“It’s time I got to work. I have an idea I’d like to gumshoe a bit around the room in which Sutton departed this life. We may not find footprints in the snow, but there are always the forgotten calling card and the initialed handkerchief to be hoped for. Secondly, I have a growing curiosity … Continue reading OF SLEUTHING AND SNOBBERY: The Return of Roger Scarlett
Author: Brad
A CANADIAN, AN ENGLISHMAN, AND AN AMERICAN WALK INTO A BAR . . .
I’ve spoken before about how much I love the sense of community within this GAD blogosphere! We all work with due deliberation on our posts because a. we’ve got something to say, and b. we want to hear what others think about what we think! (Did you get that?) Recently, my pals JJ and Noah … Continue reading A CANADIAN, AN ENGLISHMAN, AND AN AMERICAN WALK INTO A BAR . . .
YOUR FAVORITE WHODUNIT FILM: A Teacher’s Plea for Assistance!
People of the blogosphere, I need your help. For the latter third of each fall semester, I discuss film genres with my “Cinema and Society” class. Their final project is to create a 5 – 10 minute film in which they choose a fairy tale and give it the genre treatment. Some great examples from … Continue reading YOUR FAVORITE WHODUNIT FILM: A Teacher’s Plea for Assistance!
(MIS)DIRECTED BY AGATHA CHRISTIE
I want to apologize for having been scant in my posting recently. When you’re a high school drama teacher, things get pretty intense around showtime, and the title I selected for our fall musical, Disaster, was so chock full of special effects that putting it together took more of my energy than I thought it … Continue reading (MIS)DIRECTED BY AGATHA CHRISTIE
POINT ME IN THE RIGHT MISDIRECTION (Part Two: The Magician and the Empress)
You’re looking up at the slide and thinking: Wow! Brad’s top two mystery authors are . . . Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene! (Whom I think are the same person . . . or syndicate . . . or something.) Did you ever imagine a blogger would finally give these authors their due? Actually, … Continue reading POINT ME IN THE RIGHT MISDIRECTION (Part Two: The Magician and the Empress)
THE SEVEN BLUNDERS OF THE SEVEN WONDERS OF CRIME
I want to make it clear right from the start. I have nothing against ambition. They called the Wright Brothers foolhardy for imagining they could fly. Yet this real-life Daedalus and Icarus gave vent to their ambition, and because of them I can now relax in my cramped seat on Jet Blue, hoping against hope … Continue reading THE SEVEN BLUNDERS OF THE SEVEN WONDERS OF CRIME
POINT ME IN THE RIGHT MISDIRECTION (Part One: The Knave of Clubs and the Queen of Hearts)
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction, which was essentially borne out of the chaos of the First World War and began its slow decline partway through World War II, had a function beyond its power to entertain. The classic murder mystery served as a metaphor for war itself: a disruption of social order that tested … Continue reading POINT ME IN THE RIGHT MISDIRECTION (Part One: The Knave of Clubs and the Queen of Hearts)
TEN REASONS YOU SHOULD LOVE CARDS ON THE TABLE (And Deplore The TV Version)
Human beings are complex creatures. One moment we’re happy and the next, we’re blue. And sometimes we find ourselves at war with our emotions. Take me, for instance. Today, I’m a jumble of mixed feelings. I’m feeling good about bridge. You see, last summer, I decided to learn a game that had always seemed fascinating … Continue reading TEN REASONS YOU SHOULD LOVE CARDS ON THE TABLE (And Deplore The TV Version)
LOOK AT ME, I’M TWO!
Well, what do you know? Today marks my second anniversary as a blogger. Words fail me (really, Brad?!?) in trying to express how much fun I’ve been having sharing my thoughts, mostly on classic mysteries (but occasionally touching on theatre, films and even some real world stuff) and trading ideas with so many brilliant people. … Continue reading LOOK AT ME, I’M TWO!
RUNNING OUT OF TIME: Reflections on an Out-of-Control TBR Pile
L’Shana Tovah, everybody! It’s the Jewish New Year, which means that I am not at school teaching the little monsters geniuses and am instead at home, ironically finding time to learn things for myself. Of course, this being a day of reflection, I find that I am learning about myself. And I’m a little nervous … Continue reading RUNNING OUT OF TIME: Reflections on an Out-of-Control TBR Pile
Ah Sweet Mystery! 