In March 1980, Jon L. Breen wrote in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, “The reputation of S.S. Van Dine, creator of Philo Vance and once the most famous American writer of detective stories, has sadly slipped in recent years, not entirely deservedly.” Now, thirty-five years after Mr. Breen’s column and seventy-six years after Van Dine’s death,…
As a huge fan of mysteries and thrillers, I am allowed to make fun of them. Just as as a blond Swede, it’s perfectly legal for me to tell blond or Swedish jokes. NO ONE WILL ARREST ME. Mysteries always involve a murder and somebody trying to solve the case. Action mysteries pump up the…
As a genre, mystery is famous for its loners, guys like Jack Reacher, Monk and Lucas Davenport. But mysteries are also rife with bromances, all you have to do is look. What exactly is a bromance? The term is used to describe a non-sexual relationship between two men that are unusually close. In mystery, this…
I’m in love. My heart speeds up when I spend time with him. He makes me smile for no reason. We’ve been together for over twenty years, and it always seems new—but also familiar. Of course, I could say this about my husband, but I’m talking about a character in a series. Melrose Plant, I…
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I'm one of the very few Sherlockians I know possessed of a rabid aversion to deerstalkers. When I think about the iconic chapeau of our personal hero, I get an expression on my face not dissimilar to Keith Olbermann's moments before the glasses are torn off and Camera Three gets a wet lensful of disdain. …
