“’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!
Serial Killers
” . . . CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE”: Madness in Christie
(This article discusses over a dozen novels by Agatha Christie and is rich in spoilers. If you are only a casual reader of her work, I would advise you to read on with great caution as numerous murderers will be exposed.) A wise man once said, “We all go a little mad sometimes,” just before … Continue reading ” . . . CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE”: Madness in Christie
BOOK CLUB FROM HELL!!! The Five False Suicides
I hate to start the new year with a sad fact, but reading, and the enjoyment thereof, has become a rare commodity. When I taught high school, I was disheartened by how few of my students carried around a book for pleasure. Maybe it’s the solitary nature of reading, or the lack of bells-and-whistles flummery … Continue reading BOOK CLUB FROM HELL!!! The Five False Suicides
A CUT ABOVE: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
I can just imagine the Hollywood studios in 1959 watching North by Northwest and heaving a great big sigh of relief! At last - they thought – the Master of Suspense has finally gotten the message!! NO more art films, NO more experiments. Just good old fashioned exciting-but-wholesome entertainment. Certainly they had cause for hope: Alfred Hitchcock had come this close to … Continue reading A CUT ABOVE: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
UN VOYAGE DANS LES TENEBRES: Week 6 – The Champagne of Noir
The French didn’t so much invent film noir as identify and elevate it. They took genre more seriously than the American film industry, which saw golden financial returns for movies that were cheaply made. The studios were all about the almighty dollar. When Hitler was on the rise, Hollywood was reticent about taking a stand for an … Continue reading UN VOYAGE DANS LES TENEBRES: Week 6 – The Champagne of Noir
BOOK REPORT #4: Death Walks in Eastrepps
Way back in the Fun Times – early 2019, to be exact – I stumbled (almost literally) upon a new/old author (for me) named Francis Beeding in my favorite local bookstore, bought and read the book, Murdered One by One, and subsequently shared my thoughts in high epistolary style with my buddy, Bev Hankin, who … Continue reading BOOK REPORT #4: Death Walks in Eastrepps
IN WHICH FRANCIS BEEDING EMBRACES HIS INNER TONTINE: Murdered, One by One
As I stated last time, I had the great good fortune to discover that one of the books I picked up during my latest haunting at the used bookstore was also on the shortlist of my friend Bev Hankin’s TBR pile. We decided to read Francis Beeding’s Murdered: One by One at the same time … Continue reading IN WHICH FRANCIS BEEDING EMBRACES HIS INNER TONTINE: Murdered, One by One
OF BRADLEY, BOOKSTORES, BEV, AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT
Amazon.com has drastically altered my life. For better andfor worse. From early childhood, I adored bookstores. Like most of you, I’ll bet, I could while away many an hour curled up in a chair (if they had any) or simply mosey back and forth along the aisles, picking up this and that, reading back covers … Continue reading OF BRADLEY, BOOKSTORES, BEV, AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT
A GREAT CONVERGENCE: Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero
“I like a good detective story . . . But, you know, they begin in the wrong place! They begin with the murder. But the murder is the end. The story begins long before that – years before sometimes – with all the causes and events that bring certain people to a certain place at … Continue reading A GREAT CONVERGENCE: Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero
Ah Sweet Mystery! 