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Winter 2022 TBR Lists
142 Plays2 years ago
In today’s episode, Sarah and Brook share what they’ll be reading and watching while Clued in Mystery takes a short break for the holidays. Clued in Mystery will be back in January with new episodes. Until we return, we will release some of our earliest episodes so new listeners can catch up. Happy holidays!
Discussed in orderMonster She Wrote: The women who pioneered horror and speculative fiction (2019) Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson
The Wintringham Mystery (1926) Anthony Berkeley
Crossing the Witch Line (2022) T.L. Brown
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six (2022) Lisa Unger
The Ink Black Heart (2022) Robert Galbraith
These Names Make Clues (1937) E.C.R. Lorac
Ballard Down Murder (2022) Rachel McLean
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries (2022)
The Pale Blue Eye (2022) Netflix
Three Pines (2022) Amazon Prime TV
The Luckiest Girl Alive (2022) Netflix
The Perfect Crime (2022) Vaseem Khan and Maxim Jakubowski (editors)
A World of Curiosities (2022) Louise Penny
For more information:Instagram: @cluedinmystery Contact us: hello@cluedinmystery.com Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers - www.silvermansound.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Love for Mystery
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke. And we both love mystery. Hi, Brooke. Hi, Sarah. How are you doing? I'm good. Thank you. How are you? I'm great.
Winter Break TBR Lists and Recording Break
00:00:25
Speaker
And I can't wait to get into our second episode of TBR lists. This is our Winter Break TBR list.
00:00:34
Speaker
Yeah, so after today's episode, we're taking a little recording break, but we are re-releasing a few of our earlier episodes so that listeners can catch up on some of the first episodes that we did while we take a little break to enjoy the holidays and read. So let's talk about what we're going to
Book Picks: 'Monster, She Wrote' and 'The Winteringham Mystery'
00:00:58
Speaker
read.
00:00:58
Speaker
All right, so my first pick is a nonfiction title, and it's called Monster, She Wrote, The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Drozier and Manet R. Anderson. And so I'll just read the description. Meet the women writers who defied convention to craft some of literature's strangest tales, from Frankenstein to The Haunting of Hill House and beyond.
00:01:24
Speaker
part biography, part reader's guide, the engaging write-ups and detailed reading lists will introduce more than 100 authors and over 200 of their mysterious and spooky works. So I love always having kind of a non-fiction book going on the side and I just I'm really looking forward to this and I'm hoping that it'll give me lots of ideas for upcoming episodes.
00:01:49
Speaker
Oh, that sounds really good, Brooke. And yeah, I can imagine that there will be some good discussion topics that come out of that. So the first on my list is The Winteringham Mystery by Anthony Berkley. So Anthony Berkley was one of the founding members of the detection club. And this book was republished for the first time in nearly 95 years in 2021.
00:02:16
Speaker
It's a classic winter country house mystery by the founder of the detection club with a twist that even Agatha Christie couldn't solve. Steven Monroe, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet.
00:02:31
Speaker
Employed at Winteringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex County residents of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weekend house party at which her bombastic nephew, who recognizes Stephen from his former life, decides that an after-dinner seance would be more entertaining than bridge. And then Sicily disappears.
00:02:53
Speaker
With Lady Susan reluctant to call the police about what is presumably a childish prank, Stephen and the plucky Pauline Mainwearing take it upon themselves to investigate, but then a suspicious death turns the game into an altogether more serious affair. This classic winter mystery incorporates all the trappings of the Golden Age,
00:03:10
Speaker
a rambling country house, a seance, a murder, a room locked on the inside with servants, suspects, and alibis, a romance, and an ingenious puzzle. First published as a 30-part newspaper serial in 1926, the same year that the murder of Roger Ackroyd was published, The Wintering in Mystery was written by Anthony Berkley, founder of the famous detection club,
00:03:31
Speaker
Also known as Sicily Disappears, the Daily Mirror ran the story as a competition with a prize of 500 pounds, which is equivalent to about 30,000 pounds today, for anyone who guessed the solution correctly. And nobody did, not even Agatha Christie, who entered and didn't solve it. Oh my goodness. That sounds so good, Sarah. I have never come across this title before.
00:03:54
Speaker
No, me neither. I don't remember where I came across it, but as soon as I did, I thought, oh, this is going to be something that I want to read over the holidays because it's set in the winter and it kind of hits a lot of the things that I really enjoy about this kind of book.
00:04:10
Speaker
Yes, it seems like a perfect holiday read.
More Book Picks: 'Crossing the Witch Line' and 'Secluded Cabin Sleeps 6'
00:04:14
Speaker
All right. My next choice is not a mystery per se, but it has a lot of mystery elements. And I met T.L. Brown, who's the author of this book online via Instagram when she was writing her first series, which is more of a cozy paranormal.
00:04:32
Speaker
And her second series is a fantasy. And the book that I'll be reading is Crossing the Witch Line. It's book two in her Bellerose Witch Line series. Ever since Lucy Bellerose returned to the Empire, she's lived amid chaos.
00:04:50
Speaker
Now, three months after a devastating battle in the walled zone, she's desperate to get into the above to find her lost magic man. With her best friend still missing, and her membership at the Congress of Empire Witches suspended, Lucy's on her own.
00:05:06
Speaker
Down to her last resort, she seeks help from an unpredictable man from her past who is held captive in the below. A deal is made, but can Lucy trust him to keep his end of the bargain, or will his darkness overshadow her light?
00:05:22
Speaker
So as I mentioned, TL Brown also writes the door to door mysteries, which would be a light hearted cozy paranormal. This one is not, it is recommended for readers 18 and up because it does contain adult situations and horror elements, but
00:05:40
Speaker
The fact that I am so into a fantasy series says a lot about her writing skills and her storytelling skills, because I really, really have to know what happens next to Lucy Bellarose. Yeah, that sounds really good, Brooke. Next on my list is Secluded Cabin Sleeps 6, which was released in November of this year by Lisa Unger. So I haven't read anything by her, but I believe
00:06:08
Speaker
She writes domestic thrillers, and from the description, this sounds very much like that's where it fits. So the description is, what could be more restful than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, spectacular views, a hot tub, and a personal chef. Hannah's generous brother founded the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It'll be three couples on this trip with good food, good company, and lots of R&R.
00:06:38
Speaker
but the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history, and the friends have their own complicated past with secrets that run blood deep. How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?
00:07:07
Speaker
So this book was almost on my list as well, Sarah, because I read that description and was instantly hooked. So I'm so glad you included it today. It just sounds great. And it sounds like it hits all the marks that we discussed as being important in a domestic thriller.
00:07:25
Speaker
And you make a good point, Brooke. So we don't share our lists with each other before we share them with, share them right here, right? So yeah, it's interesting that you had this almost on your list. I will say I had a very hard time narrowing my list down because I think there's just so many great choices. So yeah, we'll see. I'm looking forward to reading this one.
Exploring Mysteries: 'The Ink Black Heart' and 'These Names Make Clues'
00:07:55
Speaker
Oh, my next pick is The Ink Black Heart. It is book six in the Cormoran Strike series, which I have read up until this point. And so I can't wait to get back into this one. This is by Robert Galbraith, who is actually, of course, JK Rowling. So when Eddie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellicott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation.
00:08:23
Speaker
The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anime. Edie is desperate to uncover Anime's true identity. Robin decides that the agency can't help with this and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in a high-gate cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.
00:08:52
Speaker
Robin and her business partner, Cormor and Strike, become drawn into the quest to uncover anime's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests, and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits, and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways.
00:09:14
Speaker
So I haven't read any of the Cormorant Strike books. I have seen the television adaptations of a couple of them. But that sounds, yeah, that sounds really good, Breck.
00:09:28
Speaker
Yeah, it's a great series. We all know what a great storyteller Rowling is. And she's, she's doing it again now with this series meant for adult readers. I will say that much like the Harry Potter series, the books are seeming to get longer and longer and longer as the series progresses. So this one is nice and thick.
00:09:53
Speaker
Oh, that's perfect for this time of year, right? You can just really get lost. So the next one on my book is another from the Golden Age of Fiction. And so this is These Names Make Clues by ECR Lorak. And it was published in 1937. And I came across this because there was an article by Martin Edwards talking about how you're just really raving about this book.
00:10:20
Speaker
And I believe he wrote the introduction for the, it was just recently released and I think he wrote the introduction but actually I'm not totally sure on that. Anyway, Chief Inspector McDonald has been invited to a treasure hunt party at the house of Graham Coombe, the celebrated publisher of Murder by Mesmerism.
00:10:39
Speaker
Despite a handful of misgivings, the inspector joins a guest list of novelists and thriller writers disguised on the night under literary pseudonyms. The fun comes to an abrupt end, however, when Samuel Peeps is found dead in the telephone room in bizarre circumstances.
00:10:55
Speaker
Amidst the confusion of too many fake names, clues, ciphers, and convoluted alibis, Macdonald and his allies in the CID must unravel a truly tangled case in this metafictional masterpiece which returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1937.
00:11:11
Speaker
Wow. And so I really liked this one because I think it touches on one of the episodes that we talked about, the author is Sleuth episode. So I think in this one, it's authors that are the suspects, right? And it's a detective who's doing the investigating, but yeah, I think this sounds like it'll be kind of fun. And we can assume that these mystery authors will make the solution really tricky.
00:11:40
Speaker
My final book pick is an author that is new to me.
Discoveries: 'The Ballard Down Murder' and 'Marple'
00:11:44
Speaker
This is The Ballard Down Murder by Rachel McLean. I listened to a podcast interview and Rachel was the guest. I loved her take on mystery fiction and about starting an author career. So I'm going to read The Ballard Down Murder.
00:12:03
Speaker
Detective Sergeant Dennis Frampton is struggling with his new role heading up the Major Crimes Unit, but when his former boss and mentor DCI Mackey is found dead, Dennis is suspicious. Did Mackey kill himself or is there something more sinister going on?
00:12:20
Speaker
And one thing I really liked about Rachel, how she describes in this interview is that she writes about murders that take place in the location that she's very familiar with. So I was immediately intrigued because she actually goes to these cliff sides or goes to that pub and really incorporates it into her writing. So I'm hoping that it will give it a lot of good flavor.
00:12:47
Speaker
The next one on my list, Brooke, is a collection of short stories. It's Marple, which is the 12 new mysteries commissioned by the Agatha Christie estate featuring Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, Ellie Griffiths, among others, each writing a new Marple short story.
00:13:08
Speaker
Agatha Christie's legendary sleuth, Jane Marple, returns to solve 12 baffling cases in this brand new collection penned by a host of acclaimed authors skilled in the fine art of mystery and murder. One doesn't stop at one murder. Jane Marple is an elderly lady from St. Mary Maid,
00:13:24
Speaker
who possesses an uncanny knack for solving even the most perplexing puzzles. Now, for the first time in 45 years, Agatha Crissy's beloved character returns to the page for a globe-trotting tour of crime and detection. Join Marple as she travels through her sleepy English village and around the world. In St. Mary Mead, a Christmas dinner is interrupted by unexpected guests. The Broadway stage in New York City is set for a dangerous improvisation. Bad omens surround an untimely death aboard a cruise ship to Hong Kong,
00:13:52
Speaker
and a best-selling writer on holiday in Italy is caught in a nefarious plot. These and other crimes committed in the name of love, jealousy, blackmail, and revenge are ones that only one indomitable Jane Marple can solve. Bringing a fresh twist to the hallmarks of a classic Agatha Christie mystery, these 12 esteemed writers have captured the sharp wit, unique voice, and droll ingenuity of the deceptively demure detective. A triumphant celebration of Christie's legacy and essential reading for crime lovers,
00:14:22
Speaker
Marple is a timely reminder of why Jane Marple remains one of the most famous detectives of all time.
00:14:29
Speaker
Well, I have to admit, Sarah, that this is sort of on my aside TBR list as well. I mean, who can resist a Marple collection, right? And I think that it's going to be so fun to see how these very skilled writers in their own right, how they take it and how they interpret writing these stories. So hopefully we can have some conversations in the future of what we thought of that collection, because I just think it's going to be great.
00:14:59
Speaker
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. And yeah, we can definitely talk about it in future once we've both read it. And I love that you have a side TBR list because I do as well. There's the main, the side, the side of the side. Yeah, totally.
Adaptations: 'The Pale Blue Eye' and 'Three Pines'
00:15:24
Speaker
Well, so my next pick is, I actually have two picks of things that I would like to watch over the holiday time. And the first is, and I might say that both of these are based on books. So if I could be so lucky to read and then watch, I could do that. But let's face it, I've got a lot on my plate already. So we'll see what order this happens in. So the first is The Pale Blue Eye based on the book by Lewis Bayard.
00:15:52
Speaker
A world-weary detective is hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet. Stymied by the cadet's code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case. A young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe. And this releases in select theaters December 23rd and then on Netflix in January 6th.
00:16:16
Speaker
I think this is the first of two. This month, Netflix is doing a similar thing where they're releasing to theaters Knives Out 2, and then Knives Out 2 will be available on Netflix in December. I like this that things are going to the big screen from Netflix. I think that the big names in the movies probably contribute to that. In Pale Blue Eye, we have
00:16:42
Speaker
Christian Bale, Lucy Boynton, Robert Duvall. So that's kind of exciting to see Netflix going into theaters.
00:16:50
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds like a great story. And yeah, I haven't read the book. Like you, I think I prefer to read the book first and then watch the, whether it's the show or the film. But yeah, I don't know if I would have time, but I'll definitely be checking this out because it does sound really good.
00:17:12
Speaker
So I actually have a television series on my list. And this is the Three Pines TV series that Amazon Prime is releasing. And it is based on Louise Penny's first book, Still Life, this first series is at least. And yeah, I'm super looking forward to this. So I'll just read a really brief description that I found.
00:17:37
Speaker
A man investigates murders in three pines. He sees things that others do not, the light between the cracks, the mythic in the mundane, and discovers long-buried secrets and faces a few of his own ghosts.
00:17:50
Speaker
Which to be honest, I'm not sure if that, if I didn't know who, if I didn't know that the stories were based on Louise Penny's stories, I'm not sure that that description does it justice. But yeah, this is the first, this is based on her first Inspector Gamache novel and will be on Amazon Prime Video starting December 2nd. And there's gonna be eight episodes released over four Friday nights. So yeah, I think that'll be,
00:18:19
Speaker
definitely lots of fun to watch. Yes, I love that series so much. Do you know, has she had other film adaptations or television adaptations yet? Or is this Louise Penny's first? So there was a film adaptation. I can't remember what it was called now. That I don't, I don't think it was actually
00:18:49
Speaker
I don't think it did any justice to her writing. And I don't know how involved she was in that, but I think she's been more involved in this process. Yeah, I don't know. Anyway, to answer your question, yes, there have been, there's been at least one other attempt at adapting her stories.
00:19:10
Speaker
Yeah, it'll be really fun to see this. And I believe it was filmed in the eastern townships of Quebec, which is where Three Pines is set. So viewers will be able to see the place that she has her books, that she writes about in her books.
00:19:31
Speaker
Oh, that's very exciting. I'll definitely be looking for that one.
True Crime and Anthologies: 'The Luckiest Girl Alive' and 'The Perfect Crime'
00:19:35
Speaker
Well, my last pick for this TBR show is also another Netflix production and it is a movie, not a series. It's The Luckiest Girl Alive based on the book by Jessica Knoll and Jessica Knoll does do the screenplay as well.
00:19:52
Speaker
A writer's perfectly crafted New York City life starts to unravel when a true crime documentary forces her to confront her harrowing high school history and question the choices she made as a teenager.
00:20:06
Speaker
So it's just a really brief little description. I kind of want more, but we've got that author as main character. It's got a lot of the things that I love about the past comes back to haunt you. And I'm just looking forward to that. It is on Netflix now and has been for some time. And I wanted to note that I was recently watching a German series on Netflix.
00:20:33
Speaker
and found that when I went to turn my subtitles on, I could choose which language I wanted to hear the voices in. So maybe this has been around for a while and I'm late to the game, but I get kind of distracted by reading subtitles, so I miss things on screen. So if I could change the language to English, it really was a joy. So you might check that feature out next time you're watching a show on Netflix that wasn't filmed in your preferred language.
00:21:05
Speaker
Well, that's a great tip, Brooke. Yeah, so I actually have this on my side to watch list and my side to read, sorry, my side to read list. Yeah, I don't know if I'll get to it over the holiday break, but yeah, definitely something that I want to check out as well.
00:21:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's a lot of the boxes of things that certainly that we've been talking about, but things that I enjoy. So I do have another on my list, and it is another collection of short stories. It's called The Perfect Crime, and it's edited by Faseem Khan and Maxime Jakubowski. It was released in November of this year.
00:21:57
Speaker
and the tagline is around the world in 22 murders. Murder, blackmail, revenge. From Lagos to Mexico City, Australia to the Caribbean, Toronto to Los Angeles, Darjeeling to rural New Zealand, London to New York. 22 best-selling crime writers from diverse cultures come together from across the world in a razor-sharp and deliciously sinister collection of crime stories.
00:22:24
Speaker
So what appealed to me about this was just reading about crimes set in different locations. I think we're not going to be going away over the holidays. And so this will be a nice way to sort of escape to some other destinations.
00:22:52
Speaker
That's a great way to do that. I like the idea of choosing short story collections because it's similar to what we discussed on our short story episode that
00:23:07
Speaker
You don't have to start it and finish it. You know, you don't have to do these beginning to end. You could have this collection by your bedside for even several months and just be able to finish self-contained stories over time and really enjoy them that way. It's not so much of a commitment. Exactly.
Holiday Reads and Closing Wishes
00:23:27
Speaker
And if you'll permit me, Brooke, I do have one more. I think I've got quite a lot on my list, so I'm not sure if I'm going to get through everything. But this time of year is when I typically read Louise Penny's new release.
00:23:42
Speaker
And so I do have a world of curiosities on my list. So, you know, after watching the Amazon series, I can maybe pick this up. And this is, I believe, her 18th in the Three Pines series.
00:23:58
Speaker
or her 18th in the Inspector Gamache series. Its spring and three pines is re-emerging after the harsh winter, but not everything buried should come alive again. Not everything lying dormant should re-emerge. But something has. As the villagers prepare for a special celebration, Armand Gamache and Jean Guy Beauvoir
00:24:18
Speaker
find themselves increasingly worried. A young man and woman have reappeared in the Surite de Quebec investigators' lives after many years. The two were young children when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged, shattered. Now they've arrived in the village of Three Pines. But to what end? Gamache and Beauvoir's memories of that tragic case, the one that first brought them together, come rushing back. Did their mother's murder hurt them beyond repair? Have those terrible wounds, buried for decades, festered and are now about to erupt?
00:24:48
Speaker
As Chief Inspector Gamache works to uncover answers, his alarm grows when a letter written by a long-dead stonemason is discovered. In it, the man describes his terror when bricking up an attic room somewhere in the village. Every word of the 160-year-old letter is filled with dread. When the room is found, the villagers decide to open it up.
00:25:08
Speaker
As the bricks are removed, Gamache, Beauvoir, and the villagers discover a world of curiosities, but the head of Homicide soon realizes there's more in that room than meets the eye. There are puzzles within puzzles and hidden messages warning of mayhem and revenge. In unsealing that room, an old enemy is released into their world, into their lives, and into the very heart of Armand Gamache's home.
00:25:32
Speaker
Oh my goodness. I'm so glad you shared that. It sounds so wonderful. And I love the full circle hint that we have that these cases from Gamasha's past are coming back. Um, yeah, that sounds fantastic. It's such a great series. I highly recommend if anyone hasn't started that one. Um, I've only read a few, but they're such great books.
00:25:59
Speaker
They are. And yeah, I wholeheartedly agree. If you haven't read any of the books, then it's definitely a series worth starting. And yeah, they're just wonderful. So yeah, hopefully I'll get to that as well.
00:26:21
Speaker
Cool. So Brooke, I think we've got a lot of reading and watching ahead of us, which is perfect for this time of year. I hope you're going to have lots of festive goodies while you're reading and while you're watching, because I know I will. Thanks, Sarah. Yes, I envision lots of yummy hot drinks and maybe some sweet treats to go along with my reading this holiday season.
00:26:51
Speaker
And we wish you the same listeners. We hope that you have a wonderful time with friends and family and get some reading and watching of your favorite types of mysteries done. And until next time, thank you for joining us on Clued in Mystery. I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery.
00:27:12
Speaker
Clued in Mystery is produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com. Visit us online at cluedinmystery.com or social media at Clued in Mystery. If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or telling your friends.