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.

Bash Street Kids Annual 1991

Time for another collected volume of Bash Street Kids stories, originally published weekly in the Beano comic of course. Part of the fun of these volumes (well for me anyway) is trying to work out when the stories may have been originally published. This annual is actually pretty easy to date to around 1982, one of the stories features the World Cup and it took place in that year. Another story has the Kids dress up for a disco and Smiffy looks like Adam Ant!

So, i probably read these stories in the comic as i was a weekly reader back then though i don't really remember them. But it was a long time ago.

This is a good collection of stories, the Kids were on top form. Unlike their exam results of course.