“In a ‘fair play’ puzzle plot mystery, the author provides the reader with all the clues, allowing the reader to match wits with the detective. All the pieces of the puzzle are hidden in plain sight.” (Gigi Pandian, for Crimereads) “This is a fair story. If you get the right answer – not merely a guessed answer, … Continue reading FOUL PLAY, THE FAIR PLAY WAY: My Book Club Reads The Maze
My Book Club
BOOK CLUB STICKS TO PROCEDUR-AL: Exit Lines by Reginald Hill
When it comes to procedural mysteries, I’d rather watch ‘em than read ‘em, although there was a time when I read quite a few of them. I had a good long run with Ed McBain more years ago than I can remember, and I think that around the same time I read one or two of … Continue reading BOOK CLUB STICKS TO PROCEDUR-AL: Exit Lines by Reginald Hill
DO YOU WANNA KILL A SNOWMAN? Book Club Reads The Sittaford Mystery
As those of you reading this who also follow some of my blogging friends may have realized, what happens in Book Club does not stay in Book Club. The best part of Book Club is the clubbers themselves. We have decided that it doesn’t matter whether we love or hate a book – it’s all about the … Continue reading DO YOU WANNA KILL A SNOWMAN? Book Club Reads The Sittaford Mystery
REVENGE OF THE OCTO-BLOGGER!!
Can you believe it?!? Eight years ago today, I slapped the title of a very very old song on a shingle and set up shop as a blogger. My goal was to be a part of the conversation about all things having to do with the mystery genre that we all love. If I tend to run … Continue reading REVENGE OF THE OCTO-BLOGGER!!
BOOK CLUB LEARNS ITS LESSON WELL: Murder Among Friends
A serial killer has been stalking co-eds at a Southern California university. Dubbed Black Overcoat by the police due to his distinctive garb, he has so far claimed five victims, employing a different type of weapon with each kill. Most recently he was in a seedy coffee shop sitting near Garnet Dillon, a beautiful young … Continue reading BOOK CLUB LEARNS ITS LESSON WELL: Murder Among Friends
SNOOP SISTER: The Alarm of the Black Cat by Dolores Hitchens
Maud Silver, Consulting Detective I have a great fondness for little old lady detectives, but they can be a problem. It’s not that the classic mystery genre ever made a claim of being realistic. And goodness knows that the “shock value” of an sweet, elderly spinster beating the big bad policemen at their own game has entertained … Continue reading SNOOP SISTER: The Alarm of the Black Cat by Dolores Hitchens
HOW TO SURVIVE A CLASSIC CRIME NOVEL
Imagine, if you will, that I was a book reviewer for the New York Times, and my boss – a scarlet-taloned woman named Glenda DeLage – pulls me into her office and purrs: “Bradley, I know your propensity for classic detective fiction. Why don’t you take the newest publication from the British Library, How to Survive … Continue reading HOW TO SURVIVE A CLASSIC CRIME NOVEL
BOOK CLUB DOES THREE-ACT TRAGEDY: A One-Act Comedy
The Members of Book Club (in order of appearance) Miss Dresden Mrs. Russet-Tate Arthur Mimms Gracie Mimms Mr. Panagotacos Oswald Ginch (Scene: Miss Dresden’s parlor. A small fire plays merrily in the grate. There is a comfortable settee, draped over with a lovely antimacassar, and three oddly assorted armchairs, on each of which rests a … Continue reading BOOK CLUB DOES THREE-ACT TRAGEDY: A One-Act Comedy
BOOK CLUB TURNS IMPIOUS: Villainy at Vespers
I’ve only just finished re-reading The Murder at the Vicarage, and – wouldn’t you know it? – now I want every village to be just like St. Mary Mead. But that’s not what we get in Trevelley, the not-so-bucolic den of iniquity nestled on the coast of Cornwall, in Joan Cockin’s Villainy at Vespers (1949). This is the second of … Continue reading BOOK CLUB TURNS IMPIOUS: Villainy at Vespers
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
Ah Sweet Mystery! 