Murder in the Basement by Anthony Berkeley

May 30, 2023

I’m usually enthusiastic about the British Library Crime Classics. Martin Edwards’ introductions to these books are invaluable. And, he does an excellent job providing the background for this mystery. But, once I was past Part I of Anthony Berkeley’s...

Before I Sleep by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

February 13, 2023

I’m always eager to return to Bill Slider’s world in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ series. Before I Sleep is the twenty-fourth in the series, and it’s just as delightful as a British police procedural as all the earlier ones. It’s never a good...

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

January 10, 2023

One reason I found the concept for Iris Yamashita’s debut mystery so intriguing is because I had seen the CBS Sunday Morning feature about Whittier, Alaska. Yamashita’s City Under One Roof is set in the fictional town of Point Mettier, Alaska, but her...

The Master of Mysteries by Gelett Burgess

January 02, 2023

“I never saw a Purple Cow,I never hope to see one;But I can tell you, anyhow,I’d rather see than be one.” By Gelett Burgess, who also wrote, “Ah, yes, I wrote the “Purple Cow”—I’m Sorry, now, I wrote it;But I can tell you...

Witnesses for the Dead, ed. by Phillips & Haywood

November 06, 2022

Every time I review an anthology, I mention that it’s not easy because the quality of stories vary, and it’s difficult to talk about all of them. That holds true for Witnesses for the Dead: Stories, edited by Gary Phillips and Gar Anthony Haywood. Their...