In this perilous age of political craziness, where most of us are shaking our heads and muttering that invaluable Latin phrase, “What the fuuuuuu - ?” (translation: “I am stymied, Marcus Aurelius”), it behooves us to be grateful for small matters. For instance, it’s turning out to be a great time to be alive if … Continue reading IT’S BAAAAAAACK! My First Nominee for “Reprint of the Year”
Author: Brad
“I’VE GOT A LITTLE LIST”
Inspiration strikes a blogger in all sorts of ways. You read or watch or hear something, and it makes you want to take pen to paper and . . . oh, hell! Does anyone take pen to paper anymore? Nowadays inspiration makes your fingers itch to strike the keyboard and let the insight pour forth! … Continue reading “I’VE GOT A LITTLE LIST”
KNIVES OUT: A Mystery Maven’s Perspective
I do have a few friends who care what I have to say about movies. And yet, while I stated right at the startthat I would talk about films in this space, usually when I want to offer an opinion about something I’ve seen, I dash off a paragraph on Facebook. It seems that Ah Sweet … Continue reading KNIVES OUT: A Mystery Maven’s Perspective
AN ACDC INTERLUDE: Introducing Colonel March, Looking Pretty Good in a Pair of Shorts
Those of you who are good enough to follow my adventures through the treasure trove that makes up A Carter Dickson Celebration will know that we last left off in 1938 with The Judas Window. The next novel, Death in Five Boxes – a first timer for me – will follow in due course. Both … Continue reading AN ACDC INTERLUDE: Introducing Colonel March, Looking Pretty Good in a Pair of Shorts
ON THE CLEVERNESS OF CONSTANCE CULMINGTON: Eighty Years of And Then There Were None
This is an analysis/reflection of a classic piece of mystery literature. Be warned that the identity of the murderer and other details salient to the plot will be revealed and discussed. Do not read this post if you have not already read the book. I wonder. I wonder if Collins Crime Club sensed when it … Continue reading ON THE CLEVERNESS OF CONSTANCE CULMINGTON: Eighty Years of And Then There Were None
RICH MAN/POOR MAN/BEGGAR MAN/THIEF: Only One Can Crack the Closed Circle
The butler did it. A few years ago, in what turned out to be a hopeless attempt to keep up with Curtis Evan’s rapid-fire re-introduction of forgotten GAD crime authors to modern audiences, I downloaded works by several of these august personages. My method of choosing was non-scientific: either the title or the blurb caught … Continue reading RICH MAN/POOR MAN/BEGGAR MAN/THIEF: Only One Can Crack the Closed Circle
THE SQUARE PEG/ROUND HOLE CONUNDRUM, or Putting Poirot in His Place
The other day, my buddy Kate at Cross Examining Crime tried to get my goat! This is rich, coming from the woman who raises goats herself! But Kate is also a writer, writers get metaphorical, and knowing what a champion of Agatha Christie I am, Kate saw fit to warn me that not all folks … Continue reading THE SQUARE PEG/ROUND HOLE CONUNDRUM, or Putting Poirot in His Place
THE REIGN OF PAIN STAYS MAINLY IN THE PLANE: Franco Vailati’s The Flying Boat Mystery
Trains and boats and planes are passing by They mean a trip to Paris or Rome For someone else but not for me The trains and the boats and planes Took you away, away from me I’m sure when Burt Bacharach wrote this melancholy song, he never imagined that the thing that “took you away … Continue reading THE REIGN OF PAIN STAYS MAINLY IN THE PLANE: Franco Vailati’s The Flying Boat Mystery
IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF YOU SLAY WITH NO SWING: Finding Murderous Inspiration from the Great American Songbook
When I’m at work, teaching drama students and musical theatre students and film students and credit recovery students (don’t ask!) and producing two musicals and one play a year and acting as department co-chair for the Visual and Performing Arts . . . well, there doesn’t seem to be much time for Golden Age anything! … Continue reading IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF YOU SLAY WITH NO SWING: Finding Murderous Inspiration from the Great American Songbook
ACDC, PART EIGHT: Waving Through the (Judas) Window
For those mystery fans who may be in the dark about the title of this post, it’s a reference to Dear Evan Hansen, the award-winning musical about a lonely boy on the spectrum who one day decides to have a drink with his prospective father-in-law over a game of bows-and-arrows behind the locked door of … Continue reading ACDC, PART EIGHT: Waving Through the (Judas) Window
Ah Sweet Mystery! 