Reading in Reykjavík

Series detective: Nero Wolfe, adied by narrator Archie Goodwyn. Title: Fer-de-lance No. in series: 1 Year of publication: 1934 Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: P.I. Setting & time: New York and nearby cities, USA; 1930s (early to mid- 20th century timeless setting) Story: A young woman asks Wolfe to find her missing brother. When he turns up murdered Wolfe is able to link his death to that of a college president who collapsed on a golf course. Wolfe then proceeds to investigate the case in order to collect a rich reward offered by that man's wife and tests his wits against a clever murderer. Warning: minor SPOILERS follow. Review and rating: I must start by admitting that I detest gimmick murder weapons in mysteries, and unfortunately this one has not just one, but two. The snake I can forgive, since this is a relatively old story and the snake probably had not become a cliche when it was written (although some might say it became so already in Doyle's...

I read 11 books in July. I could have read more, but the weather was good and I spent a couple of weekends travelling with my family. One book was a reread, one of my perennials in fact. Three of the others were books I had started reading earlier and needed to finish to keep my promise to myself to finish some of the partially read books that are all over the place in my apartment. Kate Adie: The Kindness of Strangers Roald Dahl: Matilda J.J. Marric: Gideon's Week Sharyn McCrumb: The Rosewood Casket John Mortimer: Rumpole of the Bailey Terry Pratchett: Strata J.D. Robb: Loyalty in Death Georges Simenon: Maigret's Revolver Rex Stout: Three Doors to Death and Fer-de-Lance Reread: Terry Pratchett: Good Omens