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

Book Review: The Destroyer #26: In Enemy Hands

Book Review: The Destroyer #26: In Enemy Hands by Richard Sapir & Warren Murphy When JFK realized that there were certain threats to America and the world that could not be handled by normal government agencies and it wasn’t wise to rely on random good people stepping up, he turned to bureaucrat and former CIA… Continue reading Book Review: The Destroyer #26: In Enemy Hands

Magazine Review: Asimov’s Science Fiction May/June 2021

Magazine Review: Asimov’s Science Fiction May/June 2021 edited by Sheila Williams Back in 1977, Isaac Asimov was one of the top three or so science fiction writers in the world, and had a very strong personal brand. So when Davis Publications wanted to create a “name brand magazine” for science fiction like Ellery Queen Mystery… Continue reading Magazine Review: Asimov’s Science Fiction May/June 2021

Book Review: Murder in Blue

Book Review: Murder in Blue by Paul Petersen Eric Saveman, the man codenamed The Smuggler, has come a long way from his career bringing marijuana into California. Nowadays he works for ZED, a secret branch of the CIA that also works domestically. His current assignment is to infiltrate a Soviet computer facility and steal a… Continue reading Book Review: Murder in Blue

Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin

Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder The title is pretty self-explanatory; this book is about the location of the worst mass murders of the 1930s and 1940s; the part of Europe between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.  Starting with the 1933 deliberate starvation of Ukrainians by the Soviet government, policies… Continue reading Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin