Originally published in 1929 Roger Sheringham #5Preceded by The Silk Stocking MurdersFollowed by The Second Shot Sir Eustace is a cad of the first water, with a specialty in other men’s wives…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Anthony Berkeley at Sherborne School in 1911, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons In Berkeley, wit, charm and flair warred with demons. He loved to confound people’s expectations. The contra…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Pro Bono begins with a young woman, Kiriko, arriving in Tokyo. She has come from Kyushu in search of Kinzo Otsuka, a celebrated criminal defense lawyer. Her brother is about to be tried for the murder of a moneylender, and the evidence against him looks grim. When she approaches Otsuka though, he quickly determines she […]| Mysteries Ahoy!
Of all the Christie novels I have reread, none has risen in my estimation as much as Sad Cypress.| Mysteries Ahoy!
The BBC has been making quality radio adaptations of vintage crime novels for decades. Unfortunately though, with the exceptions of Christie and Sayers, these adaptations haven’t been easy to…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray investigate the murder of a medium during a séance.| Mysteries Ahoy!
The Detective Wore Silk DrawersPeter LoveseyOriginally Published 1970Sergeant Cribb #2Preceded by Wobble to DeathFollowed by Abracadaver A few years ago Soho Crime reissued the Cribb stories with s…| Mysteries Ahoy!
One of the things that drew my wife and I together is our shared love of literature. Our tastes are, of course, quite different but there are some areas of overlap. What’s more important though for this post is that I really trust her taste. When she tells me that something is worth my time, […]| Mysteries Ahoy!
The Sergeant Cribb mysteries hold a special place in my heart. This is not only as a reader but also as a blogger. The reason is that this series has been with me since the start of the blog. My ve…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Between 1960 and 2005, five different film directors tried to tackle a common subject: the character of Tom Ripley. These five films, adapted from the first three novels in Patricia Highsmith’…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Recently I have been watching a lot of vintage movies in the mystery and crime genres. At first I had intended to write individual posts about them but I quickly realized that would overwhelm the o…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Endless Night is best viewed as a work of literary fiction in which there is a crime. The reason for this is that though there is a murder, it occurs very late in the book. Instead the book follows…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Originally published 1984 Graham Marshall is a respectable husband and father and dedicated London businessman. He’s always played by the rules, believing that’s the surest way to climb the corpora…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Originally Published 1938Nigel Strangeways #4Preceded by There’s Trouble BrewingFollowed by The Smiler with the Knife What do you do when you plan a murder then, inexplicably, your victim tur…| Mysteries Ahoy!
There is much to love about the British Library's Crime Classics range. I am always thrilled when I see a rare book from a much-loved author will be released. What I really appreciate though is when the range brings me to an author I have never encountered before. Or, in the case of Nina Bawden, that I knew but haven't read in the context of the mystery genre.| Mysteries Ahoy!
The Judas Window is one of the most celebrated books in John Dickson Carr’s bibliography. When Ed Hoch conducted his famous poll of mystery writers’ favorite locked room mysteries, the …| Mysteries Ahoy!
It has been another slow week reading. I have a stack of books I have started but can’t seem to muster the will to finish – always frustrating! To get over the rut I decided to take a b…| Mysteries Ahoy!
A Kiss Before DyingIra LevinOriginally Published 1953 As many of you will know, one of my long-term aims has been to seek out lots of inverted mysteries with the idea of at some point making a top …| Mysteries Ahoy!
The first three books in the Brother Cadfael series each put focus, to some degree, on monkish activities. The first saw Cadfael undertake a trip to negotiate his abbey's purchase of a holy relic. The second explored the monk's role in burying and praying over the dead. The third, an Abbey's agreement to care for the rich in their lifetime in exchange for their lands.| Mysteries Ahoy!
I make no secret that Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying is my favorite mystery novel of all time. It is, after all, that rare thing – a book that I have discussed more than once including…| Mysteries Ahoy!
With my week of leisure coming to an end and a bit of uncertainty about how much time I’ll have to blog over the next few months, I wanted to focus on something positive and think about the b…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Originally published in 1982 as W No HigekiEnglish translation first published in 1987 January 3. Asahi Hills, a posh and isolated village set below the watchful eye of Mt. Fuji, is the home of Yoh…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Originally published in 1961 as 砂の器 (Suna no utsuwa)English translation first published in 1989 In the wee hours of a 1960s Tokyo morning, a dead body is found under the rails of a train, and the v…| Mysteries Ahoy!
A Quiet PlaceSeicho MatsumotoOriginally Published 1975 A Quiet Place is one of those novels that presents a particular challenge to review without mentioning at least a few spoilers. This is becaus…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Originally published in 1939 Agatha Christie has always shown a genius for the “closed” murder problem, in which the possible suspects are limited to a small and definite group. In this…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Originally Published 1935 The depression of the 1930s led people to desperate measures to survive. The marathon dance craze, which flourished at that time, seemed a simple way for people to earn ex…| Mysteries Ahoy!
One of the things that I appreciate most about Freeman Wills Crofts as a writer was his refusal to rely on a formula. The more I explore his work, the more I have come to see it as an iterative process, experimenting with ideas, structures and forms.| Mysteries Ahoy!
What did April and May have in store for me? Below you’ll find my thoughts on six films of pretty varying quality. There is one widely acclaimed title, some noir, and a modern adaptation of a…| Mysteries Ahoy!
We are only be a few days into the New Year but I am already looking to the future. I spent this morning perusing publishers and booksellers’ websites and catalogs. A few publishers have yet …| Mysteries Ahoy!
Below are my thoughts on the TV and films I watched this month that can be said to fall within the mystery or crime genres (or that are close enough that I think there’s crossover appeal). Th…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Originally published in 1932The American edition was published as Clerical Error that same year The Reverend Mr. Pardicott is struck by the idea that he should kill one of his parishioners, Colonel…| Mysteries Ahoy!
Those of you who have been around this blog for a while will know that I am a bit of a fan of the inverted mystery. While I make a point to read a pretty wide variety of crime and mystery fiction, …| Mysteries Ahoy!
The Voice is a collection of six short stories written by the prolific Japanese mystery writer, Seicho Matsumoto. I have read several of his novels over the years, most recently Tokyo Express, and …| Mysteries Ahoy!
I Married a Dead Man tells the story of a young woman in dire straits. Its protagonist, Helen, is unmarried and eight months pregnant. She seeks help from the father but he isn’t interested. …| Mysteries Ahoy!
