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?
John Dickson Carr
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
CASTLE TO LET: 80 RMS W/PORTCULLIS, WEREWOLF INCLUDED
“It’s possible that Sonia believed it, but she’s a woman and it’s only to be expected.” There’s nothing more satisfying on a rainy holiday weekend than to curl up with a good mystery. Make it a classic tale from a prolific author of the 1930’s, dripping with atmosphere and stocked with a perplexing impossible crime … Continue reading CASTLE TO LET: 80 RMS W/PORTCULLIS, WEREWOLF INCLUDED
APOLOGIA: In Which One Modern Mystery Causes Me to Reflect on Too Many Issues for One Post . . . and Asks You to Come Along for the Ride!
A few months ago, I told you I would never buy a Louise Penny mystery again, for a host of reasons you can feel free to check out here. But Penny is fun to listen to in the car, so last week I went to the library and checked out Glass Houses, the thirteenth in … Continue reading APOLOGIA: In Which One Modern Mystery Causes Me to Reflect on Too Many Issues for One Post . . . and Asks You to Come Along for the Ride!
BRING IT ON, CHINA: Death in the House of Rain
One of the surer signs that GAD crime fiction is coming back in a big way is the rising availability of detective novels from other lands. And I couldn’t be happier about it! From the British Library’s recent collection Foreign Bodies to the explosion of Scandanavian crime fiction (some of it legit!), we’re starting to … Continue reading BRING IT ON, CHINA: Death in the House of Rain
POINT ME IN THE RIGHT MISDIRECTION (Part Two: The Magician and the Empress)
You’re looking up at the slide and thinking: Wow! Brad’s top two mystery authors are . . . Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene! (Whom I think are the same person . . . or syndicate . . . or something.) Did you ever imagine a blogger would finally give these authors their due? Actually, … Continue reading POINT ME IN THE RIGHT MISDIRECTION (Part Two: The Magician and the Empress)
FIVE BOOKS TO READ BEFORE THEY’RE SPOILED FOR YOU – The Random Edition
Summer is winding down, and the hallowed halls of education will soon be opening their doors. Except for me, who has been stuck in the classroom for nearly three weeks now. Whatever happened to the agrarian calendar? At the beginning of August, Ben, that scintillating John Dickson Carr enthusiast over at The Green Capsule, presented … Continue reading FIVE BOOKS TO READ BEFORE THEY’RE SPOILED FOR YOU – The Random Edition
THE MASTER AT WORK: The Problem of The Green Capsule
Bear with me: I’ve got a fantastic book to talk about today - John Dickson Carr’s classic The Problem of the Green Capsule (aka The Black Spectacles, 1939) – but I’m going to take my own sweet time getting to it. Like so many in this vast blogosphere, I follow a lot of other bloggers … Continue reading THE MASTER AT WORK: The Problem of The Green Capsule
PUZZLING PUDDLES: Paul Halter’s The Madman’s Room
“A family united all together under the same roof, in an old manor, with a generous and very rich man. If this were a novel, it would end in tragedy.” It would seem that the madman here is yours truly. My problematical relationship with author Paul Halter has been well documented on this site. And … Continue reading PUZZLING PUDDLES: Paul Halter’s The Madman’s Room
ENTER SIR HENRY: The Plague Court Murders
One of the things I love about John Dickson Carr is that he is the perfect meta-author! He never pretends that what he is writing takes place in the world around him. In fact, throughout his career, he eschewed realism for a healthy dose of melodrama and mayhem and then called attention to the very … Continue reading ENTER SIR HENRY: The Plague Court Murders
Ah Sweet Mystery! 