This is really a special event! For the first time, Paul Halter is releasing his newest work in English before it is published in French. And while the new book, The Gold Watch, er, clocks in at a typical 178 pages, its scope is nothing short of epic. Divided into two narratives - yet essentially … Continue reading TIC-TAC! TIC-TAC!: Paul Halter’s The Gold Watch
Author: Brad
AND WAS IT ALL WORTH IT IN THE END?
Post Number Three Hundred brings out the big existential question. The one you ask on your deathbed . . . the one you ask after you’ve shelled out fifty bucks on eBay for an obscure 1940’s mystery that some wanker said on his blog was a “must have” and “worth the search and expense” and … Continue reading AND WAS IT ALL WORTH IT IN THE END?
“ALL BIOGRAPHY IS STORY-TELLING” – Agatha Christie, A Mysterious Life
“And so the story endures, infinitely fascinating; and those who would lay it to rest, who would destroy its beauty by ‘solving’ it, are defeated at every turn.” This key statement comes at the center of Agatha Christie, A Mysterious Life, Laura Thompson’s remarkable biography of the author, which was published last year and which … Continue reading “ALL BIOGRAPHY IS STORY-TELLING” – Agatha Christie, A Mysterious Life
FALLING STAR/RISING STAR: The Opening Night Murders by James Scott Byrnside
For a long time, my pal JJ has taken a strong interest in modern authors who self-publish impossible crime mysteries. Sometimes things do not work out so well, but once in a while an author hits the mark. Clearly the most exciting discovery JJ has made thus far has been James Scott Byrnside. If you … Continue reading FALLING STAR/RISING STAR: The Opening Night Murders by James Scott Byrnside
THE IRONIC FRAGILITY OF THE JAW-DROPPER ENDING
They are the solutions that you can’t forget, no matter how much you try. You desperately want to re-read and experience that delicious jolt you got the first time, but you can’t. There’s something so original or special or boundary-breaking about these books that often they end up at the top of many “best of” … Continue reading THE IRONIC FRAGILITY OF THE JAW-DROPPER ENDING
THE EYES HAVE IT: Christie and Hitchcock and the Point of View
So much has been written about my favorite filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock – more than any other director, living or dead – that I would be hard-pressed to come up with any original thoughts about his life or work. That's because the French, including fellow auteur Francois Truffaut, elevated Hitchcock’s oeuvre from “mere” entertainment to art. … Continue reading THE EYES HAVE IT: Christie and Hitchcock and the Point of View
HONING YOUNG MINDS . . . TO MURDER!!!!!! – The 2019 Mystery Project
I have spoken before in this space about how every spring I twist my drama students’ arms offer my drama students a wonderful opportunity to create their own GAD-styled mystery plays! or else! This year is no exception. After whetting their script-writing whistles on the Peter Ustinov version of Evil Under the Sun (nobody in either class … Continue reading HONING YOUNG MINDS . . . TO MURDER!!!!!! – The 2019 Mystery Project
THIRTEEN EGYPTIANS SAT DOWN TO DINE: Christie’s Death Comes As the End
When we talk about Death Comes as the End, Agatha Christie’s 1944 tour de force set in ancient Egypt, conversation hovers around personal opinion about how well Christie balanced the mass of detail in this, the first ever historical mystery novel, with her trademark GAD plotting. But now that the book is about to receive its first … Continue reading THIRTEEN EGYPTIANS SAT DOWN TO DINE: Christie’s Death Comes As the End
BRAD BESTS BREXIT: or, My Summer Plans
Purely by happenstance, over the last three-four years, I have embarked on two life-changing projects: I became a blogger, and I began to learn how to play bridge. So, bridge . . . well, did you know that the average age of an American bridge player is 72? A great many of the people I … Continue reading BRAD BESTS BREXIT: or, My Summer Plans
ACDC, PART FIVE/FIRST LET’S TALK ABOUT WATSONS: The Unicorn Murders
That GAD staple, the eccentric genius detective, has the potential to be obnoxious. His eccentricities can quickly grow tiresome, and his brilliance at sleuthing is too often accompanied by unmitigated ego or a reticence for explanation that can annoy readers as much as it infuriates the fictional policeman. This is why many classic authors took … Continue reading ACDC, PART FIVE/FIRST LET’S TALK ABOUT WATSONS: The Unicorn Murders
Ah Sweet Mystery! 