Here they are --

Sorry for the delay, but wanted to make sure everybody's line really made it this time!

1. Although he did not see it that way at the time, it was, in the greater scheme of things, fortunate that Cadogan had supped on lobster that Friday night, and consequently could not sleep.
   
   
2. The holiday of the poet Cadogan was progressing ( Read more... )

1. "Oh, damn!" said Lord Peter Wimsey at Piccadilly Circus. "Hi, driver!"
   
   
2. Queen Caroline Mansions was possibly the smallest abode in London to gain that title.
   
   
3. Mr. Alfred Thipps was in a sad state of nervous agitation.
   
   
4. Lord Peter was the epitome of the English gentleman and he ensured that all his friends looked up to him for it.
   
   
5. Lord Peter ( Read more... )

Here are the lines for Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Syles. I'll try to send out reminder posts for the next book, because we aren't getting very many lines.

1. Styles was the sort of household where you played croquet on the lawn on fine afternoons, and then had cucumber sandwiches for tea.
   
2. I have never, to my knowledge, been described ( Read more... )

Here they are -- not too many to choose from this time, though (hint! hint!)

1. Guy had always hated commuting.
   
2. Guy Haines did not consider himself a violent man.
   
3. Guy got on the train with all the usual baggage.
   
4. It was a cold, bright afternoon in April
   
5. "Have I seen you somewhere?"
   
6. The train tore along with an angry, irregular rhythm.

Poll

Votes due ( Read more... )

Here are your choices for the first line of The Jackal's Head:

1. Dust.
   
2. Scarab lady, ten piasters, very cheap, lucky scarab, come from king's tomb, very old, very cheap!
   
3. Crowding with the other passengers at the ship's rail, neither the familiar heat, nor the cries of the hawkers, nor the stench of the harbour could depress my feelings.
   
4. My father ( Read more... )

Our second book is a stand-alone mystery by Elizabeth Peters, The Jackal's Head. This was written before her Amelia Peabody mysteries...

The back:

Althea Tomlinson came back to Egypt as just another tourist, showing the country to a spoiled seventeen year old. That's what she told herself, anyway. Really, though, what drove her was a desire to ( Read more... )

1. Three across, five letters, "Today I hop backwards".
   
2. I can think of a thousand things I'd rather be doing on a Friday night that bathing a cat.
   
3. By James Mackintosh Qwilleran.
   
4. Jim Qwilleran was working on an article for The Daily Fluxion when his cat Kao K’o Kung, a Siamese of usually noble bearing, took exception to the bookcase, and Qwilleran ( Read more... )

Here are your choices, folks! Good luck and Godspeed!

1. On a winter’s day in 1413, just before Christmas, Nicholas Hook decided to commit murder.
   
2. Contrary to popular belief, Nicholas Hook did not begin archery training until after he had been weaned.
   
3. Hook glared at the sheriff, making no secret of his contempt.
   
4. The tree branches dipped South in the ( Read more... )

1. It was a dark, and stormy night.
   
   
2. "The alleys of Merafi are littered with the corpses of men too brave or too foolish to be afraid of ghosts."
   
   
3. Merafi, the renowned, the prosperous, the City of Silence.
   
   
4. At the heart of Merafi there stands a statue.
   
   
5. Even the lieutenant's ghost looked startled as the door slammed shut.
   
   
6. Balance, always balance, is ( Read more... )

OK -- poll fixed. Could everybody please re-vote? Thanks!

Hi all -- I've done some rearranging of lines, since I reminded a couple of people by name!

1. Every man will tell you that there is no sight more beautiful than his own home, but on this morn I truly believed that I was correct in that assumption.
   
2. I was prepared for my journey to be long ( Read more... )