Can you tell us a little about your latest release Murder in Haxford? While the book is a stand-alone, it does continue the adventures of Pignon Scorbion and his colorful group of amateur detective assistants who debuted in Pignon Scorbion & the Barbershop Detectives. Similar to that book, in Murder in Haxford, Scorbion and his […]
Finding inspiration in a fever dream, Jonathan Payne wrote his debut novel, Citizen Orlov. But beyond its surreal inspiration, the novel’s subject matter is rooted in Payne’s own experiences. Before moving to Washington, DC, Payne worked in national security for the British government and that, particularly his overseas assignments, laid the groundwork for Citizen Orlov. […]
Cover Reveal: Citizen Orlov by Jonathan Payne What inspired this book? Citizen Orlov was literally inspired by a fever dream. In the early days of 2020, I caught COVID-19 and spent a long weekend trying to sleep off a heavy fever. I dreamt that I was back in my government days and sent on […]
Now Streaming Review: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? The twenty-first century has been both the best of times and the worst of times for Agatha Christie’s adaptations. Some have been utter sludge that has gutted and twisted some of her finest books, and others have been brilliant and sparkling productions that have been glorious tributes […]
BASIL’S WAR A WWII SPY THRILLER By Stephen Hunter New York: Mysterious Press, 2021. $23.95 FINDING TESSA By Jaime Lynn Hendricks New York: Scarlet, 2021. $25.95 THE LAST COMMANDMENT By Scott Shepherd New York: Mysterious Press, 2021. $25.95 These three new books from Mysterious Press and Scarlet, offer three different approaches to the thriller—a wartime […]
AGATHA CHRISTIE’S GOLDEN AGE, VOLUME II: MISS MARPLE AND THE OTHER GOLDEN AGE PUZZLES By John Goddard Wimbledon, UK: Stylish Eye Press, 2021. $68.99 ($18.99 paperback) A little more than two years ago, I reviewed John Goddard’s terrific book Agatha Christie’s Golden Age: An Analysis of Poirot’s Golden Age Puzzles (2018). It’s a fantastic, thoughtful […]
The Strand Magazine issue 64 Featuring the Unpublished Tennessee Williams Short Story “The Summer Woman” (The Strand Magazine: Unpublished Tennessee Williams Short Story, also fiction by Jo Nesbø, Christopher Yates and Eli Cranor and an exclusive interview with Shari Lapena) It’s no secret that Williams loved Italy and had a great affinity for the Italian […]
Author of New York Times bestseller Close Pursuit and Arthur Ellis Award winner Sniper’s Moon, Carsten Stroud has been writing and publishing novels for over thirty years. Writing from his home in Toronto, Ontario, Carsten mostly draws on inspiration outside of the freezing province. While his early works explore the underbelly of 1980s New York, […]
Top 30 Mystery Novels of 2022 (In no order of importance or rank, they all are number one!) The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton) Khan does a great job of combining humor, and mayhem, in a historical setting. His books are series books that never feel the same. Those wishing […]
The Strand Magazine Special Holiday Issue, PLUS The Sherlock Holmes Calendar and a One Year Subscription (You might wish to toss a few logs into the fireplace, grab a warm drink, put your feet up on a stool, and dim the lights while you read the holiday issue of Strand. For almost 25 years, we’ve […]