“’Remember now, Mrs. Shelby, if I’m going to represent you, I want you to have just one formula. For the press, there will be only two words, “no comment”. For the officers you will simply say, “I am not guilty. I have done nothing and the charge is unfounded, but I do not care to … Continue reading MOVE OVERBOARD, DARLING: The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife
TV
THE ART OF ADAPTATION: Ms. Ma, Nemesis
If you ever go wandering through this blog and find some of my early posts about film adaptations of Agatha Christie’s work, you find yourself in the presence of a staunch purist. I mean, when your favorite author’s greatest strength is her plotting, why tamper with perfection? Why indeed? My relationship with adaptation has changed … Continue reading THE ART OF ADAPTATION: Ms. Ma, Nemesis
THIS TIME CARR DRIVES THE BUS: The D.A. Draws a Circle
It’s Leap Day, everyone! Every four years, we gather together 1440 minutes and set them before the people. It’s a gift of time! It’s an acknowledgement of our limitations at monitoring the whirl of planets and the time flow of the cosmos. To me, it’s more unnerving than Halloween and more deserving of celebration. When … Continue reading THIS TIME CARR DRIVES THE BUS: The D.A. Draws a Circle
MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: The Arrow Points to Sherwood
This was supposed to be a post about Sherlock Holmes. Recently, while ranking the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies with my buddies Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo, I admitted that I had never watched the series starring Jeremy Brett, arguably the David Suchet of Holmeses! I must say that the boys took me to … Continue reading MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: The Arrow Points to Sherwood
CONSPIRACY THEORY: The Seven Dials Mystery
“’It’s impossible . . . The beautiful foreign adventuress, the international gang, the mysterious No. 7, whose identity nobody knows – I’ve read it all a hundred times in books.’ ’Of course you have. So have I. But it’s no reason why it shouldn’t really happen . . . After all – I suppose fiction is … Continue reading CONSPIRACY THEORY: The Seven Dials Mystery
MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: “Nine” Twists and Turns
As I seek out new mysteries to watch that will thrill me with their twists and turns, the biggest turn I’ve made from my initial exploration into Britbox is that the best twists seem to come from the non-mystery series. And so, I’ve set aside the tepid whodunnits of Sister Boniface, given up on Father Brown … Continue reading MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: “Nine” Twists and Turns
MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: The Clergyman in the Cathedral with the Candlestick . . .
Thanks to the recommendations you have sent my way, I have compiled the following watch list for my new Britbox subscription: Death in Paradise – beloved of the Puzzle Doctor, recommended by many - I watched several Season One eps when the show was on Netflix, but I’m willing to take a deeper dive . . … Continue reading MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: The Clergyman in the Cathedral with the Candlestick . . .
MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Perhaps you’ve heard me complain (of course you have) about the current state of pay-TV. In my day (cue the cliched old-person talk), watching television cost you nothing. Sure, there were only twelve channels (fourteen, if you could convince your little brother to maneuver the antenna back and forth while you tried to watch Shock Theatre on Channel 44). And … Continue reading MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
SHAME ON YOU: Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once on Netflix
After watching the gripping and intelligent A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu, I was hungry for more. I went through every streaming service I have been suckered into paying for in search of another mystery series to while away the hours of a stormy winter night. I discovered that Netflix had dropped their latest … Continue reading SHAME ON YOU: Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once on Netflix
AND THEN THERE WAS MURDER IS EASY
I know, I know! I promised a bit less Agatha Christie this year! Let’s just call the next two posts “Christie Adjacent!” First things first: in an act of kindness (which he regarded as cruelty!), my friend Scott from overseas made it possible for me to be one of the first Americans to watch the … Continue reading AND THEN THERE WAS MURDER IS EASY
Ah Sweet Mystery! 