If the opening chapters of 1933’s The Case of the Sulky Girl emit for me a faint “been-there-read-that” whiff, I must remind myself that this was only Erle Stanley Gardner’s second Perry Mason adventure. That’s what comes of trying to read 80+ cases out of order. Fran Celane resembles half the female clients who will walk into Mason’s hallowed office … Continue reading NAUGHTY BUT NICE: The Case of the Sulky Girl
NETFLIX CLOCKS IN: Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials
You probably won’t ever find me sitting on a panel extolling the superiority of Agatha Christie’s thrillers. Oh, there’s fun to be had, but there’s also a good deal of silliness: Christie veered toward ideological conspiracies and hidden master criminals a lot. Still, even in the absence of Marple or Poirot, she could be clever … Continue reading NETFLIX CLOCKS IN: Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials
IT ONLY LOOKS LIKE A BOOK: Can You Solve The Murder?
I mentioned last year that John Curran’s latest book, The Murder Game, had revived those ancient armchair detective instincts that turned me into a serious mystery reader in the first place. Folks, I used to take notes when reading Agatha Christie!! Every generation has something to use as “training wheels” for exercising the little grey cells. For me, … Continue reading IT ONLY LOOKS LIKE A BOOK: Can You Solve The Murder?
ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in Agatha Christie’s Novels and Stories
Let me set the stage for you . . . Everyone who loves Agatha Christie has discovered her in their own unique way. Ask someone “What was the first Christie you read?”, and there are sixty-six possible answers – and that’s if you’re only counting her mystery novels. Each of us has our origin story, … Continue reading ALL HER WORLD’S A STAGE: Theatricality in Agatha Christie’s Novels and Stories
NEW YEARS EVIL AT THE COBEN-CABANA
On a cold and rainy weekend in Northern California, I curled up on my sofa with a cat on either side of me and binge-watched all eight hours of Harlen Coben’s Run Away on Netflix. AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Coben has written nearly forty books – well, they’re not books actually; they’re more like Rube Goldberg contraptions in print. They … Continue reading NEW YEARS EVIL AT THE COBEN-CABANA
PERRY MASON ’26! The Case of the Unveiled Theme
Yes! Yes! Yes!!! I confess it!! I love you, Perry Mason! More than that, I need you!! I need my monthly fix of history’s best defense attorney to cope with this life. Your formula works for me: take one downtrodden client and shove them through the doors of Mason’s office, where secretary Della Street and … Continue reading PERRY MASON ’26! The Case of the Unveiled Theme
THE (AH SWEET) MYSTERIES OF 2026
What is up for the Ah Sweet Mystery blog in 2026? Some of that is a mystery even to me! You never know what may be right around the corner, waiting for us to discover it! Still, there are a few things things I’d like to share that I hope will whet your whistle as much as … Continue reading THE (AH SWEET) MYSTERIES OF 2026
BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE LISTS . . . Brad’s Top Ten Reads of 2025
This is my final post of the year, and for what you are about to receive . . . well, I apologize for the lack of originality! But this is what we bloggers do: we write and write and write and WRITE for you, and then at the end of the year we drag ourselves, … Continue reading BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE LISTS . . . Brad’s Top Ten Reads of 2025
今年最後に読んだ本 (MY FINAL READ OF THE YEAR)
"To all the English-language readers, I hope you enjoy it slowly to the end. Or perhaps better to say, enjoy it at your own pace. Since time is indeed something precious to us all." (author Masateru Konishi on his new novel) Time is indeed precious, and while in many ways this has felt like the … Continue reading 今年最後に読んだ本 (MY FINAL READ OF THE YEAR)
“WE GATHER TOGETHER” . . . Twelve Days of Ensemble Films
Ah, Christmas! A chance to assemble with our loved ones for some spiritual reflection, the trading of presents, a table laden with feasty things round which our beloved family sits. Such joy! Such peace! Such bliss! Unless your table is packed with drunken uncles, sullen teens and a clan that angrily encompasses both ends of … Continue reading “WE GATHER TOGETHER” . . . Twelve Days of Ensemble Films
Ah Sweet Mystery! 