For those of you who know me, and for both of you who follow this blog, you will immediately understand that this post’s title does not refer to my love of horseback riding (went twice – fell off the horse both times) or wearing brief tops. (I guard my assets well.) No, I am referring … Continue reading EUREKA! Found a Halter I Like
Locked Room Murders
LETTER TO TEACHER: Learning About Shin Honkaku
Dear Miss Crabtree, Here is my twenty five hundred word essay that you are making me write as punishment for not following the instructions of our last assignment properly. the Tuesday Night Bloggers wanted us to write about murders that take place in academia, which means school, and I meant to do that but I … Continue reading LETTER TO TEACHER: Learning About Shin Honkaku
BIRTHDAY WISHES TO PAUL HALTER (from a skeptic)
Bon anniversaire, M. Paul Halter. You have hit the same birthday landmark that I did nearly six months ago. Even more amazing is the fact that you have penned forty novels and two collections of stories, all in the past thirty years. If you are going for prolific, like your idol John Dickson Carr, you … Continue reading BIRTHDAY WISHES TO PAUL HALTER (from a skeptic)
MURDER ON THE MOORS: Helen McCloy’s The One That Got Away
Whenever Rich over at Past Offenses - - announces his monthly exploration into the mystery fiction and films of a specific year, I always check the writers who most intrigue me to see what I can review. This month, the year is 1945, and one of my favorite recent finds, Helen McCloy, penned a mystery that … Continue reading MURDER ON THE MOORS: Helen McCloy’s The One That Got Away
THE FORGOTTEN GENIUS, or Where Did I Park My Carr?
This month, the Tuesday Night Bloggers are celebrating the career of that master of the impossible, John Dickson Carr. Rather than discuss his technique or analyze one of his novels, I offer this existential ramble for your dubious delight: You know, being a classic mystery lover was much easier when I was a kid. In … Continue reading THE FORGOTTEN GENIUS, or Where Did I Park My Carr?
SO MUCH BLOOD: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
My buddy JJ over at The Invisible Event unfortunately has to go on a short hiatus. I will miss his erudite excursions into mystery fiction, particularly the joy with which he tackles those classic impossible crime stories he so relishes! I thought I would salute JJ with my view on one of Agatha Christie’s rare … Continue reading SO MUCH BLOOD: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
THE QUINTESSENTIAL CARR: He Who Whispers
In a Facebook discussion about John Dickson Carr that was sparked by a posted review of his classic The Three Coffins (which I reviewed myself here last week), author and fellow blogger Curtis Evans from The Passing Tramp described his own experiences with the author. While he had thoroughly enjoyed reading Carr as a young … Continue reading THE QUINTESSENTIAL CARR: He Who Whispers
LOCKED ROOM TALES: The Disciple, Paul Halter
As this baby blogger wanders through the sphere reading the work of others who have honed in on mystery fiction as their specialty, one name that keeps recurring is that of Paul Halter. Author of thirty-nine novels and two short story collections, nearly all of them impossible crime mysteries, he is considered the French John … Continue reading LOCKED ROOM TALES: The Disciple, Paul Halter
LOCKED ROOM TALES: John Dickson Carr, The Master
Forgive me if this post is uncomfortably long and rambling! I admit that I am trying to kill two birds with one stone (something I’m sure one of Carr’s murderers would accomplish in a suitably tricky way!) First, this begins a sporadic series about the locked-room murder, a sub-genre of mystery novel that is admittedly … Continue reading LOCKED ROOM TALES: John Dickson Carr, The Master
JJ MADE ME DO IT: The Impossible Crimes Project
The blogosphere is just like school at recess: you step into the yard and look fearfully around for people who you can play with and will like you for who you are. I’ve found so many wonderful, thoughtful writers in here who have expanded my understanding of what lies out there in the world of … Continue reading JJ MADE ME DO IT: The Impossible Crimes Project
Ah Sweet Mystery! 