In Bernadette’s honour, the first Australian image for Crimes of the Century: A South Australia Police Traffic Division Courtesy Patrol in 1959.
Every month on Past Offences I gather together blog posts about crime fiction written or filmed in a particular year. I’ve called it Crimes of the Century.
Bernadette of Reactions to Reading and Fair Dinkum Crime chose 1959 for January.
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.
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 
A cunning twist, only one year previous than last month. Looks like it’ll be Three Cousins Die for me. Guess who wrote that one…
I’ll try and find something non-Rhode as well… Not coming up with much though.
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I do realise this was very close to the previous year but I don’t actually own many eligible books and wanted to start the year well – I am excited to read Gin and Murder by Josephine Pullein-Thomson – it’s another of my scores from Greyladies press – it has two of my favourite things in the title so what can possibly go wrong 😉
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I have that one too, didn’t realize it was as late as 1960, it sounded earlier, somehow. You get dibs, as it’s my fault you discovered Greyladies, though I might do it as a 2nd entry if I get to it.
I’ve already done the Marsh and Christies for 1959 on the blog, but fancy the Gladys Mitchell – if I can find it.
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I meant, of course, *as late as 1959*
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From WIkipedia:
Bloch, Psycho
Carr, Scandal at High Chimneys
Christie, Cat Among the Pigeons
MacLean, The Last Frontier and Night Without End
(Would MacLean’s books, which are basically thrillers with some element of working out what the villainous plot is, fall within the purview of the blog?)
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Yes, thrillers are fine. I’ve done The Guns of Navarone on her previously.
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I will try to participate next month. Even thinking of re-reading a Christie if I have to,
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So I chose CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS, Agatha Christie.
My review can be found at http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/review-cat-among-pigeons-agatha-christie.html
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I’ve just ordered The Galton Case by, Ross Macdonald. I hope it will arrive on time.
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Haven’t quite made my mind up what I will read yet but here are a few titles I found from this year:
The Man Who Grew Tomatoes by Gladys Mitchell
Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
The Chinese Gold Murders by Robert Van Gulik
The Widow’s Cruise by Nicholas Blake
Hare Sitting Up by Michael Innes
A Question of Time by Francis Duncan
Not me Inspector by Helen Reilly
Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler
The Fingerprint by Patricia Wentworth
Never Turn Your Back by Margaret Scherf
The Torn Branch and Journey to the Hangman by Arthur Upfield
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I think I have a copy of Passage of Arms. I do love Eric Ambler.
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I’ve just realised that Crush by Frédéric Dard was first published in French as Les Scélérats in 1959.
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I have Miles Burton’s A Smell of Smoke to offer up; not sure if there#s anything ese, but will dig around and link up as appropriate…
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Out of curiosity, did you get your copy from the Ramble House website? Are they a reliable provider? Given some of the dodginess surrounding Some Rhode and Burton reprints, thought I’d check first…
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Yup, I got that from RH direct — not through their website as such, but rather by just emailing Fender Tucker (whose email address is on the website) and asking him to send me some books. I’ll email you some deets shortly…
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Yikes! Another tough year for me! I haven’t re-read Marsh, so I might tackle Singing in the Shrouds. I think I’ve already covered Cat Among the Pigeons elsewhere. And Psycho was 1960, not ’59, but I have a feeling I will write about the great Hitchcock film of ’59: North by Northwest!
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Some interesting movies from 1959. I’ll probably opt for Maigret et l’affaire St Fiacre (with Jean Gabin, yahey!), though both Ivy League Killers and A Dog’s Best Friend look like good trashy fun.
Thanks to Kate for her useful list. I might be tempted by the Wentworth. Or the Marsh.
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Psycho was published by Simon & Schuster in 1959. It’s perfectly eligible and I hope someone picks that book. It’s very different from the movie.
I’ll opt for Joan Fleming as well as some private eye books from American writers like M.E. Chaber, Henry Kane and maybe a Honey West book by G. G. Fickling.
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Sorry, you’re absolutely right, John. I, of course, was thinking of the movie, which came out the following year (and which I reviewed for this month’s posts.) The book is different, and someone should review it.
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I’m on it, Brad.
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I will be doing The Manchurian Candidate. Maybe something else too.
Here are more suggestions:
For Old Crime’s Sake / Delano Ames
The Case Of The Singing Skirt / Erle Stanley Gardner
Murder Is Suggested / Frances Lockridge; Richard Lockridge
The Listening Walls / Margaret Millar
Dead Men Don’t Ski / Patricia Moyes
Plot It Yourself / Rex Stout
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I’d love to be proven wrong, but it seems Wentworth’s The Fingerprint, while first appearing in 1959 in the UK, was earlier published in the US in 1956. According to her FantasticFiction page (https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/patricia-wentworth/) — which could of course likewise be flawed — she alas had nothing that came out that year.
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Yes, it was first published in US in 1956 ( J.B. Lippincott)
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Planning to go with Jim Thompson’s THE GETAWAY …
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Pingback: ‘The 60s didn’t really know what to do with hats’: #1960book round up | Past Offences: Classic crime, thrillers and mystery book reviews
I’m in…off to see what’s lurking on the TBR mountain range.
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Okay…Here’s what’s available on the stacks (from most likely to less likely):
Death of a Racehorse by John Creasey
The Snake on 99 by Stewart Farrar
The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin
Plot It Yourself by Rex Stout
The Secret of the Golden Pavilion by Carolyn Keene
Death Among Friends & Other Stories by Cyril Hare
Gently in the Sun by Alan Hunter
Pass the Gravy by A. A. Fair
The Toff & the Runaway Bride by John Creasey
Not Me Inspector by Helen Reilly
‘Til Death by Ed McBain
Third on a Seesaw by Neil MacNeil
Crime & Mr. Campion by Margery Allingham
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Thanks for the lists. I will try Wentworth’s THE FINGERPRINT and, if I can get it in time, HARE SITTING UP; maybe the Millar if it’s available. Tasty year!
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Hmm, I am not a careful reader, am I? Wentworth’s 1956. Pity. I do like Ross MacDonald but I read THE GALTON CASE last year. I think. I’ll see what else is out there.
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First one: Death of a Racehorse by John Creasey
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Pingback: THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Hitchcock’s North by Northwest | ahsweetmysteryblog
Here’s my post on North by Northwest: https://ahsweetmysteryblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/the-right-direction-hitchcocks-north-by-northwest/
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Pingback: Ivy League Killers (1959) | Noirish
Here’s a piece on the groundbreaking Canadian film noir Ivy League Killers (1959).
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I don’t know if you’ll let this one sneak in or not. My edition says first published 1959. But, now, after reading it and going off to do a little background reading on Stewart Farrar, I find that The Snake on 99 was actually first published in Britain in 1958…..so first published in the U.S. in 1959.
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Pingback: #190: A Smell of Smoke (1959) by Miles Burton | The Invisible Event
Here is Burton’s A Smell of Smoke. Spoilers: it’s not very good…
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My book for 1959 is Gladys Mitchell’s The Man Who Grew Tomatoes (surely a prize for weirdest title) http://clothesinbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/book-of-1959-man-who-grew-tomatoes-by.html
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Pingback: The Widow’s Cruise (1959) by Nicholas Blake | crossexaminingcrime
Here is my review of The Widow’s Cruise by Nicholas Blake:
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Never giving up, I tried again to put a link to my post in yesterday, but it won’t take my comment with a link.
But I do have a post on The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon at Bitter Tea and Mystery, posted on January 11th.
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Thanks for trying Tracy. Here’s the link everyone http://bitterteaandmystery.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-manchurian-candidate-richard-condon.html
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Thanks, Rich. I love Crimes of the Century and enjoy participating.
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First book for this month: Bloch’s Psycho.
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And another: The Last Frontier (vt The Secret Ways).
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And another MacLean: Night Without End.
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Here’s the first of a couple I read: Miss Bones by Joan Fleming
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Pingback: Review: Crush (1959) by Frédéric Dard (trans Daniel Seton) – A Crime is Afoot
Here is a short film review I did of Wrong Number (1959):
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Here is my reviwe of Crush https://jiescribano.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/review-crush-1959-by-frdric-dard-trans-daniel-seton/ An excellent description of Europe at that time.
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Decided to skip the Rhode book (as generally perceived wisdom is that it’s crap) and go for Our Jubilee Is Death by Leo Bruce – was it a good choice? Find out at https://classicmystery.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/our-jubilee-is-death-by-leo-bruce/
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Pingback: THE GETAWAY (1959) by Jim Thompson | Tipping My Fedora
Terror Comes Creeping by Carter Brown
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http://suspenseandmystery.blogspot.com/2017/01/terror-comes-creeping-1959-by-carter.html
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Just managed to get my review of THE GETAWAY by Jim Thompson in under the wire (so to speak): https://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/the-getaway-1959-by-jim-thompson/
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Pingback: MINISTRY OF FEAR (1943) by Graham Greene | Tipping My Fedora