Because The Plague Court Murders has plenty of enjoyable elements, I'd like to begin with its main flaw, one I consider entirely unnecessary, and one which has recently put me off reading another book. We're talking about the legend...excuse me...THE LEGEND. It works like this. 80 (or 700) years ago, this curse/murder/impossible event happened. Now,… Continue reading The Plague Court Murders
It's been a rough month. Besides contracting Covid and (worse) my mother getting it and going into the hospital, the bad-news Gods performed their usual magic last week and took Jinxy from me. In 2002, both of my cats died, leading me to forever give up on pets of any kind. The pain of saying… Continue reading I’ve just been taking a little break
Some of the best murder mysteries play out like nightmares. There's a narrative point when all the clues, suspects, and blood turn meaningless. I'm thinking of the multiple confessions in Death of Jezebel or the second beautifully presented murder in Whistle Up the Devil. It's a challenge to ground a story in reality and then… Continue reading Death in the House of Rain
I've been very satisfied with my Booksirens review service. It's effective at gathering a wide array of reader-types to get an honest consensus at a very affordable price. The quality of the reviews varies greatly, but they're generally good at summarizing the strengths/weaknesses and describing the genre and style. One of my favorite reviews was… Continue reading Review for Vampire
Brian Flynn's Fear and Trembling is an entertaining murder mystery with perhaps a bit more of the procedural about it than most of the books I read. Its primary strength is the personality of our Detective Anthony Bathurst who approaches his job with nary a hint of the tortured mentality afflicting so many brilliant sleuths.… Continue reading Fear and Trembling (along with a 2020 wrap up)
James Scott Byrnside 