The laudatory editorial comments that appear on the front and back covers and fill four pages of Janice Hallett’s latest novel do her no favors. “Agatha Christie has found her heir . . . “ “The Queen of tricksy crime . . . “ “Agatha Christie for the 21st century . . . “ “A new Agatha Christie … Continue reading DATELINE MEETS “THE OMEN”: The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
Modern Crime Novels
AIM (NOT SO) STRAIGHT AND TRUE: My Resolutions for 2023
A few weeks ago, my pal (and Book Club Arch Nemesis!) the Puzzle Doctor reached his 2000th post on In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel. Not bad for a man who’s only been blogging since 1954. I hit my 500th post last August (it was a dreary review of a dreary book, Dorothy L. Sayers’ The Documents in … Continue reading AIM (NOT SO) STRAIGHT AND TRUE: My Resolutions for 2023
FINAL READ OF THE YEAR!
“’So you’re a lawyer now?’ “’I guess so.’ “’Don’t you have, like, ten steps for solving crime or whatever? Just do – ‘ she wriggled her hands in the air like she was performing a magic trick - ‘a bit of all that.’ “’They’re rules, not steps. And they’re not mine.’” Monseignor Ronald Knox, circa 1930 … Continue reading FINAL READ OF THE YEAR!
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
TO BE CONTINUED: Adapting the Modern Mystery
Here’s a quiz: Write down the name of the first Agatha Christie mystery novel you read. Now turn to the person on your left and compare answers. (The chances are about 1 in 66 that they will match.) Next, write down the name of the first Louise Penny novel you read. Now turn to the … Continue reading TO BE CONTINUED: Adapting the Modern Mystery
KIDDIE KRIMES: Murder Meets Marketing in The Agathas
On behalf of the thousands of teenagers that I taught for thirty-one years, all of whom deserve to have wonderful stories created for them, I would like to demand that the following cliches be retired from books, films, and television aimed at kids: Can we stop setting stories in tony California towns where the rich … Continue reading KIDDIE KRIMES: Murder Meets Marketing in The Agathas
ROOTING FOR WATSON: The Twist of a Knife
How fortunate are we that, somewhere along the line in his 43-yearlong writing career, Anthony Horowitz turned to the mystery genre and became one of the best purveyors of the modern mystery in the classic style. He has managed to do this for readers, for television viewers, and especially for kids. He can craft an … Continue reading ROOTING FOR WATSON: The Twist of a Knife
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
” . . . there are matters of which no jest can be made:” THE RED DEATH MURDERS
Well, it was bound to happen! A pandemic comes along, and you stop teaching. There’s nothing to do but stare at the walls, studiously avoid that mountain of books comprising your TBR pile, and desultorily post in your blog about this or that mediocre novel that you read in Book Club. And then – inspiration! You … Continue reading ” . . . there are matters of which no jest can be made:” THE RED DEATH MURDERS
DID ENID BLYTON INVENT Q-ANON?: The Twyford Code
As voracious a reader as I have been since the age of six, I didn’t pick up a book by Enid Blyton until my fifties, when I discovered her fifteen-book series about The Five Find-Outers, privileged children who, from 1943 to 1961, spent each school holiday solving mysteries and calling their leader “Fatty.” My British … Continue reading DID ENID BLYTON INVENT Q-ANON?: The Twyford Code
Ah Sweet Mystery! 