email: treated as murder@gmail.com or farmerwainwright@hotmail.com. I look forward to reading In Bitter Chill. I envy your weekend in Oxford – should be amazing. I have read The Maul and the Pear Tree and enjoyed it
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Hi Sarah, just confirming that I got your message and would like to follow your blog (can’t wait to read some of those reviews). I have just started blogging in this genre though I already blog with a friend http://www.ahomespunyear.blogspot.com., This is on a very different subject – we have had a book published on thrift, making, baking etc.
My crime blog started out as an exploration about “the golden age” of the crime novel but seems to have changed somewhat! Still, early days.
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Thanks everyone for your comments especially regarding ‘In Bitter Chill’. I’m back, a new post is coming tomorrow and looking forward to catching up with everyone.
@crimeworm – looking forward to the catch up
@Noreen – welcome to the crime fic blogging community. I’ll check out your website soon
@Kathy – lovely to see a comment from a fellow teacher here. Happy reading.
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Crime fiction is compelling and it is amazing how much of it is based on actual happenings. It is good you took the much-needed time to complete the edits on your own book.
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Thanks, John
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