Archives
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
Long before Jessica Fletcher, Sister Mary Helen, or Agatha Raisin, there was Mrs. Emily Pollifax of suburban New Jersey, widowed grandmother, hospital volunteer, garden club member, and occasional CIA agent. In 14 books published between 1966 and 2000, MWA Grand...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Corpse at the Carnival by George Bellairs
I am slowly working my way through the entire list of Littlejohn mysteries by George Bellairs. 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...
The Ringer by Dell Shannon
Barbara Elizabeth Linington (1921-1988) was an astonishingly productive American author who wrote under the names Elizabeth Linington, Anne Blaisdell, Lesley Egan, Egan O'Neill, and Dell Shannon. She initially wrote radio and stage dramas and then turned to...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Footsteps That Stopped by A. Fielding
Some two dozen mysteries were published under the name Archibald Fielding or A. Fielding or A. E. Fielding between 1924 and 1944. They are attributed to Dorothy Feilding (sic) about whom little is known, not even her year of birth apparently. The Golden Age of...
Another Reprint Recommendation: I Start Counting By Audrey Erskine Lindop
As long as we are talking about crime fiction that deserves to be reprinted, I want to mention one of my enduring favorites which has been long out of print. There is one first edition copy on eBay for $476 in the UK. ABE Books has one first edition for $217 in...
Nomination for Classic Crime Reprints
Kate Jackson of Cross Examining Crime is asking for suggestions for what out-of-print classic crime novel should be reprinted next. See the original discussion here:...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder with Relish by Guy Cullingford
Constance Lindsay Dowdy Taylor (1907-2000) began publishing stories, poems, and articles for periodicals in 1928. Her marriage put her writing career on hold for several years. In 1948 her first detective novel, Murder with Relish, was published by Skeffington...
Wax Flowers for Gloria by Pat Flower
Patricia Mary (Pat) Flower (1914–1977) was born in England and moved to Australia with her family when she was 14. She worked in an office and wrote radio plays and sketches during the 1940s. In the 1950s she began writing crime fiction. Her first five books were...
Friday’s Forgotten Book: Death Walked in Kashmir by M. M. Kaye
Mary Margaret Kaye (1908-2004) was born in India, where her father was a civil servant. Her heart never left the country, even as she returned to England for an education and traveled with her Army husband all over the world. She’s best remembered for her epic...
One Man’s Meat by Colin Watson
One Man’s Meat is the ninth title in the Flaxborough Chronicles by Colin Watson. The series of 12 gently sardonic and clever police procedurals featuring Detective Inspector Walter Purbright and Detective Sergeant Sidney Love in the prosperous market and port town...
