On behalf of the thousands of teenagers that I taught for thirty-one years, all of whom deserve to have wonderful stories created for them, I would like to demand that the following cliches be retired from books, films, and television aimed at kids: Can we stop setting stories in tony California towns where the rich … Continue reading KIDDIE KRIMES: Murder Meets Marketing in The Agathas
Agatha Christie
A MURDER (ON THE NILE) IS ANNOUNCED
The text came over a year ago: Coastal Repertory Theatre Company in Half Moon Bay, California was planning its next season - a return to live theatre! – and they wanted to know if I was interested in directing one of their plays. See, they had heard from a mutual friend that I was really into the … Continue reading A MURDER (ON THE NILE) IS ANNOUNCED
THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: My Ten (or so) Favorite Courtroom Cases
(This is for Carol.) True story: after acing my bar mitzvah at the tender age of 13, I told my parents that when I grew up, I did NOT want to be a rabbi - I wanted to be a movie star. My mom and dad exchanged a look – correct that: it was a Look – … Continue reading THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: My Ten (or so) Favorite Courtroom Cases
THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: The Best Weapon
Our little circle of folks who enjoy Golden Age mysteries have found untold pleasures finding each other on the Internet. While Agatha Christie may be the most frequently published author of all time, I have become convinced that I may be the only person west of the Mississippi who – well, not reads her, but deep dive-reads her. … Continue reading THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: The Best Weapon
” . . . CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE”: Madness in Christie
(This article discusses over a dozen novels by Agatha Christie and is rich in spoilers. If you are only a casual reader of her work, I would advise you to read on with great caution as numerous murderers will be exposed.) A wise man once said, “We all go a little mad sometimes,” just before … Continue reading ” . . . CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE”: Madness in Christie
PODCAST MANIA, PART I: Five Little Pigs
“It’s psychology that interests you, isn’t it? Well, that doesn’t change with time. The tangible things are gone – the cigarette end and the footprints and the bent blades of grass. You can’t look for those anymore. But you can go over all the facts of the case, and perhaps talk to the people who … Continue reading PODCAST MANIA, PART I: Five Little Pigs
DEATH – AGAIN – ON THE NILE
Christie purists, we’ve had our day! Actually, that day lasted for quite a few years, through most of the 1980’s right into the millennium. You got your Warwick/Annis Tommy and Tuppence adventures and Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. You got your Poirot . . . well, most of him. And now it’s time to face the fact … Continue reading DEATH – AGAIN – ON THE NILE
WHO YOU GONNA CALL . . . ? POIROT!
Well, hellooooo, Agatha! How are you, Mrs. Christie? I haven’t seen you in my dreams written about you in the longest time – since December 13th actually, when I offered up Twelve Christies for Christmas. Keeping the “dozens” theme in mind, I would like to offer up twelve cases that Christie wrote and then gathered together in … Continue reading WHO YOU GONNA CALL . . . ? POIROT!
DID ENID BLYTON INVENT Q-ANON?: The Twyford Code
As voracious a reader as I have been since the age of six, I didn’t pick up a book by Enid Blyton until my fifties, when I discovered her fifteen-book series about The Five Find-Outers, privileged children who, from 1943 to 1961, spent each school holiday solving mysteries and calling their leader “Fatty.” My British … Continue reading DID ENID BLYTON INVENT Q-ANON?: The Twyford Code
IT’S PODCAST TIME AGAIN: After the Funeral
Over six years of blogging, I have written dozens of times about my favorite Poirot novel, After the Funeral, perhaps most specifically here. I always enjoy wax flowers, er, waxing over the intrinsic joys of the Abernethie clan, the brilliant fakeout, and the fabulous murderer/motive that wraps up this late, great entry in the Christie canon. … Continue reading IT’S PODCAST TIME AGAIN: After the Funeral
Ah Sweet Mystery! 