Murphy’s Loft Bookshop

Murphy’s Loft, Mullica Hill NJ. This was my third experience in this laid back book and ephemera store. I visited years ago, and then a few months back, right after the original owner retired, and her son (grandson?) took the reins. Unfortunately, his mother decided to rid herself of half the inventory, so he let it … Read more

Denise Swanson–Not Just a Small Town Woman

Denise Swanson is a character out of one of her books. A small town girl, intelligent, kind, and successful. Very successful. Her Scumble River soft boiled mystery series has been running for many years now, with appearances on the New York Time Bestseller‘s list and slews of award nominations, including a Best First Novel Agatha, … Read more

The Glass Room-Should or Shouldn’t It Be a Best 100?

  The Glass Room  Edwin Rolfe and  Lester Fuller  1946 “In 1946 the phrase first appeared in the murder mystery novel Murder in the Glass Room (by Edwin Rolfe and Lester Fuller) as “you can never tell a book by its cover.” Wow, that fact, I just found, may tip the book onto the list! We’ll … Read more

Robin Burcell, The Real Deal

I thought the succinct bio from author Robin Burcell’s webpage would do the trick in introducing her to those who haven’t already read her suspenseful novels. “Robin Burcell, an FBI-trained forensic artist, has worked in law enforcement for over two decades as a police officer, detective and hostage negotiator. She is the author of the … Read more

The Wit and Wisdom Of Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker and the Round Table of sophisticated New Yorkers held an alluring atmosphere in my adolescent mind. So much so, I hunted down obscure texts by Robert Benchley, and Alexander Woolcott,  two of the mainstays. The literati of the twenties were probably looked upon as obnoxious snobbish decadent do-nothings, by those in the hard … Read more