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
Tag: police officers
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
Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014
Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014 It’s the second anniversary of this blog, so it’s time for the annual look at the online edition of Shounen Jump Weekly, the best-selling manga anthology in Japan. The big news this year was the end of the long-running and popular Naruto series (see my previous post on the… Continue reading Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014
Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind
Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind edited by Franklin Foer Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. The copy I read was an uncorrected proof, and changes will be made in the final edition. (Specifically, a second introduction by Leon Wieseltier–an index may also be forthcoming.)… Continue reading Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind
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)
TV Review: The Man Behind the Badge
TV Review: The Man Behind the Badge It’s back to the big box set of old TV shows with this anthology series that ran 1953-55, with Charles Bickford as the host. This one is interesting because it didn’t concentrate on one law enforcement agency or type of crime, instead featuring public servants of all kinds.… Continue reading TV Review: The Man Behind the Badge
TV Review: Public Defender
TV Review: Public Defender “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.” The office of the Public Defender is a special government department that specializes in handling the cases of indigent defendants. The first such office was opened in Los Angeles in about 1914. This series, which aired in 1954-55, was… Continue reading TV Review: Public Defender
TV Review: Decoy | The Shadow
TV Review: Decoy | The Shadow Decoy is a 1957-58 series about Casey Jones (Beverly Garland), a female police officer in New York City. She often goes undercover, thus the series title. This show is noteworthy as the first TV cop series to star a woman in the lead role. Like Dragnet, the series fictionalized real… Continue reading TV Review: Decoy | The Shadow
Book Review: They Talked to a Stranger
Book Review: They Talked to a Stranger by Len O’Connor This book is centered around ten interviews with juvenile delinquents by then-radio reporter Len O’Connor in 1950s Chicago. Each of the boys is identified with a nickname, some their actual nickname, others chosen to protect their identities. They’re asked how they got into a… Continue reading Book Review: They Talked to a Stranger
Movie Review: Hissatsu (Sure Death)
Movie Review: Hissatsu (Sure Death) A group of seemingly ordinary Edo citizens, mostly of the merchant class, are in fact a loose team of assassins. But fear not, they’re good guy assassins who only take money to kill people who really deserve it. Problem! There’s a new assassin in town, who’s exclusively targeting the local… Continue reading Movie Review: Hissatsu (Sure Death)