tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post6967387705719391440..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: The Case of the Solid Key (1941) - Anthony BoucherJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-69792968378828509182011-03-07T14:40:46.413-06:002011-03-07T14:40:46.413-06:00A quick glance on ABE says you can buy copies in t...A quick glance on ABE says you can buy copies in the $50 and up range, but either the jackets are worn or the book itself is (or both). Second printings with DJ's can be obtained for quite a bit less. For example, how does eight dollars for a second printing of BAKER STREET, VG in jacket, sound?Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10679390247854141025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-33057143375777435482011-03-07T09:44:05.251-06:002011-03-07T09:44:05.251-06:00Steve -
I've never seen a single Boucher book...Steve -<br /><br />I've never seen a single Boucher book in the original Simon & Schuster edition with a DJ. I have seen <i>TCOT Baker Stret Irregulars</i> many times without one, though. And <i>TCOT Seven of Calvary</i> was reissued by Macmillan and I've seen that one with a DJ. Next time I get a Dunn & Powell catalog I'll look and see what Steve & Bill would charge for one. I'm sure they have at least one and I'm betting it's $125 or more.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-71943645862766964332011-03-06T22:44:26.860-06:002011-03-06T22:44:26.860-06:00It's really too bad Boucher found other things...It's really too bad Boucher found other things to do besides write mystery novels, isn't it? Only five and that's all there were.<br /><br />If anyone's a fan of the old-fashioned detective novel, they really oughtn't to miss any of them. As you say, it's lucky they came out in paperback. I'm sure the hardcover editions, in dust jacket, are quite pricey.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10679390247854141025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-20190441776383724252011-03-06T16:51:30.049-06:002011-03-06T16:51:30.049-06:00[Andy]
Thanks, TomCat!! Appreciate the feedback!!...[Andy]<br /><br />Thanks, TomCat!! Appreciate the feedback!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-36712558479033863822011-03-06T09:18:55.008-06:002011-03-06T09:18:55.008-06:00I'm with you on the deleterious effects of sci...I'm with you on the deleterious effects of science on crime fiction. I'm old-fashioned. Give me a game of wits with great characters and dialogue and red herrings galore. Perhaps my negative reaction to science is just a reflection of my failure to understand any scientific principles. Except gravity. Yep, I get gravity. DNA, not so much.Carolhttp://www.carolkcarr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-15764433600160181062011-03-06T02:12:41.617-06:002011-03-06T02:12:41.617-06:00I read Hidden Ways a few months ago and it's n...I read <i>Hidden Ways</i> a few months ago and it's not a pursuit story or spy thriller, but a bland detective yarn in which a young man is employed by an elderly, wheelchair bound, woman who needs help writing her scandalous family biography. He also dons the deerstalker when the corpse of an unknown man turns up in the apartment across hers. <br /><br />Some of characters are interesting enough and there's an excellent fencing scene, but the plot lacks ingenuity and a clever solution.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-62519088222093938242011-03-05T17:54:21.460-06:002011-03-05T17:54:21.460-06:00Andy -
I may have mentioned that I OWNED Hidden W...Andy -<br /><br />I may have mentioned that I OWNED <i>Hidden Ways</i> at one point. It was, in the fact, the first Dell Mapback I ever purchased. Isn't odd the things you remember about books in your collection? I no longer have it, though. I sold a lot of my Mapbacks at Bouchercon 2005 when it was held in Chicago. That was one that went. I may have read it, but can't be certain. Very vaguely I recall it being more of a thriller or suspense novel than a detective novel. A pursuit story? Someone being chased by spies? It's all hazy. Sorry.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-51289467468235655572011-03-05T13:23:24.065-06:002011-03-05T13:23:24.065-06:00[Andy]
John --- I noticed on some other blog, you...[Andy]<br /><br />John --- I noticed on some other blog, you were reading Frederic F. van de Water's "Hidden Ways". Was just wondering if that was a book worth seeking out. Tbanks, AndyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-28938989721444884912011-03-05T12:46:01.988-06:002011-03-05T12:46:01.988-06:00[Andy]
I read the Boucher books about 20 years ag...[Andy]<br /><br />I read the Boucher books about 20 years ago, and really enjoyed them. But that's all I remember about them. I had collected them all, but lost them in Hurricane Katrina in '05 (guess they are in the Gulf of Mexico somewhere!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-40386260992929425552011-03-04T20:46:50.828-06:002011-03-04T20:46:50.828-06:00Got this one added to the Review site. Bring on t...Got this one added to the Review site. Bring on the updates!Bev Hankinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01127476456755776574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-27653261830404930402011-03-04T20:43:14.818-06:002011-03-04T20:43:14.818-06:00I've enjoyed every Boucher mystery I've re...I've enjoyed every Boucher mystery I've read (the first three) and have the Solid Key & Seven Sneezes on my list of TBO (To Be Owned). This looks like another good one!<br /><br />(I responded to your comment on my Talbot review btw...)Bev Hankinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01127476456755776574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-3814148002496076692011-03-04T20:39:20.712-06:002011-03-04T20:39:20.712-06:00I have them all but Knave and Key. I'll have t...I have them all but Knave and Key. I'll have to go seeking again. I couldn't read Boucher's mysteries as a steady diet - even if there were enough to do so - but occasionally they are a lot of fun, as you point out. Thanks for this review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com