Book Review: Wives to Burn

Book Review: Wives to Burn by Lawrence G. Blochman William Shakespeare Gabriel may have bitten off more than he can chew when he accepted an assignment to go to India and track down Fred Oaks. Bill’s past as a reporter may make him an excellent investigator for the Five Continents Detective Agency, but India’s a… Continue reading Book Review: Wives to Burn

Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives by W.C. Tuttle W.C. Tuttle (1883-1969) was a prolific author of short stories and novels, almost entirely Westerns. One of his specialties was comedic detective Western stories, with cowpokes solving mysteries, not always with their brains. This volume collects three such stories starring the duo of Speedy Smith… Continue reading Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 42

Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 42 by Gosho Aoyama Y’know, I’m not even going to bother with the recap this time. If this is your first time hearing about this series (known as Detective Conan in fan circles because it’s closer to the original Japanese title), check some of my earlier reviews. The first story… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 42

Book Review: Mother of Detective Fiction

Book Review: Mother of Detective Fiction by Patricia D. Maida One of the joys of reading random biographies is learning about minor figures you might have heard about once in a long list of “these people existed.” In this case, it’s Anna Katherine Green, author of the first detective novel written by a woman in… Continue reading Book Review: Mother of Detective Fiction

Movie Review: Chamber of Horrors

Chamber of Horrors (1940) directed by Norman Lee When Lord Charles Selford dies, he leaves his fortune to his young son John or in the case of John’s death, to his equally young niece June Lansdowne, who lives in Canada. He appoints his friend Silva as guardian for John. However, the Selford family jewels are locked… Continue reading Movie Review: Chamber of Horrors

Movie Review: Blackmail (1929)

Movie Review: Blackmail (1929) directed by Alfred Hitchcock  Alice White, who works in her father’s tobacco shop, is bored with her police detective boyfriend Frank. She acts obnoxiously during a date with him, causing Frank to cancel. But Frank hesitates long enough outside the restaurant to see Alice leave with handsome artist Mr. Crewe, who’d… Continue reading Movie Review: Blackmail (1929)

Manga Review: Bungo Stray Dogs 01

Manga Review: Bungo Stray Dogs 01 Story by Kafka Asagiri, Art by Sango Harukawa Atsushi Nakajima has had a rough life growing up in an abusive orphanage. When the orphanage was attacked by a tiger that wrecked the place, the people who ran the home decided that Atsushi was somehow responsible and kicked him out.… Continue reading Manga Review: Bungo Stray Dogs 01

Book Review: The New Adventures of Ellery Queen

Book Review: The New Adventures of Ellery Queen by Ellery Queen Ellery Queen was the shared pen name of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, as well as the main character of the mystery stories they wrote. Starting with The Roman Hat Mystery in 1929, they wrote many novels and short stories about a brainy mystery writer solving crimes (and then writing about them in the third… Continue reading Book Review: The New Adventures of Ellery Queen

Book Review: The Case of the Fenced-In Woman | Inspector West Takes Charge

Book Review: The Case of the Fenced-In Woman by Erle Stanley Gardner | Inspector West Takes Charge by John Creasey These two books were bound together as a Detective Book Club selection and thus I am reviewing them together. The Case of the Fenced-In Woman:  While Perry Mason is best known for defending innocent people accused… Continue reading Book Review: The Case of the Fenced-In Woman | Inspector West Takes Charge

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz The definition of “thriller” is a little loose in this fun anthology, though most of the stories do have at least some suspense.  It feels more like the compiler picked a bunch of the public domain stories he liked, but didn’t have a strong… Continue reading Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales