Rex Stout and Me (sort of)

Sometimes serendipity enters a book collectors life. When I worked for A&E mysteries.com as their bookclub moderator, I  wrote articles and interviewed authors etc., but I also had conversations via comments, just like here. I noticed on one mystery board, a woman was asking anyone who may have info how she could sell a collection … Read more

The Desert Moon Mystery. Kay Cleaver Strahan

The Desert Moon Mystery—Kay Cleaver Strahan–1928—used (several inexpensive copies available) You may have noticed, after three picks, that I tend to enjoy the Golden Age Of Mysteries. The time period of the 20’s 30’s, and for me into the 40’s. Back in the day, as they say, mysteries tended to involve puzzles, upper class victims, … Read more

Taking It With You, or Booked to Death

My husband and I took a nice afternoon outing to Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia PA. Picnicing and taking photos are a past time of ours. Yes, really. We came across a particular monument that inspired me to ask the question, does your vision of the afterlife include books? Are there lending libraries,or personal wood … Read more

The Secret Beyond the Door. Best 100 Mysteries of All Time

  The Secret Beyond the Door-(original title: Museum Piece No.13)–Rufus King-1946–Doubleday Crime Club–OOP I chose to use the title under which I read the book , because it’s sooooo Gothic in feel, lol. It was made into a film, and one that closely sticks to the book, unusually so. Lily, a widow with money who … Read more

The Best 100 Mysteries of All Time–Ten More Titles

The Best 100 Mysteries of All Time–10 Titles-Number 2    Stone Quarry—  S. J. Rozan  1999-St. Martin’s Press-IP   To read a synopsis go here:   https://bookshopblog.com/2011/11/05/no-79-stone-quarry-best-100-mysteries-of-all-time/           Billy Dead—Lisa Reardon–Viking Publishers-1998–IP   To read a synopsis of the book go here:  https://bookshopblog.com/2011/08/12/no-90-billy-dead-best-100-mysteries-of-all-time/       Murder Between the Covers—Elaine Viets–2003—-IP   To … Read more

The Innocent Mrs. Duff–Best 100 Mysteries of All Time

The Innocent Mrs. Duff —   Elizabeth Sanxay Holding-1946-used I read Number 100, only recently. And had to jam it into the list, somewhere. Maybe it belongs a lower number, I don’t know and won’t try to figure it out, my mind has lost its ability to discern between good great and greatest, to coin a … Read more

Desecration, or Appropriate Sanitizing?

I checked out Banned Books Week’s facebook page, and found a link to this question-should literary classics be sanitized? In this time of political correctness, derogatory names and nasty words are forbidden in literature. You won’t see many novels calling ethnic groups slang names, or using the ‘n’ word, even if the character within the … Read more