DVD Review: Longmire: Season 6 Some of the best works of crime television of recent decades have attempted to capture the spirit of various regions of the United States, or at least the creative team’s personal interpretations of the heart of the areas. The David Simon series The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street […]
Author Archives: Christopher Chan
DVD Review: Killing Eve, Seasons 1 and 2
DVD Review: Killing Eve, Seasons 1 and 2 By Chris Chan The curse of many terrific television shows is poor reviews. By “poor reviews,” I don’t mean reviews that evaluate the show negatively. I mean badly crafted reviews, which praise the show in such a way that the show comes across as […]
Book Review: Paper Son: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel
Book Review: Paper Son: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Novel Paper Son is the latest in S.J. Rozan’s Lydia Chin series, about a Chinese-American private detective based in New York who works with her investigative partner Bill Smith. In this book, Lydia is drawn out of her familiar metropolis when her mother pressures her to […]
DVD Review: Luther: Season 5
DVD Review: Luther: Season 5 By Chris Chan Warning: Some oblique spoilers for this season of Luther and previous seasons follow! Luther, the series that helped make Idris Elba an international star, is back for a fifth but hopefully not final season. This season continues the series’ trademark of having the brilliant […]
DVD Review: Holmes and Watson
DVD Review: Holmes and Watson In these heavily politicized times, when families and friendships are sundered by differing opinions, and there seems to be no widespread agreement anywhere, people from all walks of life and ideologies are concurring on one point: the movie Holmes and Watson is dreadful. But why? What exactly about this […]
Review: 3 Women 4 Towns 5 Bodies & Other Stories by Townsend Walker
3 Women 4 Towns 5 Bodies & Other Stories By Townsend Walker Deeds Publishing 2019 $18.95 Townsend Walker’s collection of short fiction, 3 Women 4 Towns 5 Bodies & Other Stories, is a compilation of tales reflecting numerous different women, their lives, their loves, their hates, their crimes, and their plotting. The title […]
DVD Review—Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer
If you’re addicted to crime dramas, then you’ll want to check out Chris Chan’s DVD Review of Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer. “Message drama” is the bane of many television crime dramas. Not to name names, but many TV shows routinely produce subpar episodes when they decide to address a hot-button issue. […]
The Story of True Crime and Arson: Damn the Old Tinderbox! Book Review
Check out Chris Chan’s book review of a true crime category that is often overlooked by writers and historians: arson. Damn the Old Tinderbox!: Milwaukee’s Palace of the West and the Fire that Defined an Era by Matthew J. Prigge is the missing piece that fans of true crime will need to check out this summer. […]
DVD Review—Father Brown Season Six
Father Brown has been on the rise over the last few seasons, and Chris Chan has his DVD review to let you know if Father Brown Season Six should be added to your queue. The sixth season of Father Brown shows a notable improvement over the early seasons, as well as the continuation of […]
DVD Review—Acquitted, Spring Tide, and Those Who Kill
Looking for your next binge-worthy show? Why not try one of these Scandinavian crime dramas! Acquitted, Spring Tide, and Those Who Kill have something for every crime drama aficionado, from the classic “whodunnit?” to even more twisted, dark stories. DVD Review–Acquitted: Seasons One and Two (Norwegian language series), Spring Tide: Season One (Swedish language series), and Those Who Kill (Danish […]
DVD Review—Top of the Lake: China Girl
DVD Review—Top of the Lake: China Girl Coming about half a decade after the release of the original series Top of the Lake, the second season, subtitled China Girl, is striking by both how similar the sequel is to its predecessor, and how simultaneously shockingly different it is as well. The original series […]
For True-Crime Enthusiasts: The Belle of Bedford Avenue by Virginia A. McConnell
In today’s society, it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of true crime, from the never ending stream of documentaries to the countless turning pages of books. But don’t worry, The Strand Magazine is here to point you in the right direction with this week’s new book review. Discover the story behind Florence Wallace […]