Murderess Ink: The Better Half of the Mystery (1979) by Dilys Winn
A companion book to Murder Ink, which featured mysteries of all sorts, this volume focused exclusively on the feminine side of the genre: victims/sleuths/culprits/authors. I enjoyed the articles which highlight authors such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Josephine Tey, and Ruth Rendell (among others). And I also appreciated that a great number of the pieces were written by detective novelists themselves. Less enjoyable were some of the pieces that were written as if one were in the midst of one mystery or another or which framed ordinary events (such as a luncheon among mystery writers) as mysterious or top-secret affairs. These bits seemed either forced or too coy (and sometimes both). Coming to the book decades after it was written probably didn't help--some of it seems very dated. But there is still a great deal of interesting information and I even managed to glean a few more titles to add to my always-growing "To Be Found" list. ★★★
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