John Russell Fearn's The Five Matchboxes does a lot of things rather well, but what's missing from the book are the things that move me from admiration to adoration. You see, TFM is a procedural, a subgenre of mystery fiction that emphasizes the realistic depiction of law enforcement methods and processes in solving a crime.… Continue reading The Five Matchboxes
Jim Thompson is the antidote to all the fetid tastes of modernism. The Getaway is two-thirds detailed fallout from a caper and one-third descent into metaphorical hell. It shows a mastery of cause-and-effect tension for a long while, but then throws it all away for modes of expression that are directly antithetical to plot-based crime.… Continue reading The Getaway
Author H.M. Faust (AKA DWaM) declares his main goal in the About the Author section: ...to push the limits of the mystery genre, merging bizarre storylines and modern narrative techniques with the tropes of the Golden Age period of detective fiction. He also likes impossible crimes which is the real reason I read his work.… Continue reading Gospel of V
Some novels are comforting to my soul. Francis Beeding's Death Walks in Eastrepps is a fine example. This 1931 story about a multiple murderer terrorizing a seaside town reminds me of a warm fire, a grilled-cheese sandwich with a piping hot bowl of soup, and daytime pajamas. Familiar but comforting. Besides, focusing on novelty is… Continue reading Death Walks in Eastrepps
The setting for John Dickson Carr's Nine-and Death Makes Ten is certainly atmospheric. The rolling fog horns, the unsteadiness of the ocean, and the cold, oppressive darkness give us the appropriate apprehension required by murder mysteries. Of course, it's the functionality of such a setting that I most appreciate. Nine passengers (and a largely faceless… Continue reading Nine-and Death Makes Ten
James Scott Byrnside 