Book Review: But Not Forgotten | The Schemers

Book Review: But Not Forgotten | The Schemers by Ruth Fenisong It’s time for another Ace Double paperback, this time a pair of mysteries by Ruth Fenisong (1904-1978). She’s best known for her Lieutenant Gridley Nelson series, but he’s barely in the first, and the other is independent. But Not Forgotten Leo Socarus is a… Continue reading Book Review: But Not Forgotten | The Schemers

Movie Review: Ma Barker’s Killer Brood

The Barker family, solid church-going citizens.

Movie Review: Ma Barker’s Killer Brood (1960) directed by Bill Karn Kate “Ma” Barker (Lurene Tuttle) was born into a hardscrabble family as the tenth child and suffered many privations growing up. She stepped up a bit by marrying the first young man to take notice of her, George Barker (Nelson Leigh) but by the time… Continue reading Movie Review: Ma Barker’s Killer Brood

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler While stories that could be considered “mysteries” in some sense have existed as long as writing, and perhaps a bit before, the short story mystery came into its own during the lifetime of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This volume collects forty-nine notable stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Comic Book Review: The Story of Lee Volume 1

Comic Book Review: The Story of Lee Volume 1 written by Sean Michael Wilson, art by Chie Kutsuwada Lee is a big fan of British music, especially a band called The Clientele. But working in her father’s corner store in Hong Kong, it’s unlikely she’ll ever see them in person. Indeed, she’s feeling very stifled.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Story of Lee Volume 1

Movie Review: Lethal Weapon

Murtaugh and Riggs take a while to warm to each other.

Movie Review: Lethal Weapon (1987) directed by Richard Donner It’s Christmas time in the big city, and it seems the half-naked Amanda Hunsaker (Jackie Swanson) has already been partying a little too hardy as she takes a swan dive from her apartment balcony. Toxicology reports however reveal that her drugs were tampered with, and that makes… Continue reading Movie Review: Lethal Weapon

Magazine Review: High Adventure #98: The Crimson Mask

Magazine Review: High Adventure #98: The Crimson Mask edited by John P. Gunnison When Robert Clarke was young, he watched his police officer father be gunned down by criminals. The image of his father’s blood-soaked face never left him. So after training himself in disguise, hand to hand combat, criminology, and becoming a PhG (Graduate… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #98: The Crimson Mask

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1952

This cover does not depict any of the stories within. Make up your own mystery!

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1952 edited by Ellery Queen This is the last issue of EQMM I have to hand, but someday I hope to get out to garage sales again…. “Homecoming” by Veronica Parker Johns was inspired, so the introduction says, by the Kefauver hearings and the author getting a much… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1952

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949 edited by Ellery Queen It’s time for another issue of this venerable mystery magazine. The cover this time is uncredited, and does not directly match any of the stories in the issue. “Double Exposure” by Ben Hecht opens the issue with a tale of a psychiatrist who… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949

Movie Review: Mamma Mia! The Movie

Bachelor party chorus line

Movie Review: Mamma Mia! The Movie (2008) directed by Phyllida Lloyd Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) has long wondered who her father was. Her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) has always been evasive on the question, having made a life for herself running a tourist villa on the small Greek island they call home. But while Sophie is preparing… Continue reading Movie Review: Mamma Mia! The Movie

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction edited by Donald A. Wollheim In the introduction to this 1943 anthology, Donald A. Wollheim talks about “the theory of outrageous hypotheses” which helps science progress by asking, “this is not true but what if?” These ten stories are most assuredly fictional, but point to places to… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction