Whodunnits

[Aitch]

The problem with Dorothy L. Sayers is that she can be just as booooooooring as she can be good. It is only "The 9 tailors" and "Bushmans Honeymoon" that i really enjoyed, most of the others i gave up on about halfway through, -or fell asleep. She wrote some good short novels though.

True, she is a bit variable. But then, isn't any author? And you're right about her short stories.

BTW I think you mean "Busman's Honeymoon". Unless you got hold of an Australian translation?

 

[Ove]

True, she is a bit variable. But then, isn't any author? And you're right about her short stories.

BTW I think you mean "Busman's Honeymoon". Unless you got hold of an Australian translation?

He he he he


-i only see the original title on one of the front pages with a VERY small font. Here it is called "Peter Wimseys hvedebrødsdage"...

 

[Aitch]

-i only see the original title on one of the front pages with a VERY small font. Here it is called "Peter Wimseys hvedebrødsdage"...

"Peter Wimsey's honeymoon"? Whoever came up with that needs a slap - for laziness.

Excuse me if you already know this but "Busman's Honeymoon" is a play on the phrase "Busman's Holiday"; that is, going on holiday and doing just the same as you do the rest of the time. Which is what happens in the book, with Honeymoon substituted for Holiday (ie they find a stiff and spend the time investigating a murder). Pardon my ignorance, but is there a Dutch equivalent of the phrase?

 

[zooterkin]

"Peter Wimsey's honeymoon"? Whoever came up with that needs a slap - for laziness.

Excuse me if you already know this but "Busman's Honeymoon" is a play on the phrase "Busman's Holiday"; that is, going on holiday and doing just the same as you do the rest of the time. Which is what happens in the book, with Honeymoon substituted for Holiday (ie they find a stiff and spend the time investigating a murder). Pardon my ignorance, but is there a Dutch equivalent of the phrase?

Why would someone in Denmark know that?

 

[Aitch]

Why would someone in Denmark know that?

Well... The title Ove gave was partially translated. Which suggests the book he had was a Dutch translation of the novel. One would assume that a translator would have a working knowledge of English and would either recognise the play on words or see that it's an odd enough phrase for them to ask about.

It's possible that there is no Dutch equivalent, in which case the title used is OK; but I would be surprised if that's the case. At least I would expect a literal translation and a short explanatory note somewhere.

Maybe I'm assuming/expecting too much. That's why I asked about the possible Dutch equivalent.

OOPS! Sorry - for Dutch read Danish. Apologies.

 

[Ove]

Well... The title Ove gave was partially translated. Which suggests the book he had was a Dutch translation of the novel. One would assume that a translator would have a working knowledge of English and would either recognise the play on words or see that it's an odd enough phrase for them to ask about.

It's possible that there is no Dutch equivalent, in which case the title used is OK; but I would be surprised if that's the case. At least I would expect a literal translation and a short explanatory note somewhere.

Maybe I'm assuming/expecting too much. That's why I asked about the possible Dutch equivalent.

OOPS! Sorry - for Dutch read Danish. Apologies.

Thank you, Danish is possibly a difficult language but at least not nearly as tonguetwisting as Dutch.
The short answer is NO there is no Danish equivalent and i WOULD use "Honeymoon" if i were to translate the title. Trying to find a meaningfull expression covering the English word-play would be very difficult, you have the same with "The Nine Tailors" which is simply called "De 9 klokkeslag" again missing the double meaning of "Tailor/Teller". There IS an explanation on that in the foreword to the book where they also try to explain the art of campagnology (terrible noise to my ears ).

 

[Aitch]

Cheers, Ove. Just goes to show that translation is not that simple.

 

[Ove]

Cheers, Ove. Just goes to show that translation is not that simple.

Exactly.

 

[LibraryLady]

I'm a big fan of Sayers, Tey, and, yes, Christie. If you're looking to read more Josephine Tey, you might try Brat Farrar. One thing that they all have in common is a refreshing skepticism. For that you might read:

Dorothy Sayers: Strong Poison, where she exposes the tricks done by spiritualists at seances.

Agatha Christie: Pale Horse, where she exposes the secret of psychic murder

Josephine Tey: The Franchise Affair, do not believe everything you read!

 

[Swagomatic]

If you enjoy the modern tough guy detective, I would recommend Robert Crais's Elvis Cole Series. The books are funny and exciting. I think Monkey's Raincoat is the first in the series, but I didn't think that was as good as some of the others. For a start, I recommend LA Requiem, which features his "partner" Joe Pike (who, as a character, could star in his own book series).

 

[zooterkin]

If you enjoy the modern tough guy detective, I would recommend Robert Crais's Elvis Cole Series. The books are funny and exciting. I think Monkey's Raincoat is the first in the series, but I didn't think that was as good as some of the others. For a start, I recommend LA Requiem, which features his "partner" Joe Pike (who, as a character, could star in his own book series).

Let me second this. I read one or two recently following hearing a review on the radio. I've been desperately trying to remember either the author or characters since I saw this thread.

 

[dudalb]

I'm a big fan of Sayers, Tey, and, yes, Christie. If you're looking to read more Josephine Tey, you might try Brat Farrar. One thing that they all have in common is a refreshing skepticism. For that you might read:

Dorothy Sayers: Strong Poison, where she exposes the tricks done by spiritualists at seances.

Agatha Christie: Pale Horse, where she exposes the secret of psychic murder

Josephine Tey: The Franchise Affair, do not believe everything you read!

In several of his "The Shadow " novels, Walter Gibson (who worked as a publicist for Houdini and several other magicians before turning to fiction) exposed various psychic and spritualist frauds, using his knowledge of Magic.
"The Ghost Makers" is particualrly good. The plotline is that the Spiritualist Con Game becomes so lucrative that the Mob decides is wants a piece of the action. Good stuff.

 

[Starthinker]

No mention of Dirk Gently?

 

[alfaniner]

After years of pretty much reading only sci-fi, I decided to branch out and pick up something from the Mystery section, an Ellery Queen novel.

The butler did it.

I didn't bother with any more after that.

 

[Garrette]

Third on the Elvis Cole series, though lately his last pages (and I mean literally the last pages) have become annoyingly maudlin. Monkey's Raincoat was the first and won and Edgar, I think. Probably the closest to a whodunnit as any in the series.

I also recommend the Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke. You can read them in any order but will gain more by starting at the beginning. (Sorry I can't remember what that is; it's been a long time and I haven't read them all).

Tony Hillerman's books are occasionally excellent, too, and give a marvelous flavor of the American Southwest and Native-American (particularly Navajo) society.

Patricia Cornwell's early works are worth reading, too, though her later works became screeds. In particular, Postmortem is a must read. It won the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman d'Adventure.

---

And now a request: I am looking to acquire a few good whodunnits, but I haven't kept up with the field. In particular, I would like some that provide good atmospherics for the countrysides of Scotland and/or Ireland. I tend to enjoy something that--while still relatively light--is perhaps a bit melancholic.

If that made sense, can anyone recommend some authors or titles?

Thanks

 

[Swagomatic]

Third on the Elvis Cole series, though lately his last pages (and I mean literally the last pages) have become annoyingly maudlin. Monkey's Raincoat was the first and won and Edgar, I think. Probably the closest to a whodunnit as any in the series.

I also recommend the Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke. You can read them in any order but will gain more by starting at the beginning. (Sorry I can't remember what that is; it's been a long time and I haven't read them all).

Tony Hillerman's books are occasionally excellent, too, and give a marvelous flavor of the American Southwest and Native-American (particularly Navajo) society.

Patricia Cornwell's early works are worth reading, too, though her later works became screeds. In particular, Postmortem is a must read. It won the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman d'Adventure.

---

And now a request: I am looking to acquire a few good whodunnits, but I haven't kept up with the field. In particular, I would like some that provide good atmospherics for the countrysides of Scotland and/or Ireland. I tend to enjoy something that--while still relatively light--is perhaps a bit melancholic.

If that made sense, can anyone recommend some authors or titles?

Thanks

I agree, Tony Hillerman is very good. I especially enjoy them because, being from the Southwest, I've been to many of the places he mentions.

You've probably heard of Hamish Macbeth, MC Beaton's character, but if not, you'll enjoy those books. They are set in Loch Dubh, Scotland. I've only read a couple of them, but I know there are quite a few available.

Lately, I've been going for more of the action-oriented type books, John Sandford's "Prey" series with Lucas Davenport are good. He also has another character, Virgil Flowers, who has been in a few books.

J.A. Jance has written a series set in Southern Arizona about a female sheriff, Joanna Brady. Certainly not Pulitzer Prize material, but pretty good and fun to read.

 

[Foolmewunz]

I didn't realize this thread still had legs....


Garette - I agree on Cornwell. The first books were excellent and the characters and settings were interesting and thus informative. But after about four or five books she got formulaic and a bad case of PDJames-itis (good pulp/popular writers who take themselves too seriously).

Other names noted. Still looking for that elusive decent musty old book store (musty old store as opposed to musty old books, but I'll settle for either) in Hong Kong. Conclusion: We just don't have one.
(Am I beginning to sound like whatserface from You've Got Mail?)

 

[Legend]

How do whodunits work on you, anyway? I thought you could only be fooled once?

Alex.

 

[Garrette]

Thanks, Swag. I had not, in fact, heard of Hamis MacBeth. I'll look those books up.

 

[Garrette]

How do whodunits work on you, anyway? I thought you could only be fooled once?

Alex.

Depends on the book and how long between readings. It also depends on the purpose for re-reading.

Books like A.A. Milne's The Red House Mystery (which I shamefully forgot to recommend earlier) is a true classic that is worth re-reading just to see how well it is written and plotted.

Ditto for Bentley's Trents Last Case, which I also shamefully forgot to recommend and which, unlike The Red House Mystery, I can't remember the culprit. Hmmmm..... need to get it out again.