Book Review: A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh Sir Hubert Handesley’s weekend entertainments are to die for, so young reporter Nigel Bathgate has been told. And now, thanks to his well-to-do older cousin Charles Rankin, Nigel will have the chance to participate in one himself. The game is “Murders”, which should be jolly good… Continue reading Book Review: A Man Lay Dead
Tag: London
Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror
Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz While the term “penny dreadfuls” proper belongs to a particular type of inexpensive newsprint periodical, as explained in the introduction to this volume, the twenty stories chosen here can all be described as lowbrow sensationalist literature written for those seeking thrills in their… Continue reading Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror
Book Review: Fire-Tongue
Book Review: Fire-Tongue by Sax Rohmer If there’s one thing a detective hates, it’s when their client hems and haws about explaining basic details of why they need a detective, only to die just as they make up their minds with only a cryptic last utterance as a clue. But that’s the situation Paul Harley… Continue reading Book Review: Fire-Tongue
Book Review: Stories from Sleep No More
Book Review: Stories from Sleep No More edited by August Derleth Sleep No More was a 1940s anthology of horror fiction put together by noted Wisconsin historical fiction (and horror) author August Derleth. It featured primarily creepy stories from the pulp magazines of the 1930s. In the 1960s, a paperback reprint came out. To make… Continue reading Book Review: Stories from Sleep No More
Book Review: The Invisible Library
Book Review: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman One good way to introduce a new fictional character or world is to start off with a short adventure where the character gets to show off their competency and special abilities. Usually this is at most loosely connected to the main plot which will show up after… Continue reading Book Review: The Invisible Library
Book Review: The Baker Street Peculiars
Book Review: The Baker Street Peculiars written by Roger Langridge, art by Andy Hirsch It is 1933 in the city of London, and what appears to be a stone lion from Trafalgar Square is running wild in the streets. Three children from different walks of life (and a dog) have separately decided to chase down… Continue reading Book Review: The Baker Street Peculiars
Book Review: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Book Review: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Martin J. Dougherty The Arthurian mythos is a familiar one to just about everyone in some form or another. But unless you’re a scholar of the subject, you might not know where all the pieces came from and how they got put together.… Continue reading Book Review: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Book Review: Twice Told Tales
Book Review: Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the great American writers; his The Scarlet Letter is studied in many schools across this land. But it took him quite a while to reach that status. After crushingly disappointing sales for his first novel, Fanshawe, Hawthorne spent a dozen years in poverty,… Continue reading Book Review: Twice Told Tales
Book Review: Inferior
Book Review: Inferior by Angela Saini Disclaimer: I received this Uncorrected Page Proof as a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. Some material may be changed in the final product, due out 5/23/17. Today there was a news story about a member of the European… Continue reading Book Review: Inferior
Book Review: Classic American Short Stories
Book Review: Classic American Short Stories compiled by Michael Kelahan This book is more or less exactly what it says in the title, a compilation of short(ish) stories written by American authors, most of which are acknowledged as classics by American Lit professors. The stories are arranged by author in roughly chronological order from the… Continue reading Book Review: Classic American Short Stories