Reviews 
Whether it be a book, movie, or something else, here’s a critique.
Double Indemnity
“I drove out to Glendale to put three new truck drivers on a brewery company bond, and then I remembered this renewal over in Hollywoodland. I decided to run over there. That was how I came to this House of Death, that you’ve been reading about in the papers.” It’s that familiar story again. Man… Read More ›
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The classic story of a man falling in love with a married woman and the two conspiring to kill her husband, The Postman Always Rings Twice inspired two feature films and numerous crime novels. It’s difficult to review The Postman Always Rings Twice without revealing details of the plot. The plot is a familiar one,… Read More ›
Murder on a Midsummer Night
Have you met the delightful Miss Phryne Fisher? Why, she’s simply the bee’s knees! She’s wealthy, sharp as a tack, and likely to solve all your little mysteries. “One reason why Phryne solved puzzles is that she hated mysteries.” In Murder on a Midsummer Night, Phryne takes on two disparate cases. She’s first approaching by a… Read More ›
Crime Square
New York City’s Times Square becomes Crime Square in this anthology of 21 short stories. “Spanning more than one hundred years—from Longacre Square’s rechristening on April 19, 1904 to the contemporary “Disney-ized” neighborhood—Crime Square is the ultimate collection of crime stories, set in the world’s ultimate destination.” Thus the book’s back cover boasts along with… Read More ›
Celebrate National Short Story Month
May is National Short Story Month! Short stories are ideal for readers, who may be pressed for time, but are craving something to read. Most short stories clock in at 20 pages or less, and they can be a great way to discover new authors, or sample established ones, before investing the time reading a full-length novel. … Read More ›
Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter
“Something about not having to shovel snow and being surrounded by sunshine and tropical foliage 365 days of the year causes a lot of people to feel so guilty that they compensate by scaring themselves with thoughts of imminent crime. They go out and buy themselves a gun and sort of hope they’ll get to… Read More ›
Castle 100
In its fifth season, Castle celebrates 100 episodes with an ode to Alfred Hitchcock. The Rear Window inspired episode 5.19, “The Lives of Others”, (original air date: April 1, 2013) puts Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) in a wheelchair, poised to witness a murder. In Rear Window (1954), photographer L. B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies (James Stewart) looked out his… Read More ›
Mary Pope Osborne’s Norse Myths
Much like Greek Mythology, the Norse myths have inspired grand operas, art, literature, and comic books. This mythology of the Northern climes is primarily derived from the Icelandic Eddas, which date to the 13th century, though the lore is far older in origin. These tales of gods and giants, dwarves and elves—light and dark—inspired the operas of… Read More ›
Mary Pope Osborne’s Greek Myths
Thousands of years old, Greek myths have been told and retold countless times and in countless ways, inspiring works of art, music, literature, and film. Many of us first encounter these tales of wonder as children. So it is no surprise that many authors—from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Bernard Evslin to the D’Aulaires—have presented collections of these… Read More ›
To Catch a Cat
“Something told him he would never feel safe again.” Eleven year-old Robin falls prey to peer pressure. He wants to fit in at school and with the popular kids so he agrees to steal a neighbor’s cat. In the process, he is witness to a murder. He escapes with the cat, Leif Erickson, but fears… Read More ›
The Poisoned Martini 