Diane Plumley One of the publishers from crime fiction’s past, was a little name that tried to become a bigger power among heavy hitters. Not necessarily known for their quality, they did try hard. They signed up some known authors whose contracts perhaps expired with other publishers, and some names never heard of before or since. Collectors … Read more
Finding desirous books can be quite serendipitous. For example, last Saturday at a very large book and ephemera show in Allentown PA, I found three titles I never dreamed of locating within a reasonable budget, and certainly not in person. Maybe through bookfinder’s ABE., or Biblio, but on a table or shelf right in front … Read more
At the annual New York Antiquarian Book Show, even the paper within a bookseller’s catalog, has a refined air. A fragrance if you will, of expensively printed sheets of paper, beautifully bound with my favorite illustration from In Powder and Crinoline by Kay Nielsen’s hand.Within its pages are detailed descriptions of tomes I’ve never heard … Read more
I awoke to a friend on a writer’s list asking us to support author Charlaine Harris, of the Sookie vampire/mystery books, because someone in Germany who read the final title in the series posted a spoiler online. On Ms. Harris’ facebook page, there are a 1,369 comments. Most, from my quick calculation, positive towards Ms. … Read more
If Van Gough had Prozac, would he have explored creative worlds only he saw? If Tennessee Williams had been born in a time where homosexuality was universally accepted, would he have poured out A Streetcar Named Desire? If Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, every other depressed tortured writer and artist had Effexor, or Wellbutrin or any other anti … Read more
In crime fiction, bad acts are the norm. Violence both civilized and grotesque make up the themes within. Not much seems too far fetched to the reader because there is a unwritten agreement between the reader and writer –ignore improbability and simply enjoy. The concept of evil, that the murderers within the pages are of … Read more
I remembered why I didn’t read many crime novels by Margery Allingham. Of the books I’ve read so far, Her writing is gibberish to me. Excepting Traitor’s Purse, that is. That book is on my list for the very reason that it’s not remotely like any others she wrote. It’s straight forward, with regular language, no … Read more
You think I joke? I kid you not–some nitwit in Argentina was persuaded that a ferret was a mini poodle. He purchases one, and when home realized it was actually a huge ferret, one that had steroids foisted upon it when a baby to make it grow larger than the average animal. If that wasn’t … Read more
