Dark Days

Day Days by Hugh Conway is set in the late 19th century (and was written then too) and is a piece of Victorian melodrama. Dr North falls in love with the beautiful Philippa. Or, should i say, he becomes a love sick puppy over her.

Unfortunately for him, she marries someone else. Dr North is therfore heartbroken and escapes away to the countryside to bury himself in his work. Then a few years later, Philippa comes back into his life, unhappy in her marriage. Dr North hopes that she will finally come away with him but then we discover she has murdered her abusive partner and now needs Dr North's help to covering up her crime...

Overall, this is a reasonable read and has some interesting ideas and a good plot, though the overt emotionalism of the love-sick narrator (North) can be a bit off putting at times, especially early on.

Inspector West kicks off

An enjoyable, if not very deep, crime novel by John Creasey. Inspector West investigates the death of a man and this leads him down a rabbit hole involving a mass conspiracy to steal food (when this book was released, 1949, food rationing was still going on in the UK so that probably resonated) and re-sell it on the black market.

The criminal gang use specially printed football programmes with codes embedded in them, to distribute at football grounds to the various members in the greater conspiracy. To be honest this seems a bit of a odd way to do this, though obviously this book was written a long time before WhatsApp!

West gets into plenty of action here, beaten up a few times and even shot, but he pulls through to brings down the whole criminal enterprise. The murder that took place at the start of the book is also solved, though it did seem to become a bit of an afterthought.

Not a bad story at all, not very challenging but very readable. A couple of the main characters who often are seen acting suspicious, end up being innocent so that is a nice little twist at the end.

The Hand of Death

This is a rather murky crime novel by Margaret Yorke. It details the antics of a depraved man who seeks to escape his dreary existence selling antiques seeking sex, however soon it is rape and murder he has committed and he wants to get into the pants of the schoolgirl who works at his shop...

The story is interesting in being told largely through the points of view of the criminal and the victims (including the poor innocent bloke who is the police's suspect). The female characters are very well written, the male characters - including the criminal - are a bit one dimensional.

It isn't a bad book, certainly reads well. However, the plot is a bit basic.

Payoff

"Payoff" by Hartley Howard is an unsubtle tale of a hard boiled private investigator who sweats a lot and takes a lot of taxis. 

The story is fairly enjoyable, if not that unique. The story never quite manages to reach top gear but a creditable fourth perhaps. There is a good mix of crime and spy drama.

The main problem with the story though is the predictability. It isn't a bad read and will certainly pass the time of day but you probably won't want to ever read it again.

The Affair of the Blood-Stained Egg Cosy

Although set in the Golden Age, and often has the look and feel of such this was written in the 1970s by James Anderson and is the first of a series of novels set in the same country house. Therefore, it is a pastiche but don't let that put you off as it is indeed pretty good.

The story is complicated and has all the tropes you expect from a Golden Age mystery. It is set in a dark country house and includes a cast of toffs, flappers, a bumbling (but ultimately efficient) police detective, perky keen amateurs and plenty of red herrings and puzzles. There is even a map!

The book is well written and an enjoyable read, which just about manages to err on the right side of parody though at times a close run thing. A great send-up and celebration of a genre.

The Rogues’ Syndicate

An enjoyable murder mystery from the Collins Detective Club by former police detective Frank Froëst. This first hand knowledge of actual police work and the workings of Scotland Yard is well used in this story.

A young man is handed a package by a strange woman in the London fog. Soon, he finds himself accused of killing the woman's father and being involved in a larger conspiracy. Of course he is innocent and the real criminals are an organised gang. Can detective Menzies sort things out and find out what is really going on?

This is a solid police procedural, it might be a little dated (being written during the First World War) and has a little bit too much of an international flavour with some American characters in old London town (some with rather ridiculous names). However, it's a solid enough read without being too memorable.