Archives
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Postman’s Knock by J. F. Straker
John Foster Straker (1904-1987) was an English author born in Kent and who served in World War II. During the war with time on his hands he began writing mysteries. He first published seven mysteries with Detective-Inspector Richard Aloysius Pitt from 1954 to 1961,...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Polo Ground Mystery by Robin Forsythe
Robert “Robin” Forsythe (1879-1937) began writing short stories and poetry as a teenager. In middle age after a stint in prison he took up mystery writing, publishing five mysteries with amateur sleuth and landscape painter Algernon/Anthony Vereker as the amateur...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Death in Desolation by George Bellairs
George Bellairs was the pseudonym of Harold Blundell (1902-1982), a Manchester bank manager as well as a freelance journalist. He published 57 popular classic police procedurals featuring Inspector Thomas Littlejohn of Scotland Yard between 1941 and 1980. He also...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Crossword Mystery by E. R. Punshon
I realized it had been quite awhile since I looked at the Bobby Owen detective mysteries by Ernest Robertson Punshon (1872-1956). I was a bit disappointed by the last one or two I read in the series so I thought perhaps I would have better luck with an early title....
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder at the WPA by Alexander Williams
Alexander Hazard Williams (1894-1952) was born in Washington, DC, attended Georgetown University in his hometown, served in the Army and then in the Air Corps. He worked as a newspaper correspondent, among other things, and became an executive in the Works Progress...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder at Cambridge by Q. Patrick
Q. Patrick was the pseudonym of Richard Wilson Webb (1901-1966), who also published under the names Patrick Quentin and Jonathan Stagge. Webb wrote some books alone and then with Martha Mott Kelly under the name Q. Patrick for a few years before Webb teamed up with...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Case of the Terrified Typist by Erle Stanley Gardner
With so many reviews of Perry Mason mysteries popping up, I went back to one of my favorite titles in the series by Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970). Not his best written nor his strongest characters, I loved The Case of the Terrified Typist (Morrow, 1956) for its...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Death of a Bovver Boy by Leo Bruce
Rupert Croft-Cooke (1903-1979) began his long literary career early, publishing a volume of poetry at age 19. He wrote a number of biographies and screenplays and literary fiction under his name and used the name Leo Bruce for his crime fiction. In addition to...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Worm of Death by Nicholas Blake
I discovered my copy of The Worm of Death (Harper, 1961) by Nicholas Blake this week and of course had to re-read it. Nicholas Blake is the pseudonym of Cecil Day-Lewis (1904–1972), the UK Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death. While he was a distinguished...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: I Want to Go Home by Frances and Richard Lockridge
Crippen & Landru’s recent release of a collection of short fiction by Richard and Frances Lockridge reminded me that I had not looked at any of their books for awhile. Frances Davis Lockridge (1896-1963) and Richard Lockridge (1899-1982) were journalists known...
