Archives
Death’s Bright Angel by Janet Neel
Death’s Bright Angel by Janet Neel (Constable, 1988), the first of seven books about Detective Chief Inspector John McLeish and Francesca Wilson, a civil servant in the Department of Trade and Industry Ministry, won the John Creasey New Blood Dagger for an...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder in the Moor by Thomas Kindon
Murder in the Moor by Thomas Kindon (Methuen, 1929; E.P. Dutton, 1929) is the only known mystery by Kindon, who himself is an enigma. The manuscript was entered in Methuen’s Prize Competition for Detective Fiction and achieved third place. Just who Kindon was and...
The James Joyce Murder by Amanda Cross
Why do we not talk about the Kate Fansler mysteries these days? Contemporary readers are missing out on a wonderful character, sound plots, and witty, literate writing. These books are positive gems. I read the series years ago and found a copy of the second one...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Padded Door by Brian Flynn
Brian Flynn (1885-1958) is another of those forgotten authors from the first part of the 20th century whose work has been resurrected after diligent effort on the part of a few people. It doesn’t help that books were rarely reprinted then and initial print runs...
The Pew Group by Anthony Oliver
Anthony Oliver (1922-1995) was born in Wales. He served in the RAF during World War II and made his acting debut in 1964 at the Q Theatre. He appeared in film, on stage, and on television. He became an expert in Staffordshire pottery, writing two books on the...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Octagon Crystal by Pearl Foley
I occasionally search for Canadian mystery writers during the Golden Age and so far, Frank L. Packard (1877–1942) and Pearl Foley (1888-1953) are the only two names I have found. Foley doesn’t seem to be recognized by any crime fiction authority lists beyond Part...
No Dust in the Attic by Anthony Gilbert
Lucy Beatrice Malleson (1899-1973) was a British author most well known for her creation of Arthur G. Crook, an entertaining lawyer whose malleable ethics support his fervent belief that none of his clients are guilty. Crook had some 50 adventures published under...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder Gone Minoan by Clyde B. Clason
Clyde Burt Clason (1903-1987) was born in Denver, Colorado, where he graduated from the University of Denver and then worked in Chicago as an advertising copywriter and a trade newsletter editor. He published 10 mysteries between 1936 and 1941, all featuring...
Guilt by John Lescroart
My recent trip to San Francisco included a visit to the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley where some of the jewels of the California Detective Fiction collection were on display, including the papers of legal thriller author John Lescroart. Lescroart is among my...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Medbury Fort Murder by George Limnelius
I ran across a discussion in which bloggers offered their favorite Golden Age mysteries, and The Medbury Fort Murder (Collins Crime Club, 1929) by George Limnelius was mentioned twice. Of course I cannot find the discussion again so I cannot give credit to the...
