Category: book review

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

I've come to the end of my Four Corners journey and while it has been enjoyable, the overriding feeling I am left with is that there are far too many lost Roscoe masterworks out there. The Four Corners series is just from the Argosy magazine collections. As such, it should not be seen as a… Continue reading “Ghost on Lonesome Hill” from Four Corners Vol II

Last week's Four Corners tale There are Smiles that Make you Happy and this week's have a lot in common. Both see the world through young eyes. Both have a love triangle. Hell, both of them have a moment when the narrator childishly refuses to attend a wedding because he doesn't like one member of… Continue reading “Stay as Sweet as you Are” from Four Corners Vol II

So far, my trip to the fictional (and uncanny) town of Four Corners has been fun. The first tale, Ghoul's Paradise, was in line with my type of mystery. It featured an impossible crime replete with elements of ghastly horror. It also had a chain of murder (not carried out with any rigor but hey,… Continue reading “There are Smiles that Make you Happy” from Four Corners Vol II

Last week I reviewed the first story from Volume 2 of Theodore Roscoe's tales of mysterious happenings in the town of Four Corners in upstate New York. Ghoul's Paradise was a treat, a mad account of impossible murders and resurrection within a demented family. This week's story...not so much. Don't get me wrong; it is… Continue reading “The Man Who Hated Lincoln” from Four Corners Vol II