THE TRACKS OF MY TERRORS: Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

Poor Ernest Cunningham! Saddled with a dysfunctional family, each of whom have been responsible for somebody else’s death, the “how-to-write-a-mystery” author risks arrest and death at the reunion from hell in a snowbound Australian ski resort when the Cunningham clan is targeted by an insane serial killer! Oh, but lucky Ernest! He survives, unmasks the …

“I’ve Got a Little List . . . “: THIRTY-NINE CLASSIC MYSTERIES

After months of preparation, it was on a rainy morning on May 4 (and we’re talking rain from California to London, folks, with a soggy Pennsylvania in-between!) that three mystery nerds scholars gathered together, albeit virtually, to play a game that would determine which titles from the Golden Age of Detection were, according to Sergio, …

A NOT SO BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Close to Death

“I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Hawthorne for a short while before we came in and I can safely say that the next hour is going to be a treat. He is called in to solve only the most difficult cases and, from what I understand, he succeeds every time. He has made …

ACDC, PART THIRTEEN: “You’re Starting to Get Sleepy” . . . Seeing Is Believing

“One night in midsummer, at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, Arthur Fane murdered a nineteen-year-old girl named Polly Allen. That was the admitted fact.” Earlier this year, I crossed the halfway point in my spasmodic celebration of John Dickson Carr’s alter ego, Carter Dickson. Nine – And Death Makes Ten was definitely a highlight of my journey …

NOW YOU SEE ME . . . NOW YOU DON’T

Recently, I had the opportunity to rewatch the 1997 film Agatha when it appeared on Turner Classic Movies as part of a mini-festival of films about people who have disappeared. Directed by Michael Apted and based on a novel by the film’s screenwriter, Kathleen Tynan, Agatha provides a wholly fictional account of what happened to …

WHERE’S THE BEEF? Book Club Tackles Leo Bruce

“Crime? Can’t we talk about anything else? Don’t we get enough of it in books and films? I’m sick to death of this crime, crime, crime, wherever you turn.” If this sounds like an odd complaint coming from  a member of a Classic Crime Book Club– well, you’re right. While we have tended to have …

MOVE OVERBOARD, DARLING: The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife

“’Remember now, Mrs. Shelby, if I’m going to represent you, I want you to have just one formula. For the press, there will be only two words, “no comment”. For the officers you will simply say, “I am not guilty. I have done nothing and the charge is unfounded, but I do not care to …

ARCHIE’S TIME OUT: Prisoner’s Base

Archie Goodwin is not only my favorite Watson, he is the best Watson. He more than earns his keep as Nero Wolfe’s assistant, complementing the brilliant mind of his eccentric genius boss with his own massive skillset. As a chronicler of their adventures together, Archie is unmatched in his snappy prose and ever-present wit (although …

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG GAD LIST? Announcing Our Next Draft

Sergio . . . . . Nick . . . . . . . . . . . and Bradley Oh, the chutzpah of these guys! Attempting to conceive a list of the thirty-nine best Golden Age Mysteries of all time!! That may explain why we want to enlist all of you as accomplices!! Curious? …

FROM KING’S RANSOM TO 天国と地獄 (HIGH AND LOW)

“The city in these pages is imaginary. The people, the places are all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique.” I’ll take my inspiration anywhere I can get it. This one came about from two different sources. The first was my own crazy head: I was sitting around, recovering from a …