What is the most existential birthday present you’ve ever received? I hope that question doesn’t seem too foreboding! It’s not my aim to inspire dread in any of my readers who are about to celebrate their own Big Day. I simply wanted to tell you all about the most existential birthday present I ever got. It happened on my … Continue reading THIS ONE’LL SLAY YA! The Architecture of Murder by James Scott Byrnside
James Scott Byrnside
“IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR . . . ” It’s About Impossible Crime by James Scott Burnside
Since 2018, when James Scott Byrnside’s Goodnight Irene debuted in all its self-published glory, I’ve had an image of the author sitting in his bathtub in the luxury penthouse he owns atop one of Las Vegas’ swanky off-the-Strip hotels – maybe around City Center? – with classic Sinatra piped in through the sound system. His typewriter on … Continue reading “IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR . . . ” It’s About Impossible Crime by James Scott Burnside
HAVE A HOLLY GIALLI HALLOWEEN
Tis the scary season, and I have a problem: as a boy, I loved a good horror movie, but as a curmudgeonly man, I have become fear-averse. More specifically, I have become viscera-averse! All the hacking, stabbing, piercing, gouging, rending, tearing, slicing and dicing have done me in (er, emotionally!) I have such distaste for … Continue reading HAVE A HOLLY GIALLI HALLOWEEN
NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF . . . Monkey See, Monkey Murder
Writing, like old age and rugby, is not for sissies. This especially holds true for the writing of James Scott Byrnside, that sardonic writer of impossible crime novels, whose fifth book, Monkey See, Monkey Murder is clever and funny and definitely not for the squeamish. Byrnside is one of those rare modern authors who trades in the devices and … Continue reading NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF . . . Monkey See, Monkey Murder
REVENGE OF THE OCTO-BLOGGER!!
Can you believe it?!? Eight years ago today, I slapped the title of a very very old song on a shingle and set up shop as a blogger. My goal was to be a part of the conversation about all things having to do with the mystery genre that we all love. If I tend to run … Continue reading REVENGE OF THE OCTO-BLOGGER!!
PAT ON THE BACK: Meeting (Some of) My 2022 Goals
“There is no Frigate like a Book to take us Lands away . . . “ These words by Emily Dickenson were emblazoned on the bookplates my grandparents gave me when, at an early age, I declared my love for reading. I pasted them into every volume I owned and used up my stock long ago. … Continue reading PAT ON THE BACK: Meeting (Some of) My 2022 Goals
ABRA-CADAVER: Death and the Conjuror
Let’s face it: life these days has not been just a bowl of cherries. You might wonder, then, why I seem to only read books about violent death. The answer, for any fan of classic crime stories at least, is obvious: we read mysteries for the same reason that millions of souls gobbled them up between 1920 … Continue reading ABRA-CADAVER: Death and the Conjuror
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
BOOK CLUB FROM HELL!!! The Five False Suicides
I hate to start the new year with a sad fact, but reading, and the enjoyment thereof, has become a rare commodity. When I taught high school, I was disheartened by how few of my students carried around a book for pleasure. Maybe it’s the solitary nature of reading, or the lack of bells-and-whistles flummery … Continue reading BOOK CLUB FROM HELL!!! The Five False Suicides
FANGS FOR THE MANORYS: The Strange Case of the Barrington Hills Vampire
It has been forty-five years since we could all savor the prospect of a “Christie for Christmas.” Alas, that time is passed, so I propose a new tradition: a “Byrnside for Boo-time!” The classic-style impossible crime mysteries penned by modern-day scribe James Scott Byrnside are, by turns, mystifying, sometimes fear-inducing, and most of the time … Continue reading FANGS FOR THE MANORYS: The Strange Case of the Barrington Hills Vampire
Ah Sweet Mystery! 