Dr. Priestley Detective Series
This post was intended as a private note for my reference only, but I thought it may be of some interest for readers of this blog.
Cecil John Charles Street, MC, OBE, (1884 – 1964), known as CJC Street and John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British army. During the course of World War I, he became a propagandist for MI7, in which role he held the rank of Major. After the armistice, he alternated between Dublin and London during the Irish War of Independence as Information Officer for Dublin Castle, working closely with Lionel Curtis. He later earned his living as a prolific writer of detective novels.
He produced two long series of novels; one under the name of John Rhode featuring the forensic scientist Dr Priestley, and another under the name of Miles Burton featuring the investigator Desmond Merrion. Under the name Cecil Waye, Street produced four novels: The Figure of Eight; The End of the Chase; The Prime Minister’s Pencil; and Murder at Monk’s Barn. The Dr. Priestley novels were among the first after Sherlock Holmes to feature scientific detection of crime, such as analysing the mud on a suspect’s shoes. Desmond Merrion is an amateur detective who works with Scotland Yard’s Inspector Arnold.
Critic and author Julian Symons places this author as a prominent member of the “Humdrum” school of detective fiction. “Most of them came late to writing fiction, and few had much talent for it. They had some skill in constructing puzzles, nothing more, and ironically they fulfilled much better than S. S. Van Dine his dictum that the detective story properly belonged in the category of riddles or crossword puzzles. Most of the Humdrums were British, and among the best known of them were Major John Street. (Source: Wikipedia and Goodreads)
So far the following titles in the Dr Priestley detective series are available on Kindle format at Amazon.es
Mystery at Olympia (1935) (U.S. title Murder at the Motor Show)
In Face of the Verdict (1936) (U.S. title In the Face of the Verdict)
Proceed with Caution (1937) (U.S. title Body Unidentified)
Death of a Bridegroom (1957)
Murder at Derivale (1958) 
Death Takes a Partner (1958)
Licensed For Murder (1958)
The Fatal Pool (1960)
I’m currently reading The Fatal Pool (NightHawk Books, 2016, Kindle format, ASIN: B01MQH1NV6) as my third contribution to Crimes of the Century hosted at Past Offences. The year for this month is #1960.
Book Description: The Fatal Pool, (book no. 71 in the Dr. Priestley series) was originally published in 1960 by Dodd, Mead & Company, New York. Author John Rhode, a pen name of Cecil Street (1884-1964), was a prolific writer of mostly detective novels, publishing more than 140 books between 1924 and 1961. In The Fatal Pool, the family and friends of Colonel Gayton have gathered together at Framby Hall, and while most of the guests are at breakfast, Yvonne Bardwell is found drowned but with bruises on her shoulders indicating that she was held under the water. The mystery centers around the fact that as nearly the entire household was eating breakfast together, how could one of them have slipped away and murdered Yvonne?
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Review: The New Sonia Wayward, 1960 (aka The Case of Sonia Wayward) by Michael Innes
Esta entrada es bilingüe, para ver la versión en castellano desplazarse hacia abajo
House of Stratus, 2011. First published in 1960. Format Kindle Edition File Size: 821 KB. Print Length: 192 pages. ASIN: B004UN5ALC. ISBN: 978 0 7551 1988 2.
Each month Rich Westwood at his blog Past Offences picks a year and invites anyone who wants to participate to read a crime book, watch a film, or listen to a radio show from that year, and write a post about it. He calls it Crimes of the Century , and #1960 was the year chosen for this month. This book is my second contribution.
Book description: Colonel Ffolliot Petticate’s predicament begins when his novelist wife, Sonia, drowns during a sailing trip in the English Channel. A dramatic cover-up ensues in a tale full of humour, irony and devastating suspense.
My take: While sailing through the English Channel, Sonia Wayward suffers a heart attack and dies. Sonia Wayward, an acclaimed writer of romance fiction, was alone on board together with her husband, Colonel Ffolliot Petticate. Col. Petticate, used to the good life provided by the revenues of his wife’s books, is unable to come up with a better solution than throwing her corpse into the sea to conceal her death. He expects to make everyone believe that his wife went away to make a trip all around the world, trusting it won’t be difficult to finish the book she was currently writing. By impersonating her, he looks forward to keeping his income level.
I’ve found The New Sonia Wayward (aka The Case of Sonia Wayward) a quite entertaining reading. It’s a comedy of manners, with a sharp sense of humour typically British. An ingenious tale, short and well written that, in my view, reflects very well the era in which it was published. An era that was coming to an end in the early sixties. In this sense, I don’t believe one can find a most suitable book to represent this year. The story has a good pace and is rather funny. Despite that almost everything in the plot seems to be quite predictable, I couldn’t prevent to keep on reading, wondering how it was going to end. This novel was included among the 100 best crime & mystery books by H.R.F. Keating
This has been my first encounter with a book by Michael Innes and, bearing in mind it doesn’t belong to the series featuring Inspector Appleby, has leave me a very good taste. I’m sure it won’t be the last of his books that I’m going to read.
My rating: B (I liked it)
About the author: John Innes Mackintosh Stewart 1906 – 1994) was born in Edinburgh, educated at Oxford, and taught English in universities all over the world. His scholarly career includes successful works on Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy, but he is better known as mystery writer Michael Innes, whose legendary character, Inspector John Appleby, inspired a lasting vogue for donnish detective fiction. (Source: Fantastic Fiction)
The New Sonia Wayward (aka The Case of Sonia Wayward) has been reviewed at Mystery File, and at gadetention.
House of Stratus publicity page
El nuevo libro de Sonia de Michael Innes
Descripción del libro: La difícil situación del Coronel Ffolliot Petticate comienza cuando su esposa Sonia, una reconocida novelista, se ahoga durante un viaje en vela por el Canal de la Mancha. Un dramático encubrimiento resulta en una historia dominada por el humor, la ironía y un misterio arrasador.
Mi opinión: Mientras navega por el Canal de la Mancha, Sonia Wayward sufre un ataque al corazón y muere. Sonia Wayward, una aclamada escritora de ficción romántica, estaba sola a bordo junto con su esposo, el coronel Ffolliot Petticate. El coronel Petticate, acostumbrado a la buena vida proporcionada por los ingresos de los libros de su esposa, no puede encontrar una mejor solución que arrojar su cadáver al mar para ocultar su muerte. Él espera hacer creer a todos que su esposa se fue a hacer un viaje alrededor del mundo, confiando en que no será difícil terminar el libro que estaba escribiendo. Al hacerse pasar por ella, espera poder mantener su nivel de ingresos.
He encontrado El nuevo libro de Sonia Wayward una lectura bastante entretenida. Es una comedia de costumbres, con un agudo sentido del humor típicamente británico. Una historia ingeniosa, corta y bien escrita que, a mi modo de ver, refleja muy bien la época en que fue publicada. Una era que estaba llegando a su fin a principios de los sesenta. En este sentido, no creo que uno pueda encontrar un libro más adecuado para representar este año. La historia tiene un buen ritmo y es bastante divertida. A pesar de que casi todo en la trama parece ser bastante predecible, no pude evitar seguir leyendo, preguntándome cómo iba a terminar. Esta novela fue incluida entre los 100 mejores libros de crimen y misterio por H.R.F. Keating.
Este ha sido mi primer encuentro con un libro de Michael Innes y, teniendo en cuenta que no pertenece a la serie protagonizada por el Inspector Appleby, me ha dejado un muy buen sabor de boca. Estoy seguro de que no será el último de sus libros que voy a leer.
Mi valoración: B (Me gustó)
Sobre el autor: John Innes Mackintosh Stewart 1906 – 1994) nació en Edimburgo, se educó en Oxford, y enseñó inglés en universidades de todo el mundo. Su carrera académica incluye obras de éxitos sobre Rudyard Kipling y Thomas Hardy, pero es más conocido como el escritor de misterio Michael Innes, cuyo legendario personaje, el inspector John Appleby, inspiró una moda duradera por una sofisticada y culta novela de detectives.
Film Notes: Arrival (2016) directed by Denis Villeneuve
US / 116 min / Color / 21 Laps Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment, Lava Bear Films. Dir: Denis Villeneuve Pro: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder, David Linde Scr: Eric Heisserer, based on the short story Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang Cine: Bradford Young Mus: Johann Johannsson Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mark O’Brien, Tzi Ma, Abigail Pniowsky, Julia Scarlett Dan Synopsis: Arrival is a provocative science fiction thriller from acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners). When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team – lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) – are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity. Also starring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. (Source: Venice Film Festival) Release Dates: 1 September (Venice Film Festival); 2 September 2016 (Telluride Film Festival); 9 September 2016 (Toronto Film Festival); 23 September 2016 (San Sebastian Film Festival); 18 November 2016 (Spain) Original title: Arrival Spanish title: La llegada IMDb Rating: 8.3
As I announced a few days ago, Begoña and I had the chance to watch Arrival directed by Dennis Villeneuve. I have to say that I’m not particularly fond of science fiction but I was attracted by the name of its director, Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. I’d be lying if I said I thoroughly understood the film. In fact my first impression was I didn’t get bored, but I can assure you I’ve been thinking a great deal about the story and my final verdict is that it’s an impressive film I’ll return to watch it several times. The more I think about this film, I like it most. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I do.
I had only seen three of Denis Villeneuve’s previous films before yet I have been impressed with the diversity of his films, a trend he continues with Arrival. What I really admire about Villeneuve as a filmmaker is the choice he makes to not spoon feed the audience with every single piece of information. He instead makes films to challenge the audience, leaving them to either complete the puzzle themselves or question the morality of his characters. (by bartonj2410 –IMDb User Reviews)
The title in the film, could also refer to two things – the arrival of the visitors or the birth of Dr. Louise’s baby. A fascinating film on all counts. (Review by Gilbert Seah here)
Visionary Quebecois auteur Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario) directs Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in this sci-fi drama about the panic that follows a wave of mysterious spacecraft landings across the globe.
Throughout his film career, acclaimed Canadian director Denis Villeneuve has adapted to different genres, and his latest feature, Arrival, is no exception. Arrivalhonours classic science fiction while also creating something truly original.
When 12 alien spacecraft land around the world, linguistics expert Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams, also appearing at the Festival in Nocturnal Animals) and theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) are recruited by the US military to obtain the answer to one question: “What do they want?” Arriving in Montana, working under the leadership of Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker), Louise and Ian are only remotely aware that their lives and the future of humanity are about to become inextricably linked. As the unlikely pair collaborate to solve this extraterrestrial translation puzzle, 11 other teams around the world are attempting to do the same.
Certain to thrill mainstream moviegoers, cinephiles, sci-fi fans, and linguistics nerds alike, Arrival challenges the notion that technology improves our ability to communicate by focusing on the fundamentals. Villeneuve finds excitement in the details, crafting an atmosphere where dissecting the various components and interpretations of a sentence is as gripping as the first sight of aliens.
Aided by Bradford Young’s arresting cinematography, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s captivating score, and long-time collaborator Patrice Vermette’s minimalist production design, Villeneuve shows masterful control over tone as he creates palpable tension that quietly builds to the film’s powerful conclusion. At once beautiful and haunting, Arrival is an alien movie that is fundamentally human. (Source: Toronto International Film Festival)
Denis Villeneuve was born in Gentilly, Quebec, and studied film at l’Université du Québec à Montréal. His feature Polytechnique (09) received nine Genie Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. His other acclaimed features Un 32 août sur terre (98), Maelström(00), Incendies (10), Prisoners (13), Enemy (13), and Sicario (15) all played the Festival. Arrival (16) is his latest film. (Source: Toronto International Film Festival)
Director’s Statement
Story of Your Life, by Ted Chiang, is a short story that explores with playfulness and poetry the concepts behind the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, the theory that language could change our perception of reality. Screenwriter Eric Heisserer wrote Arrival, inspired by this literary gem. Heptapods visit Earth without apparent reason, while linguists around the World try to understand their purpose. Among them, Dr Louise Banks, who will embrace a new form of humility at the end of this journey. It seems that you can learn from a conversation with Death, beyond silences. I don’t know if Walt Disney took LSD in his life, but I think he would have been intrigued by this trip. (Source: Venice Film Festival)
Film Review: Arrival by rosslangager
The Hollywood Reporter ‘Arrival’ Venice Review
