MYSTERY*FILE ON-LINE

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Please use the links to the left to help you find your wayaround this site, which is constantly growing. NEW TO THEON-LINE EDITION OF MYSTERY*FILE - Jan 18. ANOFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. I may as well state the obvious,that in spite of my using the word hiatus to describe its status, youmay as well assume that M*F On-Line willnot be coming back. That s the bad news. The good news, orat least I hope that it s good news, is that since late December, M*F has morpheditself into a blog. Please check it out at www.mysteryfile.com/blog/. Over the past two or three weeks I ve been postingentries on an almost daily basis. It s been like playingwith a new toy. I m sure that the thrill will start to wear offeventually, and the frequency of posts is likely to decrease, but atthe moment, I m happy to say that I m still here, even if in a somewhatmore subdued form. There no longer will be the long articles Ienjoyed doing, for example, but doing them also began to take its toll,as I m sure my comments below have already implied. Everything on the site will remain as is.Nothing has changed, nothing is going away, nor am I either, not for awhile. It s good to be back. Sept 10. SITESTATUS. I ve been delaying this decision as long aspossible, but since it has to be made, there s no reason to put it offany longer. I m not shutting down, but M*F On-Line, asit s existed over the past year or so, is going on hiatus for the timebeing. It s not that I ve run out of material. Farfrom it. I ve simply run out of time to do the editing,formatting and uploading the many, many articles that have been sent tome or that I have access to. Far too many distractions have comealong during the last month or so, as you may have noticed: minorhealth problems, family obligations, chores around the house, somelong-term projects I ve been meaning to do they ve all been part ofthe balancing act, and the lack of time to do M*F, and to doit right, is what finally prevailed. There are some smaller articles and some emails fromreaders that will eventually get posted. I do intend to keepdoing both my reviews and the bibliographic commentaries I ve beenincluding with them, and you will see them here. I enjoy workingon checklists of all forms, created either by me or someone else, andas they come to completion, you will see them here also. One of the projects I referred to above is one thatI m extraordinarily pleased to be a part of. I will be puttingonline the Addenda that Allen J. Hubin is continuing to accumulate for Crime Fiction IV:Revised Edition. A publishing date for neither the book(another five or six volumes) nor the CD version has been announced,but the corrections and additions have never ceased coming in, evenwithout going beyond the closing date of the year 2000, and theyprobably never will. These addenda will appear online at www.crimefictioniv.com.Al is doing the entries, and I am doing the posting. Links toappropriate sites on the Internet will be included, as will coverimages and occasional photos of authors and/or detectives, or actorsportraying them. I ve only begun, but you re certainly free totake a look at any time and (I hope) to stop by often. A huge thanks go to all of the contributors andsupporters of M*FOn-Line, but especially the people whose names you see at thebox to the left, and I ll rearrange them into alphabetical order:Victor Berch, Ed Gorman, Al Hubin, Marv Lachman, Ed Lynskey, and BillPronzini. And everyone else who wrote me an article or sent mecolumns, allowed me the use of material, emailed me and/or thanked meor complimented me, I thank you. I couldn t have done it withoutyou, nor would I have wanted to. Sept 9. MIGNON G. EBERHART.Richard Aylesworth has compiled what looks to be a very completebibliography of this classic American mystery writer, including all ofher novels, novelettes and short stories. And since Richard hasincluded the links to two other sites where Ms. Eberhart s fiction isdiscussed, I shall do the same. The first is a chatty overview ofher career by D.L. Browne; the second is the Golden Ageof Detection wiki page for her, which includes Mike Grost at hisbest in analyzing her work and putting it into a proper perspective. Sept 5. READERS FORUM. Two emailsreceived today may be of interest. In the first, Jamie Sturgeonprovides some details of an Native American detective who appeared intwo mysteries written by Alexander Knox under the name of JohnCrozier. (I reviewed TheDisappearance of Archibald Forsyth, which he wrote as Ian Alexanderearly last year.) In the second, Toni Johnson-Woods(see below) has some questions about Carter Brown that she would likeanswers to. Even if you re only a fan of his work, and not anexpert on the mechanics of the publishing business at the time, yourinput is invited. Sept 3. AUSTRALIAN PULP FICTION.If you re of a certain age and literary persuasion, you will recallwith pleasure the name of Carter Brown and the seemingly hundreds ofbooks published under his name in the US in the 1950s and 60s, mostlyfrom Signet, and many with covers by noted artist Robert McGinnis. Carter Brown was not his real name, as most of usknow now, but how many of you are familiar with his contemporaries inthe Australian pulp fiction factories of the fifties? Crime andmystery writers Alan G. Yates, Gordon Clive Bleeck, Marc Brody, LarryKent, K. T. McCall, and the conditions under which they wrote all arethe subject matter of this two-part article by Dr. Toni Johnson-Woodsof the University of Queensland, and one you should not miss. Aug 31. RICHARD MATHESON. If youcan state with any degree of authority in which genre the books ofRichardMatheson should be considered to belong, then you haven t read RichardMatheson. Mysteries, westerns, horror fiction, science fiction,fantasy, timeless love stories and more, often in the same book.In this article reprinted from Filmfaxmagazine, Ed Gorman describes his lifelong love affair with the worksof Richard Matheson, then interviews the author himself. Aug 30. FIRST YOU READ, THEN YOU WRITE.Mike Nevins regular column of commentary on mystery fiction andfilm. In this installment Mike waxes nostalgic over TVdetective dramas of his youth (and mine). Prominently mentioned are Perry Mason, Man Against Crime, Boston Blackie, Naked City and M Squad, with many diversions inbetween. Aug 28. RAFFLES. The stories aboutRaffles, the gentleman burglar, and Bunny, his devoted accomplice,are before my time, and perhaps yours as well, but the tales of theirexploits will not be fogotten by anyone who s read them. Take atrip back in time with mystery novelist Mary Reed,as she retells their history, and how redemption came at the end. Aug 27. GORMANIA. Ed Gormanwonders which are better, old books or new? Aug 27. JAMESM. CAIN and PETER CHEYNEY. Twobibliographies by Vladimir Matuschenko, a Russian fan of hard-boiledfiction,one (Cain) who has been covered on this websiteearlier, the other of an author whose books I have never read,Peter Cheyney. Both bibliographies are in English and Russian, asare several others also on Vladimir s website (James HadleyChase, Thomas B. Dewey, Dashiell Hammett, John D. MacDonald, CarterBrown and a handful of others). Recommended! Aug 18. LESLIE CHARTERIS.One of the best websites devoted to a single mystery author, barnone. If there s anything you d like to know about Simon Templar,aka The Saint, you will find it here, whether it be be film, TV orbooks and magazines, no to mention a peek into the life of the authorhimself whose real name was ... ? Aug 17. THE RAP SHEET. For thefinest in up-to-date news and detailed commentary on mystery fictionand its practitioners on a nearly daily basis, you cannot do betterthan this website, which recently celebrated its 200th posting.J. Kingston Pierce is the editor, ably assisted by collaboratorsStephen Miller, Anthony Rainone and Linda L. Richards. (I thoughtI d recommended this blog long ago, but not so. My error.) Aug 17. MURDER CLINIC. The checklist of thedetective tales adapted for broadcast on Mutual s early 1940s radioseries has been revised and added to once again. Also includedare links to mp3 versions of the six episodes known to exist, pluslinks to e-texts of stories in the public domain and available on theweb. Aug 13. MacKINLAY KANTOR. You mayor may not have known it before now, but MacKinlay Kantor, winner of aPulitzerPrize for Andersonville in1956, began his career writing for the pulp detective magazines.In this article reprinted from TheArmchair Detective, Spring 1997, John Apostolou gives us aninside look into Kantor s overall career as a mystery fictionwriter. A newly revised bibliography follows, along with theusual assortment of cover images. Aug 13. GIL BREWER. Gil Brewer sestate has begun a website which, while it appears to be in its earlystages a link to Gallery is currently non-operational, for example may contain information found there and nowhere else. Here on M*Fyou can find our own earlier tribute toBrewer, consisting of a profile intwo parts. In part one, Bill Pronzini takes a long look atthis noir author s life, which ended tragically far too soon. Bepreparedfor a large dose of reality when you read this, if you haven talready. Part two is acomprehensive checklistof Brewer s novels by Lynn Munroe, completewith many cover images. Also highly recommended is a Gil Brewer websitemaintained by George Tuttle. The bonus provided here is that thedetailed bibliography put together by George also includes Brewer sshort fiction as does the estate website, in a slightly differentformat. Aug 11. BILLCRIDER S COVER GALLERIES. While I was away, Bill Crider was busilyadding two more additions to his various displays of paperback coverart, one devoted to JohnD. MacDonald (101 photos), the other to HarryWhittington (152 more). If you haven t seen these slide showsyet, you definitely have a treat in store. Aug 11. CORNELL WOOLRICH. On July14th, as part of a series on Underappreciated Literature on New YorkPublic Radio, Francis M. Nevins was interviewed about Cornell Woolrich,the man whom most people consider to be the founding father of noirfiction. The link will take you to an audio recording of theevent, about 18 minutes long. Aug 8. SITESTATUS. Being away for five days was great, but thatalways means catch-up when I return. There are quite a few othermatters that are going to require my attention over the next few days,so the chances that any major articles will be posted this week arerather slim. Do peek back every once in a while, as some piecesare very close to completion, but I ll probably take the rest of theweek off as part of a continued vacation from online activity. Aug 7. Attendance at this year s Pulpcon, I have been told, wasdown slightly, and some of the dealers said their sales were off againthis year, but there seemed to be considerably more activity and buzzin the room this year than either of the last two. In any case, Imet a lot of friends I see only once or twice a year and made some newones, spent all of the my money in the first hour that the dealers room was open or in other words had an all-out wonderful time.Dayton or the little I had the chance to see of it seems tohave been sprucing itself up a bit as well. Aug 2. I will be leaving in a couple of hours for beautifuldowntown Dayton OH and this year s Pulpcon festival. I expect tosee many of you there. In the meantime, however, it alsomeans that there will be nothing new to be seen here until Sunday atthe earliest, upon my return. Aug 2. MURDER CLINIC. Thanks to Karl Schadow,whose name has been added to the byline, a huge amount of newinformation has been added to the log of this Old-Time Radioseries. It s still a work in progress, but at the moment itappears that we may be down to only one missing title in the year plusa few months that the program was on the air. Aug 1. MARILYN WALLACE. Anotherauthor has left us. Marilyn Wallace was the author of a number ofmystery and suspense novels, beginning with A Case of Loyalties in 1986, thefirst of three books in her Sergeants Carlos Cruz and Jay Goldsteinseries, set in San Francisco. In the 1990s, however, she was bestknown the editor of the groundbreaking Sisters in Crime anthologies. Lately Marilyn had begun a series of cozy mysteriesinvolving gourd art under a new name, Maggie Bruce, the first being The Gourdmother (Berkley, 2005). One of the first bloggersto remember her online is SandraScoppettone, a remindful tribute to friends and friendship. Aug 1. GORMANIA. Ed Gorman talksabout the latest offering from Stark House Press, a two-fer by HarryWhittington. Aug 1. THESTATS. In July, two more records were set for M*F On-Line.There were well over 5000 visitors making a total of almost 8000visits, both up about 10% over June s record totals. No singlewebpage dominated the popularity charts. Ignoring as usual my ownFatal Kiss reviews, there was little significant difference betweeneach of the pages in the Top Ten, which were: Josef Hoffmann s articleon Dan J.Marlowe; Ed Lynskey s interview with Dorothy Uhnak;the Murder Clinicchecklist; Gary Warren Niebuhr on HoneyWest; the Gothicspaperback checklist; Ed Gorman s tribute toMickey Spillane; followed closely by Steve Holland's Challenge tothe Jury, also on Spillane;J. Kingston Pierce s birthday tribute to James M. Cain;Bill Pronzini on GilBrewer; and Marv Lachman on TVMysteries. My thanks to all of the contributors to M*F, whether in the top 10 or not;and an even bigger thank you, if possible, to all of the visitors whokeep coming back. July 31. READERS FORUM. Recentlyreceived from CuChullaine O Reilly has been apair of email letters about Steve Dodge, aka Stephen Becker, promptedby Gary Lovisi s short articleon the only novel the author did for GoldMedal, Shanghai Incident. July 28. FATAL KISS. Most of mytime this week has been on adding a wealth of information to the Murder Clinicpage, thanks to Karl Schadow, and we re not done yet. To take abreak from the major action, I ve added several reviews of books I readnot too long ago: MichaelKurland, The Empress of India.[This includes an annotated bibliography of all of the author scrime-related fiction.] BrianAugustyn, Gotham by Gaslight.[A graphic novel in which Batman meets Jack the Ripper.] HughClevely, The Case of theCriminal s Daughter. [A Sexton Blake novel from1954.] July 26. MEN S ACTION PAPERBACKS. This isa photo page spin-off from BillCrider s blog, and I think I may aswell let him describe it: You can blame this on Vince Keenan if you want to.He s the one who brought up The Liquidator.So the other day I started scanning some covers from the old men'saction series books. I don t have my copies in any particularorder. Idon t even have the series together, so what I scanned is just a randomsampling. The results are here,and you can watch a slideshow if you re so inclined. You ve gotStryker, your Striker, your Ryker, and even a vengeful merman.One ofthese days, if I get inspired again, I ll scan some more. Andbelieveme, there are many more. Whatever happened to the guys who boughtthesethings by the truckload? And I thought I was the only one who collected thesebooks. They re all in CrimeFiction IV, by the way, even (marginally) Attar the Merman #1,by Robert Graham. UPDATE:Response was so good that Bill posted even more covers here(July 28). These are so much fun to look at that M*F is inclined not to mention thatBill is 65 today, but not that inclined. (Bill has beaten me tothe big millstone, but only by five months.) July 25. MARGERY ALLINGHAM. Ihaven t read enough of the Albert Campion stories to be familiar withhim. From the few I ve read, he s always been something of anenigma to me, not that his adventures weren t interesting. Doingsome research on the Murder Clinicradio program (see below) I needed some facts abouthis creator, Margery Allingham, and I came across this websitesponsored by The Margery Allingham Society. I didn t find what Iwas looking for, but there s enough there that I was kept reading for awhile. Lots ofuseful information on the author, her husband, Youngman Carter, and Mr.Campion, too. July 25. GORMANIA. Letters to Edinspired by last night s column. July 24. GORMANIA. Jack Warden diedlast Thursday, July 19th at the age of 85, one of the great characteractors of all time, says Ed. He also dissects the latest issue of Clues and endswith a quick comment or two on the old Warner Brothers TV shows fromthe 50s. July 24. MURDER CLINIC was a short-livedradio series that lasted but a year and a few months, running only fromJuly 1942 to October 1943. The program is not even mentioned inmost of the standard OTR reference books, but what was offered to thelistener each and every week the series was on the air was amind-boggling array of stories by such Golden Age mystery writers asEdgar Wallace,Ngaio Marsh, Carter Dickson(John Dickson Carr), Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, G. K.Chesterton, Jacques Futrelle, Stuart Palmer, and (as you will see)many, many more. Victor Berch and I have compiled a nearlycomplete checklist of the series, including the titles of manystories never known to have been adapted before. Also part ofthis broadcast log are the authors, thedetectives, and in most cases the original appearances of thestories. July 22. SITESTATUS. A number of articles are in the works and areinching their way along to completion, more or lesssimultaneously. When these are finished and have been posted,probably within the next week or so, several other projects of a rathermassive nature are on the schedule and will, unfortunately, divert myday-to-day attention away from M*F On-Line asit has developed over the past few months. These projects are,however, totally compatible with the content now contained on the Mystery*File website. Whenthe time comes, you will learn more, and you will read it here first. July 20. GORMANIA. While watchingthe dark post-war Fred Zinnemann film ACTOF VIOLENCE on TCM yesterday, Ed found much to admire, not theleast of which was the performance of Mary Astor. July 19. MICKEY SPILLANE: You, the Jury.Panned by the critics and loved by his readers, Mickey Spillane wasperhaps the most controversial mystery writer of all time, even in hislifetime. Steve Holland presents the evidence on either side ofthe divide. When the prosecution rests and the defense has nofurther rebuttal, it is left to you, as a member of the jury, tocarefully consider your verdict. (Disclaimer: Some small pointsof various plots may be disclosed.) July 17. GORMANIA. The Mick Is Dead. July 17. MICKEY SPILLANE (1918-2006).One of the giants of mystery and detective fiction has left us.If you were reading private eye stories in the 1950s, as I was, youprobably remember exactly when and where it was when you had your firstdose of Mike Hammer and mystery fiction changed forever. (Theeighth grade cloakroom of McKinleySchool. I was twelve, and the memory is as clear to me as thoughit wereyesterday.) I m not sure how long the first link I found willstay online, but here on M*F,the early works of Mickey Spillane were covered briefly in the checklistof Dutton s line of Guilt Edged mysteries. The rest of the coversbe found here. July 16. FATAL KISS. After taking ashort vacation this weekend, I took the opportunity this evening toupload my reviews and other commentary, often bibliographic in nature,on books that I read earlier this year. I am far from catchingup, but I am trying! FrankRawlings [G. T. Fleming-Roberts], TheLisping Man. JessicaFletcher Donald Bain, MurderShe Wrote: A Palette For Murder. MayMackintosh, Balloon Girl. Roger L.Simon, California Roll. July 12. DOROTHY UHNAK. TheEdgar-winning author of many works of crime and mystery fiction and aformer New York City transit policewoman, died on Saturday, July 1st,in Greenport, NY. According to her obituary in the NewYork Times, she was born Dorothy Goldstein next door to the 46thprecinct on Ryer Avenue in the Bronx on April 24, 1930, three yearsearlier than her previously assumed birthdate, making her 76 at thetime of her death. One of the earliestarticles posted on M*FOn-Linewas Ed Lynskey s overview of her career and an interview he did withher in 2004. July 11. PETER RAWLINSON (1918-2006).According tothe online edition of the Telegraph,the Lord Rawlinson of Ewell died on June 28th at the age of87. During his lifetime he had held every important legaloffice in the British government except that of Lord Chancellor,including serving as Solicitor-General under Harold Macmillan and thenas Attorney-Generalin Edward Heath s cabinet. Of interest to mystery fans isthat fact that he also wrote a number of crime novels, most of them inthe rather obvious category of Legal Thriller. The first linkwill take you to an annotated bibliography of his work here on Mystery*File, the second to a morecomplete obituary. July 10. DAN J. MARLOWE. In thisarticle, Josef Hoffmann describes the relationship between Dan J.Marlowe, Al Nussbaum and Earl Drake. What s the connection?You will have to read to find out. A bibliography follows, thenan installment of Bill Crider s GoldMedal Corner, featuring none other than Dan J. Marlowe. July 10. PHOENIX PRESS. An overviewby Bill Pronzini of the mystery output of Phoenix Press, theacknowledged leader of the lending library publishers between 1936 and1952. This article, entitled The Saga of the Risen Phoenix, isexcerpted with permission from Gun in Cheek: A Studyof Alternative Crime Fiction and is the beginning of a new project to beannounced in more detail shortly. July 9. GERALD TOMLINSON (1933-2006).The author of one historical mystery novel, On a Field of Black (Nellin, 1980)as well as several true crime books, died on Saturday, June 24th.A long-time freelance editor and baseball researcher, Gerald Tomlinsonalso wrote many short stories for magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Mike Shayne,beginning in the mid-1970s. July 7. IN THE FRAME. In this, the latestinstallment of Vince Keenan s column on books and film, he discusses KISS KISS BANG BANG, based on anovel by Brett Halliday and recently released on DVD, and two noirmovies shown by Eddie Muller in June at the SeattleInternational FilmFestival. July 5. JAMES M. CAIN. Recentlyposted on The RapSheet blog (July 1st) was a short but very effective tribute by J.Kingston Pierce to the author of DoubleIndemnity and The PostmanAlways Rings Twice on the occasion of his birthday, 114 yearsearlier. That salute is now also available here, along with abibliography, a comprehensive gallery of Postman covers as they haveappearedover the years, plus reviews of four of Cain s novels by Max AllanCollins and Bill Pronzini, reprinted with permission from 1001 Midnights. July 1. CAROL BRAHMS S. J. SIMON.Reprinted from CADS #44,October 2003, is an article on Inspector Quill, the series detectivecreated by this collaborative pair of mystery authors. Nearlyforgotten today, the four books in the series were prime examples ofthe comic mystery novel during the 1930s and 1940s, aka theGolden Age of Detection. July 1. THESTATS. M*F On-Line seta couple of records in June, due in large part, I am sure, to EdGorman s very kind comments about the site in the August issue of EQMM, which I have just seentoday. There were nearly 5000 unique visitorsmaking a total of just over 7000 visits, both all-time highs. Themost popular article by far was the one on Norbert Davis byJosef Hoffmann, with nearly 1200 readers. Runners-up, excludingmy own pages of FatalKiss reviews and commentaries, were the pieces on HoneyWest, the Gothicspaperback checklist, Wade Miller,mysteries in FuneralHomes, CharlesWilliams, TVMysteries, DayKeene, the checklist of Native Americandetectives, and the John D. MacDonaldinterview. There was little significant difference between thelast five or six and the next five or six not included, but at leastfor June, here s what you were looking at. June 28. ELLIOT CHAZE. Thanks go toBill Denton, moderator of the Rara-Avis group on Yahoo, fordiscovering this website dedicated to the author of the Gold Medalpaperback BlackWings Has My Angel, considered by some to be a classic ofhard-boiled fiction. While this is the book that everyone thinksof whenever Chaze s name comes up, CrimeFiction IVlists four additional crime novels he wrote, all relatively unknown andmost ofthem taking place in the southern US. For more information,including a short biography and acomplete bibliography of his work, this site is well worth looking into. June 27. FIRST YOU READ, THEN YOU WRITE.Mike Nevins regular column of commentary on mystery fiction andfilm. Names prominently mentioned in this latest installmentinclude Edward G. Ulmer, Herschel Bernardi, John Creasey, Joan Kahn,Cornell Woolrich, and Thomas C. Renzi s book on the latter. June 26. JAMES McCLURE. More badnews. The author of the police procedural series featuring themarvelous pairing of South African detectives Lieutenant TrompKramer, of the Trekkersburg Murder and Robbery Squad, and hisassistant, Bantu Detective Sergeant Mickey Zondi, died on June17th. Follow the link to a brief tribute, consisting of reviewsof two of the books in the series, a bibliography, a short excerpt fromone of the novels, and as a bonus, as many cover images as I've beenable to come up with. June 24. MAGNUM, P. I. Thankgoodness for DVDs. There is not a single current televisionseries that I am paying any attention to. For me, it sessentially TurnerClassic Movies or nothing at all. But over the past few days Ihave beenwatching episodes of the first season of Magnum and enjoying themimmensely. The lack of logos on the screen, no commercial breaksthat go on forever, and definitely no animated pop-up plugs for what scoming up next also have a lot to do with it, but so do Tom Selleck sgoofy boyish charm and the scowling looks of Magnum s constant nemesis,Higgins, played by the utterly masterful John Hillerman, as thesteadfast guardian of Robin Masters lushHawaiian estate. Covering twenty year old TV detective shows isof M*F s coverage isn tit? No slippery slope here. The link will lead you to awebsitejam-packed with loads of info, cast listings, photos, covers of TV Guide, and not to mention loadsof other links, even one which will allow you to listen to the themesong, if you haven t heard it in a while. June 23. NERO WOLFE. It seems moredifficult than it should be to move around this site dedicated to RexStout s larger-than-life most famous character, sponsered by The WolfePack, but certainly there s plenty to see and take note of, so pleasetake note. June 22. PATRICIA GUIVER. Sadly,I have just learned of the recent deathof the author of the Delilah Doolittle Pet Detective books.Here is a bibliography of herwork, along with some comments about her by Meredith Phillips, editorat Perseverance Press, where her final novel was published and thesixthin theseries. June 21. MICHAEL SHAYNE. There wereloads of top-notch fictional private eyes in the 1950s and 60s, andanother candidate for favorite is this tough, red-headed charactercreated by author Brett Halliday (not his real name). I wasdirected to this website dedicated to all things Shaynian by James Reasoner, who haswritten or co-written more of private eye Mike Shayne s adventures thananyone still living, if my count is correct. June 20. IT SA MYSTERY. Among her other mystery-related activities,Elizabeth Foxwell hosts a radio program heard on Mondays from 11A toNoon ET on WEBR inFairfax, VA. Among recent guests have been Robert Barnard, LindaBarnes, Robert B. Parker, Dana Stabenow, Sarah Graves and many manyothers. Even better, if you follow the link to her website, herinterviews with all of the above are available on MP3 and can belistened to at your convenience. Highly recommended, especiallyif you have all evening to spare! June 20. RICHARD S. PRATHER. Thelink will lead you to a website dedicated to the creator of ShellScott, one of America s favorite private eyes in the 1950s and60s. Notonly will you find what appears to be a definitive bibliography and aninterview with Mr. Prather himself, but you can also download aShellScott story which has never been collected in book form. June 17. G. T. FLEMING-ROBERTS.Added to the previous coverage of this prolific writer for the pulpmagazines is an interviewwith his wife, who later remarried after his death, conducted by AlbertTonik in 1988. Then reprinted from the pages of Writer s Digest from May 1943 is anarticle on plotting called The Turnfrom the Trite, by Mr. Fleming-Roberts himself. June 17. NORBERT DAVIS. Anongoing investigation and a close scrutiny on the part of JohnApostolou have caused a serious revision in our thinkingabout the fivephotographs includedwith the recently posted article by Josef Hoffman on pulp writerNorbert Davis. Four of the five photos are from 1936, we nowbelieve, suggesting that the woman with Davis in the car is his firstwife, Frances. The fifth photo was taken later, probably in thelate 1940, making it the only one in which Norbert s second wife Nancyappears. (All five photos came during various visits by theDavises with fellow writer Dwight V. Babcock and his wife, both of whomcan also be seen.) June 15. FATAL KISS. Among othermaterial backed up are my own reviews. Here s what I had to sayabout twobooks I read earlier this year: HalGlatzer, The Last Full Measure,and ElizabethGunn, Crazy Eights. June 15. FUNERAL HOMES UNDERTAKERS. Two new entries from the detectivepulp magazines have been discovered by Monte Herridge and are nowincluded in this comprehensive compendium of mystery tales taking placeand around funeral parlors. June 14. 52books. The writer of this bloghas given herself a challenge: to read the books of 52 mystery authorspreviously unknown to her, beginning with Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone) and continuingthrough at present to Robert Barnard, #19. (The blogger appearsto be anonymous I can t find her name anywhere on the website, nor ameans to contact her other than replying to an entry but she lives inIceland, is working on a master s thesis and reads as wide a range ofmystery and detective fiction as almost anyone I know.) June 13. DAY KEENE. Recently addedto the previously posted Day Keene bibliography is a short list ofscripts that Keene wrote for the radio program The First Nighter between 1935 and1937. Thank to Victor Berch for the discovery. June 5. MPACA Conference. A call has beenmade by Dr. Alexander Howe, chair, for proposals for theDetective Fiction area of the Mid-Atlantic Popular/American CultureAssociation at their Annual Conference, Oct 27-29, 2006 in Baltimore MD. June 3. FATAL KISS. I m continuingto dig into the archives for more reviews to post. I wrote thefollowing in November and December of 2003, but I ve added updates andboosted the bibliographies on several of them. There will be atleast one of these that I am 99 and nine 9 s percent sure you have notread. MatthewFarrer, Crossfire; I. J.Parker, The Hell Screen; RichardEllington, It s a Crime;and MargaretFrazer, The Bastard's Tale. June 2. MYSTERY FICTION 2005.Surfing the web a few minutes ago, I came across something ratherspectacular: a complete list of all of the mystery and crime fictionpublished in the US in 2005. It does not go on forever, but it isno exaggeration to say almost. This near-Herculean effort wasdone byDavid Robeson; the page itself is part of the www.cluelass.com website, ownedoperated by Kate Derie. Stop by and look around. May 31. Hard-boiledWit: LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN and NORBERT DAVIS. Reprintedfrom CADS #44, October 2003,is this long article by Josef Hoffmann about two authors whom hesuggests had a lot in common. In the process Josef also delvesinto the essence of what makes hardboiled fiction hardboiled, which isalways,of course, a topic of never-ending discussion among hardboiled mysteryfans everywhere. Steve Lewis, Bill Pronzini Victor A. Berchadd a bibliography of most, if not all, of NorbertDavis s fiction. May 29. SEXTON BLAKE. Havingrecently finished only the second Sexton Blake novel I have ever read,reviewforthcoming, Idecided to see what I could discover about him on the Internet.The link will take you to the best site I ve found, chock full ofarticles and a complete detailed bibliography of over 3000 storieswritten by some 200 authors over a period of well over a century.Sexton Blake s first appearance was in 1893, and after a short lullbeginning in the early1970s, Mark Hodder, who maintains the site, hasbegun to write more of his adventures, and they are online now in 2006. May 28. Readers Forum. In the past30 days, interesting email messages have been received from Bob Wade, whocommented on the recent material posted here on Wade Miller;from FrankWakely onDorothy Uhnak and a conjecture on where her most well-knowncharacter Christie Opara got her name; and from Ed Gorman, whopoints out that as a sub-genre, not all gothic romanceswere trash. May 28. FATAL KISS. Digging backinto the archives and posting them online for the first time, I foundmy reviews of RobertaIsleib s first two books, SixStrokes Under and A Buried Lie,along with a long commentary I wrote about Night Lady, by WilliamCampbell Gault, all three from December 2003. May 27. Pro-File: ROBERTA ISLEIB.The author of the Cassie Burdette golf mysteries is shifting gears andhas a new series that will be appearing soon. May 25. IT IS PURELY MY OPINION.Reviews of all 18 mystery novels that L. J. Roberts read in February2006. As you see, I am falling behind again. LJ iscertainly holdingup her end. All that s needed is a little more speed and efforton mypart. May 24. WEB DETECTIVE STORIES.Complete runs of some of the 1950s and 60s crime detective magazinesare more difficult than others to obtain, and WDS is one of the toughest.Are the 14 issues worth collecting? Peter Enfantino says yes, andhere he tells you why. May 21. ROBERT EDMOND ALTER.Recently added to Peter Enfantino s article on Alter s stories for Alfred Hitchcock s Mystery Magazineis a bibliography that comes close but still isn t quitecomplete. If you can help fill in any of the missing gaps, pleasedo. May 21. The Violent World of PARKER.I ve just discovered this website devoted to Richard Stark (aka DonaldE. Westlake) and his two main series characters, Parker and AlanGrofield. Featured are the novels they appeared in, the moviesthat have been made from them, and the latest news about all of theabove. May 20. MYSTERY MAGAZINE CHECKLISTS.As part of his ongoing CrimeFiction Index, Phil Stephensen-Payne has been making issue-by-issuechecklists available online, complete with cover images, whenever hehas them. Follow the active links to the magazine of yourchoice. The results are truly spectacular. (If you d liketo go directly to one fine example in particular, here s the link to Black Mask.) May 20. HAROLD Q. MASUR. This interviewby Gary Lovisi with Hal Masur, the author of the Scott Jordan mysterieswho died late last year, first appeared in Paperback Parade #30, August 1992.Accompanying the interview are commentaries on Mr. Masur s work by bothGary and Art Scott, plus an updated bibliography of his novel-lengthfiction by Gary and Steve Lewis. May 20. GOTHIC ROMANTIC SUSPENSE PAPERBACKS.Accompanying a brief history of the genre, very popular in the 1960sand 70s, is a partial listing of all of the paperbacks ever publishedgothics, from my own collection. May 20. STRAND MAGAZINE. The homepage of this quarterly mystery magazine also contains links to stories,interviews and the home pages of many authors. Well worth yourwhile, and so is the magazine. May 18. FRANK GRUBER. Reprintedfrom the January 1941 issue of Writer s Digest isthis article by Frank Gruber offering advice to writers of detectivefiction on how to improve their product. May 16. FRANK THOMAS,1926-2006. Best known outside the mystery field as theyouthful star of Tom Corbett, SpaceCadet, actor Frank Thomas later became a well-known expert onbridge, then the author of a number of novel-length Sherlock Holmespastiches. A bibliography is in the works and will be posted hereon M*F as soon as ready. May 16. JOHN GODEY. Not only haveBritish editions been added to the primary bibliographyof John Godey s crime fiction, but Victor Berch has also compiled anextensive list of his novels that have been translated into otherlanguages. May 16. ARTHUR PORGES, 1915-2006.Although he has only one entry in Al Hubin s Crime Fiction IV, a collection ofSherlockian tales entitled Three Porges Parodies and a Pastiche(Magico Magazine, 1998), Arthur Porges, whose death has recently beenreported, was a prolific teller of short stories in both the sciencefiction and mystery field. In 2004 he had one story in Ellery Queen s Mystery Magazine andone in Alfred Hitchcock s MysteryMagazine in 2005. Among the series characters he createdwere The Scientist (Cyriack Skinner Grey) and the redoubtable StatelyHomes. Collections of either or both would be very muchwelcome. The link above will take you to the Arthur Porgeswebsite, maintained by Richard Simms, where you can find both abiography and a complete bibliography. Click herefor a visit to the Arthur Porges Family Page. May 15. FATAL KISS. Reviews bySteve Lewis. Recently posted are my comments on two more I readin March, one by GeorgeHarmon Coxe, Focus on Murder,and the other by WilliamMurray, I m Getting Killed RightHere. May 14. The 17 Detective Magazines.Reprinted from the April 1930 issue of Writer s Digest are the editor scandid appraisals of the detective magazines of the day, along withhelpful comments and advice for would-be crime fiction writers hopingto make sales to them. May 11. The CECIL WAYE novels by JOHN RHODE.It is well-known that C. J. C. Street wrote many detective novels as byJohn Rhode and Miles Burton. It is not so well-known that he alsowrote four extremely hard-to-find mysteries as by Cecil Waye.Reprinted from CADS #44(October 2003) is Tony Medawar s detailed look at the four novels. May 9. The Remarkable HAROLD ERNEST ( DARCYGLINTO ) KELLY, 1899-1969. Who? you may well ask, andrightly so. While the website above isstill a work in progress, let John Fraser be your guide in exploringthe life and works of this all-but-unknown British author, with sideexcursions and commentary on others you mayhave heard of: James Hadley Chase, Stephen Frances (HankJanson), Edgar Wallace, Peter Cheyney, Gerald Butler and more. Amonumental project, and one I cannot recommend more highly. May 9. ROBERT EDMOND ALTER. PeterEnfantino, M*F s residentexpert on mystery digests, examines and reports in on each of thestories this author wrote for AlfredHitchcock s Mystery Magazine in the late 50s and early60s. (If you can tell us more about how it happened that many ofAlter s books and stories continued to appear elsewhere until at least1970, while his year of death is generally assumed to be 1966, pleasedo.) May 3. FATAL KISS. Reviews bySteve Lewis. I m still trying to get caught up from books I readin March. Here are my comments, rather long, on David Dodge Shear the Black Sheepand FrankG. Presnell, No Mourners Present. May 2. Pro-File: MARY REED ERIC MAYER.With Ed Gorman s gracious consent, I will be taking over his series ofPro-File interviews with (we hope) a long list of contemporary crimedetective fiction authors. The first to appear in this newsequence are the husband-and-wife co-authors of the John the Eunuch historical mystery series. May 1. THE AUTHORS WHO WERE WADE MILLER.Collaborating on this extensive, in-depth look at the careers of RobertWade and Bill Miller are Ed Lynskey, Steve Lewis, Marv Lachman, GaryWarren Niebuhr, Richard Moore, Bill Crider, Ted Fitzgerald and BillPronzini. Besides reviews, cover images and an informal checklistof the two co-authors novel-length crime fiction, an interview withMr. Robert Wade is must reading for all fans of their work.Reprinted from Mystery*File 42,February 2004. April 28. ELVIS COLE, PRIVATE EYE.This overview by Tom Jenkins of the Elvis Cole books by Robert Crais isentitled ... If the Day Got Any Better, My Cat Would Die. April 25. THE GOLD MEDAL CORNER. Inthe first installment of Bill Crider s column in which he reviews GoldMedal paperbacks of the 1950s, neither of two books he reviews are GoldMedal paperbacks of the 1950s. Can you guess who the authorsmight be? Hint: Their last names are Pronzini and Gorman.Reprinted from Mystery*File 40. April 24. MORTIMER DEATH. MonteHerridge continues to dig up vintage pulp tales dealing with murders infuneral homes and/or in which undertakers also solve mysteries as aprofitable sideline. Two one-shot efforts have been added to the page where alist of such stories is maintained, but a newly discovered series ofsuch tales (by Bennett Barlay) has been given its own page. April 23. THE FILMS OF JOHN GODEY.Three films have been made of John Godey s books, and two of them areon Vince Keenan s list of all-time favorites. You can probablyguess which ones they are, but why not let him tell you himself? April 22. JOHN GODEY. The author of Taking Pelman One Two Three, hismost famous crime novel, recently died at the age of 93. In hismemory, SteveLewis does a quick summary of his career and adds both abibliography and a list of films based on his work. April 20. DAY KEENE. In a followupto Victor Berch s conjectures as to how Day Keene happened to choosehis pen name, confirmation comes in the form of an interview Al Tonikhad with mystery writer Talmage Powell nearly 20 years ago. April 19. FATAL KISS. I ve taken ashort break from other projects to start getting caught up on my ownreviews and commentaries. Posted recently are ones for thefollowing: Dean Owen Juice Town; OctavusRoy Cohen Romance in the FirstDegree; and BruceAlexander Rules of Engagement. April 18. ALEXANDER KNOX. It maytake a while, but many an unanswered question when posed the first timefinally gets resolved. It also may seem to be a minor matter, butwho is to say what is minor and what is not? Case in point.In my review of Alexander Knox s book TheDisappearance of Archibald Forsyth, written as by Ian Alexander,I wondered what the title of his purported fifth novel of the Canadianwilderness was. Pat Hawk has found it. April 18.G. T. FLEMING-ROBERTS. Anannotated checklist of all the stories known to have been written bythis long-time pulp writer, put together by Monte Herridge. Montetakes a look at the one hardcovernovelthat Fleming-Roberts wrote, and compares it with the pulp story itis based on. And as if that were not enough, Monte adds a shortarticle about one of the lesser known magician-sleuths Fleming-Robertswrote stories about, JefferyWren. April 15. GARY PHILLIPS. A newPro-Fileinterview by Ed Gorman with the author of the PI Ivan Monk novels plusmany other works of tough, hard-boiled crime and mystery fiction. April 15. SERIES CHARACTERS ON TV.Part Five of Marvin Lachman s continuing series on mystery seriescharacters who have been portrayed on television. Authors Pthrough Z are included in this, the final installment. Now that each section is complete, the list willsoon be published in final form, with all parts together, along withany corrections and additions which have been discovered. You areencouraged, says Marv, to send along any that you have found as soon aspossible. April 11. DEAN OWEN. A colloborativechecklist of this author s many novels and short stories, compiled andannotated by Steve Lewis, James Reasoner, Victor A. Berch and BillPronzini. Since Dean Owen, aka Dudley Dean, wrote many morewesterns than mystery novels and other fiction, under a host of otherpen names, this will qualify him to be the first entry in the WesternAnnex of M*FOn-Line, opening soon. April 11. DAN J. MARLOWE S ADULT FICTION.One of Dan Marlowe s pseudonyms for short fiction was Jaime Sandaval,but research specialist Bart Choveric has discovered that Sandaval hadseveral pen names of his own. Read about it here. April 8. ROBERT MARTIN. As acompanion piece to the article onRobert Martin previously posted by fellow Tiffin OH resident JimFelton, BillPronzini writes about the correspondence he had with the author of thePI Jim Bennett novels toward the end of his (Martin s) career. Jacket covers for all twenty of Martin s hardcover novels are included,including several published only in paperback in the US. April 8. ED GORMAN RAMBLES. EdGorman announced yesterday that he was closing down his blog to concentrate onhis health and the current book he is writing. In order that thevarious postings over the past several months not be lost, as they werewhen he ceased his previous blog, they are in the process of beingarchived here at M*F.The postings for the month of April are nowonline both here and on his present blogsite. All of the earlierones will eventually migrate over here as well. April 4. GIL BREWER BIBLIOGRAPHY. One ofthe unanswered questions about Gil Brewer s career as a writer is whichof the books published as by Harry Arvay did he write? While theinvestigation into the matter still continues, Lynn Munroe has added afootnote to his earlier bibliography, setting forth the state of theevidence at the present time. April 3. SERIES CHARACTERS ON TV.Part Four of Marvin Lachman s continuing series on mystery seriescharacters who have been portrayed on television. Authors Lthrough O are included in this, the fourth installment. April 2. JOE RAYTER HY SILVER.As another installment in his series of Forgotten Writers, BillPronzini talks about two who are perhaps as forgotten as any, both ofwhom hail from Petaluma, California, which (by no coincidence at all)is also Bill s home town. March 31. PETER RABE. Shortly beforethe death of this author of many paperback originals from Gold Medal,George Tuttle had a short conversation with him, and here itis. Also included is a bibliography of Rabe s work,compiled by Steve Lewis. March 22. SERIES CHARACTERS ON TV.Part Three of Marvin Lachman s continuing series on mystery seriescharacters who have been portrayed on television. Authors Fthrough K are included in this, the third installment. March 16. FATAL KISS. More reviewsand extended commentary on books I ve read this year. These fourare: RobertLee Hall, Murder on Drury Lane; LeslieCaine, Manor of Death; DavidBurnham, Last Act in Bermuda;and HilaryBurleigh, Murder at Maison Manche. March 13. IN THE FRAME. In VinceKeenan s latest column of commentary on books and film, he discussestwo books from Europa Editions (by Massimo Carlotto and PatrickHamilton) and then comparesthe two versions of the classic noir film KISS OF DEATH, both available nowon DVD. March 11. DOLORES HITCHENS. At the time hertwo books appeared as part of the Ziff-Davis Fingerprint Mysteryseries, Dolores Hitchens was known as D. B. Olsen. Later on, inthe 1950s, she collaborated on a series of novels with her secondhusband, Bert. Besides correcting one missstatement we made abouther husband, Jim Doherty goes on to talk about the books they wrotetogether, police procedurals about a squad of railroad cops in L. A. March 10. SERIES CHARACTERS ON TV.Part Two of Marvin Lachman s continuing series on mystery seriescharacters who have been portrayed on television. Authors Dthrough E are included in this, the second installment. (You mustknow what author takes up most of the allotted space.) Additionsand/or corrections are especially welcome. March 9. ROBERT MARTIN. A profilein three parts. (1) An overview of Robert Martin s writing careerby Jim Felton, who grew up inthe same Ohio town as the author. (2) A complete checklistof all of Martin s books and short stories, including those he wrote asLee Roberts. (3) Coverage by Gary Warren Niebuhr of Martin s mostwell-known character, private eye JimBennett, with an in-depth look at each of the novelsBennett appeared in. March 9. MILTON K. OZAKI. Promptedby spotting Ozaki s entry in the Ziff-Davisbibliography, Bill Crider dusted off this in-depth investigation of hisoverall writing career, complete with checklist and cover images, andsent it along for your reading pleasure. March 8. THE ZIFF-DAVIS FINGERPRINT MYSTERIES.From 1943 to 1938 Ziff-Davis used the Fingerprint Mystery imprint topublish a very collectible series of detective novels. BillPronzini, Victor Berch and Steve Lewis have compiled a complete list ofall of the books in the series, added detailed biographical notes abouteach of the authors, and provided color images of the front covers ofall of the dust jackets. In the introduction to these notes, ashort history of Ziff-Davis is related, including their merger in 1942with the Alliance Book Corporation, which had actually published thefirst four mysteries in the series (1941-42). These additionalbooks and their authors are also included as part of this Complete Setof Fingerprints. Feb 25. SERIES CHARACTERS ON TV.Part One of a series by Marvin Lachman in which he will be listing andannotating all of the mystery series characters in book form who havefound counterparts on the small screen. Authors A through C areincluded in this, the first installment. Additions and/orcorrections are specifically requested. Feb 23. ROBERT COLBY. This authorof many paperback originals for Gold Medal and other companies of the1950s and 60s recently passed away. Peter Enfantino, who has beena fan of his for many years, wrote this short tribute to him.Added to it is a complete bibliography of his work, including bothnovels and short stories. Feb 15. EARLE BASKINSKY. As aspecial edition of his regular column on the digest mystery magazinesof the 1950 s, Peter Enfantino takes a comprehensive look at the shortfiction work of the author of TheBig Steal (Dutton, 1955) and DeathIs a Cold, Clean Edge (Signet, 1956). Feb 11. THE GOLD MEDAL CORNER. Inthis early installment of his regular column on Gold Medal paperbacks,Bill Crider finds much to say about the crime fiction of Day Keene,whose work he has admired for many years.Steve Lewis follows with a bibliographyof all of Keene s novels, followed by a chronological list ofmost of the stories that he wrote for thepulp magazines. Bill scolumn first appeared in Mystery*File41, mid-January 2004. Feb 7. MIDNITE MYSTERIES. Anupdated and improved list of the books in this hardcover reprint seriespublished by Books, Inc., between 1944 and 1946. Feb 6. THE HOCKEY REFS MYSTERY.Jim Felton has been collecting references to the game of hockey in themystery story for a long time, and he begins this lengthybibliography by wondering why there are so few of them. (Pleasethat this page has been relocated. Also added has been a lengthy review by Jimof the quintessential mystery in which hockey plays a role, both as agame and as a business, and that is Emma Lathen s Murder Without Icing.) Feb 4. GLENN LOW. One of thepaperbacks this 1940s pulp author wrote in the 1960s qualifies as aentry presently missing in Allen J. Hubin s Crime Fiction IV, a discovery madeJames Reasoner, although you certainly could not ascertain this factfrom the cover, which he supplies. Steve Lewis adds a partialbibliography, and Bill Pronzini has some closing comments on two ofthis author s books. (This page has been greatly revised from itsfirst posting.) Feb 3. HARDBOILED FICTION. MeganAbbott, author of the Edgar-nominated Die a Little,is teaching an introductory course in hardboiled fiction at The NewSchool in Manhattan this current Spring 2006 semester. The firstlink will take you to the syllabus for the course. This secondone (a pdf file) is a handoutshe distributed the first evening to promote discussion about theoverall geneaology which connects and puts into perspective many ofthe books and authors that will be covered in the course. Feb 2. THE NOVELS OF MARTIN M. GOLDSMITH.As a follow-up to my reviewof the book on which the classic B-movie DETOUR was based, Bill Pronzinigives a brief description of the author s other two books and providescover scans of all three in jacket. Feb 2. CLERICAL DETECTIVES. At mysuggestion, Philip Grosset wrote this introduction to his website,where you will find in-depth coverage of mysteries solved by members ofvarious religious orders. Nearly adozen such detectives are featured on his site, from Christine Bennett(former nun)to Sister Mary Teresa, with Father Brown and Rabbi Small among thosefalling alphabetically in between. Jan 30. STEWART STERLING.One of the highlights of the newly revived print version of Mystery*File (#40, December 2003)was this article by Richard Moore on Fire Marshal Ben Pedley andhotel detective Gil Vine, two of the specialty detectives created bythis now almostforgotten author. Jan 29. The Case of the JDM Plagiarist (Revisited).Elizabeth Foxwell, managing editor of Clues:A Journal of Detection, submits what has to be theabsolute final word: In response to the matter of JDM s charge thatsomeonewas copying his pulp stories and selling them to Manhunt: I took theliberty of posing the question to Maynard MacDonald, the son ofJDM.Says he: Unfortunately, I have no recollection of the short storycopying. Jan 28. GUILT EDGED MYSTERIES.A chronological list of the books appearing in Dutton s specializedline of detective fiction, 1947-1956, compiled by Victor Berch.This is a companion piece to the overviewof the series done earlier by Victor, Bill Pronzini and SteveLewis. Jan 27. P. M. HUBBARD. The work ofthis writer of suspenseful thrillers, thoroughly imbued with a sense ofthe mysterious and the unknown, is analyzed and reviewed by two of hismost ardent fans, Tom Jenkins and the late Wyatt James, in whose memorythis seriesof articles and bibliography is dedicated.(Previous appearance: Mystery*File 47,February 2005.) Jan 26. FATAL KISS. As the firstbook I chose to read in 2006, I picked a good one. It was MartinM. Goldsmith s Detour, the book on which the classic B-movie wasbased. (Goldsmith also did the screenplay.) Jan 24. EDWARD S. AARONS ASSIGNMENT SERIES.An introduction to the Sam Durell espionage thrillers published by GoldMedal between 1955 and 1976. Doug Bassett does the honors.Included as a lengthy footnote is a retelling of the detective workdone by Jeff Falco and Al Hubin in 2004 as they unraveled the hiddenidentity of Will B. Aarons, the man who continued the adventures foranother six novels. Jan 23. CRICKET THE MYSTERY STORY.Many of us on this side of the Atlantic do not even pretend tounderstandthe rules of cricket, but even if he is a Yank, Marvin Lachman haslearned to love the game. He has even accumulated a large list ofmysterystories in which cricket plays a part, and he discusses them withstyle in this article, which was revised and previously appeared in CADS #46,September 2004. Jan 22. FUNERAL HOMES UNDERTAKERS. Prompted by my review of StantonForbes A Business of Bodies, I began achecklist of other mysteries taking place in andaround funeral homes. Many new entries have been added in thelast two or three days, including two of Robert Martin s Jim Bennett PInovels, thanks to the suggestion of Jim Felton. Jan 18. GUILT EDGED MYSTERIES.Between 1947 and 1956, E. P. Dutton published most of their detectivefiction under a single imprint, that of Guilt Edged mysteries.Steve Lewis, Victor Berch and Bill Pronzini have combined resourcesto come up with a complete checklist of the books in this series,including many cover images. Jan 16. MORE LOCKED ROOMS.Prompted by my recent columns onlocked room mysteries, John Pugmire submits his own annotated list ofimpossible and improbable crimes. Once again, none of these arein BobAdey s classic reference book on the subject. Jan 15. Interview with JOANNE FLUKE.Pamela James talks to the author of the Hannah Swensen mystery series,the most recent one being PeachCobbler Murder, out in paperback in February. Coming inMarch in hardcover: CherryCheesecake Murder. Jan 15. FATAL KISS. Reviews bySteve Lewis. Recently uploaded have been my comments on thefollowing: JackHiggins, The Khufra Run; Megan Abbott,Die a Little (my choice for the best noir novel I read all year); Bernard Mara, ABullet for My Lady (a vintage Gold Medal paperback); Mark Miano,Dead of Summer; and Caroline Roe,Consolation for an Exile. Jan 13. TOMMY TUPPENCE. Eachof the stories in Agatha Christie s Partnersin Crime were spoofs of other detective story writers, includingherself. In this article Mike Grost reveals whose work was beingparodied, story by story, while at the same time providing a uniquehistorical perspective to Christie s early career. Its firstappearance in Mystery*Filewas issue #45, August 2004. Jan 10. PAUL HALTER. Very few ofthe short stories and novels written by this modern master of theLocked Room mystery have been published in the English-speakingworld. Once you read John Pugmire sdiscussion of his work, you will be as frustrated as I am. Firstappeared in Mystery*File 47,Feb 2005. Newly added are four reviews of Halter swork by John. (This has been on the website for several months,but I have reformatted it and more recent visitors may have missed it.) Jan 5. The Case of the JDM Plagiarist.In the 1984 interviewEd Gorman did with John D. MacDonald, nothing has caused more interestthan the fact that JDM accused some other writer of redoing some of hisearly stories and submitting them to Manhunt. Ed does not knowwho he was referring to, nor does anyone else. In the ReadersForum is a short recap, along with a note from Jeff Falco, who has acouple of last thoughts on the matter. Jan 3. LOCKED ROOMS AND OTHER IMPROBABLE CRIMES.Back in 1993-94, I wrote a several of columns for the British mysteryfanzine CADS in which Iannotated a number of possible new entries to Bob Adey s masterful booklocked room mysteries. Thanks to Geoff Bradley for allowing me toreprint all eight installments online. Dec 30. OCTAVUS ROY COHEN.Jon L. Breen attempts to clear his shelves of an author whose books hedecides he no longer wishes to keep. Steve Lewis adds abibliography. Dec 28. FATAL KISS. Reviews bySteve Lewis. Recently uploaded were reviews of David Hiltbrand,Deader Than Disco; Don Bredes,The Fifth Season; MaureenSarsfield, Murder at Beechlands; and George Bagby, AnotherAnother Death. Dec 25. TRAVIS McGEE MATT HELM.As a follow-up to John Fraser s article on DonaldHamilton, Doug Bassett does anin-depth contrast and comparison of Matt Helm, Hamilton s primaryseries character,with John D. MacDonald s famed salvage expert, Travis McGee.First appearance: Mystery*File #46,November 2004. Dec 25. CHARLIE CHAN. Thecharacter created by Earl Derr Biggers is arguably one of the world sbest known detectives, even though TV and cable networks areregrettably reluctant to show the movies today. Marv Lachmangives us a guided tour of the six books in which Charlie Chan appeared,along with a good many of the quotes for which the Chinese detective isfamous. Slightly revised from its first appearance in CADS#16, May 1991. Dec 20. MARTIN M. GOLDSMITH. Fromthe introduction to the current paperback release of Detour, comes this shortprofile of the author, written by Richard Doody. Dec 17. MARVIN ALBERT. One ofAlbert s books, known in Spanish but not in English, was the subject ofan inquiry earlier this year. Jeff Falco did some stellardetective work on the matter, wrote up his results, and due to somenegligience on my part, I did not see his in-depth analysis untilnow. The conclusion is the same; it is his description of thetrail that he followed that is both edifying and enlightening. NEW: A shortreply by Bill Crider. Dec 12. Interview with JOHN D. MacDONALD.Talking with Ed Gorman in 1984, JDM discusses his early days as awriter and how Travis McGee came to be, among other things. Dec 11. MURDER MYSTERY MONTHLIES.In this most recent column by Peter Enfantino, he continues hisstory-by-story guide to Manhunt,this time Vol. 1, No. 2 (February, 1953). Dec 4. FATAL KISS. CorneliaPenfield was a mystery writer you may never have heard of, butback in 1933 she wrote two fairly good detective stories, then nothingmore. I reviewed the two mysteries last year, along with themanuscript of a third novel, never published. Severalexcerpts are included, along with extensive commentary on thiscompletelyunexpected find. First appearance: Mystery*File #44, August 2004. Dec 1. INTERVIEW WITH BRAD LANG.After Gary Warren Niebuhr reviews the three books in the career ofprivate eye Fred Crockett, Steve Lewis talks with the author for awhile about how they came to be, among other things.First appearance: Mystery*File 46,November 2004. Nov 30. DONALD HAMILTON.This multi-part essay by John Fraser on the creator of agent Matt Helmfirst appeared in Mystery*File 45,August 2004. And no, Hamilton s other thriller novels are farfrom neglected. Nov 27. NATIVE AMERICAN DETECTIVES.A chronological checklist compiled by Steve Lewis. No, TonyHillerman is not the first author to be listed, but he wascertainly the first to make any great impact. Nov 25. ED LACY. A long,penetrating profile of the Edgar-winning author by Ed Lynskey,following by a brief bibliography of his crime fiction. Firstappearance: Mystery*File 45,August 2004. Nov 22. DENNIS LYNDS as MICHAEL COLLINS.In Mystery*File #47 ,February2005, Ed Lynskey and I did an interview withthe late Dennis Lynds on his writing career as Michael Collins, thepen-name heused primarily for his Dan Fortune novels. Besides the interview,Ed doescomprehensiveoverview of the Dan Fortune books, followed by a bibliography of all ofthe novels and short fiction that appeared under the Michael Collinsby-line. [Reformatted, with several new cover images.] Nov 16. HELEN REILLY. Amongotherquestions that Mike Grost considers as he analyzes several of her booksis whether she should be considered a HIBKwriter, or a Black Maskone. And if you do not know what HIBK stands for, Mike will tellyou that also. [Slightly revised with many images added.] Nov 16. GREGORY MCDONALD. In theearly 1980s Lee Goldbergdid some interviews with the people involved with the first Fletchmovie and then with the author himself. And here they are. Nov 13. CHARLES WILLIAMS. In thisinstallment of The Gold Medal Corner, Bill Crider tells you whyyou should not miss reading anything Charles Williams haswritten, whether it appeared asa Gold Medal paperback or not. Followed by a bibliographycompiled by Steve Lewis and two letters not previouslypublished. You can t beat the covers, either. Reprintedfrom Mystery*File 47. Nov 11. JONATHAN LATIMER. Aoverview of Jonathan Latimer smystery fiction, produced and directed by John Fraser. Abibliography by Steve Lewis follows, followedin turn by a letter from Mike Nevins. First appeared in Mystery*File 46-47. [Slightlyrevised with many images added.] Nov 11. NEVADA BARR J. R. R. TOLKIEN.In this article entitled Hobbits in the National Parks, Joe R.Christopher points out allusions you may never have spotted before. Nov 9. FORGOTTEN WRITERS. In thefirst of a series, Bill Pronzini takes a personal look back at thecareer ofmystery author J. M. (Jay) Flynn. Reprinted from Mystery Scene #13. Nov 7. HONEY WEST. Gary WarrenNiebuhr takes a second look at the Honey West private eye novelswritten by G. G. Fickling in the 50s, 60s and early 70s. Do theyhold up today? The Crime Fiction Index.The link on the left will take you to a separate website wherePhil Stephensen-Payne has a detailed description of an extremelyimportant project he is working on, the Crime Fiction Index, or CFI forshort. In brief, what it will be when finished is an indexto over 12,000 issues of English-language crime, mystery, detective andgangster fiction magazines published from 1915 to2005. Go take a look, but as a reminder, use your backarrow to return. In particular, Phil hasasked for assistance in completing the information he needs on a fairlyrecent but also elusive magazine called Red HerringMystery Magazine. Even if you ve never heard of the magazinebefore, if you follow the link, it will give you an excellent exampleof how the data for an individual issue of a magazine will appear inthe CFI. And if you can supply some of the missing information,that would be even better! The page you are reading has beencompletelyredesigned. Guiding me through the process was my daughter SarahJohnson, who made it seem easy. (Sarah is also the author of HistoricalFiction: A Guide to the Genre, a book you should definitely bugyour local library into buying.) Thanks also to Sarah s husband, Mark Johnson,whose computer expertise and webhosting skills still seem like magicand wizardry to me. And for all I know, they really are.

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