This month, the Tuesday Night Bloggers tackle a sprawling subject: the relationship between mystery and history. It’s a topic one can examine from many different angles. So far, members of the group have shared insights about mysteries set in specific historical eras, or examined how historical context plays into, or is revealed, in Golden Age … Continue reading HISTORY CROSSES PATHS: The Picture From the Past
locked room mysteries
HERE I GO AGAIN: Looking for a Halter That Works
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” My blogging pal JJ from The Invisible Event reminded me of this bit of wisdom only the other day after I told him that I had purchased a new Paul Halter novel. You see, my relationship with Halter’s work has … Continue reading HERE I GO AGAIN: Looking for a Halter That Works
YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST CARR
When I saw that Rich Westwood was celebrating all things mysterious from 1930 all month at his blog, Past Offenses, I quickly checked out the literary scene at the time. Folks, this year was golden! Nearly every member of the Detection Club seemed to churn one out that year, and some of them created landmarks … Continue reading YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST CARR
THE SEVENTH HYPOTHESIS, or Why I’m Taking a Break from Paul Halter
“That’s the problem. No matter how far back I go, I can’t remember a case where we’ve talked so much . . . “ Amen, brother! That’s Inspector Archibald Hurst, the rotund Watson to Paul Halter’s super-sleuth, Dr. Alan Twist, channeling the complaints of this reader in what some fans seem to consider their favorite … Continue reading THE SEVENTH HYPOTHESIS, or Why I’m Taking a Break from Paul Halter
EUREKA! Found a Halter I Like
For those of you who know me, and for both of you who follow this blog, you will immediately understand that this post’s title does not refer to my love of horseback riding (went twice – fell off the horse both times) or wearing brief tops. (I guard my assets well.) No, I am referring … Continue reading EUREKA! Found a Halter I Like
BIRTHDAY WISHES TO PAUL HALTER (from a skeptic)
Bon anniversaire, M. Paul Halter. You have hit the same birthday landmark that I did nearly six months ago. Even more amazing is the fact that you have penned forty novels and two collections of stories, all in the past thirty years. If you are going for prolific, like your idol John Dickson Carr, you … Continue reading BIRTHDAY WISHES TO PAUL HALTER (from a skeptic)
THE FORGOTTEN GENIUS, or Where Did I Park My Carr?
This month, the Tuesday Night Bloggers are celebrating the career of that master of the impossible, John Dickson Carr. Rather than discuss his technique or analyze one of his novels, I offer this existential ramble for your dubious delight: You know, being a classic mystery lover was much easier when I was a kid. In … Continue reading THE FORGOTTEN GENIUS, or Where Did I Park My Carr?
THE QUINTESSENTIAL CARR: He Who Whispers
In a Facebook discussion about John Dickson Carr that was sparked by a posted review of his classic The Three Coffins (which I reviewed myself here last week), author and fellow blogger Curtis Evans from The Passing Tramp described his own experiences with the author. While he had thoroughly enjoyed reading Carr as a young … Continue reading THE QUINTESSENTIAL CARR: He Who Whispers
LOCKED ROOM TALES: The Disciple, Paul Halter
As this baby blogger wanders through the sphere reading the work of others who have honed in on mystery fiction as their specialty, one name that keeps recurring is that of Paul Halter. Author of thirty-nine novels and two short story collections, nearly all of them impossible crime mysteries, he is considered the French John … Continue reading LOCKED ROOM TALES: The Disciple, Paul Halter
LOCKED ROOM TALES: John Dickson Carr, The Master
Forgive me if this post is uncomfortably long and rambling! I admit that I am trying to kill two birds with one stone (something I’m sure one of Carr’s murderers would accomplish in a suitably tricky way!) First, this begins a sporadic series about the locked-room murder, a sub-genre of mystery novel that is admittedly … Continue reading LOCKED ROOM TALES: John Dickson Carr, The Master
Ah Sweet Mystery! 