If you would like to chuckle at some delightful auto-biographical data and general ranting about these kids today, start at Section A. If you would like to skip that crap and get down to business, turn to Section B. SECTION A Is there any story more infuriating or delicious than Frank R. Stockton’s “The Lady … Continue reading CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey?
Life
ADIEU, GAMACHE: My Troubled Relationship with Modern Crime Fiction
“Adieu, Gamache” may sound like an allergic reaction, but I can assure you, this issue is nothing to sneeze at. Today I am calling attention to a fault within myself and, in true scholarly fashion, trying to assign the blame to others. Attend! I freely admit that I have contradictory tastes. I like my hotel rooms modern … Continue reading ADIEU, GAMACHE: My Troubled Relationship with Modern Crime Fiction
WHERE OCCUPATION MEETS OBSESSION: The Mystery Project Continues
In a previous post, I confessed (as we mystery lovers tend to do) that every year I force my drama students to submit to honoring my passion for classic mysteries by engaging them to come up with an original mystery play of their own. It’s a complex and difficult project, and many tears are shed … Continue reading WHERE OCCUPATION MEETS OBSESSION: The Mystery Project Continues
HELEN: What’s In a Name?
My life changed significantly on November 19, 2014, when I joined a group on Facebook called Golden Age Detection. It is one of the few events of my life connected to the Internet whose effect on me I cannot overdramatize. I have been reading classic murder mysteries for nearly fifty years, and I had experienced the … Continue reading HELEN: What’s In a Name?
Hjälpa! Jag är fångad i en svensk boklista! (Translation: Help! I am trapped in a Swedish booklist!)
It has been exactly one month since I reported that I had enrolled in a class at Stanford University on Nordic crime fiction, both written and filmed. At that time I reviewed The Terrorists by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahoo. Since then, our class has read Firewall by Henning Mankell, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo … Continue reading Hjälpa! Jag är fångad i en svensk boklista! (Translation: Help! I am trapped in a Swedish booklist!)
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: The Terrorists
If I could find a local group, or a class, or convocation of fans who share my passion for classic mysteries, believe me, I would. Embracing the esoteric makes a guy lonely! Honestly, the main reason I became a blogger was to find other weir- er, GAD lovers who view life as one gigantic “Challenge … Continue reading AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: The Terrorists
A IS FOR . . . ANTICIPATION
I’m so excited to tell you that the Tuesday Night Bloggers are back! After a month-long hiatus, during which, frankly, most of us were plowing through 1937 mysteries for Rich’s Crime of the Year feature at Past Offences (I clocked in three!), the TNG is returning next week with a new topic, accompanied by a … Continue reading A IS FOR . . . ANTICIPATION
WHERE DO YOU START? Mysteries, My Students, and Me
Every spring, I commit the ultimate act of selfishness: I drag my high school drama students into the swirling maelstrom of my GAD (Golden Age of Detection) addiction by putting them into groups and giving them the assignment of conceiving, scripting, and performing an original murder mystery in the classic tradition. I don’t make it … Continue reading WHERE DO YOU START? Mysteries, My Students, and Me
LARCENY IN LAVENDER: Curtis Evans’ Murder in the Closet
It has been a pleasure hosting the Tuesday Night Bloggers during February’s exploration of Love (and Murder) in Bloom. Here are the months’ previous posts: Week I Week II Week III This week, Kate at Cross Examining Crime assesses the degree of success with which Dorothy L. Sayers combined murder and romance between her ace … Continue reading LARCENY IN LAVENDER: Curtis Evans’ Murder in the Closet
. . . A PLACE WHERE DREAMS ARE BORN: Finding Neverland
As you get older, one of the more interesting and, perhaps, melancholy aspects of life is watching things you identified as cultural icons slip into the darkness of lost memory. Mary Tyler Moore, who died recently, starred in two of my favorite sitcoms of all time and represented a certain type of woman who combined … Continue reading . . . A PLACE WHERE DREAMS ARE BORN: Finding Neverland
Ah Sweet Mystery! 