I have spoken before in this space about how every spring I twist my drama students’ arms offer my drama students a wonderful opportunity to create their own GAD-styled mystery plays! or else! This year is no exception. After whetting their script-writing whistles on the Peter Ustinov version of Evil Under the Sun (nobody in either class … Continue reading HONING YOUNG MINDS . . . TO MURDER!!!!!! – The 2019 Mystery Project
THIRTEEN EGYPTIANS SAT DOWN TO DINE: Christie’s Death Comes As the End
When we talk about Death Comes as the End, Agatha Christie’s 1944 tour de force set in ancient Egypt, conversation hovers around personal opinion about how well Christie balanced the mass of detail in this, the first ever historical mystery novel, with her trademark GAD plotting. But now that the book is about to receive its first … Continue reading THIRTEEN EGYPTIANS SAT DOWN TO DINE: Christie’s Death Comes As the End
BRAD BESTS BREXIT: or, My Summer Plans
Purely by happenstance, over the last three-four years, I have embarked on two life-changing projects: I became a blogger, and I began to learn how to play bridge. So, bridge . . . well, did you know that the average age of an American bridge player is 72? A great many of the people I … Continue reading BRAD BESTS BREXIT: or, My Summer Plans
ACDC, PART FIVE/FIRST LET’S TALK ABOUT WATSONS: The Unicorn Murders
That GAD staple, the eccentric genius detective, has the potential to be obnoxious. His eccentricities can quickly grow tiresome, and his brilliance at sleuthing is too often accompanied by unmitigated ego or a reticence for explanation that can annoy readers as much as it infuriates the fictional policeman. This is why many classic authors took … Continue reading ACDC, PART FIVE/FIRST LET’S TALK ABOUT WATSONS: The Unicorn Murders
GAME, SET AND (UN) MATCHED: A Discussion of Mirrors and Follies
Margot Kinberg taught me to seek inspiration in the words of my fellow bloggers, and that is what happened to me yesterday. My buddy Kate over at Cross Examining Crime re-read and reviewed Dead Man’s Folly. I figure that few Christie fans start a conversation with, “Oh, yes, and my favorite book of hers is … Continue reading GAME, SET AND (UN) MATCHED: A Discussion of Mirrors and Follies
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
ACDC, PART FOUR: “Don’t Wanna Be in the Room Where It Happened” in The Red Widow Murders
Before I conceived of this chronological Carter Dickson celebration, my experiences with Sir Henry Merrivale were more piecemeal. Even when I spotted and grabbed a lot of Carter Dickson novels on eBay and placed them carefully on my shelf in order of publication, I grabbed down She Died a Lady first because . . . well, … Continue reading ACDC, PART FOUR: “Don’t Wanna Be in the Room Where It Happened” in The Red Widow Murders
FOR THIRTEEN PAGES, THE GAUNTLET IS THROWN
“I know there are lots of talented bloggers in this group. I have a suggestion for a future post: A proper rebuke to Raymond Chandler's essay, The Simple Art of Murder. For those of you who haven't read it, it's 13 pages and free online as a pdf. It is a scathing indictment of everything this … Continue reading FOR THIRTEEN PAGES, THE GAUNTLET IS THROWN
ACDC, PART THREE: Footprints and Fade-Outs in The White Priory Murders
“The first thing is to determine the murderer’s motive. I don’t mean his motive for murder, but for creating an impossible situation. That’s very important, son, because it’s the best kind of clue tothe motive for murder. Why’d he do it? Nobody but a loony is goin’ to indulge in a lot of unreasonable hocus-pocus … Continue reading ACDC, PART THREE: Footprints and Fade-Outs in The White Priory Murders
Ah Sweet Mystery! 