Every month on Past Offences I gather together blog posts about crime fiction written or filmed in a particular year. This August the chosen year is 1980 – illustrated by this rather resplendent period piece, courtesy of Chevrolet. I’m loving the stormy background and moody lighting. Cue synths and sax solo.
If you want to take part, you can! When you’ve written your post, just let me know below. I’ll gather them all together at the end of the month.
An additional challenge – if anyone can identify the criminally-inclined character who uttered the following words in 1980, they can choose next month’s year.
‘Let’s go inside and load our lovely new guns and then it’ll be bang bang bang…’
Anyone can play, so over to you…
Small print
- Don’t be shy!
- Just comment below to link to your blog post.
- If you want to play but you haven’t got a blog, I’m happy to have you as a guest poster, or to link to Goodreads or Amazon.
- Books, comics, films, plays and TV also welcome.
- Sorry in advance if I miss you in the round-up, although I am getting better at that bit.
Past Offences: Classic crime, thrillers and mystery book reviews 
This June the chosen year is 1980
Ahem. 🙂
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I have no idea what I will pick but… 1980 is the year I married my current husband and it will be an interesting choice for me. Looking forward to it.
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“Let’s go inside and load our lovely new guns and then it’ll be bang bang bang…”
A Google search easily shows that the character is Mrs Twit in the book The Twits by Roald Dahl.
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Winner – OK, Santosh you can choose the year for September. Email me with your choice,,,
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Have Reginald Hill’s A Killing Kindness on my TBR pile, first published in 1980.
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Anything by Reg Hill would be a good choice but don’t forget he often published two books a year.
In 1980 his “stand alone” was an excellent piece of spy-fi, the under-rated The Spy’s Wife.
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My choice is THE NAME OF THE ROSE by Umberto Eco. My local library has a copy
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I saw one in the charity shop yesterday – may make a diversion!
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Here is my review: http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/review-name-of-rose-umberto-eco.html. To say the book disappointed me is an understatement
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Staying in the 80’s are we……I don’t think I have anything. Will check. That line you quoted, my first wild guess would have to be The Deaf Man as I can totally see McBain writing that kind of dialogue for him but I don’t think it’s him.
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I was a kid/teenager so I’m not so familiar with this decade…I won’t ask a gentleman his age, although I always feel you’re definitely not older than me, despite being vastly better read!
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I’ll plump for A Killing Kindness too unless I think of an alternative
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Ah-ha! Found a couple of alternatives, although one of them is set about 900 years too early…
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I’m looking at The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza by Block, and McBain’s Ghosts. The first is £2.39 on Kindle, the second £1. I also see City Primeval by Elmore Leonard qualifies, but isn’t on Kindle. I’ve never read Leonard, which I know I should rectify…You can pick one up for £2.81 second-hand though, as you’ll know….Decisions, decisions! There’s also PD James’ Innocent Blood (a standalone) and Ruth Rendell’s The Lake Of Darkness (ditto.) I’ll have a think, and a mosey round the house, but just thought I’d mention them in case they appeal to others. Mike Ripley – your suggestion also appeals as I’m a sucker for a spy story…and Reg Hill is another gap in my reading (I think the TV series put me off his books, but I’ve since bought some!) I’ll be back with a decision, Rich if that’s okay?
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I’ve got a few options on my TBR stack…The most likely suspect is The Suicide Murders by Howard Engel. But it’s also possible that I’ll grab The Eve of the Wedding by Lionel Black; Poacher’s Bag by Douglas Clark; or Looking for Rachel Wallace by Robert Parker. [I’ve supposedly got Killing Katie Steelstock by Michael Gilbert, but it seems to be hiding at the moment….].
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Well…I went completely off what I listed and my opening 1980 review is The Old Die Young by Richard Lockridge. I gave the Engel book a try–but his style of private eye just isn’t doing it for me at the moment. We may see one of the others mentioned above before August is over.
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Thanks Bev 🙂
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I’ve got nothing in the TBR but shall attempt to locate something Australian again.
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Sorted. Peter Corris’ first Cliff Hardy novel was published in 1980. I shall read The Dying Trade
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I was in luck that the book I was reading when the year was announced was published in 1980. It’s Ngaio Marsh’s Photo Finish. It surprised me that she was still publishing books as late as that. Definitely not Marsh at her best. My review for this book can be found at:
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Ha! I’ve just finished reading your (very good) review of this! Although I noticed your “1980s” comment in the review, it flew right past me that this was a 1980 book!
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Thanks! Yeah aside from the jumpsuit reference, this book does have a rather timeless quality and could easily have taken place in the 1950s for example. It’s really hard to imagine Troy and Alleyn in the 1980s.
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Pingback: Review: A Killing Kindness by Reginald Hill | The Game's Afoot
I had many to choose from but I picked Motor City Blues by Loren D. Estleman. My review is up now at Bitter Tea and Mystery.
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Thanks Tracy – got you 🙂
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Pingback: Monk’s Hood by Ellis Peters | In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
Pingback: Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose | Past Offences Classic Crime Fiction
Pingback: A Killing Kindness by Reginald Hill | In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
Another one from me – A Killing Kindness by Reginald Hill – is up on my blog now. With luck, there might be a third one later in the month…
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Got it – 15 reviews in 15 days, blimey.
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Started by clearing a bit of a backlog so I’ve not read 15 books that fast…
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Forgot to mention the first one – Monk’s Hood by Ellis Peters. Not the greatest example of 1980’s life – or of anything else, to be honest.
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Cadfael is basically the same book twenty times over…
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And it’s not that good a book in the first place…
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My 1980 book is Dead Side of the Mike by Simon Brett – review here: http://clothesinbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/book-of-1980-dead-side-of-mike-by-simon.html
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Pingback: The Murder Of The Maharajah by H R F Keating | In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
And another one from me – H R F Keating’s The Murder Of The Maharajah https://classicmystery.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/the-murder-of-the-maharajah-by-h-r-f-keating/
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Jonathan Valin’s first Harry Stoner book – The Lime Pit for me. http://col2910.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/jonathan-valin-lime-pit-1980.html
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Pingback: Review: THE DYING TRADE by Peter Corris | Fair Dinkum Crime
Nothing like leaving things to the last minute…Peter Corris’ THE DYING TRADE http://fairdinkumcrime.com/2012/01/28/review-comeback-by-peter-corris/
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Got it (I leave things an extra day for America to catch up). Worng link though – http://fairdinkumcrime.com/2015/08/31/review-the-dying-trade-by-peter-corris/
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I managed to sneak this in! Did I make the deadline? I read it a week ago, but only just got the time to type up my thoughts today. My first Anne Perry novel, but not my last. Exceptionally good even with its few faults.
Callendar Square by Anne Perry
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