Well, it’s Sunday. And it’s been raining heavily for twenty-four hours. And I have to go back to work tomorrow after a two-week vacation. And Moira over at Clothes in Books posted a lovely report about one of my favorite Christie females, Dr. Sarah King from Appointment with Death, which inspired me to run over … Continue reading IT TAKES A WOMAN: My Favorite Females in Christie
THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Hitchcock’s North by Northwest
When Rich at Past Offenses chooses a particularly challenging year for his monthly “Crimes of the Century” invitational – where bloggers from all over send in posts of great mysteries of the time – I am grateful that he includes films as well as books. This is particularly true when we’re dealing with the late … Continue reading THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Hitchcock’s North by Northwest
APING AGATHA, or The Insincerest Form of Flattery
I will never lay claim that Agatha Christie, my favorite mystery author, is the best mystery author of all time, but she certainly is the most successful one. I offer three pieces of evidence, to wit: Her sales numbers. Selling between two to four billion copies of her books has landed her in the Guinness … Continue reading APING AGATHA, or The Insincerest Form of Flattery
THE FIRST DETECTIVES
Sensitive as we are to the thematic possibilities of each month, The Tuesday Night Bloggers are beginning what I hope will be a much better year than 2017 with a discussion of “firsts.” The suggestion came from Kate at Cross-Examining Crime, and she said we could make this about anything we like. So I thought … Continue reading THE FIRST DETECTIVES
MY READINGS (AND REVISITINGS) OF 2016
Happy New Year, everyone! As a new blogger, I have only just become aware of the tradition in this community for those who blog about books to reflect on the past year in reading. Yes, let’s focus on the reading because in most other respects, for me at least, 2016 was not a keeper! So … Continue reading MY READINGS (AND REVISITINGS) OF 2016
FOUR GRINCHES GRINCHING: The Mistletoe Murder
Ah, P.D. James . . . Unlike Christie, Carr, and Queen, and most of the other classic writers for that matter, whose pages I first cracked open as a teenager, I didn’t start reading James until I became an adult. And a good thing, too! Her world is dark and complex, and it moves at … Continue reading FOUR GRINCHES GRINCHING: The Mistletoe Murder
FOUR FILMS TAKE US OUT OF THE DARK
The end of a year brings a great many things, two of which loom large for me. First, it’s time to reflect on the past twelve months, and, on a personal level, 2016 can’t end soon enough. The New Year looms uncertainly as the nation embarks on the frightening adventure that is President Trump. And … Continue reading FOUR FILMS TAKE US OUT OF THE DARK
L’EXCROISSANCE: Deuxième Partie
The holidays beckon, but this stalwart member of the Tuesday Night Bloggers keeps on a’bloggin’! All through December, we are tackling the topic of “Foreign Crimes” in however fashion that subject floats our ocean liner! Last week, I discussed Agatha Christie’s foreign-set mysteries, and the week before that I focused on the English village as … Continue reading L’EXCROISSANCE: Deuxième Partie
AN AUTHOR ABROAD: Agatha Christie’s Foreign Mysteries
Only a week or so ago, I admittedly got a little gossipy insinuating how Agatha Christie’s first marriage to Captain Archie Christie may have informed her work. (Read it here.) Just think: if Christie had honored her previous engagement to Reggie Lucy and married that faithful old duffer, perhaps her output would have contained fewer adulterous cads … Continue reading AN AUTHOR ABROAD: Agatha Christie’s Foreign Mysteries
DRACULA IT AIN’T: Paul Halter’s The Vampire Tree
After reading all of Agatha Christie’s novels and stories – most of them multiple times – I feel I can talk about her with, if not authority, then great confidence. After reading nine novels by Paul Halter, an author I have admittedly had trouble appreciating, I cannot admit any authority or confidence, but I feel … Continue reading DRACULA IT AIN’T: Paul Halter’s The Vampire Tree
Ah Sweet Mystery! 