Mystery Book Club: After Grafton - The Rise of the Female Detective

For the fall semester, Carole Shmurak will be leading a three part series on the theme An Inspector Calls. An Inspector Calls, a play written by English dramatist J.B. Priestley and first performed in 1946 in the UK, is considered to be one of the classics of mid-20th-century English theatre. Priestley’s inspector had a supernatural, socialist agenda, but our three inspectors — Wexford, Jury, and Morse — have no agendas other than discovering the truth, bringing the criminal to justice, and entertaining the reader.

For the month of September, we will be reading A Sleeping Life by Ruth Rendell. 

 A wallet found in Comfrey's handbag leads Inspector Wexford to Mr. Grenville West, a writer whose plots revel in the blood, thunder, and passion of dramas of old; whose current whereabouts are unclear; and whose curious secretary--the plain Polly Flinders--provides the Inspector with more questions than answers. And when a second Grenville West comes to light, Wexford faces a dizzying array of possible scenarios--and suspects--behind the Comfrey murder.

Carole B. Shmurak, Professor Emerita at Central Connecticut State University, is the author of eleven books, including four mysteries featuring professor/sleuth Susan Lombardi: Deadmistress, Death by Committee, Death at Hilliard High, and Most Likely to Murder. As Carroll Thomas, she co-authored the Matty Trescott novels, one of which (Ring Out Wild Bells) was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. Carole leads monthly mystery groups at the Simsbury, Southington, and Wallingford libraries. Visit her website carole-books.com