Read alikes. This is a library term for books that remind one of, have similar topics of, or the same writing style as other well known books and authors. Sometimes these reading suggestions work, sometimes not - it really depends on what qualities the original book/author/story has for you, the reader. In this case I just finished Gaudy Night and had gotten the read alike suggestion of reading the David Roberts' mystery series featuring Edward Cornith and Verity Brown. The first book in the series is Sweet Poison.
Is it Sayers? - No. But is it good? Yes. Roberts' focuses on the same time period 1930's England, and has a male and female lead characters that are working together to solve murders. Roberts actually has a good grasp of the complicated politics that England went through before WWII. Most popular stuff glosses over the fact that there were communists and fascists throughout English society before the war. Many folks did not think Hitler was that bad. Yeah - they don't like to mention that - a bit of embarrassment, really. Regardless, Roberts make the story interesting by having Edward as the aristocrat and Verity is the middle class, communist journalist and in 1935 politics are all over the place and contribute to the tension surrounding the murder.
This book has the classic murder at the grand estate, but after that it shows the much grittier - "real" side of that time period. It wasn’t all glitter and bright young things. Politically, people were still sorting out what it meant to be a communist and how these ideals would play out on the world stage. And the author shares my theory of communism at that time - which if you have ever read Doris Lessing - communism seems like a better system for men than women.
Verity and Edward make a great team, and I look forward to their other adventures…
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