Maybe it’s due to the mad whirl of school starting up again, but I’m having a hard time focusing on murder mysteries. I’ve been juggling a Carter Dickson, a Rex Stout, and a Theodore Roscoe, and I can't finish any of them. I’ve lost my follow-through! Maybe there’s just too much teacher stuff running through … Continue reading GOING THROUGH PAUL HALTER’S SHORTS
locked room mysteries
PUZZLING PUDDLES: Paul Halter’s The Madman’s Room
“A family united all together under the same roof, in an old manor, with a generous and very rich man. If this were a novel, it would end in tragedy.” It would seem that the madman here is yours truly. My problematical relationship with author Paul Halter has been well documented on this site. And … Continue reading PUZZLING PUDDLES: Paul Halter’s The Madman’s Room
ENTER SIR HENRY: The Plague Court Murders
One of the things I love about John Dickson Carr is that he is the perfect meta-author! He never pretends that what he is writing takes place in the world around him. In fact, throughout his career, he eschewed realism for a healthy dose of melodrama and mayhem and then called attention to the very … Continue reading ENTER SIR HENRY: The Plague Court Murders
SACRE BLEU! Caught Having a Good Time with Paul Halter
Those of you who have been kind enough to follow my excursions into classic mystery fiction know that along my reading travels there have been one or two travails, no more so, I fear, than my attempts to embrace Paul Halter, the modern-day French John Dickson Carr devotee and wannabe. God knows I’ve tried - … Continue reading SACRE BLEU! Caught Having a Good Time with Paul Halter
THE 2017 CHRISTIE VS. CARR SMACKDOWN
. . . isn’t here! So hie thee quickly hence, over to JJ’s blog site, The Invisible Event, to find out what all the hoopla was about. See what two humble (sorta) Carr and Christie fans made of the pair of titles YOU voted as the best of the best! I warn you that, in … Continue reading THE 2017 CHRISTIE VS. CARR SMACKDOWN
DICKSON CARR’S “ROGER ACKROYD”: The Burning Court
Get ready, folks! The tension is mounting! April nears, and JJ (The Invisible Event) and I are about to get hot and heavy with our two favorite mystery authors: Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr. After intense polling that involved thousands of mystery fans - okay, maybe thirty? – the top novels by each author … Continue reading DICKSON CARR’S “ROGER ACKROYD”: The Burning Court
STEP BY (FOOT)STEP: Carter Dickson’s She Died a Lady
Maybe it’s because of the company I keep: JJ over at The Invisible Event, Tomcat over at Beneath the Stains of Time, and Ben at The Green Capsule all focus much of their energies on impossible crimes and the work of the Master of that sub-genre, John Dickson Carr. (Heck, The Green Capsule is entirely … Continue reading STEP BY (FOOT)STEP: Carter Dickson’s She Died a Lady
TAKING A NEW CARR ROUND THE BLOCK: The Ten Teacups
I’m envious whenever I read another mystery fan describe how much they love the ten Agatha Christie novels they’ve read . . . or the fifteen, or the three, and so on. The lucky devils! What pleasures they still have in store. I often wish that someone would unearth previously unpublished titles by my favorite … Continue reading TAKING A NEW CARR ROUND THE BLOCK: The Ten Teacups
DRACULA IT AIN’T: Paul Halter’s The Vampire Tree
After reading all of Agatha Christie’s novels and stories – most of them multiple times – I feel I can talk about her with, if not authority, then great confidence. After reading nine novels by Paul Halter, an author I have admittedly had trouble appreciating, I cannot admit any authority or confidence, but I feel … Continue reading DRACULA IT AIN’T: Paul Halter’s The Vampire Tree
A CELEBRATORY HODGEPODGE HONORING JOHN DICKSON CARR
Happy 110th birthday, John Dickson Carr. Two months ago, JJ at The Invisible Event invited everybody to share a post on this day of days for his favorite author, the Master of the Locked Room Mystery. We could write anything we wanted: a review, a poem, a celebration of the author. I had great intentions, … Continue reading A CELEBRATORY HODGEPODGE HONORING JOHN DICKSON CARR
Ah Sweet Mystery! 