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FFB/FIRST BOOKS: Mare's Nest - Carlyn Coffin
THE STORY: After suffering a disabling injury in Puerto Rico that leaves her left leg crushed from a terrible riding accident Salina "Sally" Nash is sent back the US to recuperate at her brother's...
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IMPRESSIVE IMPRINTS: Inner Sanctum Mysteries, 1936 - 1969
Here's the first in what I hope to be a year long celebration of the mystery imprints fro American publishers. I plan to do these in as close to chronological order as possible. Years ago I wrote about...
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TUESDAY CLUB: Death under Sail - C. P. Snow
The shipboard mystery or nautical mystery novel is just as prevalent in the Golden Age as those set on a train. Death on the Nile may very well be the quintessential detective novel set on board a...
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Out of the Shadows -- Charles Ashton, Mystery Writer
Pietro dePalma uncovered a book by little known mystery writer Charles Ashton and wrote about it on his blog Death Can Read. He was frustrated that he could find no biographical info on the writer. So...
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FFB: Three for the Chair - Rex Stout
It's not really right to ever include any of Rex Stout's crime fiction in the Friday's Forgotten Book posts, but here I go anyway. How can anyone call Nero Wolfe forgotten? I needed to find some books...
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IMPRESSIVE IMPRINTS: Harper Sealed Mystery (1929 - 1934)
For a while it seemed almost a requirement that an American publisher create a catchy name along with a clever logo for an imprint that would be the marketing tool for the mystery books they published....
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FFB: The Hammersmith Maggot - William Mole
UK 1st edition (Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1955)Illustration by collectible DJ artist BiroTHE STORY: Alistair Casson Duker (Casson to his friends) is a wine merchant, gourmand, and a self-confessed...
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LEFT INSIDE: Post-Christmas in Tennessee, 1963
"All of us had a delightful time and hope that cleaning up the wreckage wasn't too much for you."It's rare that I come across anything for this one time regular feature where I write about things I've...
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IMPRESSIVE IMPRINTS: Red Badge Detective, 1930-1970s
One of the longest running mystery novel imprints was Red Badge Detective put out by Dodd Mead. The earliest date I can nail this down to is 1930. According to an advertisement included in the first...
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1957 BOOK: Conquest after Midnight - Berkeley Gray
For years I kept coming across the Norman Conquest books being offered up for sale on various bookselling websites. “Hmm,” I often mumbled to myself. “I wonder if those are any good.” But I never gave...
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FFB: Said with Flowers - Anne Nash
THE STORY: Doris Trent and Nell Witter are two middle-aged women who own The Flower Shop in Pinecrest, a northern California town not far from the San Francisco Bay area. It's a few days before...
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IMPRESIVE IMPRINTS: The Mystery League, 1930-1933
In 1930 the creators of The Mystery League decided to take advantage of the popularity of detective fiction craze and develop an inexpensive, easy to buy line of crime fiction titles that would...
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FFB: The Secret of Sea-Dream House - Albert Payson Terhune
THE STORY: Saul Tevvis, wildly successful bestselling author, is plagued by fans and reporters and cannot start work on his second novel (Yes, the wild success follows after the publication of his...
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IMPRESSIVE IMPRINTS: Lippincott "Masked Man" Mysteries, 1937-1941
J. B. Lippincott tried their hand at a mystery imprint twice. The first was short-lived and had the strangest inconsistency of design and usage. In 1937, Lippincott announced on the rear panel of The...
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TUESDAY NIGHT BLOGGERS: The May Day Mystery - Octavus Roy Cohen
Throughout the 1920s there was a subgenre of popular fiction that I've never bothered reading. It also made its way into films and radio. I'm talking about collegiate fiction -- stories of wealthy frat...
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FFB: The Medbury Fort Murder - George Limnelius
THE STORY: Loathsome Lt. Lepean is found with his throat cut and his head nearly severed from his body in a locked room at the isolated Medbury Fort situated on the Thames. Lepean was not at all...
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LEFT INSIDE: Business Card Bookmarks
A quick "Left Inside" post here. I found a few business cards in the books I've been reading lately. The card below seems to have been inserted as a method of advertising. Made me laugh. I found it in...
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TUESDAY NIGHT BLOGGERS: Death and the Professors - Kathleen Sproul
Two rival physics professors die within hours of one another after attending a faculty function at the home of the Dunster College's president in Death and the Professors (1933). Though one death...
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FFB: Here's Blood in Your Eye - Manning Long
THE STORY: Louise "Liz" Boykin is an artist's model by choice. She's trying hard to become part of the artist community but lives on the fringes of acceptance. She's getting over the recent break up...
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Return from "The Last Frontier"
Someone I recently emailed hinted that I ought to show you all some scenery from our Alaska trip. Here's a sample of the over 350 pictures and 7 videos I took.Too late we realized how to use the video...
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