Yes, my friends, I know: I do not usually review mainstream films here, as this blog is reserved for the mystery genre, albeit in all its forms. Today, however, I saw Downton Abbey: The New Era, and I would like for a moment to contemplate the mystery of Julian Fellowes. Here’s a man, a well-born peer … Continue reading DOWNTON ABBEY, A SAME OLD SAME OLD ERA
LONDON SHORTS WEATHER: Book Club Reads Capital Crimes
My Book Club is changing things up a little for May with a collection of short stories. Under the aegis of author and editor Martin Edwards, the British Library has published a number of these collections. Although they all tend to provide a mini-survey of mystery fiction, ranging from the pre-GAD era to the modern … Continue reading LONDON SHORTS WEATHER: Book Club Reads Capital Crimes
DADDY ISSUES: Elementary Season 4
Last time, I credited Robert Doherty, creator of the CBS TV series Elementary, for excellent transitions between seasons, and the entry into Season Four is no exception. In fact, it may just be the best yet. Since the start of the series, the name “Morland Holmes” has been injected into our consciousness. It was Morland who … Continue reading DADDY ISSUES: Elementary Season 4
” . . . CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE”: Madness in Christie
(This article discusses over a dozen novels by Agatha Christie and is rich in spoilers. If you are only a casual reader of her work, I would advise you to read on with great caution as numerous murderers will be exposed.) A wise man once said, “We all go a little mad sometimes,” just before … Continue reading ” . . . CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE”: Madness in Christie
LET’S FIND KITTY A NEW HOLMES: Elementary, Season 3
One of the most challenging tasks for the creator of a long-running series is how to transition from one season to another. Robert Doherty, the creator of Elementary, has the advantage of having the entire Sherlock Holmes canon at his fingertips from which he can pluck inspiration. Given that his modern-day take on the Holmes legend … Continue reading LET’S FIND KITTY A NEW HOLMES: Elementary, Season 3
PODCAST MANIA, PART II: The Crooked Hinge (with Flex and Herds)
“This thing was wrong. Terrors should not be domestic terrors. It was like being told that in your own home you may completely disappear for four hours. It was like being told that in your own home you may open a familiar door, and enter not your own room, but a room you have never … Continue reading PODCAST MANIA, PART II: The Crooked Hinge (with Flex and Herds)
DEATH AND DELIGHT ON THE HIGH C’S: Edmund Crispin’s Swan Song
Picture, if you dare, last month’s meeting of Book Club: We gathered on Zoom with grave faces, struggling to figure out how to fill the two hours with talk about a very dull book. As it turned out, we made short shrift of a desultory conversation about The Gutenberg Murders and devoted the bulk of our time in a group … Continue reading DEATH AND DELIGHT ON THE HIGH C’S: Edmund Crispin’s Swan Song
HOLMES, SWEET HOLMES: Elementary, Season 2
Welcome back to our exploration of Elementary, Robert Doherty’s modern take on the Great Detective, that ran on CBS from 2012 to 2019. I lasted about a season when the show first appeared, but high praise from friends like Sergio and JJ – and a wee bit more time on my hands for watching TV than … Continue reading HOLMES, SWEET HOLMES: Elementary, Season 2
PODCAST MANIA, PART I: Five Little Pigs
“It’s psychology that interests you, isn’t it? Well, that doesn’t change with time. The tangible things are gone – the cigarette end and the footprints and the bent blades of grass. You can’t look for those anymore. But you can go over all the facts of the case, and perhaps talk to the people who … Continue reading PODCAST MANIA, PART I: Five Little Pigs
A HALTER WITH BITE: The Mask of the Vampire
Let us consider the vampire. What other monster is simultaneously so alluring and so repellent? Immortal, eternally youthful, a creature whose method of attack has been compared in centuries of fiction as something akin to kinky sex! And yet it dwells in darkness, sleeps in a coffin, subsists on human blood, and is a close friend … Continue reading A HALTER WITH BITE: The Mask of the Vampire
Ah Sweet Mystery! 