“Start spreadin' the newsI'm leavin' todayI want to be a part of itNew York, New York.” Well, technically, I leave tomorrow – morning flight, no time to blog – but that’s right! I’m taking my first vacation since summer 2019! Frankly, I’ve never been much of a travelin’ man, but there are two places that … Continue reading A HOLIDAY FROM MURDER
Author: Brad
SHAKEN NOT STIRRED, JUNIOR EDITION: Stuart Gibbs’ Spy School
This will come as a tremendous shock to most of you, but I was a huge nerd in high school! I was a homeroom rep, a member of both The Sherlock Holmes Society and the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Things Club (Soffowitica!), and an avid drama kid who snuck into the choir room with … Continue reading SHAKEN NOT STIRRED, JUNIOR EDITION: Stuart Gibbs’ Spy School
RANKING MARPLE #6: They Do It with Mirrors
“. . . All the things that seemed to be true, were only illusions. Illusions created for a definite purpose – in the same ways that conjurers create illusions, to deceive an audience. We were the audience.” Nobody excelled at misdirection better than Agatha Christie. Her bag of tricks was large and, if it wasn’t infinite, she … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #6: They Do It with Mirrors
HOW TO SURVIVE A CLASSIC CRIME NOVEL
Imagine, if you will, that I was a book reviewer for the New York Times, and my boss – a scarlet-taloned woman named Glenda DeLage – pulls me into her office and purrs: “Bradley, I know your propensity for classic detective fiction. Why don’t you take the newest publication from the British Library, How to Survive … Continue reading HOW TO SURVIVE A CLASSIC CRIME NOVEL
PERRY WALKS THE PLANK: The Case of the Substitute Face
If you select at random any one of the eighty-two novels featuring Perry Mason, you stand a good chance of finding an opening in Mason’s office with secretary Della Street looking over the black-eyed blondes, dangerous dowagers, and haunted husbands looking pacing the reception area, selecting one and then escorting them into Mason’s inner sanctum … Continue reading PERRY WALKS THE PLANK: The Case of the Substitute Face
THE PLAY’S THE THING: Patricia McGerr’s Murder Is Absurd
One of my friend Kate Jackson’s most recent reviews at Cross Examining Crime was Death in a Million Living Rooms by Patricia McGerr. It reminded me that I have a couple of books by McGerr that have been languishing on my shelf, including Murder Is Absurd (1967), which seems to be the one book by this author that Kate … Continue reading THE PLAY’S THE THING: Patricia McGerr’s Murder Is Absurd
MANSION W/7BD, 6B, 4CORPSES, & VIEW: The Mill House Murders
We are only a couple weeks shy of the seventh anniversary of the first time I posted about shin honkaku on this site. Since then, those of us who are extremely grateful for the Japanese obsession with the Golden Age of Detection have reveled in one release after another of both classic honkaku novels from the likes of Soji … Continue reading MANSION W/7BD, 6B, 4CORPSES, & VIEW: The Mill House Murders
COZY IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD: The Cat Saw Murder
It looks like we’re going to have a little run of Dolores Hitchens over at Chez Ah Sweet Mystery this year. Having been introduced to the lady with the dark, fine The Watcher, I found out at Book Club last week that we would be covering The Alarm of the Black Cat in July. This is the second in … Continue reading COZY IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD: The Cat Saw Murder
ACDC, PART ELEVEN: And So To Murder, or The Hollywood Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda
My Book Club decided to read John Dickson Carr last month – one of his best, I must say – but since I had just re-read it a mere – oh, wait, has it been six years already?!? – I decided to return to my long-standing series, A Carter Dickson Celebration. Since it has been almost … Continue reading ACDC, PART ELEVEN: And So To Murder, or The Hollywood Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda
CAN’T SEE MY, CAN’T SEE MY . . . POKER FACE
There are no two ways about it: when it comes to watching TV these days, we are being ripped off. I say this as a curmudgeon who is old enough to remember when entertainment came in twelve channels that cost nothing more than the electricity. Nowadays, this Californian pays Comcast $265/month for my basic cable. This … Continue reading CAN’T SEE MY, CAN’T SEE MY . . . POKER FACE
Ah Sweet Mystery! 