1majkia
This month we'll be concentrating on Locked Room Mysteries. There are tons of them, from historical to science fictional.
Many more here: https://www.librarything.com/tag/locked%20room%20mystery
Enjoy your reads and fill in the wiki if you wish: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_MysteryKIT#October:_Locked_Room
2Robertgreaves
I'm assuming The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths will fit here
3thornton37814
I will probably reader either The Hunting Party or The Guest List by Lucy Foley, both of which I want to read, or In the Dark by Loreth Anne White which is on my Kindle awaiting my attention.
4majkia
>2 Robertgreaves: One would hope so!
5rabbitprincess
I have mixed success with locked-room mysteries myself, but I will mention Seishi Yokomizo's mysteries featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, which often have some kind of locked-room or impossible-crime element. The first book in the series is The Honjin Murders.
6VivienneR
>5 rabbitprincess: That's one of the books I'm considering. The other is In the Morning I'll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty. As The Honjin Murders is pretty short, I might be able to fit in both.
7JayneCM
>3 thornton37814: I already had The Hunting Party out from the library, so I will probably go with that one as well.
8LadyoftheLodge
I read A Most Agreeable Murder which took place at a country house where everyone was stuck there in a hail and rain storm.
9LibraryCin
>3 thornton37814: I really liked both Lucy Foley books you are considering!
10LibraryCin
The Woman in the Library / Sulari Gentill
4 stars
Hannah is an author. The bulk of this book is actually Hannah’s book, which follows an author, Freddie (Winifred) who is sitting quietly in the Boston Public Library’s Reading Room, across from three strangers, as she tries to find some inspiration to start a book. When they hear a scream in the library, the four start talking and become fast friends. Early on, Freddie comments that she is conversing with a murderer, but she doesn’t yet know it.
At the end of each chapter, we see a letter coming from Leo, an American (Hannah is Australian, as is her character Freddie). Leo is helping Hannah with her book; he reads and comments on each chapter, as he tries to help with Americanisms and the layout of Boston, etc. But as Hannah’s book continues on, Leo seems to make stranger and stranger comments.
I could say more about the plot in Hannah’s book, with Freddie and her new friends, but maybe I’ll leave the summary there. I usually don’t like a story within a story, but I really liked this one. The letters from Leo really ramped things up a bit (though there were times I took a minute to unscramble things in my head, as we had Freddie, a character in Hannah’s book, using real life events to write her own book. But Leo was reading and commenting on Hannah’s book!). I still thought the letters worked well and it brought an added tension. As for the mystery in Freddie’s world, I thought I had it figured out early on, but not so much! Freddie’s story would probably have gotten 3.5 stars out of me, but add in Leo’s letters to Hannah and that brought my rating up.
4 stars
Hannah is an author. The bulk of this book is actually Hannah’s book, which follows an author, Freddie (Winifred) who is sitting quietly in the Boston Public Library’s Reading Room, across from three strangers, as she tries to find some inspiration to start a book. When they hear a scream in the library, the four start talking and become fast friends. Early on, Freddie comments that she is conversing with a murderer, but she doesn’t yet know it.
At the end of each chapter, we see a letter coming from Leo, an American (Hannah is Australian, as is her character Freddie). Leo is helping Hannah with her book; he reads and comments on each chapter, as he tries to help with Americanisms and the layout of Boston, etc. But as Hannah’s book continues on, Leo seems to make stranger and stranger comments.
I could say more about the plot in Hannah’s book, with Freddie and her new friends, but maybe I’ll leave the summary there. I usually don’t like a story within a story, but I really liked this one. The letters from Leo really ramped things up a bit (though there were times I took a minute to unscramble things in my head, as we had Freddie, a character in Hannah’s book, using real life events to write her own book. But Leo was reading and commenting on Hannah’s book!). I still thought the letters worked well and it brought an added tension. As for the mystery in Freddie’s world, I thought I had it figured out early on, but not so much! Freddie’s story would probably have gotten 3.5 stars out of me, but add in Leo’s letters to Hannah and that brought my rating up.
11lowelibrary
I read Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie for this one.
12majkia
I'm reading Force of Nature which takes place in the outback at a campsite so feels locked roomy
13LibraryCin
>12 majkia: Ooooh, that sounds good!
14LadyoftheLodge
November MysteryKIT is here! https://www.librarything.com/topic/354365
15christina_reads
I read John Dickson Carr's The Red Widow Murders, which centers around a "cursed" room that supposedly kills anyone who goes into it alone. The solution to the locked-room puzzle is ingenious, but I wasn't a fan of the book's pacing or unrealistic characters.
16lowelibrary
While working my way through Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe, I re-read The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
17NinieB
I read The King Is Dead by Ellery Queen.
18VivienneR
Just finished In the Morning I'll be Gone by Adrian McKinty.
Sean Duffy, a detective with Northern Ireland's Royal Ulster Constabulary in the early 1980s, is currently on shaky ground with the force. He considers his options of demotion to foot patrol and keeping his pension, or resignation. As a Catholic cop in a largely Protestant police force he is seen as a traitor by childhood friends, particularly Dermot McCann who is one of a group of escapees from the Maze prison. Then a couple of MI5 agents approach him with a tempting alternative of finding McCann for them and keeping his job. In the course of the investigation he meets with McCann's mother-in-law, still mourning the death of her daughter, Lizzie. She promises to deliver McCann if Sean will investigate Lizzie's death and name the murderer. She was found in the family-owned pub, doors locked on the inside and no escape route. Although her injuries indicate an attack because of the locked room her death was ruled accidental. His perseverance pays off and the reward is a brief phone call, a tip-off to McCann's whereabouts. The location is not immediately a clue to his intentions, but ultimately reveals a plan to bomb the hotel in Brighton where Maggie Thatcher will be speaking at the Conservative Party conference.
A classic locked room mystery wrapped in the unique political conflict of Northern Ireland, using authentic events and real people, all of which give this mystery a captivating appeal. Location, time and well drawn characters make this fast-moving mystery thoroughly satisfying.
Sean Duffy, a detective with Northern Ireland's Royal Ulster Constabulary in the early 1980s, is currently on shaky ground with the force. He considers his options of demotion to foot patrol and keeping his pension, or resignation. As a Catholic cop in a largely Protestant police force he is seen as a traitor by childhood friends, particularly Dermot McCann who is one of a group of escapees from the Maze prison. Then a couple of MI5 agents approach him with a tempting alternative of finding McCann for them and keeping his job. In the course of the investigation he meets with McCann's mother-in-law, still mourning the death of her daughter, Lizzie. She promises to deliver McCann if Sean will investigate Lizzie's death and name the murderer. She was found in the family-owned pub, doors locked on the inside and no escape route. Although her injuries indicate an attack because of the locked room her death was ruled accidental. His perseverance pays off and the reward is a brief phone call, a tip-off to McCann's whereabouts. The location is not immediately a clue to his intentions, but ultimately reveals a plan to bomb the hotel in Brighton where Maggie Thatcher will be speaking at the Conservative Party conference.
A classic locked room mystery wrapped in the unique political conflict of Northern Ireland, using authentic events and real people, all of which give this mystery a captivating appeal. Location, time and well drawn characters make this fast-moving mystery thoroughly satisfying.
19majkia
Station Eternity - Mur Lafferty
That was fun! Mallory, became an amateur detective when suddenly she was always present during murders. She'd see connections that the actual investigators couldn't and because of that everyone suspected her of something. Then, one day, she found herself more or less kidnapped to an alien space station. It was a solution that worked for her.
Until suddenly the alien intelligent station decided to allow humans to visit. Sure enough, more murders.
That was fun! Mallory, became an amateur detective when suddenly she was always present during murders. She'd see connections that the actual investigators couldn't and because of that everyone suspected her of something. Then, one day, she found herself more or less kidnapped to an alien space station. It was a solution that worked for her.
Until suddenly the alien intelligent station decided to allow humans to visit. Sure enough, more murders.
20christina_reads
Just an FYI that the 2024 group is live, and we are in the process of suggesting CATs for next year, so stop by if you'd like to join the discussion! https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24125/2024-Category-Challenge
21VivienneR
Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
I've been searching for this book for a while because although I knew the culprit, I couldn't remember anything else about it. It's not easy to find a book by who-done-it. It was only on the last few pages that I realized I had the right book. It was an enjoyable locked room mystery so it fits well with October's MysteryKIT challenge.
I've been searching for this book for a while because although I knew the culprit, I couldn't remember anything else about it. It's not easy to find a book by who-done-it. It was only on the last few pages that I realized I had the right book. It was an enjoyable locked room mystery so it fits well with October's MysteryKIT challenge.
22Robertgreaves
I read The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths. One victim in a series of maybe murders was found in her locked bedroom, but it wasn't a major part of the story.
I am currently reading Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood, which is a much better example. Sir Peter Bailey was crushed under a fallen display cabinet in his study with the only key to the study in his pocket.
I am currently reading Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood, which is a much better example. Sir Peter Bailey was crushed under a fallen display cabinet in his study with the only key to the study in his pocket.
