literature-2
Melville Davisson Post’s Mysteries: Relief for Those Weary of Excessive Darkness

Many readers find modern genre fiction to be excessively "dark" and depressive, and for go...

books
Pirog’s Thomas Prescott Novels: Good, and Getting Better

Nick Pirog’s Thomas Prescott novels are worth reading just to watch a writer learning hi...

mysteries
“Forget It, Morse; It’s Oxfordshire.”−’Endeavour’: Series Two, on PBS

Two years ago I quite favorably reviewed the pilot film for Endeavour, the 1960s-set pre...

mysteries
Court Rebukes Doyle Heirs for Greed and Extortion

In a long-overdue victory for common sense and freedom of expression, the U.S. Court of ...

books
Fifteen Impossibilities: A Book Review

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE: Further Problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne — By Edward D. Hoch — Int...

mysteries
‘Twin Peaks’ to Be Released on Blu-Ray

One of the best TV series ever, Twin Peaks, will finally be released on Blu-Ray in the Uni...

books
Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy Tales

  The eleven tales that comprise the Lord Darcy series of  Randall Garrett provid...

mysteries
Classic Ellery Queen ‘Greek Coffin Mystery’ at a Bargain Price

One of the finest early-period mysteries by one of the greatest mystery writers (actually ...

mysteries
‘Psych’ Ends Eight-Year USA Network Run

The long-running USA Network series Psych ends its run tonight (9 EDT) after eight season...

mysteries
‘Mentalist’ Presents Tea Party Separatist Group in Positive Light

Sunday night's episode of the CBS-TV crime drama The Mentalist had a couple of interesti...

mysteries
From Sherlock to Schlock

This is actually a good time to talk about the BBC series Sherlock, season three of which...

mysteries
‘Ritual’ Mystery Novel Ruined by Cliches, Politics, Spiritualist Advocacy

I really like the reviewing work of Steve Steinbock in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine....

mysteries
Dark, Gritty ‘Mirror Image’ Offers Psychological Mystery-Suspense

Dennis Palumbo’s novel Mirror Image is the first in a series of books about Dr. Daniel...

mysteries
‘Psych’ Out at USA Network

Finally putting the rumors to rest, USA Network has announced the cancellation of long-run...

mysteries
The Daft and the Furious: BBC Resumes Father Brown Abuse

In September of last year, I absolutely lost it. If you’re a regular reader of this site...

books
Prose Fiction Update With A Bit of Poetry

Another week, another passel of links into the wide, wide world of wondrous word-smith...

books
Dick Francis, Manly Novelist

A while back I read Dick Francis' mystery, Decider, and decided I'd be reading more. So I ...

mysteries
Weak Resolution Mars ‘Rizzoli and Isles’ Episode

Yesterday, you may recall, I pointed out two TNT crime dramas with overt political message...

mysteries
TNT Crime Dramas Push Political Points

I have long argued that contemporary U.S. entertainment offers a much greater variety of i...

books
Prose Fiction Update

For your reading pleasure, as the work week comes to a close. Spend some time this weeke...

books
U.S. Publishers Head Overseas for New Crime Novels

Foreign menace strikes! Overseas crime novels are flooding U.S. shores, as American publis...

mysteries
‘Law and Order: Criminal Intent’ Imagines Christianity Disproven

Law and Order: Criminal Intent, the long-running spinoff of the recently canceled TV crime...

books
The Erudite Flatfoot—Inspector Appleby

Appleby Talks About Crime by Michael Innes Edited by John Cooper Crippen & Landru Publ...

books
“Just One More Thing . . . .”—Lt. Columbo Is on the Case

The Columbo Collection by William Link Crippen & Landru Publishers Hardcover: ISBN-97...

books
John Sandford Shakes Things Up in ‘Wicked Prey’

Minnesota author John Sandford (real name John Camp) has established a nice little fran...

culture101
Michael Caine Delivers Old Testament Justice in “Harry Brown”

Let me make this perfectly clear: Harry Brown is not for the faint of heart. Although the ...

commerce
‘Rockford Files’ Remake Shelved

NBC has stopped work on its proposed private-eye series The Rockford Files—as we had sug...

books
The Detective Story as Soulcraft—Stuart M. Kaminsky’s Final Lew Fonesca Novels

In March of 2009, mystery author Stuart M. Kaminsky moved with his wife from his Saraso...

genres
FX’s ‘Justified’ Rejuvenates Old-Fashioned Hero Type

Fox’s FX channel has a history of pushing the boundaries of “free cable” program...

mysteries
PBS ‘Masterpiece Mystery’ Deals with Communist Atrocity, UK, U.S. Complicity

Last night's season premiere episode of the PBS drama series Masterpiece Mystery brought t...

books
Happy Birthday, Nancy Drew

The Nancy Drew book series just reached its 80th anniversary. These books were of better q...

books
Denial Is an Effective Mystery by a Thorough Professional

Stuart M. Kaminsky, who passed away last October, was a consistently prolific and gifted...

books
‘The Redbreast’ Raises Interesting Moral Questions, With Few Answers

'It's an historian's duty to uncover, not to judge.' He lit his pipe. 'Many people belie...