Book Review: The Land of Dreams

Book Review: The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstøl Lance Hansen has not dreamed in seven years.   A divorced Forest Service police officer on the North Shore of Lake Superior, most of his days are spent chasing illegal fishing and people camping in the wrong places.  He thinks that the latter will be his… Continue reading Book Review: The Land of Dreams

Comic Strip Review: Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy Volume 14: 1951-1953

Comic Strip Review: Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy Volume 14: 1951-1953 by Chester Gould Another of the fine IDW reprints which are trying to cover the entire Chester Gould run of Dick Tracy, moving into the early 1950s.  As mentioned in the Max Allan Collins introduction, the stories shifted focus a bit.  Dick Tracy is a full… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy Volume 14: 1951-1953

Magazine Review: Phantom Detective #2: Dealers in Death | The Yacht Club Murders

Magazine Review: Phantom Detective #2: Dealers in Death | The Yacht Club Murders edited by Anthony Tollin. The Phantom Detective was wealthy playboy Richard Curtis Van Loan, who became bored with his civilian life after serving in World War One.   His friend, publisher Frank Havens, suggested he put his brains and assortment of interesting… Continue reading Magazine Review: Phantom Detective #2: Dealers in Death | The Yacht Club Murders

Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1

Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1 edited by John Locke Arthur B. Reeve (1880-1936) was a newspaper reporter who decided to try his hand at writing fiction.  As it happened, he turned out to be very good at it, making a huge hit with his most famous character,… Continue reading Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1

Book Review: Peril by Ponytail

Book Review: Peril by Ponytail by Nancy J Cohen Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.  No other compensation was involved.  Also, this is an advance uncorrected proof, and there will be some changes in the final product.  (Such as fixing the typo on the… Continue reading Book Review: Peril by Ponytail

Comic Book Review: Bodies

Comic Book Review: Bodies written by Si Spencer; art by Dean Ormstom, Phil Winslade, Meghan Hetrick, & Tula Lotay. Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.  No other compensation was involved. A string of seemingly-identical murders baffles London detectives in four time periods.  It can’t… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Bodies

Magazine Review: Detective Yarns April 1939

Magazine Review: Detective Yarns April 1939 This is a facsimile reprint by Adventure House of a pulp magazine.  Pulp magazines tended to stick to one genre, so you knew what you were getting from the beginning; in this case action-mystery.  Great literature was rare, but they really got the blood pumping.  And a dozen stories… Continue reading Magazine Review: Detective Yarns April 1939

Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries

Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler The title of this volume is slightly misleading; “locked room” stands in for the general idea of impossible crimes in mystery stories.  A man  is found stabbed in the back in a windowless room with the door locked from the inside.… Continue reading Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries

TV Review: Checkmate | Colonel March of Scotland Yard | I’m the Law

TV Review: Checkmate | Colonel March of Scotland Yard | I’m the Law Time for more old-time TV!  Checkmate was a 1960-62 series about a detective agency of the same name based in San Francisco.  Don Corey (Anthony  George ) and Jed Sills (Doug McClure) out of Corey’s plush apartment, and employ Dr. Carl Hyatt… Continue reading TV Review: Checkmate | Colonel March of Scotland Yard | I’m the Law

Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan)

Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan) by Gosho Aoyama Shin’ichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo) is a teen genius detective, well known for solving cases that baffle the police.  One day while visiting an amusement park with his female friend Ran Mouri (Rachel Moore), he witnesses a murder by two men in black.   They catch him,… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan)