So, I'm sure this is old news to anyone who cares about this sort of thing, but I just found out that Dick Francis's son Felix is writing "Dick Francis novels" and has been for some time. Anyone have an opinion on those? I have been vaguely feeling whatever Dick Francis I missed (which could be a lot as I only ever read what I came across in used book stores) and now I'm wondering if I should explore these as well, or only after I am "caught up", or maybe don't bother.

For context, if you need it, I am entirely against the new Poirot novels without bothering to read any of them, just the concept seems very wrong to me. I have read a couple of post-M C Beaton Hamish Macbeth books, which I hated. I read all of the Jill Paton Walsh Wimsey books (because, I am sorry to say, I really like the covers and that is one adage I just cannot seem to follow) and I do not approve of many of her choices. I don't even want to talk about Brian Herbert. But I think Christopher Tolkien has been doing the lord's work.

I feel the same way about the guy who writes new Nero Wolfe stories. They're fine? But the heart isn't there.

There are some pretty good Nero Wolfe pastiches/homages I have come across, although I am not super familiar with the originals. I don't know why whoever makes these decisions thinks continuations are necessary.

I think the last Dick Francis novel I liked was To The Hilt.

I bounced off the next two. I think I tried one of his son's novels, but bounced off that too. That was a long time ago.

That's helpful, thanks

Trying to remember what Nero Wolfe ish things I am thinking of, because there was something quite recent. There are the short stories that have been running in Ellery Queen for a while where the Archie character is an AI that inhabits a tie pin. I like those but I think they are transitioning into being spy stories rather than mysteries. And there's the one Libby Cudmore that was not in Ellery Queen, what's it called, Alibi in Ice. But there was something else, I am almost certain, that somebody described as Sherlockian that someone else corrected to Nero Wolfe and I was like, oh, right, I get that now but I can't remember what it was. This is gonna bug me.

I read a couple of the books Dick Francis wrote with his son, and they seemed off. Something in the tone felt wrong, so I stopped reading them.

I read something where the author completed a Chandler ms and I thought it was pretty good. I think it was called something like "Poodle Springs".

Robert B. Parker (of the Spencer mysteries) finished "Poodle Springs".

Oh, noting that on my detective fiction spreadsheet. I’m a little stalled out in early John Dickson Carr but I’ll get to Chandler eventually.

I’m reading The Left-handed Book Sellers of London and really enjoying it.

Thanks for mentioning, Calli! I bounced off the first Nix I sampled so I wasn’t going to read this despite the intriguing titkle, but I checked my library when you posted about it and they had it as an audiobook so I am listening to it now and quite into it