Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1 edited by John Locke Arthur B. Reeve (1880-1936) was a newspaper reporter who decided to try his hand at writing fiction. As it happened, he turned out to be very good at it, making a huge hit with his most famous character,… Continue reading Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1
Tag: blackmail
Book Review: The Dead Riders
Book Review: The Dead Riders by Elliott O’Donnell Burke Blake is at loose ends in China when he hears of an expedition to the Gobi desert, reputedly near the site of Genghis Khan’s tomb. He invites himself along on the journey to try to steer it into treasure hunting. Several misadventures later, Burke and several… Continue reading Book Review: The Dead Riders
Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries
Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler The title of this volume is slightly misleading; “locked room” stands in for the general idea of impossible crimes in mystery stories. A man is found stabbed in the back in a windowless room with the door locked from the inside.… Continue reading Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries
Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories
Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg & Martin H. Greenberg This was my Halloween season read this year, an anthology commissioned for the Barnes & Noble stores in 1995. There are indeed one hundred stories in this hefty tome, averaging about six pages. They are not all about… Continue reading Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 4
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 4 edited by Mort Weisenger Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are two of the most enduring characters in comic books, thanks to being attached to the one and only Superman. Lois appeared in the first Superman story in Action Comics #1 (1938), a snarky but skilled reporter who… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 4
TV Review: Lock-Up
TV Review: Lock-Up Lock-Up was a 1959-1961 crime drama loosely based on the files of real-life attorney Herbert L. Maris. Mr. Maris was played by Macdonald Carey, and John Doucette played police lieutenant Jim Weston, depicted as Maris’ best friend. Herbert Maris was actually a specialist in corporate law who sometimes championed people who’d been… Continue reading TV Review: Lock-Up
Book Review: The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible
Book Review: The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible edited by Nancy Holder & Joe Gentile Moonstone Books is a publisher that specializes in new material about pulp magazine characters. This is their third anthology of stories about Richard Henry Benson, the Avenger, and his organization, Justice, Inc. For those who have not heard of the… Continue reading Book Review: The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible
TV Review: Dick Tracy
TV Review: Dick Tracy Dick Tracy has had many incarnations over the years, but the actor most associated with the character is Ralph Byrd, who played him in serials, movies and eventually a television show in 1950. Unfortunately, Mr. Byrd was not in good health by this point, and the fast pace of TV production… Continue reading TV Review: Dick Tracy
Book Review: The Saint: The Man Who was Clever
Book Review: The Saint: The Man Who was Clever by Leslie Charteris, with art by Dave Bryant Simon Templar, the Saint, was created by Leslie Charteris in the late 1920s and went on to become a major franchise. Mr. Templar (not his birth name) was a roguish young man with a murky past, and a… Continue reading Book Review: The Saint: The Man Who was Clever
Book Review: Murder by Sunlight
Book Review: Murder by Sunlight by Barbara Graham Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. It’s coming up on the Fourth of July in tiny Park County in Tennessee, and Sheriff Tony Abernathy must deal with not just the heat and increased traffic, but a… Continue reading Book Review: Murder by Sunlight