Without a doubt, my favorite children’s author growing up was a man named Edward Eager. He was primarily a dramatist, but between 1954 and 1962 he also wrote seven novels for kids. Perhaps the size of his output explains why he isn’t more well-known, but he should be! Eager wrote in the same vein as … Continue reading A JUNIOR MYSTERY TO END MY HOLS
ONE OF US IS LYING: GAD Alive and Not-So-Well in YA
“Yesterday we were murder suspects with complicated personal lives, but today we’re just being girls.” The princess. The jock. The nerd. The criminal. The outsider. What a tangled, profitable web these teen stereotypes have woven! Director John Hughes staked most of his film career on stories about princesses loving jocks (Sixteen Candles), nerds loving princesses … Continue reading ONE OF US IS LYING: GAD Alive and Not-So-Well in YA
MY FIRST 2018 OBSESSION
Happy New Year everybody! This time of year calls for reflection on the past, followed by the making of resolutions to guide us into the future. One of the hardest resolutions for a follower of GAD fiction to make is to stick with the times, and for me that is doubly difficult when it comes … Continue reading MY FIRST 2018 OBSESSION
MY END OF THE YEAR RECAP
We open with a song, sung to the tune of Sinatra’s “It Was a Very Good Year”: 2017 It was a very bad year. It was a very bad year For politics in the U.S.A. Our president’s cray-cray! His act got very old, And the GOP turned cold. But I’d say ‘17 It was … Continue reading MY END OF THE YEAR RECAP
READER’S CHOICE: The Detective or the Egg?
About six weeks ago, I invited the blogosphere to suggest GAD topics for a mammoth group discussion between my blogging buddies Noah, JJ and me. The response was staggering. Okay, three people replied, but they were great suggestions, and I thank you! One of them came from my online friend rkottery: “How about the role … Continue reading READER’S CHOICE: The Detective or the Egg?
GAME, SET, AND MATCH, CARR STYLE
Before you read any further, please note that if I had any trouble with today’s mystery novel, it had more to do with me than with the book itself. You see, the school term finally came to an end on Friday, and I have to say that if someone had rung my doorbell two weeks … Continue reading GAME, SET, AND MATCH, CARR STYLE
THE FACE OF ME BEING MAD: The Crooked House Movie
Last week, I wrote about Agatha Christie’s novel Crooked House. I wrote about it because last year it was announced that finally – finally! – a movie would be made based on this, one of her darkest titles. The announcement came close on the heels of another revelation that Kenneth Branagh would be remaking Murder … Continue reading THE FACE OF ME BEING MAD: The Crooked House Movie
THE FACE OF MADNESS: Agatha Christie’s Crooked House
WARNING: This post attempts to analyze and reflect upon a work of detective fiction , and as such, certain plot points will be discussed, including the solution to the murders. If you have not read Crooked House yet, I hope you will join in after you have done so. (And really, you should read this … Continue reading THE FACE OF MADNESS: Agatha Christie’s Crooked House
PUBLISH OR PERISH: Helen McCloy’s Two Thirds of a Ghost
I have just come off reading Noel Vindry’s The Howling Beast: very French, very chauvinistic, and very 1934 puzzle-beats-all. That means that the characters were basically cardboard cutouts, and there’s no good bemoaning this fact, it’s the way things are with most Golden Age detective fiction. If you want more focus on character, you need … Continue reading PUBLISH OR PERISH: Helen McCloy’s Two Thirds of a Ghost
BRIGHT STARS AND SECOND CHANCES
We go to a musical to be uplifted, stirred emotionally, and, most trickily, to embrace characters in situations where the only way their story can be satisfactorily told is to have their words augmented, even replaced, by song and dance. And we hope that this will all be accomplished with brilliant performances, stylish design, and … Continue reading BRIGHT STARS AND SECOND CHANCES
Ah Sweet Mystery! 