I think I’m growing tired of these covers of modern cozy mysteries, with their punny titles, cutesy illustrations, and snarky tag lines: The cover of The Dead Friend Project, Joanna Wallace’s second novel, is almost bland by comparison to others, but it gets the job done of informing you that this is a murder mystery. Note the … Continue reading GONE GIRL IN THE WINDOW, NO TRAIN: The Dead Friend Project
Author: Brad
BRAD TAKES THE COLBERT QUESTIONERT
Something a little different today . . . Citing financial reasons, CBS has cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The timing couldn’t be worse. Colbert has the #1 rated program on late night TV and, quite frankly, his hilarious political commentary has gotten me through a rough ten years. We’ve waded through the dirty morass … Continue reading BRAD TAKES THE COLBERT QUESTIONERT
FILM, FILIM, DIANYING, PELICULA: International Agatha Christie She Watched
If you come here often, you may have picked up that I love talking about movies. Sadly, the most fraught discussions tend to center around the adaptations of my very favorite subject - Agatha Christie. I can’t say I’m surprised: a conversation with the Dame herself would have elicited fervent emotions on the subject. Why shouldn’t her … Continue reading FILM, FILIM, DIANYING, PELICULA: International Agatha Christie She Watched
RIDDLE IN RETAIL: Death Wears a White Gardenia
Since this is a blog that deals in genre secrets, I’ve got a good one for you: not everybody collects Dell Map Back Mysteries because they’re great literature - it’s because they look sooo cool!! I have no idea how many of the 8500 titles Dell published in this format between 1943 and 1950 would … Continue reading RIDDLE IN RETAIL: Death Wears a White Gardenia
THE POIROT PROJECT #10: Murder in Mesopotamia
“Your travel life has the essence of a dream . . . you are yourself, but a different self.” (Agatha Christie) Full disclosure: I’ve tried writing this article five times, and it becomes increasingly difficult to stick to the subject. My basic issue around Murder in Mesopotamia is that, despite a few interesting features, what fascinates me … Continue reading THE POIROT PROJECT #10: Murder in Mesopotamia
WHAT’S THE BUZZ? The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito
“‘Suppose,’ Mason said, ‘I should give you a dose of poison, and you should die. That would be murder, wouldn’t it?’“Della laughed. ‘Sometimes when I’ve made mistakes I think it would be a justifiable homicide. But go on. What’s the idea?’“‘But suppose that before the poison had quite resulted in death, someone came along, whipped … Continue reading WHAT’S THE BUZZ? The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 3
I sure hope some of you are watching along with me as I take a crash course in 1955 film noir in preparation for the second annual Noirvember Draft I’ll be having with my buddies Sergio and Nick. So far, the views have ranged from terrific to terrible, which is exactly how the genre is supposed to … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 3
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 2
I’m back with my thoughts on three more films from the big 1955 film noir list that Sergio Angelini, Nick Cardillo and I are watching in order to create our Top 13 Best Film Noirs of 1955. (Remember: I’m watching these films in alphabetical order. You can join me or simply sample the films that sound good … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 2
HISTORY MYSTERY SHMISTORY! Murder in the House of Omari
In the continuing saga that is the translation and publication of Japanese honkaku mysteries into English, Pushkin Vertigo brings us another prolific but seldom read author. Taku Ashibe has been producing crime novels and stories for thirty-five years, many of them with fanciful names like The Palace of Bizarre Idea Murder Case, Murder at the House of Another … Continue reading HISTORY MYSTERY SHMISTORY! Murder in the House of Omari
THE “GREATEST MYSTERY FILMS OF ALL TIME” DRAFT!!!
On Sunday, I met with my buddies Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo for our latest game of list-drafting. After tackling Christie, Hitchcock, Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan, we decided to broaden our focus on a more general look at the mystery genre in film. Each of us did our research and came together armed with … Continue reading THE “GREATEST MYSTERY FILMS OF ALL TIME” DRAFT!!!
Ah Sweet Mystery! 