Category Archives: Books & Reading

Update on the weather, etc. Thursday it was 94° at 5pm when the power company shut down our A/C as a “power conservation measure”. The air came back on at 8pm, starting to cool the house back down, then at … Continue reading →

Long Story Short: A Short Story Collection (Chronicles of St. Mary’s) by Jodi Taylor, Headline June 2021 trade paper, science fiction I like Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s books a lot, though I’m the first to admit I’m way behind on the … Continue reading →

A Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows, (c) 2016, my copy Point Blank Books 2018 trade paper, mystery fiction, 344 pages – 2015 Arthur Ellis Award — Winner, Best First Novel  The Blurb: Detective Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune’s success has made … Continue reading →

Golden Age Detective Stories edited by Otto Penzler, Penzler Publishers June 2021 trade paper, mystery short story anthology, a volume of Otto Penzler Presents American Mystery Classics I’ve been reading mystery fiction in both long and short form for many decades, … Continue reading →

(re-post from Broken Bullhorn) Tether’s End by Margery Allingham, Carroll & Graf 1997 paperback, first published in 1934, featuring Albert Campion, amateur Sleuth “The arrival of the bus was timed to perfection. Nobody of the slightest importance saw it at all.” Unlike the larger-than-life … Continue reading →

It’s still hot, not sizzling, but hot. I’m dealing with reading ennui, maybe it’s the weather, but I read just a few stories this last week. From The Vintage Anthology of Science Fantasy edited by Christopher Cerf, Vintage 1966 mass … Continue reading →

Ten Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler, Bantam 2008 trade paper, mystery, 4th in Bryant & May Peculiar Crimes Unit series. I’m continuing to read the series of mysteries featuring Braynt & May, written by Christopher Fowler. This is the 4th. … Continue reading →

When the Death-Bat Flies: the Detective Stories of Novel Page edited by Matthew Moring, introduction by Will Murray, Altus Press 2010 hardcover, first edition, 775 pages, hard-boiled detective stories Page, whose middle name was Wordsworth, broke into print during the depression while working … Continue reading →