The Kraken Wakes
by John Wyndham (Michael Joseph, 1953)
audiobook read by John Sackville (Audible, 2022)
A literary apocalyptic novel more Wells than Lovecraft (and superior to both). Wyndham’s narrative carries the ring of truth—through myriad details and logistics but also in its portrayal of humanity’s collective flaws. Phyllis Watson plays second fiddle yet outshines her husband.
The Wheel Spins
by Ethel Lina White (Collins Crime Club, 1936)
audiobook read by Candida Gubbins (Soundings, 2023)
Though White exhibits a refined turn of phrase, the mystery element is painfully transparent; thus the reader is forced to endure chapter after fraught chapter of the protagonist merely questioning her own sanity and struggling past a bedevilment of coincidences and conspiracy.
Sinister Stones (reissued as Cake in the Hat Box)
by Arthur W. Upfield (Doubleday, 1954)
audiobook read by Peter Hosking (Bolinda, 2018)
Though the murder investigation is somewhat nebulous, the story remains notable for the extreme remoteness of its Western Australian setting, and for its historical depiction of cattle station life—and particularly the relationships between Aboriginal and white folk—in the mid-20th Century.
Beware of the Brain Sharpeners
by Philip Curtis; ill. Tony Ross (Anderson Press, 1983)
An underwhelming instalment. The Brain Sharpeners, rather than posing some insidious threat, now play the role of conscientious anti-nuclear interventionists. Their plan is gratuitous and the abducted students have no agency whatsoever. Curtis employs a jocular prose style devoid of actual humour.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar
by Maurice Leblanc; trans. Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Je sais tout, 1905-1906)
audiobook read by B.J. Harrison (B.J. Harrison, 2015)
A collection of the first nine stories featuring Arsène Lupin, the French answer to Sherlock Holmes. Lupin is a loveable, rather-too-full-of-himself antihero whose criminal exploits are related with a bonhomous, artful vivacity. Leblanc pulls much wool over the eyes of all concerned.
The Ghost Grabbers
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie, 1980)
After much build-up as to how realistic the so-called hauntings are, the ease of their fabrication is then glossed over. The multifaceted misdirection is clever enough so far as MG goes, but the scheme is at once painfully transparent and laughably overcomplicated.
The Valley of Adventure
by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1947)
audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Hodder, 2018)
The Valley of Adventure proves memorable for its setting, its intrigue, and of course for Kiki the parrot. Judd’s audiobook reading continues to make the girls sound like wet dishrags, though in fact they show a bit more gumption this time around.
Murder in the Basement
by Anthony Berkeley (Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1932)
audiobook read by Seán Barrett (Soundings, 2021)
An experiment in form, which sees what appears at first a straightforward murder investigation proceed by way of a fictional manuscript within-story. Unfortunately, this manuscript’s narrative is one that Sheringham himself admits to having grown bored with and abandoned—for good reason!
The Cartoonist
by Betsy Byars (The Bodley Head, 1978)
A downbeat exploration of emotional neglect and escapism. Byars is deft as a cartoonist herself in capturing Alfie’s circumstances: his drifting isolation from family and peers; his retreat into drawing and his nihilistic attic ascent. Not exactly a fun read, but affecting.
The Complete Peanuts: 1969 to 1970
by Charles M. Schulz (Canongate, 2008)
Schulz by second decade’s turn has mastered his craft, both from a technical viewpoint (those facial expressions!) and as an observer of life. The strips here contain a little too much Snoopy and Woodstock, but it’s a good period for Charlie Brown.