Acquisitions: Lucky $13

Some of my favorite purchases from a recent book sale...and all for $13...yow! I'm most interested in Prelude to Murder which The Saturday Review lightly praised as having "an ending with a new twist". Also included are the sharp-looking endpapers for Lay Her Among the Lilies.

Trivia time! One of my purchases is by an author who has a much more famous cousin in the mystery field. Who is it and what is the cousin's name?

Creaseymania 4: Introducing the Toff

Some more sharp-looking covers and one title which would raise a few eyebrows today. Note the Saint-esque stick logo.

Creaseymania 3: Meet the Baron

Some covers for the Baron (or is it Blue Mask?) series featuring jewel thief John Mannering.

 

 

 

 

 

Creaseymania 2

Two entries from Creasey's Department Z series. I  like the subdued colours of the artwork. The League of Dark Men has both a front and back cover illustration.

Apologies and Acquisitions

I was horrified (okay, mildly surprised) to see that I haven't posted anything since the end of April. Hopefully this month I'll post more (and read better books). Apologies to my 5 followers who must have been frantic with worry and anticipation ;)

There are some new (to me) authors in my recent purchases; Katharine Virden ( an early Doubleday Crime Club selection that I was lucky to find locally for a few dollars), Anthony Weymouth and Margaret Page Hood (creator of Gil Donan, a Maine sheriff).

Also in this batch is an autographed copy of The Wild Duck Murders (I only obtain autographs of authors of whom no one is seeking autographs--what an awkward sentence..)

Finally, the last two two books in the photo are The Edge of Running Water and A Dirty Way to Die (I don't think they photographed very well).

Paperbacks II

A few more...

Paperbacks I

Yesterday was the final day of a local ten-day book and music sale. Some of my more interesting purchases from the (ever-dwindling) "collecticle" paperbacks section...

More More More!

A few more acquisitions (the harder to read spines are The Wraith and Murder's Little Helper). The Kirby Williams title features Thackeray Place, another Philo Vance inspired detective who would also appear in The Opera Murders.

Aquisitions or Swept Away by a Wave of Book Overflow

Proving that I'm a firm believer that one can never have too many books (but can have too few bookshelves), I present some more recent purchases. Two things are apparent from this photo:

1. I'm continuing my love affair with Kathleen Moore Knight.
2. The "fat" Crime Club printings are much more attractive than the later slimmer editions.

Acquisitions...Still More...

The great thing about starting a blog is that it's encouraging me to tackle my tbr piles (I do have more than one ). Unfortunately the more I read the more I buy so that's it's a case of one step forward and three steps back. So here's the latest edition of "three steps back"...

I was recently thinking that I never find Herbert Adams titles locally so I was pleasantly surprised to find one in a downtown thrift shop. I would have preferred it to be a "Roger Bennion" title but hey, I'll take anything. Come to think of it, I never find Miles Burton titles with pristine dust jackets locally either ;)

I've previously read all the authors represented in this batch with two exceptions; Gertrude Knevels (whom I was tempted to try after reading the entry for Death on the Clock in The Crime Club Compendium, yet another recent and long overdue purchase) and more embarrassingly H.C. Bailey, one of the few "name" authors whom I haven't sampled (even knowing that he's exactly the type of author whom I would enjoy). I hope to rectify that omission in the next few weeks...

Acquisitions...Again...

Joining a reading challenge and starting a blog has encouraged me to read some of the books that have been languishing on my shelves (and floor) for far too long (that is, if I can find where I've piled them). On the other hand, the more that I'm motivated to read, the more that I'm motivated to buy so that I despair of ever seeing my floor again. However, I must say that I was pleased to find some affordable copies of several Ludovic Travers mysteries. Also represented in this batch are Huntoon Rogers, Christopher Hand and Inspector Poole. One step forward, two steps back...

So Far

This year's aquisitions....so far...

Still working on finishing my first book for the reading challenge...hmmm...guess I'm 0 and 10 on the year (and sinking fast). I'd better pick up the pace as the library seems to have granted two of my interlibrary loan requests.

Oh..and a pox on the person who beat me to that inexpensive copy of the Crime Club Compendium!