When you've read enough mysteries, the possible patterns of deception become increasingly obvious with each new novel. A good plotter will keep this under consideration. Sure, there will be readers who are venturing into the unknown for the first time. (the sort of newbie for whom a twin sister with a voice box, contact lenses,… Continue reading Heading the Reader off at the Pass: The Nine Wrong Answers
Let's get a few things out of the way. From what I know about my readership, none of you would like this book. It contains nothing in the way of detection (although surprise and suspense abound). The tone could best be described as luridly trashy, but even that wouldn't give you a sense of the… Continue reading Are Snakes Necessary by Brian DePalma and Susan Lehman
In the opening chapter of John Dickson Carr's The Emperor's Snuff Box, we meet the two main characters in the middle of divorce proceedings. Eve Neill is the aggrieved spouse. She's an intelligent woman who nevertheless allows herself to get mixed up with jerks. Men tell her what to think, what to feel, and (on… Continue reading The Emperor’s Snuff Box
What if the secret society of Eyes Wide Shut were combined with the atmospheric horror of The Mystery of the Wax Museum and the whole enterprise had John Dickson Carr at the helm? The Corpse in the Waxworks (32) doesn't quite live up to that promise, but it comes damn close. It's Paris, which means… Continue reading The Corpse in the Waxworks
When I gave my impressions of The Locked Room Reader, I felt I may have been too harsh. Though some of the individual stories didn't impress me, it was a pleasure embarking on one locked-room mystery after another. As I've now chosen another gathering of impossible delights to discuss, I'd like to make it clear… Continue reading The Realm of the Impossible
My introduction to Dorothy Sayers was the dense but ingenious The Nine Tailors, a book I might not have the fortitude to finish nowadays. Although it presents a witty, entertaining detective and an absolutely brilliant murder weapon (maybe the best I've encountered), TNT also has an unbearably tedious account of campanology. I still don't know… Continue reading The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
When I first became interested in detective fiction, I had difficulty finding blogs to foster my newfound passion. Perhaps I was entering the wrong words into Google, but most of the sites I encountered only wrote about modern fiction and not the sort I was reading. In December of last year, I was busy working… Continue reading Black Aura by John Sladek
