Order of Toff Books
The Toff is a series of crime fiction/adventure novels by English author John Creasey. “The Toff” is the nickname that belongs to The Honourable Richard Rollison. A “toff” is British slang for an upper-crust type with a top hat, monocle, and bowtie. The Toff uses a caricature of this as his calling card while he works as an amateur sleuth. (more…)
Order of Department Z Books
Department Z is a series of crime/spy fiction novels by English novelist John Creasey. Department Z is a British Intelligence agency set up in the early 1930s and is made up of civilians whose identities are unknown. The series is set around the time of World War II – contemporary of the time they were published in. (more…)
Order of John Creasey Books
John Creasey (1908-1973) was an English author of crime fiction novels. He wrote the Department Z, Baron, Toff, Patrick Dawlish, Dr. Palfrey, Inspector West, and several other series, using 28 different pseudonyms. He founded the Crime Writer’s Association in the United Kingdom, having an award named after him for new authors (since renamed). He died in Salisbury, Wiltshire. (more…)
August 2018 Newsletter
Welcome to August! Hope everyone is having a good Summer so far.
July was a very busy month for me as I was at the cottage for the first week of July, then my mum and sister visited from Scotland for a week.
That was a great time and we did a lot of fun local touristy stuff. Always neat to do stuff like that. For example I did a Haunted Walk. I’ve did those in other cities like when I was in Edinburgh and I just found it boring. But hearing all these ghost stories of buildings around me was actually quite neat and I enjoyed it. Went out and saw Boldt Castle too – that place is great and the story of it is fascinating.
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Reader Mailbag: Discovering New Books Within Same Genre
Last month I asked readers how they discover new books in a genre after reading a series or type of book. So if you read a legal thriller and loved it how would you go about finding other legal thrillers? This led into a widespread discussion just covering discovering new books in general.
Here are the responses:
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Order of Lena Jones Books
Lena Jones is the protagonist in a series of mystery novels by American novelist Betty Webb. Lena Jones is a private investigator and a former police officer, based in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was raised in foster homes, so she isn’t aware of her own background at the beginning of the series. The series makes use of its setting of the Southwestern U.S. (more…)
Order of Betty Webb Books
Betty Webb is an American author of mystery novels. She writes the Lena Jones and the Gunn Zoo Mysteries series. Betty has worked as a journalist and as a literary critic for over twenty years. She is a member of National Federation of Newswomen, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Society of Southwestern Authors. Originally from Hamilton, Alabama, Betty has lived in Scottsdale, Arizona since 1982. (more…)
Order of Jennifer Egan Books
Jennifer Egan is an American novelist. She was born in Chicago and raised in San Francisco. She attended the University of Pennsylvania and St. John’s College, Cambridge (where she earned her M.A.). As a journalist, Jennifer has also written for the New York Times Magazine. (more…)
Order of Lilith Saintcrow Books
Lilith Saintcrow is an American author of urban fantasy, historical fantasy, and paranormal romance novels. She also writes YA novels as Lili St. Crow. Born in New Mexico, Lilith Saintcrow fell in love with writing when she was 10 years old, and it has never subsided. She lives in Vancouver, Washington with her children, dogs, cats, and other strays, as well as a sizeable library. (more…)
Order of Emily St. John Mandel Books
Emily St. John Mandel is a Canadian author. She was born and raised in British Columbia. Emily left school at 11 in order to pursue study contemporary dance in Toronto. Following that, she lived in Montreal, before moving to New York City. Her novel Station Eleven was nominated for several different awards for Best Book, and won the Arthur C. Clarke Award. (more…)