My annual Secret Santa book exchange is often a lesson in SUSPENSE!!!! That’s because most of the participants in our game live across the water, and you never know exactly when the package will arrive!! Imagine my SHOCK!!!! when I received a MYSTERIOUS!!!! package in early October and discovered a stack of objects ensconced in cheerful Christmas wrappings. … Continue reading ‘TIS THE SEASON . . . FOR SPOOKY SANTA!
Author: Brad
THE POIROT PROJECT #13: Hallowe’en Party
“’Someone, you know, someone had shoved her head down into the water with the apples. Shoved her down and held her there, so that she was dead, of course. Drowned. Drowned. Just in a galvanized iron bucket, nearly full of water. Kneeling there, sticking her head down to bob at an apple. I hate apples,’ said … Continue reading THE POIROT PROJECT #13: Hallowe’en Party
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 11
We’re coming close to the end of our 36-film list of films noir for our upcoming Noirvember draft. (Here’s the entire list.) And, as often happens when you reach the end, we’re finding ourselves at the bottom of the glass, swimming through the dregs. Women’s Prison There’s something special about a women’s prison picture, where a virtual … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 11
MASON MONKEY BUSINESS, PT. 1: The Case of the Grinning Gorilla
Della to Perry: “Well, you certainly took a button and sewed a vest on it!” On my journey through the Perry Mason Menagerie, I approached the Hall of Monkeys with some trepidation. Part of this had to do with a personal experience that I’ll share with you next month, but mostly it was all about timing. … Continue reading MASON MONKEY BUSINESS, PT. 1: The Case of the Grinning Gorilla
BOOK CLUB IS FRENCH-IFIED: The Affair at Little Wokeham
The spirits of R. Austin Freeman and Baroness Orczy and E. C. Bentley may eternally wonder why the year 1920 is used to mark the start of the Golden Age of Detection, since they had been publishing detective stories since 1907, 1908, and 1913, respectively. But these writers have faded into obscurity, while 1920 marked … Continue reading BOOK CLUB IS FRENCH-IFIED: The Affair at Little Wokeham
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART TEN
We’re only a month away from our draft of the Top 13 Films Noirs of 1955. I’m busy compiling my list, and I’m sure my co-drafters Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo are doing the same. I’ve seen a few masterpieces, a lot of solid noir, and some real, er, dreck. The question is: what’s ahead for me in the final … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART TEN
PLAYING THE GAME, PART TWO: The Killer Question (Plus, Ah Sweet Mystery’s Monday Pub Quiz!!!)
And now to open the second box . . . “I’m flattered our quiz means so much to you - it means a lot to me, as you know - but perhaps enjoy it for what it is, an entertaining evening out with friends, rather than focus on winning?” “Winning is everything, Mal. Why take part … Continue reading PLAYING THE GAME, PART TWO: The Killer Question (Plus, Ah Sweet Mystery’s Monday Pub Quiz!!!)
PLAYING THE GAME, PART I: You’re the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder, a Solve-It-Yourself Mystery
Having just read about The Murder Game, I was eager to play it. Nowadays, I’ll admit that I tend to read mysteries more passively, allowing the twists and turns of a puzzle to wash over me and hoping against hope that, come the denouement, I will be surprised. But John Curran’s new book reawakened the eleven-year-old armchair … Continue reading PLAYING THE GAME, PART I: You’re the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder, a Solve-It-Yourself Mystery
LUCID, LUDIC AND WELL-CLUED: The Murder Game, by John Curran
Recently, I shared photos with you as evidence of my wall to wall to wall to wall assortment of mystery books. Interspersed amongst the novels and plays and story collections are books about mystery fiction. There are the historical, like Martin Edwards’ The Golden Age of Murder i(2015), the critical, like Julian Symons’ Mortal Consequences (in Britain Bloody Murder, 1973) and the playful, like Dilys … Continue reading LUCID, LUDIC AND WELL-CLUED: The Murder Game, by John Curran
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 9
As we turn to nine more films this month on our 36-film-list that will form the basis of my Noirvember ’55 Top 13 Films Noirs Draft, my own personal list of favorites is starting to take shape. I only get to select four or five titles on the final draft, but if Sergio or Nick play one … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 9
Ah Sweet Mystery! 