Book Review: Artful by Peter David As long time readers will recall, some years ago I read and reviewed the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. Towards the end, the last we see of Oliver’s friend acquaintance the Artful Dodger is in court, where he’s sentenced to be transported to Australia for thievery. (A crime… Continue reading Book Review: Artful
Tag: police officers
Movie Review: Five Deadly Venoms
Five Deadly Venoms (1978) dir. Cheh Chang Many years ago, the Poison Clan used its powerful martial arts techniques for evil. By this means, they amassed great wealth, but also many enemies. The remaining members had to move into the remote wilderness to keep their lore alive. Now the last teacher of the Poison Clan (Dick… Continue reading Movie Review: Five Deadly Venoms
Book Review: The Holy City Murders
Book Review: The Holy City Murders by Ron Plante Jr. Duke Dempsey might live in Charleston, South Carolina, which likes to tout itself as the “Holy City”, but he’s not particularly interested in religion, or the many churches and temples that dot the landscape. He’s much more focused on bourbon and keeping his private investigation… Continue reading Book Review: The Holy City Murders
Movie Review: Tales of Terror (1962)
Movie Review: Tales of Terror (1962) directed by Roger Corman This trilogy of scary stories was loosely adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe by Richard Matheson. By now, Roger Corman and Vincent Price were a practiced team at these adaptations. In “Morella”, Price plays “Locke”, a widower who has spent the last 26 years… Continue reading Movie Review: Tales of Terror (1962)
Magazine Review: High Adventure #166: The Big Foot Murder Mystery
Magazine Review: High Adventure #166: The Big Foot Murder Mystery by Edgar Wallace This time the pulp reprint magazine only has one story, which originally appeared in Complete Detective Novel Magazine in October, 1929. It was one of twelve novels Edgar Wallace (Richard Horatio Edgar Freeman) had published that year! One publisher claimed that nearly… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #166: The Big Foot Murder Mystery
Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978
Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978 edited by Sam Merwin Jr. Private eye Michael “Mike” Shayne was created in 1939 by David Dresser, writing under the name “Brett Halliday”. The books were long-running and popular, and in 1956 Dresser licensed the character to a puiblishing company to be the headliner of a digest-sized… Continue reading Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978
Book Review: The Edge of Reason
Book Review: The Edge of Reason by Melinda Snodgrass Albuquerque, NM police officer Richard Oort has many things. Good looks, musical talent and training, a fine education and a passion for police work. He even has some dark secrets. But it’s what Richard doesn’t have that makes him special. When Richard saves a young woman… Continue reading Book Review: The Edge of Reason
Magazine Review: High Adventure #160: Ten Detective Aces Special
Magazine Review: High Adventure #160: Ten Detective Aces Special edited by John P. Gunnison Ten Detective Aces started publication in 1928 under the title The Dragnet Magazine and primarily featured gangster stories. Public interest in gangsters as a separate subgenre was fading, so in 1930 the magazine started featuring more general crime and detective stories under the title Detective-Dragnet Magazine, and in 1933 switched to Ten… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #160: Ten Detective Aces Special
Book Review: The New Adventures of Ellery Queen
Book Review: The New Adventures of Ellery Queen by Ellery Queen Ellery Queen was the shared pen name of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, as well as the main character of the mystery stories they wrote. Starting with The Roman Hat Mystery in 1929, they wrote many novels and short stories about a brainy mystery writer solving crimes (and then writing about them in the third… Continue reading Book Review: The New Adventures of Ellery Queen
Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly
Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly by Zander Cannon Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous volume, and you may want to read the review for that one first. After last season’s explosive ending, Electrogor and Green Humongo have managed to escape the title prison. Electrogor’s anxious to get to the cave where he left his children, but they need… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly