“Crime? Can’t we talk about anything else? Don’t we get enough of it in books and films? I’m sick to death of this crime, crime, crime, wherever you turn.” If this sounds like an odd complaint coming from a member of a Classic Crime Book Club– well, you’re right. While we have tended to have … Continue reading WHERE’S THE BEEF? Book Club Tackles Leo Bruce
Agatha Christie
THE ART OF ADAPTATION: Ms. Ma, Nemesis
If you ever go wandering through this blog and find some of my early posts about film adaptations of Agatha Christie’s work, you find yourself in the presence of a staunch purist. I mean, when your favorite author’s greatest strength is her plotting, why tamper with perfection? Why indeed? My relationship with adaptation has changed … Continue reading THE ART OF ADAPTATION: Ms. Ma, Nemesis
MY AGATHA CHRISTIE INDEX
It's no secret that I have given much focus on this blog to Agatha Christie, but then she is my favorite mystery author. I've even got a Christie tag at the top!! Now, if you prefer meandering around people’s blogs, feel free to do so; WordPress provides a search engine which is all you need. Still, I … Continue reading MY AGATHA CHRISTIE INDEX
THE BIG FOUR: Podcasts About Christie
It was twenty years ago today . . . Well, okay, twenty years ago last Monday when Ben Hammersley coined the term “podcast” in The Guardian. And I paid no attention. Maybe that’s because ten years passed before podcasting really took off with the debut (in October 2014) of Serial. And everyone listening in their cars or … Continue reading THE BIG FOUR: Podcasts About Christie
CONSPIRACY THEORY: The Seven Dials Mystery
“’It’s impossible . . . The beautiful foreign adventuress, the international gang, the mysterious No. 7, whose identity nobody knows – I’ve read it all a hundred times in books.’ ’Of course you have. So have I. But it’s no reason why it shouldn’t really happen . . . After all – I suppose fiction is … Continue reading CONSPIRACY THEORY: The Seven Dials Mystery
MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Perhaps you’ve heard me complain (of course you have) about the current state of pay-TV. In my day (cue the cliched old-person talk), watching television cost you nothing. Sure, there were only twelve channels (fourteen, if you could convince your little brother to maneuver the antenna back and forth while you tried to watch Shock Theatre on Channel 44). And … Continue reading MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
CHRISTIE ADJACENT: The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an Agatha Christie uber-fan who decides to write his own mystery will be influenced by the Queen of Crime. Kemper Donovan, host of the Christie-centered podcast All About Agatha, has himself acknowledged this regarding The Busy Body, his second novel but first full-fledged whodunnit. Indeed, I could share some of … Continue reading CHRISTIE ADJACENT: The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan
AND THEN THERE WAS MURDER IS EASY
I know, I know! I promised a bit less Agatha Christie this year! Let’s just call the next two posts “Christie Adjacent!” First things first: in an act of kindness (which he regarded as cruelty!), my friend Scott from overseas made it possible for me to be one of the first Americans to watch the … Continue reading AND THEN THERE WAS MURDER IS EASY
RANKING MARPLE: Settling the Scores
When I was struck with the idea last year of reading and “ranking” the twelve Miss Marple novels, it was more of an excuse to revisit the lady and think long and hard about each of her books than it was to come up with a “definitive best of” list. All art – even murder … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE: Settling the Scores
RANKING MARPLE #12: Nemesis
“Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everlasting stream.” (Amos 5:24) In the early days of World War II, with bombs continually threatening to burst over her ultramodern London flat, Agatha Christie decided to write Hercule Poirot’s last case. She put a lot of thought into how she would end the career – … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #12: Nemesis
Ah Sweet Mystery! 