Movie Review: Scared to Death (1947) directed by Christy Cabanne There’s an unusually chatty corpse in the morgue tonight, and it wants to tell us all about how it got there. Laura Van Ee (Molly Lamont) made a poor choice in marrying Ward Van Ee (Roland Varno), son of eminent physician Dr. Joseph Van Ee (George… Continue reading Movie Review: Scared to Death (1947)
Tag: mystery
Book Review: Widows Wear Weeds
Book Review: Widows Wear Weeds by A.A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner) Erle Stanley Gardner became famous thanks to his Perry Mason stories, featuring a defense attorney whose client is always innocent (of the particular murder the story is about.) But not every one of his story ideas fit that mold, so under the pen name… Continue reading Book Review: Widows Wear Weeds
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021 edited by Janet Hutchings “The years keep coming and they just keep coming.” It seems like just a few months ago I reviewed a 75th anniversary issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, but in fact it was five years ago, and here’s the 80th anniversary issue. It’s… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021
Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel
Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel script by J.B. Priestley, adaptation by Jason Cobley, linework by Will Volley It is spring, 1912 in the English town of Brumley. Wealthy manufacturer Arthur Birling and his wife Sybil are having a small dinner party to celebrate the engagement of their daughter Sheila to Gerald… Continue reading Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel
Book Review: The Circular Staircase
Book Review: The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart Miss Rachel Innes is a woman of independent means who raised her brother’s children Halsey and Gertrude after he and his wife passed away. They’re now in their early twenties, and have at long last persuaded their maiden aunt to rent a summer house out in… Continue reading Book Review: The Circular Staircase
Magazine Review: The Masked Detective Spring 1942
Magazine Review: The Masked Detective Spring 1942 The Masked Detective is one of the lesser-known hero pulps, with a dozen quarterly issues between 1940 and 1943. The detective, usually just called “The Mask” in-story, was ace reporter Rex Parker for the New York Comet. He’d been persuaded by his girlfriend, society columnist Winnie Bligh, to… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Masked Detective Spring 1942
Book Review: Arsene Lupin
Book Review: Arsene Lupin by Maurice LeBlanc & Edgar Jepson This should be a happy time for millionaire Gournay-Martin. Not only is he one of the richest men in France, but his daughter Germaine is finally getting married to the dashing Duke of Charmerace. But there is a cloud in his life. Three years ago,… Continue reading Book Review: Arsene Lupin
Magazine Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May/June 2021
Magazine Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May/June 2021 edited by Linda Landrigan In 1956, HSD Publications wanted to create a new mystery story magazine. To boost sales, they licensed the name of Alfred Hitchcock, a famous director who was then the host of a popular television show. While Mr. Hitchcock otherwise had nothing to do… Continue reading Magazine Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May/June 2021
Book Review: A Coffin for Dimitrios
Book Review: A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler Latimer used to be a political economist at an English university, until contact with Nazi economical theory left him so out of sorts that he wrote a detective novel to relax. He turned out to be quite good at writing detective stories, and has become a… Continue reading Book Review: A Coffin for Dimitrios
Book Review: The Man on the Balcony
Book Review: The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo It is June 2, 1967 in Stockholm, Sweden. A man stands on his balcony, smoking and watching the street as the sun rises. It’s going to be a scorcher today. A peaceful enough scene, but the calm of the city is going… Continue reading Book Review: The Man on the Balcony