In about two weeks, I’m going to drop a review here for Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice, the latest film adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. This time, it’s not set on the Nile or the Orient Express; instead, we have a lesser-known (and less liked) late novel, Hallowe’en Party – you remember, the one set in Italy … Continue reading IN DEVELOPMENT: What I Wish Was Coming Up in the Christie-Verse
WAR IS HELL: The Devil’s Flute Murders
I’ll start by giving away my surprise ending: In May of next year, The Little Sparrow Murders will be the sixth Seishi Yokomizo mystery to be released in English by Pushkin Vertigo. If the publisher continues in this vein with all seventy-eight of Yokomizo’s books, the chances of my being around long enough to read titles like Pimple … Continue reading WAR IS HELL: The Devil’s Flute Murders
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
TROP DE CHOSES: The Siren’s Call
I don’t think any mystery writer drives me half so crazy as Paul Halter! If you do a search on this blog of the author’s name, you’ll come up with a series of reviews where the reactions range from delight to sheer exasperation. Every other year or so when Santosh Ayer, who is kind enough … Continue reading TROP DE CHOSES: The Siren’s Call
RANKING MARPLE #8: 4:50 from Paddington (aka What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw)
“Another locomotive one – murder seen as two trains pass each other in the same direction. Later settles down into a good old family murder. Contains one of Christie’s few sympathetic independent women. Miss Marple apparently solves the crime by divine guidance, for there is very little in the way of clues or logical deduction.” Robert … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #8: 4:50 from Paddington (aka What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw)
GIRL GONE NOIR: The Saga of Veronica Mars
“We used to be friends a long time ago/But I haven’t thought of you lately at all . . . “ I recently returned from a week in Los Angeles, and boy, did the City of Angels treat me well! Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl! Edward James Olmos at the Aero Theatre! I breakfasted with friends … Continue reading GIRL GONE NOIR: The Saga of Veronica Mars
THE MASTER OF MANIPULATION: Tom Mead’s The Murder Wheel
“There’s far too much strangeness in the everyday to bother with making things up. Take the Ferris wheel for instance. If I sound dubious about it, it’s because it was a very literal-minded crime. That means one weapon, one victim, and one suspect. And the crime scene is what you might describe as ‘hermetically sealed.’ … Continue reading THE MASTER OF MANIPULATION: Tom Mead’s The Murder Wheel
BARBENHEIMER AND ME
All my life I’ve loved going to the movies. I grew up in that awkward era between the movie palaces and the multiplexes, but I have to say that growing up in San Francisco meant I had lots of options. There were a few grand old theatres still around, like the Castro on Castro Street … Continue reading BARBENHEIMER AND ME
RANKING MARPLE #7: A Pocket Full of Rye
Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing. Wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king? Juxtaposing nursery rhymes with mysteries is an effective way to mix the balm of childhood innocence with … Continue reading RANKING MARPLE #7: A Pocket Full of Rye
HIS BOOOOOOKS!! What I Read on My Summer Vacation
Before I left for sweatier climes, I promised all you bibliophiles the following: I would make a pilgrimage to the Strand Bookstore (Broadway at 12th Street) and the Mysterious Bookshop (Warren Street) in downtown NYC; I would read three books and bring back reviews. Done and . . . almost done. On the hottest Thursday morning … Continue reading HIS BOOOOOOKS!! What I Read on My Summer Vacation
Ah Sweet Mystery! 