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)
Agatha Christie
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)
DEFENDING THE HOLLOW
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Edgar Degas Today, I’m going to attempt something I (*koff koff*) never do: I’m going to try and change people’s minds. To do that, I will assume that if you are here, you have already read The Hollow and have formed an opinion. … Continue reading DEFENDING THE HOLLOW
CHRISTIE CASTS LONG SHADOWS
Agatha Christie has been on my mind all day. First, the trailer for the first ever adaptation of the delicious Crooked House appeared on my Facebook feed this morning, and it looks absolutely marvelous! (Watch it here.) It reminded me that only a few weeks ago, I saw the trailer for the, to my mind, … Continue reading CHRISTIE CASTS LONG SHADOWS
FIVE BOOKS TO READ BEFORE THEY’RE SPOILED FOR YOU – Agatha Christie Edition
“Taking stock of what I have and what I haven’t: What do I find?” (Irving Berlin) It’s Saturday night, and I’m kicking back in front of the ol’ blog site. I checked out my stats a minute ago: twenty posts … Continue reading FIVE BOOKS TO READ BEFORE THEY’RE SPOILED FOR YOU – Agatha Christie Edition
IN THE END IS MY BEGINNING: Agatha Christie’s Nemesis
The mystery equivalent of the question, “Are you a dog person or a cat person?” is “Do you fancy Poirot or Miss Marple?” (Well, actually, it’s “Classic detection or hardboiled?” but that’s not where we’re going today.) I’m a cat person because I live with cats and love the ones I live with, but I’d … Continue reading IN THE END IS MY BEGINNING: Agatha Christie’s Nemesis
I SUSPECT MICE: A Discourse on the Dying Message
Smack dab in the middle of The Tragedy of X, the 1930 debut of mystery writer Barnaby Ross, detective Drury Lane, a retired Shakespearean actor who is stone deaf, resides in a castle called The Hamlet, and employs a hunchback dwarf named Falstaff as a butler, is philosophizing with a group of men – one … Continue reading I SUSPECT MICE: A Discourse on the Dying Message
NILE vs. SUN: Fair Play With Spoilers
Over at The Invisible Event, JJ has compiled a list, voted on by an erudite assortment of fans, consisting of twelve titles that purportedly demonstrate the best qualities of a “fair play” mystery. It’s a list that does what these sorts of lists are supposed to do: it provides a jumping off point for arguments … Continue reading NILE vs. SUN: Fair Play With Spoilers
BRANAGH TO THE RESCUE: “Not Your Granny’s Christie”
This classic mystery fan is always grateful when the modern press pays attention to anything related to the Golden Age, so it was with great delight that I received my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, only to find the cast of the upcoming remake of Murder on the Orient Express splashed across the cover. Kenneth … Continue reading BRANAGH TO THE RESCUE: “Not Your Granny’s Christie”
CHRISTIE, CAMILLA AND THE CONCEPT OF FAIR PLAY
It’s a fine thing for a reader to expand his tastes, isn’t it? Having focused on classic mystery novels my entire life – and almost exclusively so over the past two years – it seemed like a good idea at the time to sign up for that Nordic Crime Fiction course at Stanford University. If you … Continue reading CHRISTIE, CAMILLA AND THE CONCEPT OF FAIR PLAY
Ah Sweet Mystery! 