I have been a member of The Mystery and Thriller Club for a few years now, although this has not been a not continuous membership. I have joined, resigned, then joined again and again... I’m obviously a sucker for punishment or a lover of a bargain, I don’t know which!
I usually sign up ... Read review
Advantages: Cheap books initially Disadvantages: Not much choice
...have been a member of The Mystery and Thriller Club for a few years now, although this has not been a not continuous membership. I have joined, resigned, then joined again and again... I’m obviously a sucker for punishment or a lover of a bargain, I don’t know which!
I usually sign up for the club again when they send me an offer through the post, which is too good to miss. It usually involves buying 5 to 6 books for a tiny amount ... ...is sent to you via the club magazine.
Club magazine
The M&T Club magazine, is a small catalogue, with about 15 or so pages. It contains an assortment of books with a mysterious or thrilling element, hence the mystery and thriller title, clever eh? Your obligation is to buy at least one book from that magazine to honour your club commitment. Four magazines are then sent to you in the course of your membership.
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I have been a member of The Mystery and Thriller Club for a few years now, although this has not been a not continuous membership. I have joined, resigned, then joined again and again... I’m obviously a sucker for punishment or a lover of a bargain, I don’t know which!
I usually sign up for the club again when they send me an offer through the post, which is too good to miss. It usually involves buying 5 to 6 books for a tiny amount of money. I chose 6 books, got a free blue holdall/weekend bag and a piece of card masquerading as a bookmark, as my free gift (this was because I had ordered my books online) all for under £5! Bargain you may think, but there is a catch. You are then committed to buying four more books. This seems fine at first, until you realise that you have to buy one book every month, which is sent to you via the club magazine.
Club magazine
The M&T Club magazine, is a small catalogue, with about 15 or so pages. It contains an assortment of books with a mysterious or thrilling element, hence the mystery and thriller title, clever eh? Your obligation is to buy at least one book from that magazine to honour your club commitment. Four magazines are then sent to you in the course of your membership.
Then, in my experience, they stop sending them to you, and your membership is automatically cancelled or expired. You then have the option to rejoin 6 months later. You will know when that 6-month period has expired, as you tend to receive letters through the post urging you to renew your membership. Each one has an attractive offer to sway your judgement and a free gift is waved under your nose to tempt you even further. Who could resist a lovely travel holdall? I have about 20 in an assortment of colours – well it feels like that anyway!
The magazine contains an array of authors such as Lee Child, Patricia Cornwall, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Robin Cook, Jeffery Deaver, John Grisham and James Patterson.
In amongst your club magazine there are also other smaller catalogues with a selection of fiction and non-fiction titles, and they do not necessarily come under the mystery or thriller genre. Be warned though, some sale catalogues they send through the post do not count towards your club commitment. They do let you know this, but it is written in very small writing at the bottom of the page, and you really have to search for it.
Editors choice
Every month in the club magazine there is an editors choice, which usually consists of two books around the £18 mark. These books will automatically be sent to you unless you either phone the company, cancel online or order an alternative. There’s no getting away from it – YOU WILL ORDER A BOOK THIS MONTH! Scary. And annoying. Especially when they send you a magazine with hardly any choice, which is what has happened on several occasions. They are full of authors that I do not know or have not heard of. I suppose it allows you to sample a different type of author, as I tend to stick to the same writers, which can be a bit restrictive.
Post and packaging
You do have to pay for delivery. It is £2.99 (if you order online or £3.29 if you order via snail mail), which ups the amount you have to pay. I chose the editors choice last month and my package came to £20.97. Unlike some mail order catalogues, you cannot pay in instalments.
Quality of books
Unfortunately the quality of the actual books they send you is not very good. The books are smaller than the usual hardbacks which are in the shops. The paper is of a very poor quality. It is rough and a darker shade of white than the norm. It’s a bit like that toilet paper you used to get at school which said: Now wash your hands.
Prices
Most of the books are about £10.99, with some retailing at anything between £7.99 and upwards. Sometimes you can find a deal such as £9.98 for two, although this counts as one choice towards club commitment
Website
http://www.mysterythriller.co.uk
The M&T website allows you to manage your account online. It is a well-managed site with links that include:
Bookstore, DVD/Video, Software and Games, 2 books for £5 and music.
The website also allows you to browse through previous club magazines.
Other advantages to the website are:
You can order books and make payments online. You can also save 30p if you order your selections online. Excerpts from authors are included onsite.
Contact information
The Mystery and Thriller Club Guild house Farnsby Street Swindon SN99 9XX
Customer careline: Tel: (0870) 1650264
I’ve painted a rather bleak picture, but I really do enjoy receiving my books through the post every month. I have rejoined this site several times, which means that I am quite a loyal customer. I know the pros and cons, and I keep coming back for more, so it isn’t all-bad. I think that it is a clever marketing ploy, getting you to buy 6 books at a really bargain price, then scraping their money back by charging you for other books. They know that you are committed, and that you will have to buy a further quota of books before your membership expires. The website and small print on the documentation all state, that if you fail to honour your membership then you are liable to pay the full price for the books which you obtained when joining.
All in all I would recommend this site, as it allows you to build up a collection of hard back books which are considerably cheaper than if you buy them in the high street. However, if you just read them, then store them away unnoticed, then I would probably recommend waiting until them come onto paperback.
...have been a member of the Mystery and Thriller club for years now, but that's not to say a continuous member.I initially joined as the offer i received through the door seemed to good to be true.You could buy five books for 20p each, and get a book free, well with an offer this good i would be a fool to resist, so i joined.
~It took about two weeks for my books to arrive, and i was really pleased with them they were all in hardback,and original ... ...these virtually free books.By accepting the books on offer you have to agree to buy at least four books in the following year, but since i first joined they have changed it,you now have to buy at least one book from each issue of their next four magazines.So you still have to buy four books, but this way they get you to buy them straight away.
~The magazines are sent to you every month so within four months you have bought all the books you needed ...
kaztaz 22.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Mystery & Thriller Club
Advantages: Cheap, good range of books Disadvantages: Small (Club editons), slow
I've been a member with the M&T guild for about 5 years on and off.
In that time I've got scores of books from them and I've been happy with it about 99% of the time.
The introductory offers vary depending on if you've been a member before (If you have they often try to tempt you back with a great offer such as 6 books for a penny etc) or where you get the advert from.
The offers range from four to six books for a few pence to five for a quid ... ...what offer you took. Read the small print when applying).
It can take from two to four weeks for your books to be delivered.
Once you have joined you will be sent a Club Magazine once a month with details of all the new books on offer.
Along with this you will be sent a letter detailing your account activity and at the bottom will be an Editors Choice.
You can accept or reject this in a number of ways.
If you want to cancel it you can put a ...
Calldean 13.10.2003 (06.11.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Mystery & Thriller Club
Advantages: Good value over time Disadvantages: Expensive
I joined the mystery and thriller club about 6 months ago. The club offers a selection of horror and murder mystery books at reduced prices. The books are hardback versions of the publications and cost about half the retail price or the same as what you would pay for paperbacks. I have got 2 harback books that do not seem to be available as paperbacks (yet at least). The aims of the club are to bring to the reader the best on offer of horror and ... ...at knockdown prices. Some of the books will be new releases and others not yet available in UK shops. The range is fairly good, mainly murder mysteries and horror with some other books thrown in of mixed variety, such as documentary style or off topic books by well known authors and also celebrity biographies. There is also a good selection of historical novels.
When you join special offers are available such as free books but the terms say you ...
damien.gallery 12.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Mystery & Thriller Club
Advantages: great introductory offers, available online or post Disadvantages: need to remember to choose a book or reject editors choice
...off for around two years. The introductory offers are great and once you've fulfilled your committment you can cancel your membership and rejoin usually 6 months later (and choose introductory offer again!!) The committment is usually to choose at least one book from the next 4 club magazines which for an avid book reader of this genre will surely not be a problem. The book prices range from around five pounds to 20 pounds for a set. They have a ... ...guilty of is sending you the so called "editors choice" if you either forget to send in your order or are too late rejecting it and this club is just the same. The only saving grace is that usually the editors choice will be something you'll actually be interested in reading as they are usually the latest mystery/ thriller releases.
It is also one of the most easily accessible clubs via internet post or telephone (and you definately CAN speak to ...
carolannjo 10.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Mystery & Thriller Club
Advantages: cheap books (or so you think) Disadvantages: rubbish customer services, do not know how to handle queries
...I have just got off the phone with this club for the hundredth time and I am fuming. I used this club initially to help with a course at college which was approximately a year ago. I received the books fine, no problems, 5 for 5p each, paid off. I moved house and told the club of my change of address. I still received post from them etc. One day I received a letter from a debt collection agency saying that I owed approx. £70 to this company. Apparently ... ...query all of this. Apparently the books had been sent to my previous address, so I wasnt even given the option to send them back. The lady did not apologise for their mistake. I was sent out a form where I wrote out the names of the books I had not received etc and sent it back, then I would be able to choose four books or pay £50 which would enable me to cancel my membership. Cheeky gits. I have received no magazines since, and to be honest I forgot ...
trashyelia 16.09.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Mystery & Thriller Club
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