Analysis

McGivern had a rich and varied writing career ranging from newspaper work to pulp fiction to crime novels (five of which were made into feature films most notably “Odds Against Tomorrow” starring Robert Ryan and Harry Belafonte, 1959) to screenplays (the John Wayne film “Brannigan”, 1975) to TV series scriptwriting (“Kojak”).  Like many once popular…

Burton was a London stage actor who emigrated (under perhaps scandalous circumstances) from England to the United States in 1834 and over time earned great renown in America as an actor, theater manager, playwright, author, editor, publisher, critic and Shakespearean scholar.  While living in Philadelphia he started Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine in 1837, hired Edgar Allen Poe as…

The Night of the Wolf (2006)Wildside Press, Rockville, MD This is the first English  translation of Paul Halter’s short mystery fiction.  The book consists of ten “Impossible Crime” stories written mostly in the 1990’s.  Mr. Halter has received both popular and critical acclaim in his native France for his atmospheric, plot-driven stories written in the tradition of John…

Full Name: Judith Eve Bernstein Singer Sharpe DOB: 1945 Born:  Brooklyn, NY (or possibly Manhattan) BA: University of Wisconsin 1967 MA: Columbia University 1969 PHD:  NYU 1993 Married: 1968 to Bob Singer Widowed: 1998 or 1999 Married: Early 2000’s to Nelson Sharpe Position: Adjunct professor of History, St. Elizabeth’s College, Queens, NY H. Address: 63…

Timothy Brace (1901-1969) was the pseudonym used by regional writer Theodore Pratt (1901-1969) when he wrote a series of four detective stories in the late 1930’s. He was born in the Midwest and later grew up and was educated in the Northeast. He held various writing positions in New York City before becoming the European correspondent…

Featured authors:  *****Continue scrolling down for additional Entries***** 1.  Merlda Mace (psd. of Madeleine McCoy) Motto for Murder (1943) was one of a trio of murder mysteries written by Merlda Mace during the 1940’s.  The detective she deploys in this story is Timothy J. O’Neil better known as Tip to his friends.  He is a 26…

The Circular Staircase (1908) This is an iconic mystery novel written by an iconic mystery author who suffers both neglect (by modern mystery readers) and derision (by many mystery critics both past and present).  Although The Circular Staircase was Rinehart’s second (magazine) published novel length mystery, it by chance was published in hardcover a year before her…

I’ve noticed that many Sherlock Holmes fans (and many detective story fans) consider Holmes a brilliant amateur sleuth.  I have always disagreed with this description.  I view him as fiction’s first private consulting detective.  Having recently re-read all the stories, here are my thoughts as to his professional status: Holmes never alluded to having a…