A week or so ago, I was texting back and forth with my friends (and fellow Christie fanatics) Jeff and Chris. It was just after the dinner hour, and Jeff informed us that he was settling down to watch The Body in the Library – not the crazy one with the mad lesbian killers, but the good … Continue reading REVISITING JOAN HICKSON’S MISS MARPLE, Part I
FINDING A LITTLE SOMETHING ON THE SHELF: The Great Black Kanba
Last week, I decided to reorganize my mystery book collection, numbering around a thousand volumes. Originally, as you might expect, everything was in alphabetical order – with certain exceptions. There is, of course, the Altar to Christie. Plus, all the honkaku mysteries, the Dell mapbacks, and the children’s and YA mysteries have their own places of honor.. … Continue reading FINDING A LITTLE SOMETHING ON THE SHELF: The Great Black Kanba
THE REDOUBTABLE LILY WU! The Chinese Chop
One of this writer’s joys in exploring the world of classic detective fiction over the past ten years has been the discovery of some marvelous authors whose long-forgotten status has nothing to do with the quality of their work but, perhaps, their all-too-small output. Why did Harriet Rutland only write three books? Or Lange Lewis … Continue reading THE REDOUBTABLE LILY WU! The Chinese Chop
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. CHAN! Keeper of the Keys
“I am only stranger, passing through, and it has been well said, the traveling dragon cannot crush the local snake . . . Do not believe, however, that I consider myself dragon. I lack, I fear, the figure.” Once upon a time, a hundred years ago to this very day, the The Saturday Evening Post began a … Continue reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. CHAN! Keeper of the Keys
THE POIROT PROJECT #4: Dead Man’s Folly
The order in which I read the sixty-six mystery novels of Agatha Christie was a total crapshoot, based largely on what cover or blurb struck my teenaged fancy. I couldn’t recite my reading chronology if I tried, although you always remember your first – and in my case, I remember my first four: And Then … Continue reading THE POIROT PROJECT #4: Dead Man’s Folly
THE OL’ SCRATCH AND BITE: The Case of the Velvet Claws
“'Every time you come here, you lie to me. You’re one of those baby-faced little liars that always gets by by deceit. Just because you’re beautiful, you’ve managed to get by with it. You’ve deceived every man that ever loved you, every man you’ve ever loved. Now you’re in trouble, and you’re deceiving me.' "She … Continue reading THE OL’ SCRATCH AND BITE: The Case of the Velvet Claws
HAPPY CENTENARY, MR. CHAN
Back in April of last year, I received an e-mail from a reader made some lovely comments about the blog – before pointing out a gap in my Golden Age coverage: “Many/most of my favorites are here, as illustrated by the fine group cartoon that graces the top of the blog. The reason I bring up Charlie … Continue reading HAPPY CENTENARY, MR. CHAN
PERRY AND DELLA AND PAUL, OH MY! A Perry Mason Menagerie for 2025
If, like me, you’re a fan of Perry Mason, the brilliant defense attorney/sleuth created by Erle Stanley Gardner, you are in luck! Gardner was one of the most prolific mystery authors of all time, and I intend to celebrate that for as long as my mind and spirit can keep this ol’ blog a’runnin’! He … Continue reading PERRY AND DELLA AND PAUL, OH MY! A Perry Mason Menagerie for 2025
“No denying she’s a funny girl, that Belle . . . ” Loose Lips by Kemper Donovan
When it comes to the high seas, I prefer my voyages to be vicarious. I have been known to get seasick on a slow ferry. My antipathy toward those flashy floating malls they call “luxury liners” is balanced by my fascination with all those YouTube videos of people taking and rating one cruise after another … Continue reading “No denying she’s a funny girl, that Belle . . . ” Loose Lips by Kemper Donovan
EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
It’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of a most, er, dramatic year, and this is my 79th and final post of 2024. It's also the time when some of my fellow bloggers review their accomplishments, perhaps name a “Book of the Year,” and make prognostications about what’s coming up in 2025 that are hopefully vague … Continue reading EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
Ah Sweet Mystery! 