Can you believe 2018 is halfway over? Given some of the stuff we’ve had to suffer through involving world affairs, watching the news for an hour can seem endless. Yet the days flow by so quickly! I just blinked, and my first month of summer vacation is over! So . . . Happy July, everybody! … Continue reading JULY FIRST – LEARNING TO LET IT GO
THE FUNNIEST MAN ON RADIO
At work, I’m not known for my technical savvy. When something breaks (well, more often, it’s not broken; I just don’t know how to work it), I turn to those more inclined to understand this crazy fast-paced, world of swiping and Insta-chatting: my students. (Special thanks to Alyssa and her dad, who keep on helping … Continue reading THE FUNNIEST MAN ON RADIO
ON AND ON AND ON (BUT BETTER): The Punishment She Deserves
It’s funny the things that pop into your head while you’re driving. For instance, I was cruising down the highway the other day, and I slid in Disc 17 of Elizabeth George’s latest opus, The Punishment She Deserves. And as the latest chapter of this 18 disc/690 page long mystery began to play, it struck … Continue reading ON AND ON AND ON (BUT BETTER): The Punishment She Deserves
READ-ALONG WITH BRADLEY: The Red Widow Murders, Part Two
Do you need to catch up? Okay, let’s go! CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE MAN AT THE WINDOW The delightful entr’acte that opens this chapter takes place at Sir Henry Merrivale’s house, where Dr. Michael Tairlaine has a sleepover with His Corpulence! Many games are played and much whiskey is drunk, after which H.M. bestows upon Tairlaine … Continue reading READ-ALONG WITH BRADLEY: The Red Widow Murders, Part Two
READ-ALONG WITH BRADLEY! The Red Widow Murders: Part One
It seemed a good idea at the time, but in the cold light of day, calling this event “GADzooks!” seems a shuddering case of The Cutes! The Puzzle Doctor calls his a “chapter to chapter”, and JJ will appear with his own “Spoiler Warning” in this format in July! True to form, PD remains spoiler-free, … Continue reading READ-ALONG WITH BRADLEY! The Red Widow Murders: Part One
“HOT TOWN, SUMMER IN THE CITY . . .”: Ellery Queen’s Cat of Many Tails
As I write this, it’s the beginning of my second week of summer vacation. For laymen, (read: non-educators) it’s the gravy in the crazy tureen of my professional life. Residing as I do in the middle of Silicon Valley, it’s not unusual when I meet a person and they ask me what I do for … Continue reading “HOT TOWN, SUMMER IN THE CITY . . .”: Ellery Queen’s Cat of Many Tails
A MOTIVE FOR LOVING CHRISTIE
Every so often, a confluence of events brings about enlightenment. It’s how we got penicillin and harnessed electricity and learned how to fly. In the art world, it happens when paints mix together fortuitously or musical notes embrace in harmony or Warner Brothers produces The Maltese Falcon three times before they get it right. As an … Continue reading A MOTIVE FOR LOVING CHRISTIE
THE CASE OF THE DUPLICITOUS BLURB
1975 marked the tenth anniversary since I had started immersing myself in the Golden Age of Detection. I had gobbled up Christie, Carr and Queen, fortified myself with the foundational stories of Doyle and Poe, and was beginning to branch out to the likes of Marsh, Brand, and Crispin. At the ingenuous age of twenty, … Continue reading THE CASE OF THE DUPLICITOUS BLURB
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: I’M MOVING TO JAPAN!!!
Okay, I’m not moving to Japan! That was what we writers call a tease. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Ever. Trust me. However, Soji Shimada’s introduction to Takemaru Abiko’s debut mystery, The 8 Mansion Murders, offers many attractive reasons for me to do so. First there’s the architecture. According to Zillow.com, the 910-sq.ft. condo I … Continue reading SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: I’M MOVING TO JAPAN!!!
G.A.D.ZOOKS! A Special Announcement
Gadzooks! Definition: a cry of surprise or irritation. The perfect epithet for when you have turned that page to where the sleuth drops all pretense, points to the least likely suspect and declares: “It was you!” … Continue reading G.A.D.ZOOKS! A Special Announcement
Ah Sweet Mystery! 