The Puzzle Doctor
@puzzledoctor.bsky.social
Avid mystery fiction book blogger at classicmystery.blog - rediscoverer of Brian Flynn
One of Carter Dickson/John Dickson Carr's cleverest mysteries - murder by telepathy - but given the final chapter, don't expect it to be reprinted... #mystery #impossiblecrime #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/08/17/t...
The Reader Is Warned (1939) by Carter Dickson – a re-read
Samuel and Mina Constable request the presence of Dr John Sanders and his friend, Sir Henry Merrivale, as they wish to demonstrate the powers of the psychic Herman Pennik. When Sanders arrives, Pen…
classicmystery.blog
Out today from @littlebrown.bsky.social - the latest instalment in possibly the best thriller series currently being written from @mwcraven.bsky.social. If you haven’t met Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw, maybe today’s the day… #BookSky #Thriller #PoeandTilly classicmystery.blog/2026/07/20/t...
The Killer’s Mark (2026) by M W Craven
Washington Poe is enjoying something of a quiet life. He has quite the National Crime Agency and set up as a private detective – well, a “Gumshoe For Hire”, according to the sign on the door – with…
classicmystery.blog
Out today in the U.K. - You’ll Be Sorry by Lisa Gardner. - twisty, creepy, clever and a great read from Century Books #BookSky #Mystery #Suspense classicmystery.blog/2026/08/13/y...
You’ll Be Sorry (2026) by Lisa Gardner
Ding dong bell, the witch is in the well. Red witch, blue witch, black or white, one for love, one for fright. One will dance all night long. One will see you dead and gone. Thirty years ago, the D…
classicmystery.blog
Revisiting the first winner of the Puzzly on my blog - and it’s still as wonderful as ever from #SteveHockensmith #Mystery #HolmesOnTheRange #Whodunnit #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/08/12/w...
World’s Greatest Sleuth! (2011) by Steve Hockensmith – a re-read
Things are finally looking up for the Amlingmeyer brothers. Otto aka Big Red has become a published author, having written up the cases solved by his brother, Gus, aka Old Red, the so-called Holmes…
classicmystery.blog
Another holiday read - The Frozen People by @ellygriffiths.bsky.social may have won the Theakston Crime Novel Of The Year, but now it's time I took a look at it... #BookSky #Theakston #BookBlog #Mystery #TimeTravel classicmystery.blog/2026/08/11/t...
The Frozen People (2025) by Elly Griffiths
Ali Dawson works for a very special Cold Case department – cases so cold that they could only be solved if someone discovered a long-lost eye-witness account of the crime… or, failing that, if one …
classicmystery.blog
It’s the middle of summer, it’s baking hot, so why review a Christmas mystery? Why not? @deanstpress.bsky.social #Mystery #BookTwitter #ClassicCrime #BookBlog classicmystery.blog/2026/08/10/t...
The Crime At The “Noah’s Ark” (1931) by Molly Thynne
Redsands is the place to be this Christmas (well, if you’re in 1931), but the weather is playing up a tad, and a number of revellers end up snowed in at the “Noah’s Ark”, a hostelry with plenty of …
classicmystery.blog
According to author Douglas Clark, the English village of 1960's crime fiction is a cold, depressing place - and not a sharp spinster to be found! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/08/09/s...
SAYONARA TO ST. MARY MEAD: Death After Evensong
Knowing full well that my favorite mystery author got her start after working in the pharmaceutical business (dispensing drugs, don’t ya know!), you would think that another writer with a similar r…
ahsweetmystery.com
The latest @blpublishing.bsky.social short story collection collated by @martinedwardsbooks.bsky.social containing murdered ministers and villainous vicars. Plus a head to head between Brothers Cadfael and Athelstan! #BookTwitter #mystery #athelstan #PaulDoherty classicmystery.blog/2026/08/09/p...
Puzzles Of The Parish (2026) ed Martin Edwards
Villainous vicars and perished parsons abound in this collection of short stories from the British Library. Some members of the clergy are sleuths, some are suspects and some are victims in these s…
classicmystery.blog
After far too long, I've headed back to Aberdeenshire and Logan MacRae courtesy of Stuart McBride #StuartMacBride #TartanNoir #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/08/08/i...
In The Cold Dark Ground (2016) by Stuart MacBride
Logan MacRae is still banished to the outskirts of Aberdeenshire, back in uniform leaving a local division of officers, but life is by no means simpler. When a body is found dumped in the woods, it…
classicmystery.blog
An interruption to my holiday reading round-up for this month’s Book Club pick. So you know what that means… in all seriousness, I’m told this series does get good, so can someone recommend a Douglas Clark title? #BookSky #BookClub #Mystery classicmystery.blog/2026/08/08/d...
Death After Evensong (1969) by Douglas Clark
Rooksby-le-Soken in East Anglia is in need of a new vicar, as their current one has been found on a classroom floor, apparently shot through the heart. Except there is no bullet in the body and no …
classicmystery.blog
While you wait for The Devil's Mark to come out next week, I decided to take another look at Black Summer, the second Poe & Tilly book from @mwcraven.bsky.social #BookSky #PoeandTilly #Thriller #Mustread classicmystery.blog/2026/08/07/b...
Black Summer (2019) by M W Craven – a re-read
It was one of Washington Poe’s most complex cases. A murder without a body. Poe was convinced that Jared Keaton, the celebrity chef, had murdered his own daughter. Despite the lack of a body, Eliza…
classicmystery.blog
Out now from @kateellisauthor.bsky.social and @littlebrown.bsky.social, Wesley Peterson rides again, with lions, grotesques and a body stuck in a wall! #BookSky #Mystery #Devon #Archaeology classicmystery.blog/2026/08/07/t...
The Chapel Of Bones (2026) by Kate Ellis
September in South Devon, and Tradmouth CID are looking forward to the post-summer lull in local crime – but when some builders in nearby Sycamore House find a mummified corpse hidden in a wall, it…
classicmystery.blog
Review 1 of 9 holiday reads - in which Tom Hindle completely outsmarted me in a very entertaining and properly-clued mystery... #BookSky #Mystery #ProperMystery classicmystery.blog/2026/08/06/a...
A Killer In Paradise (2026) by Tom Hindle
It has been ten years since a group of friends – Olive, Zach, Jazz, Michael and Seth – last saw Abigail Blythe in a Costa Rican beauty spot. Now they have all received an invitation to the launch o…
classicmystery.blog
Time to head north of the border for death by tractor in The Knapdale Murders by @djsellersauthor.bsky.social #Mystery #Scotland #Tractor #BookTwitter classicmystery.blog/2026/07/31/t...
The Knapdale Murders (2026) by Daniel Sellers
Knapdale is a remote town on the west coast of Scotland and has been plagued with… well, malicious mischief, although given that it includes (thankfully non-fatal) cat poisoning, that might be unde…
classicmystery.blog
Out today - the excellent The Woman Who Wasn't There by @whusseyauthor.bsky.social from @zaffrebooks.bsky.social . One of the cleverest mystery/thrillers that I've read for ages. #mystery #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/07/23/t...
The Woman Who Wasn’t There (2026) by Willaim Hussey
Marian Lane is the best selling author of a series of cosy mysteries, but she is determined to end the series, to the horror of her fans and, given the plans for the final book, her agent as well. …
classicmystery.blog
Get your pre-orders in now for one of the best books that I've read in ages - which, to be fair, I say about everything @mwcraven.bsky.social writes... #BookSky #TeamTilly #Mystery classicmystery.blog/2026/07/20/t...
The Killer’s Mark (2026) by M W Craven
Washington Poe is enjoying something of a quiet life. He has quite the National Crime Agency and set up as a private detective – well, a “Gumshoe For Hire”, according to the sign on the door – with…
classicmystery.blog
Get your pre-orders in now for one of the best books that I've read in ages - which, to be fair, I say about everything @MWCravenUK writes... #BookSky #TeamTilly #Mystery classicmystery.blog/2026/07/20/t...
The Killer’s Mark (2026) by M W Craven
Washington Poe is enjoying something of a quiet life. He has quite the National Crime Agency and set up as a private detective – well, a “Gumshoe For Hire”, according to the sign on the door – with…
classicmystery.blog
Out now from blog-favourite Catherine Ryan Howard, the excellent Buyer Beware #BookSky #Mystery #Thriller classicmystery.blog/2026/07/17/b...
Buyer Beware (2026) by Catherine Ryan Howard
1 Delaney Row is a house with a history. Stories abound locally about dark incidents in the house’s past, but when Ellie moves into the house with just a small suitcase and a small handful of cash,…
classicmystery.blog
New on the blog - classic crime on the ocean wave with Crime De Luxe by Elizabeth Gill, available from @deanstpress.bsky.social #ClassicCrime #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/07/15/c...
Crime De Luxe (1933) by Elizabeth Gill
Acclaimed artist and sometime sleuth Benvenuto Brown is heading to New York City aboard the luxury cruise liner Atlanta, his thoughts focused on his upcoming art exhibition. Not on murder, obviousl…
classicmystery.blog
Thank you for this lovely review, @puzzledoctor.bsky.social. Perhaps a handy write-up for older readers who think they might enjoy my humble efforts. It's nice to read a positive review that nonetheless includes the phrase "blindingly obvious".
The Puzzle Doctor@puzzledoctor.bsky.social · 2mo agoOut now - Montgomery Bonbon is back in the latest mystery by @misterabk.bsky.social #BookSky #Mystery #NotJustForKids classicmystery.blog/2026/07/07/s...
Out now - Montgomery Bonbon is back in the latest mystery by @misterabk.bsky.social #BookSky #Mystery #NotJustForKids classicmystery.blog/2026/07/07/s...
Scandal On The Stage (2026) by Alasdair Beckett-King
The Godrick Theatre is one of the most impressive buildings in Widdlington, and it is about to put on The Thistlebridge Conundrum, a mystery play staged by the Widdlington Amateur Dramatic Group. D…
classicmystery.blog
New review - the first of twenty-seven Masters & Green mysteries by Douglas Clark, but it's not an auspicious start... #Mystery #BookReview #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/07/05/n...
Nobody’s Perfect (1969) by Douglas Clark
Adam Huth, the chairman of Barugt Pharmaceutical, is dead in this office, a victim of an overdose of drugs. Enter DCI Masters and Inspector Green of Scotland Yard, and it soon becomes apparent that…
classicmystery.blog
New review - shortlisted for Theakston's Old Peculiar Book Of The Year - it's Beautiful Ugly by @alicefeeney.com #BookSky #Mystery #Weird classicmystery.blog/2026/06/21/b...
Beautiful Ugly (2025) by Alice Feeney
It should have been the best day of his life. After years as a writer, Grady Green has finally hit the big time, his latest book being on the New York Times Bestseller list. But the night he receiv…
classicmystery.blog
If you like dark but gripping serial killer thrillers with strong leads, then you could do a lot worse than this from @samhollandbooks.bsky.social #Mystery #Thriller #BookTwitter classicmystery.blog/2026/06/17/t...
The Killer In Room Five (2026) by Sam Holland
Hollowpines, a psychiatric hospital with a long history and Joe Sinclair, an inmate, has a story to tell. In his sleep, he saw someone being brutally murdered in a park – a murder that actually too…
classicmystery.blog
Two lovely treats in my letterbox today, courtesy of @britishlibrary.bsky.social and @mwcraven.bsky.social. Much appreciated - now which to read first...
New review - Killer On The Moors by Priscilla Masters from @joffebooks.bsky.social - possibly the best 6.5p that I've ever spent #BookSky #mystery classicmystery.blog/2026/06/13/k...
Killer On The Moors aka Winding Up The Serpent (1995) by Priscilla Masters
It took quite some time before anyone realised that Marilyn Smith was dead. Not popular at her workplace, the local doctor’s surgery, nobody seemed to care when she didn’t show up. It was only the …
classicmystery.blog
My 1900th review - and while it's a good read, it's a shame my old buddy Captain Obvious, popped in to help celebrate... #BookSky #Mystery #CaptainObvious classicmystery.blog/2026/06/07/d...
Death In The Morning (1970) by Margaret Yorke
Dr Patrick Grant, an Oxford don, is visiting his sisterin the village of Winterswick, and his curious mind turns to the Ludlow family. Living in a grand country house at the end of the village, the…
classicmystery.blog
Out now from @headlinepg - Solitary Agents by @davegoodman.bsky.social #Mystery #Espionage #Spies #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/06/06/s...
Today on the blog - an obscure-ish Green Penguin, but probably not worth going out of your way to find a copy... #mystery #greenpenguin #BookSky classicmystery.blog/2026/06/03/d...
Dishonoured Bones (1954) by John Trench
On the island of Albany of the coast of Dorset, much digging is going on. The island thrives on their quarry, others intend to exploit the oil buried under the land and Martin Cotterill, archaeolog…
classicmystery.blog
Out now - the 150th (ish) title in the @britishlibrary.bsky.social Crime Classics range. The Unicorn Murders by Carter Dickson #BookSky #ImpossibleCrime #mystery classicmystery.blog/2026/05/30/t...
The Unicorn Murders (1935) by Carter Dickson
Flamande is a legendary French thief, determined to get his hands on the mysterious “unicorn”, being carried by the diplomat Sir George Ramsden on a flight from France to Britain. Gasquet, the head…
classicmystery.blog