Seishi Yokomizo's The Honjin Murders is a bloody locked-room whodunnit containing a lot of the typical tricks of our favorite murder mysteries. Like the best of the genre, it carries with it the somber feeling of old wounds causing present-day murder while still being self-aware enough to discuss it's own genre playfully. (I don't even… Continue reading The Honjin Murders
It may not be the one we were expecting, but here's hoping yours is joyous nonetheless. I hope you all choose a delightful murder mystery and an equally delightful place to curl up and read it. Mine will be The Honjin Murders which I ordered 57 years ago and has only recently arrived in the… Continue reading Merry Christmas
"Ordinary life's bad enough, but it's a prince to the stuff we spin out of our rotten unconsciousnesses every night." J.B. Priestley's Benighted does many things well. The house and its insane inhabitants are brilliantly drawn, the storm is a tactile character rather than a plot device, and the tension is always present--anything could happen.… Continue reading Benighted/The Old Dark House
Let's discuss what Gaston Boca's The Seventh Guest is not. 1. It is not a fairly-clued mystery. Much like Death out of Nowhere (a more enjoyable novel IMHO), there is nothing within these pages to challenge the wits of the reader. In fact, the majority of evidence is off the page. I know that sounds… Continue reading The Seventh Guest
On one hand, sexuality is not a prevalent element in detective fiction. It functions as a plot device -- you need a love triangle to give the killer a motive, so you have Bill begin an affair with Kathy's sister, and Bill (who was a totally innocent dude 5 minutes ago) is now a despicable… Continue reading She Died a Lady
James Scott Byrnside 