Litsy

#Ihavequestions

1. Fell Murder by E. C. R. Lorac was among many excellent mysteries read this year for the #GoldenAgeCrimeClub ,because it introduced me to a new author.
2. I‘m going to switch out one of my #cloakanddaggerchristmas books for Truly Devious by M. Johnson b/c I‘ve heard great things and it came up in my library holds.
3. I really love it when we learn about all the suspects‘ dirty laundry. P. D. James was especially good at this.

Ruthiella Thank you @RaeLovesToRead for tagging me. 😊 5mo

RaeLovesToRead Ooh, I will have to check out these!!! 😁 5mo

batsy Fell Murder was good! 5mo

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Ruthiella @batsy It was! And Hoopla appears to have all of Lorac‘s catalog as ebooks, which makes it so much easier for me to read more. 👍 5mo

CaramelLunacy I really liked Truly Devious! 5mo

Ruthiella @CaramelLunacy Excellent! I really looking forward to it. 😃 5mo

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rabbitprincess

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

so-so

I might have started this in a bad mood, because I ended up losing patience with it. It took a long time to get to the murder, and by the time it happened I didn‘t particularly care who murdered him because his death was nothing but positive. The detective protagonist, Macdonald, is fine, and the view of homefront WW2 in England is good, but this wasn‘t my favourite Lorac novel.
July 2023 #GoldenAgeCrimeClub selection

Aims42 I‘ve run into moods ruining a perfectly good book before too, it‘s a bummer 🫠 I had to laugh at your remark about not caring who murdered the character because it was a positive thing 🤭😆 8mo

rabbitprincess @Aims42 Especially because there was a war on; I felt they had better things to worry about! 8mo

Aims42 @rabbitprincess for sure!! 8mo

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Larkken

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

It‘s sooo hot! We‘ll see how far I get through this list… a number (including tagged) are carry-overs from previous months 👀 #bookspin #doublespin

TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!!! 9mo

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kwmg40

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

pick

I really enjoyed the setting and characters of this Golden Age mystery set in Lancashire county in England. I'm definitely planning to read more of Lorac's Robert Macdonald mysteries!

#GoldenAgeCrimeClub @Mitch
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#20in4 @Andrew65
#192025 #1944 @Librarybelle

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 9mo

Librarybelle Hooray!! 9mo

Ruthiella I really liked this too! And there are a handful of them in ebook available on Hoopla. 9mo

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batsy Me too! It was a good introduction to Lorac. 9mo

Andrew65 Looks good. Well done 👏👏👏 9mo

kwmg40 @TheAromaofBooks @Librarybelle @Andrew65 Thanks for stopping by! 9mo

kwmg40 @Ruthiella @batsy I hadn't realized that Lorac (Edith Caroline Rivett) was so prolific. I'm glad to know that there is so much more of her work to read! 9mo

37 likes7 comments

batsy

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

pick

This is my first ECR Lorac mystery & it won't be my last! It's set towards the end of WW2 in a Lancashire farming community, & I delighted in all of the lovely details of the countryside as well as the farm routines. This is like if Succession was a murder mystery set in 1940s rural England. There is an irascible patriarch, and an assortment of troubled children. Clever, well-written & with sound pace & structure; I enjoyed it. #GoldenAgeCrimeClub

charl08 Sounds good! 9mo

jlhammar Succession - great comparison! 😂 9mo

batsy @charl08 It is! 👍🏾 9mo

batsy @jlhammar 😁 9mo

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Mitch

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

Anything we‘ve missed, not mentioned…???
Would you read another by Lorac?
#goldenagecrimeclub

AmyG I liked reading about the dynamics of the family members. While they were all from the same family, they were all quite different people. I found this part very interesting. 9mo

batsy @AmyG I agree! I would have liked a bit more of that, though I also think the book was paced just right and not too long. 9mo

batsy Yes! I'd love to read more Lorac. There's a thoughtful aspect to her style that I appreciate. 9mo

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Ruthiella I definitely liked Macdonald‘s style and would enjoy reading another book to see how he is in a different setting. Thanks so much for the great questions! 9mo

kspenmoll Definitely would read more of her work! 9mo

kwmg40 I definitely want to read more by Lorac. Thank you @Mitch, for introducing me to another excellent mystery author through the #goldenagecrimeclub! 9mo

Mitch I‘m definitely up for another ( I love she uses her pet name - Carol backwards for her pseudonym! ) 9mo

Mitch @batsy that‘s exactly what it is! Well said! 9mo

Mitch This one is set in roughly the same place and has the same police officer!

Crook O Lune: A Lancashire Mystery

9mo

quietjenn I like Lorac a lot - I think this was my fourth or fifth - and plan to make my way through some of the others that are available with Macdonald. 9mo

jlhammar I'd for sure read more Lorac. Glad to be introduced to her work - great pick! 9mo

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Mitch

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

And the mystery! Perhaps not the strongest element of this book! What did you think?
#goldenagecrimeclub

AmyG While I was not sory to see the father “go”…I did at first thinkit was Richard. But then, nobody really liked him. 9mo

lauraisntwilder I suspected all of them. 😂 I liked how it ended, but I didn't particularly feel invested in how that part turned out, which is odd for a mystery. 9mo

batsy It wasn't a particularly thrilling mystery, but I thought it was solid and didn't insult the reader's intelligence and sometimes that's enough 🙂 And like @AmyG said I was not sad to see the father go as well, lol, and a part of me was just curious about how they'd carry on without that imposing authority figure in their lives. 9mo

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Ruthiella It definitely was a more slow paced whodunnit than I expected. I thought she did a good job at keeping everyone looking not guilty so I was nicely surprised. 9mo

kspenmoll I really enjoyed the books pace, atmosphere, & the fact that I just could not pinpoint”whodunit” at all! I would like to read another book by this author. 9mo

kwmg40 The mystery was a little more slow-paced than some, but it kept me guessing and had a satisfying conclusion. 9mo

Mitch @lauraisntwilder I agree. Oddly for a mystery that element for me was slow, and took a back burner. But I still loved the book! 9mo

quietjenn I agree that it was solid, if not exactly thrilling and fast-paced. I was not expecting the second corpse that turned up! 9mo

jlhammar Not overly clever or surprising perhaps, but I enjoyed considering all of the suspects and thought it worked well/felt satisfying. 9mo

lauraisntwilder @Mitch I thought it was great, but I was content to just see what happened without feeling like I was in suspense. 9mo

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Mitch

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

I really liked Marion - her work ethic, morality and of course her dress sense! Any strong feelings, either way, for any of the characters ?

#goldenagecrimeclub

AmyG Arion was my favorite. She had a good work ethic, was a smart and rational woman. The farm ran well because of her and the other woman hire. I didn‘t like any of the Garth men. (edited) 9mo

batsy Yes, Marion stood out from the start! And I grew to like Elizabeth too. I could Lorac took pleasure in portraying these women. But yes, the Garth men on the whole don't come off too well (mostly)! 9mo

Ruthiella Definitely team Marion! 😅 As one of the characters stated, she‘s a better man than any of her brothers! I also really liked Elizabeth and Staple. 9mo

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kspenmoll Team Marion! 9mo

kwmg40 My favourite characters were Marion and Macdonald. 9mo

Mitch The Garth men did not fair well! 🤣 9mo

quietjenn Marion for the win! But I did really like Staple as well. 9mo

jlhammar Yes, Marion! Great character. I agree with others - also enjoyed Macdonald, Staple and Elizabeth. 9mo

Cuilin Definitely team Marion. I felt bad for Malcom, the bee keeping, would be poet. 9mo

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Mitch

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

War loomed in the background again in this novel. What do you think this added to the story / plot?
#goldenagecrimeclub

AmyG You got a feel for the time period. 9mo

lauraisntwilder Farming was a protected profession, so maybe Malcolm wouldn't have gone to fight even if he'd been in good health, but it emphasized his situation. 9mo

batsy It didn't quite affect it, I felt. Or in my reading of it. In a sense it felt like they sequestered in a little slice of pastoral bliss, of a sort! 9mo

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Ruthiella War was important in placing the characters where they were - particularly Charles and it emphasized the lack of young men. I‘ve read other books which had land girls like Elizabeth. It was in the background but still an important aspect in shaping the story. 9mo

kspenmoll It did provide an important backdrop to the story. Elizabeth wanted to continue to work & contribute, Charles a sad reminder of war vet. It just placed the story within a historical context of the time & for me, made their lives more real. 9mo

kwmg40 The war did explain how certain characters ended up in their current circumstances, so it seemed important to the story to me. 9mo

Mitch I liked how the war was seen through the impact of individual lives. It felt very lived and personal. 9mo

quietjenn It s handy for placing a few of the characters in place, but it didn't feel as super significant and central as it does in many of the books I read. 9mo

jlhammar I really liked getting a look at wartime from this side of things (country/farm). 9mo

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Mitch

Fell Murder | E.C.R. Lorac

I found the contrasting police officers - their priorities and approaches- interesting. What did you make of them?
#goldenagecrimeclub

AmyG I found the small town police not very likeable while Macdonald quite likeable. One would have thought it would be the other way around. Macdonald was just a nice guy. 9mo

lauraisntwilder Poor, impatient Layng. I grew up in a small town and I could just imagine everyone withholding information from someone like him because he didn't ask the question the right way. Macdonald takes his time and gets so much further. I enjoyed the moments when someone, like Staple, admitted to not telling the whole truth to Layng. 9mo

batsy This was interesting! Layng was just never going to make any inroads with that manner, was he 😅 Macdonald comes off as likeable and kind. His experience also came through in his manner; I liked that in this case with his character it was more showing than telling. 9mo

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Ruthiella Poor Layng! He didn‘t really do anything wrong, he just is not culturally adept enough in this case. I thought it was great how the author gave the reader what was going on in their heads so we could understand why Layng‘s approach didn‘t work and why. 9mo

kspenmoll Yes, Laying just could not anyone to open up with his impatience & inability to empathize with the people.Macdonald was reminded of where he grew up & so could approach the people with patience, respect , & kindness. It was ok if he took a few visits to get his questions answered 9mo

kwmg40 This contrast seemed to me typical of many mysteries of the era, where a bumbling investigator is set against the “real“ detective, in order to make the latter look more intelligent and perceptive. Macdonald did seem very likeable compared to Layng. 9mo

quietjenn I really appreciated the working relationship between them. Layng didn't resent Macdonald, and Macdonald acknowledged that he gave a good report and seemed competent - just wasn't a good fit in the community. I also thought it was interesting to hear the list of issues rural police had to deal with and the idea that if you're cashing in the Yard, do it right away. 9mo

Mitch agree! MacDonald was patient, smart, empathetic and a good listener. I suppose I was expecting the country officer to have those relationships and the city police to come in with a bulldozer! 9mo

jlhammar Fabulous pic! Giving us Layng first was a smart way to let us appreciate MacDonald's much more effective style. That “to understand this problem it's necessary to understand the nature of those concerned.“ A very likable detective. 9mo

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