Monthly Archives: January 2012

The Mystery Tour of the USA

Posted on January 30, 2012 by

Fifty States, fifty books. Sounds reasonably simple, doesn’t it? I was reading my most recent book, A Cold Day For Murder by Dana Stabenow, which was set in Alaska when I had this thought. I’ve got near the top of … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Mystery Tour of the USA | 10 Comments

A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow

Posted on January 29, 2012 by

I’ve never heard of Dana Stabenow but she’s got an excellent marketing strategy. Two of her earliest mystery novels, this and Fire and Ice are available on Kindle for a grand sum of absolutely nothing at all. So if you … Continue reading →

Posted in Dana Stabenow, Kate Shugak, Mystery Tour of the USA | 17 Comments

Sherlockian Shorts – The Reigate Puzzle

Posted on January 29, 2012 by

First published 1897, The Reigate Puzzle aka The Problem of the Reigate Squire/ Squires/Puzzle the seventh story in the second collection of short stories, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

Posted in Sherlock Holmes, Sherlockian Shorts, Short Stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | 3 Comments

Satan’s Fire by Paul Doherty

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

In 1303 on the shores of the Dead Sea, The Old Man of the Mountain, leader of the Assassins, plots a revenge on Edward I of England. An imprisoned leper knight, captured at the fall of Acre, is released to … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction Challenge, Historical Mysteries, Hugh Corbett, Paul Doherty | 1 Comment

Sherlockian Shorts – The Problem of Thor Bridge

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

First published 1922 in The Strand Magazine, The Problem of Thor Bridge is the second story in the final collection of short stories, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.

Posted in Sherlock Holmes, Sherlockian Shorts, Short Stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | 4 Comments

Enter Second Murderer by Alanna Knight

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Edinburgh in the 1870s, the haunt of Robert Louis Stevenson and the young Conan Doyle. While recovering from a bout of typhus, Detective Inspector Jeremy Faro missed the notorious “Gruesome Convent Murders”, a pair of women from a nearby convent, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alanna Knight, Challenges, Historical Fiction Challenge, Historical Mysteries, Inspector Faro | 6 Comments

Sherlockian Shorts – The Adventure of the Illustrious Client

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

First published 1924, The Adventure of the Illustrious Client is the sixth story in the final collection of The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.

Posted in Sherlock Holmes, Sherlockian Shorts, Short Stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | 3 Comments

The Dead Room by Herbert Resnicow

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

The testing room for Hamilcar Hi-Fi was soundproof, airtight and monitored at all times. So when Walter Kassel, the elderly inventor or a revolutionary new speaker is found stabbed through the heart inside the chamber, it seems to be an … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbert Resnicow, Locked Rooms and Impossible Murders | 10 Comments

Sherlockian Shorts – The Final Problem

Posted on January 22, 2012 by

First published in The Strand magazine in December 1893, The Final Problem is well-known as the story that was meant to kill off Sherlock Holmes once and for all… allegedly – we’ll come to that in a bit.  It’s recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Sherlock Holmes, Sherlockian Shorts, Short Stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | 1 Comment

Sherlockian Shorts – An Explanation

Posted on January 22, 2012 by

There’s a problem with calling myself a fan of mystery fiction – the man in the street knows, on average, no more than three literary detectives – Miss Marple, Poirot and Sherlock Holmes. Now I consider myself well-read on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes, Short Stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | 4 Comments