Listener 4205 Murder Mystery 2 by Gos

[Ruthrobin]

Just two hours to fill this grid but then we had some grid staring to complete the endgame. Still, it was good to have a set of simple clues and an easy romp for a change after some we have seen this summer.

[IainGrace]

All the best, Walterloo. Going for the Booker prize rather than the more modest Listener.......

[emcee]

Still puzzling with this one -- I own enough of the author's books and still haven't got the title!

Mike/ Walterloo, sincere best wishes for your literary future. I'm sure we will all miss your input here.

emcee

[starwalker]

Walterloo - it's always sad to lose someone. But I/we do wish you every success.

[Coalminers]

Walterloo....sorry to lose you. But come back on to Answerbank and give us the details of your hard labour so we can enjoy them and so you can enjoy your readership.
I see Simon Long has yet another BRB to compensate for his recent Tayras slip up. I wonder what he does with them all.
Did 95% of this one on a train with no reference at all. That's a record for me, so it can't have been too challenging.
I solved an old Listener last week...the one with least correct soltuions in 2008 (10 by 8 I think). And then had a look on the Answerbank thread afterwards, which was quite enlightening. So much was being given away in the comments, and so many people were getting very wound up about it. I'm pleased to say I do think things have improved considerably.

[IainGrace]

emcee, the final resolution is clever and appropriately thematic to the genre, as the rubric indicates.

[jim360]

I know what you meant about the time, Walterloo - I have a lot on my hands at the moment so it's not too much of an issue, but I've had to stop doing these now and then when it's taking too long. Hope your books do well - don't be afraid to do a bit of shameless self-promoting here!

I suppose the best way to judge the level of difficulty might be to note that the only clue I really struggled with was that pesky 32d. I don't normally complete these things so quickly but there was steady, fast progress through most of the grid.

I've had a good weekend when it comes to crosswords... completed the Listener/ Times Jumbo/ Prize Crossword trio for the first time.

[Walterloo]

Thanks everybody for your comments and encouraging thoughts. You've made me realise that being a regular on here is like being part of a family. One that's very hard to say goodbye to.

My best wishes to all.

[crosswhit99]

Hopefully not goodbye, but see you sometime Waterloo ?

Has anybody else spotted a second detective from the same author in the grid - surely not a red herring ?

[contendo]

Does anyone have problems with 33d? The obvious answer must be a red herring, yet I can't see an alternative.

[jim360]

keep cracking on with it, contendo, all will become clear...

Yes, there are a few red herrings in the grid - so some nice construction because of that. But there's only one sensible way to highlight the grid.

[logophile]

... don't forget the jumbled entries contendo

[AndrewG-S]

First off sorry to see go Waterloo, do keep us updated with your literary achievements. Maybe you will be reappearing as a theme in a crossword some day!
As regards this one I thought the surface reading of the clues was excellent, but sadly this did impact the challenge which in many cases was not up to normal standard.
Found the word search a bit of a pain, but my usual tactics eventually worked. For those who are struggling I recommend I) scan the grid and see if any words jump out II) look at the unches in the grid and see if these result in any words Iii) look for odd letters in what might be the highlighting and see if these appear in the grid. These simply reflect my normal approach so not a particular hint on this puzzle.
Thanks gos.

[teuchter2]

Got 4204 finished today after being away all week leaving one clue unfinished. I have a full grid bar one (32d - as I can't find anything in my BRB, which is not the latest edition I presume it is involved in the word jumbling in some way). I haven't tried the denoument yet as busy packing to go away again tomorrow. I have printed out a list of titles and will take it with me. I haven't really enjoyed this one, and felt it was too easy to find the author, as having more than one name considerably lessens the possibilities.

[contendo]

Thanks Jim & Logophile, I'm getting there slowly. Teuchter2 - you need to consider what is missing in the latest BRB which was present in previous editions.

[emcee]

I've finally found the title! I was relying too much on my incomplete knowledge of this author's works and my nearly complete collection of his novels -- S*d's Law dictates that one of the few I don't have was the one needed here.

For anyone struggling as I was: get a list of the author's novels from Wikipedia; the preamble will allow you to narrow down the possibilities tremendously.

I thought it was an interesting puzzle, some clues were barely Telegraph standard and others were very tough indeed. Thanks Gos.

[trux]

Had much on the go this weekend but this fortunately didn't take too long ... was pleasant, gridfill unchallenging perhaps, endgame more tricky to spot (especially since subject matter was completely new to me). Particularly liked the & Lit 56d (which deserved the traditional ? at end). So thanks to Gos for enjoyment and enlightenment (and au revoir, not final goodbye, to Walterloo).

[jumperjudy]

Started this yesterday, and after a rapid start, have now come to what appears to be halt. I'm finding the variation in clue difficulty quite taxing- when the answer seems simple, experience tells me I'm usually wrong. I have the author and I thought the nickname, but as yes no entries to jumble, so I'm probably up the wrong tree, yet again. Not sure I'll persevere with this.

[jim360]

Don't worry too much, judy - there aren't too many entries that need jumbling so you're probably on the right lines.

[perseverer]

Well I was going to ask if anyone out there is familiar with the author - completely new to me - but emcee clearly is, for one. You can't say you don't learn by doing the Listener!

[jumperjudy]

Thanks Jim. My worry is that I can't find a solution for the only one that I thought needed jumbling, but I'm sure it will come clear eventually - it usually does :)