For my second week in Elliot Lavine's 50's film noir class, we're presented with a dynamic double-bill: a film full of women where few hold any power, and a film with only men - and, for once, a woman in charge. Marie Allen (Eleanor Parker) enters prison Before the “women in prison” film devolved into … Continue reading LES FEMMES FORTES: Caged and The Hitchhiker
Hard-boiled Crime
BOOK CLUB ’22: January, Going In Blind
“‘We are at war’ he whispered into the darkness. ‘Every combatant in the world is against us - fighting our peace with every weapon they know.’ He sat up suddenly and shook his fist into the darkness. ‘I’ll beat you,’ he exclaimed so loudly that Schnucke stood up and came to the bedside. ‘You think you’ve wrecked … Continue reading BOOK CLUB ’22: January, Going In Blind
BOOK CLUB REPORT #11: The Rat Began to Unnerve the Brits
“Well, here I was and I didn’t know what to do any more than if I was sitting down in front of a dish of poi.” Yes, Book Club has been something of a trial to me. I love my fellow members of the club, but the books have been more “miss” than “hit.” The … Continue reading BOOK CLUB REPORT #11: The Rat Began to Unnerve the Brits
“MURDER ON THE WAY” PLAY-ALONG: Chapters 6 – 9
“The whole thing was as unbelievable as Episode Six of The Perils of Pauline.” Greetings, ghoul lovers! If you were with me at this same time last week, you know that I am playing along with Flex and Herds, the genial and tack-sharp hosts of Death of the Reader, the Australian podcast dedicated to reading and unpacking … Continue reading “MURDER ON THE WAY” PLAY-ALONG: Chapters 6 – 9
AT PLAY WITH FLEX, HERDS AND JJ: Murder on the Way
Yesterday at Book Club, we made mincemeat short work of our latest selection and got down to talking. I meet monthly with a distinguished group of folks. There’s Kate, from Cross Examining Crime, who has published two insanely enjoyable puzzle books through the British Library. And we have the Puzzle Doctor, from Classic Mysteries, who single-handedly has … Continue reading AT PLAY WITH FLEX, HERDS AND JJ: Murder on the Way
BOOK REPORT #2: The Red Right Hand
I am a slow reader. I’ll grant you it’s a bit of a liability when you blog about books. I’ve complained about it to my friends, but they aren’t sympathetic. Not the Puzzle Doctor, who posts every day, usually about these big historical mysteries or heavyweight psychological thrillers or dull, er, dense, um . . . John … Continue reading BOOK REPORT #2: The Red Right Hand
“I HOPE TO HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN BY NOON”*: Fredric Brown’s The Far Cry
“He sat and thought and drank. He looked at his watch and it was a few minutes after eleven. And after a long while he looked at his watch again . . . and it was still the same time. So he’d forgotten to wind his watch that morning, and now he didn’t know what … Continue reading “I HOPE TO HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN BY NOON”*: Fredric Brown’s The Far Cry
FIVE BOOKS TO READ BEFORE THEY’RE SPOILED FOR YOU – The Random Edition
Summer is winding down, and the hallowed halls of education will soon be opening their doors. Except for me, who has been stuck in the classroom for nearly three weeks now. Whatever happened to the agrarian calendar? At the beginning of August, Ben, that scintillating John Dickson Carr enthusiast over at The Green Capsule, presented … Continue reading FIVE BOOKS TO READ BEFORE THEY’RE SPOILED FOR YOU – The Random Edition
Ah Sweet Mystery! 