Movie Review: The Snorkel

The sinister snorkel!

Movie Review: The Snorkel (1958) directed by Guy Green Paul Decker (Peter van Eyck) has gotten away with murder before. Years ago, he murdered his wealthy friend Mr. Brown by drowning him in a boating “accident” so that he could marry the widow and her considerable inheritance, including an Italian villa near the French border. Now… Continue reading Movie Review: The Snorkel

Book Review: The Hills of Homicide

Book Review: The Hills of Homicide by Louis L’Amour Before he landed the contracts that were to make him America’s most beloved Western writer, Louis L’Amour tried his hand at various other genres of pulp fiction. But the pulp magazine market was drying up, so it was generally a good thing he found other work.… Continue reading Book Review: The Hills of Homicide

Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82

Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82 by Gosho Aoyama It’s time once again to catch up on the adventures of Conan Edogawa, boy detective, who is secretly Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the dub), teen detective who was shrunk by an experimental poison. See my many prior reviews of this series, titled Meitantei Conan (“Detective… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82

Book Review: The Case of the Constant Suicides

Book Review: The Case of the Constant Suicides by John Dickson Carr Castle Shira is not a canny place. Ever since one of the Campbell soldiers involved in the Glencoe Massacre threw himself from the tower, supposedly to escape the ghost of a murdered MacDonald, there have been a series of falling deaths associated with… Continue reading Book Review: The Case of the Constant Suicides

Manga Review: Case Closed, Volumes 77-79

Manga Review: Case Closed, Volumes 77-79 by Gosho Aoyama Recap: Conan Edogawa is actually Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the U.S. version), a genius teen detective who was poisoned by the Black Organization and now has the body of a pre-teen. This makes it more difficult for him to get listened to, but he keeps… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed, Volumes 77-79

Book Review: The Further Adventures of Solar Pons

Book Review: The Further Adventures of Solar Pons by Basil Copper Wisconsin teenager August Derleth was a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. When he learned that there would apparently be no further Holmes stories forthcoming from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he wrote a letter to the great man asking if he could write the stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Further Adventures of Solar Pons

Movie Review: The Kennel Murder Case

One of these adorable dogs is about to die.

Movie Review: The Kennel Murder Case (1933) directed by Michael Curtiz With October over, let’s take a look at a non-horror film! Among amateur detective Philo Vance’s (William Powell) many interests is his Scottie terrier, Captain. He’s entered the purebred canine in the Long Island Kennel Club’s dog show. Captain fails to make it into the… Continue reading Movie Review: The Kennel Murder Case

Magazine Review: High Adventure #166: The Big Foot Murder Mystery

Magazine Review: High Adventure #166: The Big Foot Murder Mystery by Edgar Wallace This time the pulp reprint magazine only has one story, which originally appeared in Complete Detective Novel Magazine in October, 1929. It was one of twelve novels Edgar Wallace (Richard Horatio Edgar Freeman) had published that year! One publisher claimed that nearly… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #166: The Big Foot Murder Mystery

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January 1977

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January 1977 edited by Ellery Queen Having enjoyed a recent issue of this magazine, I decided to root around for an older copy.  This one was published in December 1976, but the cover date was a month ahead.  Frederic Dannay (half of the “Ellery Queen” writing team) was still… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January 1977

Book Review: The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder

Book Review: The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson Four men come to the house on Cheyne Walk in Chelsea when the man who owns the house, Thomas Carnacki, summons them for dinner.  They ask no questions, as they know Carnacki will wait until his own good time to tell them… Continue reading Book Review: The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder