In the early, pre-Barnabas Collins, days of Dark Shadows, the show tried to behave like a normal soap opera, albeit with Gothic trappings. The main storylines centered around Victoria Winters, a grown-up orphan who had come to Collinsport to take a job as governess to the young Collins heir because of a hint she had received that … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 3: Dennis Patrick
Erle Stanley Gardner
THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 2: John Lasell
Hollywood cemeteries are strewn with the graves of thousands of forgotten actors and, for most of us, John Lasell is one of them. He had a respectable twenty-five year long career, mostly on television where he hit the ground running in 1960 and made single appearances on a wide variety of classic shows. One of … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 2: John Lasell
CREATIVE HOPSCOTCH: The Perry Mason/Dark Shadows Connection
You all know how much I love Erle Stanley Gardner, especially his most famous creation, defense attorney extraordinaire Perry Mason. For the past few years, I’ve been weaving across the Mason canon and, as is my wont, whenever I review a novel, I like to cover any film adaptations that exist. On that score, I tend to … Continue reading CREATIVE HOPSCOTCH: The Perry Mason/Dark Shadows Connection
“Un peu toujours la même chose . . .” The Case of the Cautious Coquette
For those of you with a shaky vocabulary, “coquette” is a French term for a flirty woman. That fits in perfectly with our ’26 Perry Mason theme of Les Femme! Les Femme! Les Femme! But before we get to it, I can’t help wondering what sort of mystery might have arisen if the title had been slightly altered … Continue reading “Un peu toujours la même chose . . .” The Case of the Cautious Coquette
BONUS GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!: The Case of the Crimson Kiss
We’re nearly halfway through our celebration into the Girls! Girls! Girls! of Perry Mason. The truth is that I selected a dozen novels that, title-wise, fit the thematic bill, but the titular ladies abound in the 82-novel canon that comprises Mason’s career. The feminine gender even seeps into the four novelettes that Erle Stanley Gardner … Continue reading BONUS GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!: The Case of the Crimson Kiss
NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY GIRL! The Case of the Vagabond Virgin
Can we talk about titles for a minute? Who doesn’t feel comforted by the consistency found in the titles of 82 novels and four short tales that comprise the Perry Mason saga. Each begins with those pithy four words . . . The Case of the . . . and finishes with an adjectival modifier, followed by the … Continue reading NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY GIRL! The Case of the Vagabond Virgin
OH, LADY, BE NO GOOD! The Case of the Dangerous Dowager
For me, part of the joy of reading classic detective fiction is stumbling across lines like this: “Go home and doll up in your soup and fish, Paul, and wipe that worried look off your map.” Naturally we wear our “soup and fish” when we’re heading to a fine dining establishment. I know that whenever … Continue reading OH, LADY, BE NO GOOD! The Case of the Dangerous Dowager
BOOK CLUB GOES ON THE LAM: Beware the Curves by A.A. Fair
Due to some scheduling glitches, for the first time my Book Club will be discussing not one but two mystery novels at this month’s meeting. The first is The Dead Can Tell (1940) by Helen Reilly, and the new edition by Woodside Press beautifully reconstructs the old Dell Mapback cover on front and back, as well as the cast … Continue reading BOOK CLUB GOES ON THE LAM: Beware the Curves by A.A. Fair
SLEUTH DRAFT #1: The Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
Back in January, I promised you that this spring the Three Amigos – Mystery Scholar and Film Noirist Extraordinaire Sergio Angelini, actor and Holmes Pasticher Nick Cardillo, and stagestruck Agathologist Yours Truly – would gather together and draft a list of the Twenty Best Literary Detectives of All Time!!! Well, my friends, the Game is … Continue reading SLEUTH DRAFT #1: The Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
A GOOD NIGHT’S SLAYING: The Case of the Sleepwalker’s Niece
‘That’s what I get for trying to be ethical and prevent a murder – a divorce case, which I don’t like; conference with a pettifogging lawyer, which is a routine I despise, and an agreement of property settlement, which is a damned chore!’ “(Della Street), stretching forth a coolly, capable hand, picked up the check … Continue reading A GOOD NIGHT’S SLAYING: The Case of the Sleepwalker’s Niece
Ah Sweet Mystery! 