Reading Recommendations: Wallace, Heyer, Jackson Bennet, Allingham

Dear listeners,

Shedunnit has joyfully shaken the dust of social media from its shoes — I truly do not miss it at all — but I still want to have a place for sharing and discussing reading recommendations with you all. And so from now on, on the first Monday of each month, you'll receive this rundown of four books from me and my production assistant Leandra. We will each pick one that we have read recently to review and recommend as well as sharing a title we plan to read in the near future. If you have thoughts or suggestions for us, you can reply directly to this email, or post a comment to be part of a bigger conversation with other readers. Here's what we have going on this month:

Caroline Has Read: The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace

This will be the subject of the next Green Penguin Book Club episode, coming to you later this month, so I picked up this book in preparation for recording with my guest. I think I first read it a long time ago, possibly when I was a teenager, and my memories were that it wasn't great — "a bit of a potboiler" was how I had mentally labelled it. I also think my recollection had been influenced by learning of the fascinating publishing story that surrounds this book (of which there will be much more in the episode, but the gist is that Wallace ran this story as a competition mystery and despite its enormous success managed to bankrupt himself in the process).

Perhaps it is the times we are living through or my deeper understanding of what was happening in crime fiction/thrillers in 1905, but this time around I found myself gripped by this pacy tale of four shadowy vigilantes who seek to punish those who are usually beyond the reach of the law. They come to London to prevent the passage of a bill that would unfairly target a left-wing political activist who has taken refuge from persecution in England. As I read I noted several passages that I felt demonstrated that this book has some interesting things to say about societal systems and fairness, and I'll share one of them with you here:

"The standpoint of the Four is quite a logical one. Think of the enormous power for good or evil often vested in one man: a capitalist controlling the markets of the world, a speculator cornering cotton or wheat whilst mills stand idle and people starve, tyrants and despots with the destinies of nations between their thumb and finger— and then think of the four men, known to none; vague, shadowy figures stalking tragically through the world, condemning and executing the capitalist, the corner maker, the tyrant— evil forces all, and all beyond reach of the law."

I look forward to digging into these themes further on the episode about this book, and to sharing your thoughts about it in the mailbag newsletter that will follow it!

Caroline Will Read: A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer

I am gradually making my way through all of Heyer's twelve detective novels, in order, with the intention of making an episode about them towards the end of 2025. I'm just over halfway through — this is number seven, first published in 1938. My favourite so far is the sharp and witty Behold, Here's Poison from 1936, mostly because it contains a character that I think would fit in well in one of Heyer's Regency novels – a dandy with a languid manner and a heart of gold.

Leandra Has Read: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

One of my favorite reads from 2024 was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett, a Sherlockian fantasy-mystery reimagining of A Study in Scarlet. So, naturally, I would be anticipating the second instalment in this series! Our Holmes character is Anagosa Dolabra, a terrifyingly brilliant investigator for the empire whose goal above all else is to seek truth and justice.

In the Watson tradition, her successes are chronicled through the first-person POV of her far more reserved assistant, Dinios Kol. In this sequel, the duo is sent to investigate a locked-room murder mystery that requires them to unravel empire secrets, engage with smugglers, and catch a killer that is always ten steps ahead of them.

I read A Drop of Corruption as soon as was humanly possible, and it is currently the best mystery that I've read in 2025! The character development is stunning, the discussions of empire and justice are spot on, and the puzzle is intricate and multi-layered. I would argue that Bennett plays fair as well for those readers who require that in their crime fiction. Not to mention, I wholeheartedly feel that one does not have to read the series in publication order. I cannot recommend these books enough!

Leandra Will Read: Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham

Back in May 2024, the Shedunnit Book Club read Black Plumes by Margery Allingham. In preparation for that reading, I purchased a five-book lot of Allingham titles, and Death of a Ghost happened to be among them. Coincidentally, exactly a year later, I am part of another book club that will be reading this latter mystery. I look forward to joining Albert Campion as he yet again steps into the art world. This time around, as he attends the annual unveiling of a painting by the late John Lafcadio, a brutal stabbing steals the spotlight.

I recall enjoying Allingham's tone and narrative style while reading Black Plumes, so I have high hopes for Death of a Ghost!

That's what we've got coming up reading-wise: a Heyer and an Allingham. What are you planning to read this month? Let us know by replying directly or by leaving a comment to join the conversation with other readers.

Until next time,

Caroline

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