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
I suppose the kindle or nook or ibook could be considered a stack of books being lightly hauled from destination to destination by those who love to use them. Not of that ilk myself, I tend to enclose a book of some sort, hardcover, paperback, pulp fiction, doesn’t matter what form, so long as it’s … Read more
The Phantom Lady William Irish (Cornell Woolrich) 1942 IP I know you’re all thinking, ‘oh no, not HIM again!’ but yes, Woolrich again, and again, and again, because he was that good. I was going to write a review of I Married a Dead Man until i realized I’d written an article about selling it, … Read more
The Jealous One—Celia Fremlin–1964 used. I wouldn’t leave the bathtub until I’d finished reading. I wouldn’t have a conversation with the husband, until the last chapters were gobbled up. I wouldn’t pay attention to anything else around me, even though I was at a pricey bed and breakfast for a two day romantic extravaganza. I … Read more
The Spider Orchid—Celia Fremlin–1977 –Used. I admit I originally had this on my Best 100 Mysteries of All Time list. I remember loving Ms. Fremlin, and thought this title was the best of what I read. But upon rereading this and another, I found I favored the other much more, so have switched this from … Read more
The Red Right Hand-–Joel Townsley Rogers–1945–used It’s almost impossible to describe The Red Right Hand. It’s kookie. Odd. Seemingly disjointed and nonsensical. It’s none of those things in the end, but it is something of a gigantic guffaw. Because you really need to set your suspension of belief at a very high level to believe … Read more
The So Blue Marble—Dorothy B. Hughes–1940–used ‘One delighted voice said, “Griselda, fancy seeing you!” The other one was laughing, “We’d thought you’d never come!” She could see the tall silk hats, the shining white scarves, the dark coats, the sticks under their arms. Even in shadow, she knew she had never seen their faces.’ This … Read more
Mystic River—Dennis Lehane –2001–IP Dennis Lehane can write. No, that’s not a given for this list. Some books I love may not be written eloquently or in a compelling manner. Lehane does both, and far far more. “When Sean Devine and Jimmy Marcus were kids, their fathers worked together at the Coleman Candy plant … Read more
