While I wasn’t entirely sure what the focus of this blog would be when I started it — I knew there would be impossible crimes, but had no idea otherwise — I’d have been surprised if you told me I’d end up doing so much reading of and writing about mysteries for 9 to 12 … Continue reading #1357: What Liberty a Loosened Spirit Brings! – My Ten Favourite Juvenile Mysteries| The Invisible Event
Having fared wonderfully with Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers (and Dog), and faring as I am less well with the first three so-called ‘R’ Mysteries I’ve read so far, I was intrigued to see mentioned online that one of the Secret Seven novels was more of a clue-based mystery than its brethren…and so to the appropriately(?)-named … Continue reading #1355: Minor Felonies – Secret Seven Mystery (1957) Enid Blyton| The Invisible Event
Once again, now for a third time, I have been misled by these House of Stratus editions about the nature of a book by R. Austin Freeman. The cover of When Rogue’s Fall Out, a.k.a. Dr. Thorndyke’s Discovery (1932) promises “Three Books in One, starring Dr. Thorndyke”, leading me to surmise that these were three novellas. … Continue reading #1353: When Rogues Fall Out, a.k.a. Dr. Thorndyke’s Discovery (1932) by R. Austin Freeman| The Invisible Event
Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy stories, where murder and magic mingle in an alternate-history Europe, being a closed set, I had never really thought to consider the gaps between them before now. So here’s the last story on this blog before we take a little break and return to finish the canon next year, it’s… ‘A … Continue reading #1352: Little Fictions – ‘A Matter of Gravity’ (1974) by Randall Garrett| The Invisible Event
A gap of six years followed Randall Garrett’s sole Lord Darcy novel Too Many Magicians (1967) before he returned to the universe. Was that time well-spent in creating another strong fusion of mystery, magic, and murder? Let’s find out with… ‘A Stretch of the Imagination’ (1973) When Lord Arlen, “owner and head of one of … Continue reading #1349: Little Fictions – ‘A Stretch of the Imagination’ (1973) by Randall Garrett| The Invisible Event
When young Frank Conway returns to his hotel on the edge of the South Downs one evening in a distracted frame of mind, none of the other denizens of the Fernbank think much of it. His request for an audience with various people are rejected in the rush for dinner and when, over that same … Continue reading #1347: The Secret of the Downs (1939) by Walter S. Masterman| The Invisible Event
More magic, mummery, and misdirection from Randall Garrett’s alternate history Europe, and this time a bit of an impossible crime thrown in to boot. Not that he makes much of that element. Buckle your swashes(?), it’s… ‘The Muddle of the Woad’ (1965) The discovery of a body in a coffin wouldn’t ordinarily be that much … Continue reading #1346: Little Fictions – ‘The Muddle of the Woad’ (1965) by Randall Garrett| The Invisible Event
I first encountered James Yaffe via his story ‘The Problem of the Emperor’s Mushrooms’ (1945), but have heard much about his ‘Mom’ stories, in which a police officer’s mother “is usually able to solve over the dinner table crimes that keep the police running around in circles for weeks”. So I was delighted to acquire … Continue reading #1333: “Why shouldn’t I know? I know how people act, don’t I?” – My Mother, the Detective [ss] (2016) by James Yaffe| The Invisible Event
On 18th August 2025, The Invisible Event will have been running for ten years. And while I’m not a big one for introspection — I read books, I write about those books, some people read what I’ve written, rinse, repeat — a decade feels like a notable achievement and so some introspection is going to … Continue reading #1328: The Tenniversary – Ten Books That (Unwittingly) Shaped This Blog| The Invisible Event
It’s true that, by reading a lot of crime and detective fiction and trying to write three posts a week on that subject, I sometimes forget to just enjoy my reading. So thank heavens it’s time for another Alasdair Beckett-King novel, with Sabotage at Sea (2025) being the fourth in the Montgomery Bonbon corpus. This … Continue reading #1325: Minor Felonies – Montgomery Bonbon: Sabotage at Sea (2025) by Alasdair Beckett-King [ill. Claire Powell]| The Invisible Event
Fun fact: I did not pick up With a Vengeance (2025), the ninth novel by Riley Sager, because I knew it featured an impossible crime. In fact, I’m not even sure it does feature an impossible crime. But it might, and I had a lot of fun with this book, and those two points alone … Continue reading #1324: A Little Help for My Friends – Finding a Modern Locked Room Mystery for TomCat Attempt #28: With a Vengeance (2025) by Riley Sager| The Invisible Event
With Libby at Solving Mystery of Murder continuing to struggle with the work of French maestro of the impossible crime Paul Halter, and with no new Halter titles on the horizon for a little while at least, I got to reflecting on the titles that John Pugmire so selflessly translated under his Locked Room International … Continue reading #1321: A Joyous-Going Fellow – My Ten Favourite Paul Halter Translations| The Invisible Event
Benjamin| Beneath the Stains of Time
For| Beneath the Stains of Time
I started reading Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. in 2018 and over the years, despite some prolonged hiatuses and ill-fated restarts, it not only b...| moonlight-detective.blogspot.com
In 1995, Edward D. Hoch introduced a new character to his gallery of detectives, Alexander Swift, who's a civilian investigator and spy for...| moonlight-detective.blogspot.com
Reunion| Beneath the Stains of Time
Back| Beneath the Stains of Time
Three| Beneath the Stains of Time
Back in March, I reviewed Henna e ( Strange Pictures , 2022) written by the pseudonymous Japanese horror and mystery Youtuber, "Uketsu," wh...| moonlight-detective.blogspot.com
Last| Beneath the Stains of Time
Last| Beneath the Stains of Time
Edward| Beneath the Stains of Time
The BBB began serializing MORI Hiroshi 's Warawanai sugakusha ( Mathematical Goodbye , 1996), third novel in the S&M series, in the summer...| moonlight-detective.blogspot.com
Back| Beneath the Stains of Time
Last| Beneath the Stains of Time
Herbert| Beneath the Stains of Time
In the continuing saga that is the translation and publication of Japanese honkaku mysteries into English, Pushkin Vertigo brings us another prolific but seldom read author. Taku Ashibe h…| Ah Sweet Mystery!
The first story from Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. vol. 42, "Escher Hotel," brings Sou Touma and Kana Mizuhara to the titular hotel, " designed b...| moonlight-detective.blogspot.com
The| Beneath the Stains of Time
Last| Beneath the Stains of Time
I ended the review of Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. vol. 42-43 with the plan to have this series wrapped before July, which can be done at the c...| moonlight-detective.blogspot.com
Even before the sad death of John Pugmire, who brought us much in the way of foreign language impossible crime novels through Locked Room International, Pushkin Vertigo had started some heavy lifti…| The Invisible Event
I picked my ten favourite crime and detective novels published in the 1930s a little while ago for my online book club, but I only do a Ten Favourite… list every four months or so and thus am…| The Invisible Event
Since I don’t post about books in the order that I read them, I must start this review by informing you that, behind the scenes, I gave up on five books by five different authors before settl…| The Invisible Event
Perhaps there’s a charm imbued here by being slightly separated from too direct an experience of the career of former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel; the porcine indiscretions of David C…| The Invisible Event
Ah, my great white whale. Well, in this case, it is more a White Circle. Pocket Edition, that is. I’ve been steadily hunting for The Sleeping Bacchus for about five years, and I’ve never come close to spotting it for sale. Not in the original hardback form, nor in the White Circle Pocket Edition from … Continue reading "The Sleeping Bacchus – Hilary St George Saunders (1952)"| The Green Capsule
When holiday season rolls around and I finally get some concentrated time off work, I like to splurge a bit and dive into books that I know are likely a guaranteed top read. That typically translates to impossible crime novels by the likes of Locked Room International, Pushkin Vertigo, and Ramble House. Last year, a … Continue reading "The Red Death Murders – Jim Noy (2022)"| The Green Capsule
Nothing like a Paul Halter novel to bring me back to life. When The Gold Watch first dropped in 2019, the big headline was that the author had written a new novel – following a five year gap – and that it was being published in English immediately. That we got the new novel in … Continue reading "The Gold Watch – Paul Halter (2019)"| The Green Capsule
A 2021 post about The Anthony Boucher Chronicles over at Cross Examining Crime tipped me off to some (now) obscure locked room mysteries that Boucher had reviewed back in the day. I first tried my luck with One of These Seven, which turned out to be a pretty vapid pulp mystery that didn’t even feature … Continue reading "Murder and the Married Virgin – Brett Halliday (1944)"| The Green Capsule
Let me know when you’ve found another book that throws down the gauntlet in the opening stretch like this one does. The Problem of the Wire Cage? The Judas Window? The Red Widow Murders? Maybe. I scan my bookshelves and I struggle to find a book that comes out with as solid of an opening … Continue reading "The Hollow Man (The Three Coffins) – John Dickson Carr (1935)"| The Green Capsule
It’s easy to dismiss James Patterson for not writing his own books or being too prolific or being a hack or [insert insult of choice here], but I’m a fan of giving someone a chance befo…| The Invisible Event
“My New Year’s resolution is to murder a man I’ve never met” — thus does Basil Palmer lay out his intentions at the very start of his journal in Hemlock Bay (2024) by …| The Invisible Event
I’ve written before about the impact the long-defunct Orion Crime Masterworks series had on my discovery of classic-era crime and detective fiction, and a recent pruning of my shelves brought…| The Invisible Event
Recently, this blog went through another period in which the locked room mystery and impossible crime reviews crowded everything else out, w...| moonlight-detective.blogspot.com
Another month, another Sherlock Holmes pastiche, this time from the very enjoyable US TV series Elementary (2012-19). My belated discovery of two novelisations in that universe was a source of imme…| The Invisible Event
Serendipity brought the superb Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime [ss] (2009) edited by Michael Sims to my awareness, and highlighted Sims’ erudition and excellent coverage of Victorian crime fic…| The Invisible Event
Last weekend, it was my distinct honour to present for a fourth time at the Bodies from the Library conference, in this instance on the topic of Enid Blyton’s detective fiction as represented…| The Invisible Event
Case for Three Detectives (1936) by Leo Bruce was perhaps the first impossible crime novel I read after becoming aware that the subgenre existed, and it had such a marked effect on me that, ne…| The Invisible Event
