Here it is, the second installment of my Sherlockiana column. (Be sure to check out The Not-So-Elementary Universe of Sherlock Holmes, Part 1) This one is a wilder ride than the last, including a warlock, a group of crime-fighting female monsters, and Holmes and Watson teaming up with Freud. Once again, I have rated them… Read more »
While I work on part 2 of my Sherlockiana post, here is another I promised—my auto-buy authors. You know what series I buy on sight (and don’t miss part 2 here). Now you will know the authors who inspire similar devotion in me. My Auto-Buy Authors Rhys Bowen When I started reading mysteries more often… Read more »
I didn’t come to appreciate the Great Detective (AKA Sherlock Holmes) until I reached my 30s and saw the BBC series Sherlock. I then read some exceptional YA pastiche and became hooked. Those books led me back to the original series. I’m nowhere near having read them all, but I read some of the more… Read more »
For a while now, I’ve wanted to read some of the early masters of crime fiction. Starting with this column, I plan to feature several of those pioneers. I might intersperse columns on other topics as well. Today, I begin with Anna Katharine Green. Who Is Anna Katharine Green? Anna Katharine Green isn’t a household… Read more »
In the course of writing this column, I haven’t shared my personal favorite mysteries yet. But today, for the debut of my Sunday columns, I made it all about my favorites. I’m sharing the books I don’t even read a description of before clicking buy, the ones I binge in between reading for my column… Read more »
Some of the best writers working today write in the children’s and young adult literature categories. That has always been the case, I think. The children’s mysteries on my list for this column have either entertained generations or made a more recent impact in sales and media. They are some of the best books I’ve… Read more »
In my last column, I talked about classic girl detectives. This time, the modern girl detectives get their chance. The girl detectives from the late 20th-early 21st century comprise a much more diverse group. But they share with each other and their predecessors the qualities of intelligence, bravery, and grit. Some of you might notice… Read more »
Ever since researching classic girl detectives for a paper in 2008, I wanted to read the adventures I had only read about. For this column, I originally chose the topic of children’s mysteries. I realized that needed to be narrowed a bit. Then I remembered the girl detectives. Now was my chance to read more! … Read more »
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre remains a cultural touchstone 174 years after its debut. It is one of the best examples of Gothic Romanticism, a predecessor of modern domestic suspense. Gothic novels are characterized by sensational aspects, such as strange noises, dark houses in desolate settings, shattering secrets, and women in distress. But Jane Eyre was… Read more »
Recently in this column, I discussed real authors featured as fictional sleuths. But I discovered that real authors are sometimes real sleuths as well. Some seek to fight injustice and others become swept up in a mystery or crime. Some find the answers, some don’t, and some are the mystery rather than the sleuth. But… Read more »
