From Penzler Publishers comes six more American Mystery Classics from the Golden Era of crime fiction. Spring is in the air and with it comes another set of reissued crime fiction novels for mystery lovers. Last year, six titles in Otto Penzler’s new American Mystery Classics were released, giving crime fiction fans the opportunity to read […]
Author Archives: Christopher Chan
Book Review of the Week: 3 Women 4 Towns 5 Bodies & Other Stories by Townsend Walker
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 story, which composes a third of the book, is a collection of snapshots into the minds and souls of […]
DVD Review: The Americans Season 6
DVD Review: The Americans Season 6 (Warning: Oblique spoilers for previous seasons of The Americans follow.) The Americans is a high-concept television series in which the initial premise could have led to any point on the spectrum of quality. In lesser hands, the tale of two Russian spies living undercover as subversives in the United States could […]
The Verdict on American Mystery Classics: A Treat for Mystery fans…
The Verdict on American Mystery Classics: A Treat for Mystery fans… W.H. Auden once wrote: “Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.” Otto Penzler, the prolific editor of crime fiction and the proprietor of New York City’s “The Mysterious Bookshop,” is bringing back classic mystery novels from the past that have been long […]
DVD Review– Fargo: Season 3
DVD Review– Fargo: Season 3 The TV series Fargo has always argued that to be a hero, one does not need to be superhuman, just humane. That sentiment is at the heart of the series, which shows that though a significant portion of the evil in the world is caused by deliberate malice, a […]
DVD Review– The Palermo Connection
DVD Review– The Palermo Connection The Italian-language miniseries The Palermo Connection centers around twin themes: first, that it is impossible to escape your past, and second, that it is impossible to escape your conscience. When Angelo Caronia (Riccardo Scamarcio), a talented but arrogant investigator for the Italian police, alienates his superiors and is […]
DVD Review– Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: The Complete Series and Nero Wolfe (Italian language series)
DVD Review– Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: The Complete Series and Nero Wolfe (Italian language series) Alongside Perry Mason, Nero Wolfe is the foremost American fictional detective. Created by Rex Stout, the Wolfe mysteries spanned four decades and have been continued by Robert Goldsborough. Wolfe is larger than life due to his eccentricities. Wolfe loves […]
DVD Review: Murder on the Orient Express
DVD Review: Murder on the Orient Express (NOTE: This review will contain major spoilers for the 2017 movie Murder on the Orient Express.) “I have lived long enough to know what I like. What I dislike, I cannot abide.” The above quote is from Michael Green’s screenplay for the 2017 film adaptation of Murder […]
DVD Review: Going in Style and Golden Years
DVD Review: Going in Style and Golden Years The movies Going in Style and Golden Years both center on a nearly identical premise. What happens when a group of cash-strapped senior citizens, reeling from the unexpected and unjust loss of their pension income, decide to rob a bank? Both films appear to have gone into […]
Review of the Week: Fever By Deon Meyer.
Fever By Deon Meyer. Translated by K.L. Seefers Atlantic Monthly Press 2017 $26.00 A Review of Fever by Deon Meyer Fever is a lengthy journey into a post-apocalyptic society, where the goal of building a new utopia is marred by lack of understanding into human nature. In this story, a terrible disease has wiped out […]
DVD Review– The Night Of
DVD Review– The Night Of The Night Of is an HBO miniseries based upon the British series Criminal Justice. While the basic plot and many pertinent storyline details remain the same, the Americanized version comes into its own as a commentary on the U.S. justice system. The Night Of succeeds in Americanizing the source […]
DVD Review– Manhattan Night
DVD Review– Manhattan Night Manhattan Night is based on the novel Manhattan Nocturne by Colin Harrison. I’m not sure why the second word in the title was changed. When the movie was first in development, Nocturne was being used, but shortly before the film was released, it was switched to Night. If the powers […]