JASON HALF : writer
  • Home
  • Full-length Plays
    • The Community Play
    • Kate and Comet
    • Sundial
    • Tulip Brothers
  • Short Plays
    • Among the Oats
    • Holly and Mr. Ivy
    • Locked Room Misery
  • Screenplays
    • The Ballad of Faith Divine
    • My Advice
    • Finders
  • Fiction
  • Blog

COME AWAY, DEATH Chosen for April Group Reading Event!

2/28/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
My first MITCHELL MYSTERY READING GROUP event in November was a great success -- where we checked in weekly to discuss elements from farce to finance to fair play to flannel trousers in 1929's The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop -- and I'm happy to announce the next title for a group read: 1937's Come Away, Death. In this one, Mrs. Bradley takes part in a tour of Greece that turns deadly. It's one of my favorites, but I haven't read it in more than 15 years, so it's time to consult the Oracle of Delphi once again.

While my schedule already looks to be busy through August (*sigh*), it feels like APRIL will be the best month to host another reading event. Like last time, readers will be welcome to read along and send me comments and observations related to the chapter groups each week. (Send to [email protected] .)

I will then organize all the remarks and feature them in blog posts. The dates would be:

MON. APRIL 1 - comments due for Chapters 1 to 5
MON. APRIL 8 - comments due for Chapters 6 to 10
MON. APRIL 15 - comments due for Chapters 11 to 15
MON. APRIL 22 - comments due for Chapters 16 to 20

As long as you focus the discussion on the chapters chosen for that week (and don't provide any major spoilers near the end), any topic is fair game! The variety of comments from the previous event was greatly enjoyable, as readers analyzed characters, setting, tone, plot, clues, clothing, references and themes. Come Away, Death should provide another opportunity for a lively discussion.

Last time, a few Americans opted out because The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop wasn't available in the U.S. as a Kindle title. It's very frustrating to say, but Come Away, Death is also one of only a handful of Gladys Mitchell mysteries not currently available as a Kindle eBook in the States. (I'm not deliberately making this difficult, I swear! It appears UK and Canadian Kindle users will have access to the title.) There are new and used reprint softcover editions available through booksellers -- look for editions by Vintage UK (from 2011) and Rue Morgue Press US (2007). And if finances or bookstore challenges keep you from participating because of the eBook unavailability, write to me and I can try to help you locate a reading copy.
                                              
I hope you'll consider taking a tour of the Greek isles with Mrs. Bradley, Sir Rudri Hopkinson (he's a little odd, but Mrs. Bradley may be odder), and myself (no comment) in April!


2 Comments
Countdown John
3/2/2019 11:28:38 am

I happen to have picked this up last weekend but I need to read some of the earlier books first which I won't have done by April. I look forward to reading the group's discussions later in the year.

Reply
Jason Half link
3/3/2019 08:42:48 am

Hello John -- I completely understand! I always prefer to read series books in order if I'm able. Once you finish Come Away, Death, just check out the site's April posts and you can see what we discussed. And if you wish to join us for a future GM read, I hope you do so! -- Jason

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    BLOG

    Lots of book reviews and discussion of classic and contemporary mystery fiction. I welcome comments and continuing conversation.

    Subscribe below to receive updates!

    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    19th Century Novels
    Andrew Garve
    Anne Morice
    Anthologies
    Anthony Boucher
    Appalachian Authors
    Bill James
    Book Review
    Catherine Dilts
    C. Daly King
    Craig Rice
    David Goodis
    E.C.R. Lorac / Carol Carnac
    Erle Stanley Gardner
    E.R. Punshon
    Freeman Wills Crofts
    French Authors
    George Bellairs
    George Milner
    Gladys Mitchell
    Golden Age Mystery
    Gregory McDonald
    Hardboiled Detectives
    Helen McCloy
    Helen Simpson
    Henry Wade
    Herbert Adams
    Hugh Austin
    James Corbett
    J. Jefferson Farjeon
    John Bude
    John Rhode/Miles Burton
    Leo Bruce
    Maj Sjowall / Per Wahloo
    Margery Allingham
    Martin Edwards
    Michael Gilbert
    Michael Innes
    Mignon G. Eberhart
    Milward Kennedy
    Mitchell Mystery Reading Group
    New Fiction
    New Mystery
    Nicholas Blake
    Nicolas Freeling
    Noir
    Philip MacDonald
    Play Review
    Q. Patrick / Patrick Quentin
    Rex Stout
    Richard Hull
    Ross MacDonald
    Russian Authors
    Science Fiction
    Vernon Loder
    Vladimir Nabokov
    William L. DeAndrea
    Winifred Blazey
    Writing

    Mystery Fiction Sites
    -- all recommended ! --
    Ahsweetmysteryblog
    The Art of Words
    Beneath the Stains of Time
    Bitter Tea and Mystery
    Catherine Dilts - author
    Countdown John's Christie Journal
    Classic Mysteries
    Clothes in Books
    ​A Crime is Afoot
    Crossexaminingcrime
    Gladys Mitchell Tribute
    Grandest Game in the World
    Happiness Is a Book
    In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
    The Invisible Event
    Martin Edwards' Crime Writing Blog
    Murder at the Manse
    Mysteries Ahoy!
    Noirish
    The Passing Tramp
    Past Offences
    Pretty Sinister Books
    Tipping My Fedora
    To the Manor Born
    Witness to the Crime
    

    Archives

    December 2024
    November 2024
    September 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    January 2024
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    RSS Feed

Unless otherwise stated, all text content on this site is
​copyright Jason Half, 2024.