The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): The Three Taps (Miles Bredon #1) by Ronald A. Knox + 50/50 Friday

Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

These are the rules:

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.

I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader.

This week I'm spotlighting my next read as a part of Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge which tasks participants to read a book published between 1900 and 1950. My choice is The Three Taps (Miles Bredon #1) by Ronald A. Knox.  I've picked up quite a few older mystery books pretty recently at antique shops, yard sales, and thrift stores. and this story from 1927 in particular stands out to me.  My copy doesn't have a dust jacket, but it after flipping through it I noticed that the subtitle is "A Detective Story Without A Moral" - that sounds right up my alley. Plus, I didn't realize right away that the "taps" are referring to gas jets from old-fashioned gas lights right away - so that plus seeing what the dust jacket looked like really upped my interest.  This twisting mystery follows an insurance investigator, Miles Bredon, who goes to a small town to investigate a rich man's death.  If it's suicide like he suspects, the company won't have to pay on his large policy, but if it's murder like the lead police detective thinks, the company will have to make a huge payout.  Can I help it if I'm having visions of Double Indemnity meets the old time radio show Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (10 points to Gryffindor if you've ever listened to this show before)!

Beginning:

The principles of insurance, they tell us, were not hidden from our Anglo-Saxon forefathers.  How anybody had the enterprise in those rough-and-tumble days to guarantee a client against "fire, water, robbery or other calamity" remains a problem for the historian; the more so that it appears that mathematical calculations were first applie to the business by the eminent John de Witt.

56:

"Well," she asked, "and what do you think make of Mr. Brinkman?"

"I think he's a bit deep.  I think he knows just a little more about all this than he says.  However, I let him talk,m and did my best to make him think I was a fool."

"That's just what I've been doing with Mr. Pulteney.  At least, I've been playing the ingénue.  I thought I was going to get him to call me "My dear young lady' - I love that; he very nearly did once or twice."

"Did you find him deep?"

"Not in that way.  Miles, I forbid you to suspect Mr. Pulteney; he's my favorite man."

This week I'm also taking part in a brand new linkup called 50/50 Friday, which is hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books.  Every week they'll have a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - this week the topic is Best/ Worst Book You Read In March.

Best: 

Of the thirteen books that I've read (so far) this month four of them have actually been five star reads!

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - I loved all the multiverse, what if scenarios!  I'd love to see a movie or tv adaption of this one.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures - This is a must listen for fans of Doctor Who, particularly David Tennant and Catherine Tate!  They actually narrate most of the stories and really bring it to life!

Fatemarked (The Fatemarked Epic #1) by David Estes - I really lucked out here!  This author's first in a brand new epic fantasy series is wonderful and I has a little bit of everything for everybody.

The Girl with Ghost Eyes (Xian Li-lin #1) - I was completely hooked!  I NEED more of Li-lin, and more historical fantasies like this one!

Worst:

Once Upon a [Stolen] Time (Stolen #1) by Samreen Ahsan - I really tried with this book, but I only ended up giving this read for review "romantic" fantasy fairytale two stars.


As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting below.  Have you read any of these books?  Have you ever heard of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar?  I would be tickled if you've listened to that show before!  Happy Friday everyone!