CADS

CADS stands for a periodical called Crime and Detective Stories, ‘an irregular magazine of comment and criticism about crime and detective stories,’ to use the editor’s own words. It arrives through my letter-box around twice a year and and as I never know when it is going to appear, it always comes as a pleasant surprise. There is nothing quite like it. It is not glossy, there are hardly any illustrations, and I love it. The current issue contains articles on Hilda Lawrence, Georgette Heyer, Sherlock Holmes and the bankers, crime stories featuring Christmas and the New Year, Anthony Gilbert (a favourite of my mother’s) and much, much more. Ever heard of the crime thrillers of T. Arthur Plummer? Me neither until the current CADS. It is written by afficionados for afficionados. Contemporary crime fiction isn’t neglected. There are reviews of new fiction, and once a year there is a round-up of the year’s highlights, and there is an interview with a contemporary crime writer on the back page. But the emphasis is on writers of the past and no-one is too long-forgotten or obscure to be thought worthy of mention.
It has been going for twenty-five years, published and edited by Geoff Bradley, a true labour of love if ever there was one. I discovered a copy in Murder One bookshop a few years ago and wish I’d found it sooner. I’ve been a subscriber for around five years now and it couldn’t be simpler. You join the mailing list and with the magazine comes a form for ordering the next issue which you send back with payment for the current one (only £5.75 including postage at present. It really is a bargain). Long may CADS – and Geoff – flourish. If you want your own copy write to him at 9 Vicarage Hill, South Benfleet, Essex, SS7 1PA.