Today’s post finishes off my reviewing for August and Writing the Murder was an unplanned bonus nonfiction read. The introduction begins with the general premise that crime fiction grew up alongside the development of law enforcement e.g. the rise of the modern-day police force etc. Not the most groundbreaking but I guess a book has […]| crossexaminingcrime
Today’s read was an impulse charity shop purchase. I have read a few books by this writing duo (Patrick Quentin was a penname for more than one collaboration, but for this novel it was for Richard …| crossexaminingcrime
Back in 2019 I read Dorothy Cameron Disney’s Crimson Friday (1943), and it has taken me this long to try another by her. She is perhaps not the most accessible of authors, which has certainly fed i…| crossexaminingcrime
Today’s a read is a recent edition to the A Very Short Introduction series. I have read various ones over the years, including one on Crime Fiction (2015). This was a particularly bad reading exper…| crossexaminingcrime
It has been over a year since I last read a novel by Potts. So, I was excited to be loaned a copy of today’s read, as it is one I had heard good things about. Nevertheless, there was some anxiety, …| crossexaminingcrime
Today I am diving into the middle of the Marjorie Swallow, 1920s mystery series, written by Anna Sayburn Lane. I decided to try the third book in the series because of the Chelsea Flower show context, as it is not one that I have really come across before, and my mother-in-law is rather fond of […]| crossexaminingcrime
Today’s read is my August pick for my 2025 Green Penguin reading challenge, which you can read more about here. It has been nearly two years since I last read an Inspector Bonaparte mystery (see my review of Man of Two Tribes (1956)), but earlier this year I did read a non-fiction work which provides […]| crossexaminingcrime
Yes, July saw me binge read all four Adrian Monk mysteries by Hy Conrad. I don’t binge read a series that often, but sometimes it fits where I am at mentally. The blurb for this final Monk mystery …| crossexaminingcrime
Earlier this year I posted my ranked list of the Adrian Monk mysteries which were written by Lee Goldberg. Whilst it is satisfying to complete a series there is always a bit of sadness that there w…| crossexaminingcrime
On this day ten years ago, I published my first post, a review of Alan Melville’s Quick Curtain. I had read it on the 24th June 2015 and my re-read took place on the 20th, pleasingly close. Normall…| crossexaminingcrime
The celebration of my 10-year blog anniversary continues, with today’s review, as Something Nasty in the Woodshed is Anthony Gilbert’s 10th Arthur Crook mystery. Since 2017 I have been reading myst…| crossexaminingcrime
This is the fifth book in McCloy’s Basil Willing series, with her sleuth operating as a psychiatrist who supports the District Attorney’s Office and the police. Cue for Murder is my eighth novel-le…| crossexaminingcrime
There are a few vintage mystery novels which focus on a jury. The first two that sprang to mind were Verdict of Twelve (1940) by Raymond Postgate and The Jury (1932) by Gerald Bullett. Curtis Evans…| crossexaminingcrime