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, …

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TEN REASONS YOU SHOULD LOVE CARDS ON THE TABLE (And Deplore The TV Version)

Human beings are complex creatures. One moment we’re happy and the next, we’re blue. And sometimes we find ourselves at war with our emotions. Take me, for instance. Today, I’m a jumble of mixed feelings. I’m feeling good about bridge. You see, last summer, I decided to learn a game that had always seemed fascinating …

LOOK AT ME, I’M TWO!

Well, what do you know? Today marks my second anniversary as a blogger. Words fail me (really, Brad?!?) in trying to express how much fun I’ve been having sharing my thoughts, mostly on classic mysteries (but occasionally touching on theatre, films and even some real world stuff) and trading ideas with so many brilliant people. …

DEFENDING THE HOLLOW

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Edgar Degas Today, I’m going to attempt something I (*koff koff*) never do: I’m going to try and change people’s minds. To do that, I will assume that if you are here, you have already read The Hollow and have formed an opinion. …

CHRISTIE CASTS LONG SHADOWS

Agatha Christie has been on my mind all day. First, the trailer for the first ever adaptation of the delicious Crooked House appeared on my Facebook feed this morning, and it looks absolutely marvelous! (Watch it here.) It reminded me that only a few weeks ago, I saw the trailer for the, to my mind, …

FIVE BOOKS TO READ BEFORE THEY’RE SPOILED FOR YOU – Agatha Christie Edition

“Taking stock of what I have and what I haven’t: What do I find?”                                   (Irving Berlin) It’s Saturday night, and I’m kicking back in front of the ol’ blog site. I checked out my stats a minute ago: twenty posts …

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 …