The holidays have oddly aligned this year. Today it’s Hanukkah, tomorrow is Christmas Eve/Mom’s Birthday, Wednesday it’s Christmas, and we (pun intended) wrap it all up on Thursday with Boxing Day/Kwanzaa. And let’s not forget that Saturday was the winter solstice, containing the longest night of the year, followed yesterday by a festival marking the … Continue reading A HOLIDAY BLESSING, or Why I’m Not Going to See CATS
Author: Brad
THE REPRINT THAT JJ WILL LOVE: The Honjin Murders
Right now, we are in the throes of Kate’s Second Annual Best Reprint of the Year poll, and Kate has roped some of her fellow bloggers to post one or two selections from which all readers can select a winner. If, for some uncanny reason, you have decided not to vote for my first selection, … Continue reading THE REPRINT THAT JJ WILL LOVE: The Honjin Murders
IT’S BAAAAAAACK! My First Nominee for “Reprint of the Year”
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”
“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
Ah Sweet Mystery! 