Joe was born on January 5, 1889, in Easton, Pennsylvania, the eldest of four children of Irish immigrants. Educated at Lafayette College and Columbia University, Joe met Stella, who was married, but they fell in love and with his legal education, he helped her get a divorce, after which they wed. Joe began his legal … Continue reading August 6, 1930
Mysteries
Dial Seven for Agatha
Regular readers will note that there are certain recurring characters in this blog. It’s rare that I go more than a few weeks without a mention of Stephen Sondheim, for example, or Isaac Asimov. Not quite at their frequency but still an often mentioned personage is the Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie. Hard as … Continue reading Dial Seven for Agatha
What’s the Matter with Rachel Bennette?
“I like a good detective story, but, you know, they begin in the wrong place! They begin with the murder. But the murder is the end. The story begins long before that—years before sometimes—with all the causes and events that bring certain people to a certain place at a certain time on a certain day. … Continue reading What’s the Matter with Rachel Bennette?
What’s the Matter with Robert Graves?
Quote of the day: Very few of us are what we seem.—Agatha Christie Robert Graves, the writer of the novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God, which were turned into the successful BBC TV series I, Claudius, became friends with Agatha Christie and her husband during World War II when they found themselves neighbors. Although they dwelt in … Continue reading What’s the Matter with Robert Graves?
The Mother of the Detective Novel
Quote of the day: The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year.—Voltaire Everett Raymond had been a junior partner in the law firm of Veeley, Carr & Raymond for about a year when a young man appeared at the office in the temporary … Continue reading The Mother of the Detective Novel
It’s Always the Coverup
Should you ever be in the market for what is known as a page-turner, you might want to give John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport series of thrillers a try. He’s been writing them since 1989’s Rules of Prey, although I’ve only been reading them for the last three or four years. There are 35 books in the … Continue reading It’s Always the Coverup
Mare of Easttown
I’m afraid I’m very late to the party on this one, as Mare of Easttown was originally shown several years ago, but as it was produced by the same folks who are doing Task, which was partly filmed in my neighborhood, I figured I ought to give Mare a look. I had tried watching it when it was … Continue reading Mare of Easttown
Nightmare in Yellow
Here’s another short short story from Fredric Brown. This one could very easily have been adapted for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television program, as it's exactly the kind of grimly ironic tale that that show used to specialize in. Of course, it would have had to have been fleshed out to turn it into a half … Continue reading Nightmare in Yellow
Dead Letter
Fredric Brown (1906 – 1972) was an American writer of mystery, fantasy, and science fiction stories. He was especially known for his short short stories with humorous or ironic endings. For example, “Dead Letter”, which appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 1955 page 65 as “The Letter”. Blurb: Another detective-crime story complete on one … Continue reading Dead Letter
The Right Kind of House
Henry Slesar wrote many mystery and science fiction short stories that are famous for their ironic or twist endings. He also wrote prolifically for television, including becoming head writer for several soap operas like The Edge of Night that specialized in mysteries. Sadly, most of his work is long out of print. Many of his short … Continue reading The Right Kind of House