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
She had written, "Ode to Life". Underneath the title: "Oh Life, you have been like a knife"--It was pretty bad, but it hardly deserved assassination. My only previous encounter with Theodore Roscoe was the masterpiece Murder on the Way, a passionate bolt of pulp lightning that would never survive the first pass with a modern… Continue reading “Ghoul’s Paradise” from Four Corners Vol II
It's super busy at Byrnside Inc. I've got two projects going, the novel and a short story. Both have a locked room murder, but the solutions couldn't be more different. I'll start posting reviews whenever I take a break from writing--hopefully next month. In the meantime, enjoy this monologue from Rowan Manory. Murderers always scream,… Continue reading Macaque Excerpt #2
I turn 46 today. As Dorothy Parker once said, "Time doth flit. Oh shit!" While I usually despair at my lack of progress, I now feel myself gradually accepting my flaws and limitations. Sometimes, I'll sit down and write a thousand words. Sometimes, I'll add an adjective and call it a day. Such is life.… Continue reading August Update
Tom Mead's Death and the Conjuror has a lot of things going for it, but what impressed me the most was its measurement. The narrative events (revelations for you non-mystery fanatics) are doled out in such a way that our attention to the suspects resembles a whirlwind, returning back to characters we had confidently crossed… Continue reading Death and the Conjuror
James Scott Byrnside 