The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath (Heinemann, 1963)
audiobook read by Maggie Gyllenhaal (Faber & Faber, 2015)
Heavily descriptive, albeit the slathered-on imagery (a poet throwing herself at prose) does serve as a tracing agent in charting mental illness. An unsatisfying novel, difficult to separate from its affecting autobiographical content. Gyllenhaal’s audiobook reading renders it at least somewhat accessible.
Agaton Sax and the London Computer Plot
by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (André Deutsch, 1973)
[from Agaton Sax och den svällande rotmos-affären, 1970]
![Book cover: “Agaton Sax and the London Computer Plot” by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (André Deutsch, 1973) [from Agaton Sax och den svällande rotmos-affären, 1970]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Franzen_Agaton-Sax_London-Computer-Plot.jpg)
Agaton Sax once again comes up against The Boss and his ineffectual, scramble-talking gang. While the Swedish detective’s much-vaunted mastery doesn’t really hold water on this occasion, the pseudo-portentous, faux-mysterious comings-and-goings will nonetheless keep young readers amused (and delving into the genre).
The Second Form at Malory Towers
by Enid Blyton (Methuen, 1947)
audiobook read by Beth Eyre (Bolinda, 2021)
Second Form introduces new characters and shifts the viewpoint away from Darrell (embracing an omniscient narrative). While the plot mirrors that of First Term, the girls have turned thirteen and the shading is less innocent. Thus the series grows alongside its readers.
A Murder is Announced
by Agatha Christie (Collins Crime Club, 1950)
audiobook read by Joan Hickson (Lamplight, 2015)
Christie dollops out distinct, often irreverent personalities, and fashions an engaging murder mystery, albeit the scenario hangs on an unnaturally compressed timeline (to which the reader is only belatedly made privy). The omniscient narrative allows for different angles of sleuthing and deception.
Terry Nation’s Dalek Special
ed. Terrance Dicks (Target, 1979)
The odd typesetting gives this a fanzine appearance, as if Dicks has cut-and-pasted his material from elsewhere. Includes a potted Dalek history, random Dalek puzzles and photographs (B&W), and a truly amateurish (more nonsensical than ever) MG story courtesy of Terry Nation.
The Last Rose of Summer
by Steve Gallagher (Corgi, 1978)
Gallagher’s first novel—an adaptation of his own radio series—is a ropey SF piece that displays none of the writerly craft or voice so evident in later works. The grim societal pessimism is there but even this element lacks for subtlety.
The Golden Slipper, and Other Problems for Violet Strange
by Anna Katharine Green (1915)
audiobook read by Shelly Frasier (Tantor, 2009) [as “Mystery Stories of Violet Strange”]
![Book cover: “The Golden Slipper, and Other Problems for Violet Strange” by Anna Katharine Green (1915); audiobook read by Shelly Frasier (Tantor, 2009) [as “Mystery Stories of Violet Strange”]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Green_Mystery-Stories-of-Violet-Strange.jpg)
This collection of detective novelettes holds up quite well, though their virtue lies more in the refined telling than in the mystery element (which often relies on highly improbable concatenations) or denouements (which generally lack catharsis). Violet herself makes a memorable impression.
The Professionals #11: Spy Probe
by Ken Blake (Sphere, 1981)
Kenneth Bulmer returns to the house pseudonym and churns out a two-story tie-in novelisation as lopsided as its predecessor (by Robert Holdstock). Very shoddy prose and the second episode is barely an afterthought, though the first is a diverting enough, action-packed instalment.
Parting Breath
by Catherine Aird (Collins, 1977)
audiobook read by Robin Bailey (Audible, 2014)
The mystery is mostly a snooze-fest, unearthing itself to no great interest or enlightenment amidst the tangle of university life (laboriously depicted). The chief—indeed, only real—appeal lies in Sloan’s self-aware musings and stoically borne verbal exchanges with Crosby and Leeyes.
Moving Pictures
by Terry Pratchett (Victor Gollancz, 1990)
audiobook read by Jason Isaacs (Penguin, 2023)
The Discworld’s manifestation of Hollywood is funny moment-by-moment but something of a one-note spoof, offering little substance behind the humorous allusions and in-jokes (though maybe this is apt). As if to paper over the cracks, Pratchett throws in some utterly superfluous wizarding.