I'll just say that it's an interesting puzzler about the slaying of a beauty contestant and that it incorporates into the plot some unexpectedly serious material about religion. I strongly recommend it, as did, in her day, Dorothy L. Sayers. Already by 1935, when DBQ was published, the opinions of Sayers--not only a popular mystery writer but the mystery fiction reviewer for the Sunday Times--had become desirable as book blurbs, as is demonstrated on the dust jacket of Gollancz's "cheap edition" of DBQ.
Gollancz was famous--or infamous, depending on your view--for its so-called "yellow peril" dust jackets, which eschewed illustrative art. But Gollancz did trumpet prominent endorsements:
"It is very fine," says Dorothy L. Sayers.
However, don't just take my word for it, or even Dorothy L.'s--get it for yourself and see what you think. And don't forget there are four earlier titles in the series available, with five later titles, including The Dusky Hour on the way soon. All the titles will be available in paper and electronic formats.
I was hoping THE DUSKY HOUR would be one of these reprints. Oh well... Interested to read the one about the nudist colony for its satirical use of that unusual setting. Currently reading another satire about health fads -- WHAT A BODY! by Alan Green. Very funny.
ReplyDeleteBTW - just posted my big rave for DEAD MAN'S QUARRY. A blue ribbon special, IMO.
I'm glad you liked DMQ, you certainly did a persuasive piece on it. Dusky Hour will be in the second group of reprints, I added that to the text.
DeleteI am persuaded! I hope I can find some Punshon titles soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's great. The first five are available currently in pb and will be soon as well on Kindle, in both US and UK.
DeleteThe one Bobby Owen book I read was one of the very first in series. I wasn't tempted to read more at the time, but perhaps now I shall. (I remember almost nothing of the one I read, but Owen may have been no more than a constable.)
ReplyDeleteYup, that would be Information Received, the one Sayers praised so highly. My favorites of the first five are Crossword Mystery, Mystery Villa and Death of a Beauty Queen, you might want to check one of those. The next five will be out later this year.
DeleteSo glad these are coming out in paper Curtis - look forward to getting it - and well done and yet another job well done on behalf of GAD lovers!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sergio. And more to come!
DeleteThanks for this! Just curious, though - was that the entirety of Dorothy L's blurb for the book? By today's standards, it seems well, a bit lackluster. Perhaps she was in a hurry? Some day, I'll have to research/write an article on the evolution of book blurbing through the years.
ReplyDeleteThere's more from her Sunday Times review of DBQ--read my intro to the reprint on Amazon!
DeleteSayers called it "a fine and interesting novel, where the emotional discords are resolved in a strain of genuine pathos...."
The Sayers blurb that Gollancz used for many years on Punshon books was the "What is distinction?" commentary from her review for Information Received. I quote that too in my intro to that reprint.
I also write about Sayers' reviews on "Was Corinne's Murder Clued? The Detection Club and Fair Play," which I have coming out in an essay collection next month, I think.