With “Europe [having] exploded”, crime-solving New York schoolteacher Hildegard Withers is holidaying in Los Angeles and, by dint of being recognised from a photo in the paper, is hired by a film studio as a consultant on a new film about Lizzie Borden. When, on her first day, the man in the office next to … Continue reading #963: The Puzzle of the Happy Hooligan (1941) by Stuart Palmer
Summoned by a distant relative to a secluded family pile, a young(ish) man finds himself isolated with a fixed cast of closely-related characters as money-hungry relatives, murder, and all other sorts of puzzle plotting chicanery inveigle themself onto the scene. Yes, in many ways No Flowers By Request takes the exact same ingredients as The … Continue reading #219: No Flowers By Request, a.k.a. Omit Flowers (1937) by Stuart Palmer
A little charm goes a long way – ask any bank teller or helpline operative, or indeed any fan of Golden Age crime fiction. Because, while a lot of absolutely wonderful books came out of this genre at that time, the fact is that a lot of what was published then and is popular now … Continue reading #80: Murder on Wheels (1932) by Stuart Palmer
Good heavens, it’s practically the end of the month already, and so this is the final week of the reforming Tuesday Night Bloggers (we’ll be back, I’m sure) in their exploration of the great detectives of fiction.
Having participated in the Vintage Cover Scavenger Bingo run by Bev Hankin over at My Reader’s Block this year, I’m not delighted with the account I’ve given of myself, but it at least sets a bar to improve on in 2017 (and I did have two months off, after all…). Since Christmas has played havoc … Continue reading #184: Vintage Cover Bingo Scavenger Hunt 2016 Round-Up
The halfway point of the year seems a good time to put your slavering, fanatical curiosity to rest by updating you on my progress with the Vintage Mystery Cover Scavenger Hunt set by Bev over at My Reader’s Block. Behold!
The Invisible Event 