Ten years ago on this very day, I posted for the first time. I promised you I would cover classic mysteries in every format – page, stage, and screen - and I made no bones about my adoration for Agatha Christie. No wonder I decided to celebrate my first decade with a quiz for all … Continue reading THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY GREAT BIG GIGANTIC AGATHA CHRISTIE QUIZ ANSWERS
Life
Oh #$%&! Not Another Blogger’s Tenth Anniversary!!
I have never been a trendy guy. It isn’t like I haven’t tried, but I’ve always been slow on the uptake. Just before I started high school, I demanded that my mom, who had forever dressed me in dark pants, white socks, and black loafers, buy me a pair of trendy bell bottoms and platform … Continue reading Oh #$%&! Not Another Blogger’s Tenth Anniversary!!
BRAD TAKES THE COLBERT QUESTIONERT
Something a little different today . . . Citing financial reasons, CBS has cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The timing couldn’t be worse. Colbert has the #1 rated program on late night TV and, quite frankly, his hilarious political commentary has gotten me through a rough ten years. We’ve waded through the dirty morass … Continue reading BRAD TAKES THE COLBERT QUESTIONERT
MYSTERY MOVIE TALK: Three Announcements!
I got into this blogging game for the conversations. Ironic, since the vast majority of readers tend to shy away from the comments section. So we scribes do what we can to get the conversation going. Over the past couple of years, my two buddies, Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo, and I have set aside … Continue reading MYSTERY MOVIE TALK: Three Announcements!
SIDE BY HOMICIDE BY SONDHEIM
“Seriously? What in the world do Sondheim and crime fiction have in common?” That question, gracing the back cover of Josh Pachter’s eighth “Inspired by . . . “ story anthology, Every Day a Little Death: Crime Fiction inspired by the Songs of Stephen Sondheim, has an easy answer. At least it does for those of … Continue reading SIDE BY HOMICIDE BY SONDHEIM
CURSE YOU, ROBBIE BURNS! The Reunion That Didn’t Happen
Having the poet’s worst predictions come true is never fun, but over this past weekend, my best-laid plans for a Christie reunion “gang aft very very agley” indeed! When my pal Christopher Diehl announced a few months ago that he would be directing a Christie double bill for the Riverside Community Players, it felt like the perfect … Continue reading CURSE YOU, ROBBIE BURNS! The Reunion That Didn’t Happen
EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
It’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of a most, er, dramatic year, and this is my 79th and final post of 2024. It's also the time when some of my fellow bloggers review their accomplishments, perhaps name a “Book of the Year,” and make prognostications about what’s coming up in 2025 that are hopefully vague … Continue reading EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
BRAD’S WEEK-LONG BIRTHDAY PARTY BEGINS TODAY!!!
That's right, folks, my birthday is coming! Okay, the actual date is a week from today. A passel of famous artistic folk consider themselves lucky to share the day with me, including Ludwig von Beethoven, Jane Austen, Noel Coward, Arthur C. Clarke and Margaret Mead. Frankly, this has been a year full of challenges, but … Continue reading BRAD’S WEEK-LONG BIRTHDAY PARTY BEGINS TODAY!!!
THE FESTIVAL? THE FESTIVAL! THE QUEEN OF CRIME’S FESTIVAL!
It was a plan two years in the making, brought about by an invitation from detective fiction expert Tony Medawar, to travel to Torquay, England, in the County of Devon, the birthplace of Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, the girl who grew up to become my favorite author, in order to speak about her. Really, though, … Continue reading THE FESTIVAL? THE FESTIVAL! THE QUEEN OF CRIME’S FESTIVAL!
HERCULE AND JANE AND ME, OH MY!
We interrupt our regular program with this special announcement: Last December, in a reflective mood, I wrote about the year ahead and referred to something I called “The Christie Conundrum”: “It’s no secret how much I love Agatha Christie, but the truth is that I’ve read her books many times, and I tend to fall … Continue reading HERCULE AND JANE AND ME, OH MY!
Ah Sweet Mystery! 