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)
Tag: shopkeepers
Book Review: Looking for Humboldt & Searching for German Footprints in New Mexico and Beyond
Book Review: Looking for Humboldt & Searching for German Footprints in New Mexico and Beyond by Erika Schelby The author is a German immigrant to New Mexico. While studying the history of her new state, she learned that Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), the famous Prussian naturalist and explorer, had passed through what would become New… Continue reading Book Review: Looking for Humboldt & Searching for German Footprints in New Mexico and Beyond
Magazine Review: High Adventure #160: Ten Detective Aces Special
Magazine Review: High Adventure #160: Ten Detective Aces Special edited by John P. Gunnison Ten Detective Aces started publication in 1928 under the title The Dragnet Magazine and primarily featured gangster stories. Public interest in gangsters as a separate subgenre was fading, so in 1930 the magazine started featuring more general crime and detective stories under the title Detective-Dragnet Magazine, and in 1933 switched to Ten… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #160: Ten Detective Aces Special
Book Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Book Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin On Alice Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, there is a bookstore, Island Books. It isn’t doing so well right now. Owner A.J. Fikry was never the most sociable of people, and he’s gotten downright surly since the death of his wife Nic. Sales… Continue reading Book Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader
Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader edited by H.L. Gold Galaxy Magazine had a decent run with a lot of good stories, so it’s not surprising that even this fourth collection of fifteen science fiction reprints from the 1950s has a strong selection. (I recognized almost all of these!) There’s an introduction which runs down inferior… Continue reading Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader
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
Book Review: A Life for a Life: A Mystery Novel
Book Review: A Life for a Life: A Mystery Novel by Lynda McDaniel Disclaimer: I received a download of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway to facilitate writing this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. There’s big doings down to Coburn’s Country Store. The new owner, Della Kincaid, used to be a big-city… Continue reading Book Review: A Life for a Life: A Mystery Novel
Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard
Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard by Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (1925-2013) started his career as a professional writer by producing short Western stories for the pulp magazines. According to the introduction, Mr. Leonard’s first attempt was not very good and was rejected, whereupon he decided that next time he… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard
Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02
Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02 by Hirohiko Araki Quick recap: In 19th Century England, orphan Dio Brando comes to live with the wealthy and noble Joestar family. In retrospective, they probably should have asked more questions about how he became an orphan. Dio planned to supplant the heir, Jonathan… Continue reading Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02
Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939
Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939 Edited by Dorothy McIlwrath Short Stories started life in 1890 as a literary magazine, but switched to being a “quality pulp” in 1910, featuring stories of adventure and crime a cut above many of its competitors. Like many of the pulps, it lost sales badly after World War… Continue reading Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939