Jerry Lewis once tried to explain his distaste for widescreen aspect ratios by thundering, "It's lazy to shoot a film in widescreen; everything is in the goddamn frame. There's no need for pictorial skill!" Whether I agree with Mr. Lewis's opinion on widescreen ratios (or indeed, what constitutes pictorial skill) is entirely moot, but I… Continue reading The Greek Coffin Mystery
Murder's such a lonely business: there's never anyone to talk to. The winner of my reading poll was Christianna Brand's Cat and Mouse. There is a specific reason I hadn't read this book for so long, but I can't tell you because it's a spoiler...sort of. Here's the deal. C&M is not a detective story… Continue reading Cat and Mouse
I'm a sucker for out-of-print, non-dust-jacket-having, old-timey mysteries. For all the masterpieces on my bookshelves, The Stingaree Murders and The Mystery at Chillery are my favorite objects. It is entirely possibly that I overrate such books because of their feel. I love when they have eighty-year-old notes written in the flyleaves. I love the discoloration… Continue reading Murder Mansion (aka House of Murder) 1934
It's time for me to take a break from John Dickson Carr. Fortunately, I can't imagine a better novel with which to pause than Death Turns the Tables. After the unfocused nonsense of The Punch and Judy Murders, here is a novel with nearly perfect construction. Every chapter builds on the previous one, adding only… Continue reading Death Turns the Tables
There's a moment late in John Dickson Carr's The Punch and Judy Murders when we are told that the earlier parts of the evening had been an adventure yarn, but now it was time for the psychological study. In other words, 2/3 of this novel was a North by Northwest/The 39 Steps hybrid, and the… Continue reading The Punch and Judy Murders
