Reviews 
Whether it be a book, movie, or something else, here’s a critique.
Branded
Could this film be considered a horror film for those working in PR, marketing, and advertising? Touted as a sci-fi thriller set in a dystopian future, Branded (2012) plays more like a satire about society and the love/hate relationship with advertising. A brief prologue introduces a young Misha Galkin in early 1980s Moscow. After seeing… Read More ›
Cat Breaking Free
This one might be hard for some people to swallow. Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s Joe Grey mystery series features cat sleuths who talk … to humans. That’s right! Sapient cats talk to select human characters during the course of the story and telephone the police to report anonymous tips! As the description for this eleventh book… Read More ›
Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme
What are your expectations when picking up a mystery to read? Are they different from when selecting a series title? Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme, published in 2010, is the 22nd book in the series, and the first I’ve read. Because it’s a series, I don’t expect the murder to occur immediately. I’m willing to… Read More ›
The Cat Who Saw Red
“Jim Qwilleran slumped in a chair in the Press Club dining room, his six-feet-two frame telescoped into a picture of dejection and his morose expression intensified by the droop of his oversized moustache.” Thus, after a hiatus of nearly twenty years, Lilian Jackson Braun (1913-2011) begins The Cat Who Saw Red, the fourth book in… Read More ›
Top 10 Mysteries in 2012?
With 2013 just around the corner, it’s time to reflect on the year that’s been. What books did you read this year? Were they the most popular? Based on circulation figures at the library where I work, these were the most checked out mysteries in 2012. *** 10. Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues by… Read More ›
The Messengers of Death
The great expectations of readers, when picking up a mystery novel, is the promise of a story that rivets our attentions with an intriguing murder and engaging characters, both sleuth and suspects. Consider this, “An envelope is discovered in a cemetery addressed to Mlle Véronique Champourcieux. The letter is kindly posted. Later, that same Mlle Véronique… Read More ›
Was it a Killer Year?
In 2009, for the first time, I reviewed a book, Killer Year: Stories to Die For… and posted it publicly in the blogosphere. This “review” became my second post on Crimespace. I’d discovered this social network “ning” site as a place for readers and writers of crime fiction and thought it a perfect place to have a… Read More ›
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
C’est incroyable! In this classic locked room murder mystery, “The solution of the problem baffled everybody who tried to find it.” Indeed, it is an excellent example of this mystery troupe. Surely, there must be a secret passage, some means by which the would-be killer escapes, but no, it is explicitly stated that there is… Read More ›
Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that…” “…there is nothing new under the sun.” Or in this novel’s case, should that be “moon”? You see, it’s 1810, and the Damned have fallen out of favor with the Prince Regent–“banished from polite society”–even though they were crucial in helping defeat invading French forces during the Napoleonic… Read More ›
Death at the Chateau Bremont
Dotted by medieval towns dating back to Roman times, filled with rolling hills of lavender and herbs, alive with the sun-drenched colors of ochre, azure, and sienna, Provence has long inspired creative minds. This is Cézanne’s country, and his birthplace, Aix-en-Provence, is the setting of M. L. Longworth’s debut novel, Death at the Château Bremont. The Mistral… Read More ›
The Poisoned Martini 