James Scott Byrnside's Blog, page 10

The Greek Coffin Mystery

Jerry Lewis once tried to explain his distaste for widescreen aspect ratios by thundering, “It’s lazy to shoot a film in widescreen; everything is in the goddamn frame. There’s no need for pictorial skill!” Whether I agree with Mr. Lewis’s opinion on widescreen ratios (or indeed, what constitutes pictorial skill) is entirely moot, but I… Continue reading The Greek Coffin Mystery

My very second poll!

I’m not going to do these polls forever. At some point, I’ll simply read what I want from the big pile. I’ve discussed reviewing some contemporary authors (both self and traditionally published), and those will come…sometime soonish–probably in the winter. In the meantime, the last poll forced me to read, which is good. Very good.… Continue reading My very second poll!

Cat and Mouse

Murder’s such a lonely business: there’s never anyone to talk to. The winner of my reading poll was Christianna Brand’s Cat and Mouse. There is a specific reason I hadn’t read this book for so long, but I can’t tell you because it’s a spoiler…sort of. Here’s the deal. C&M is not a detective story… Continue reading Cat and Mouse

My very first poll.

I’m going to take a writing break soon–I’ll read a few books and put up reviews. I’ve decided to put up a poll for the first review. That’s right, you there sitting at home get to dictate the content of this site. How exciting is that? I’ll check the poll on Thursday, so vote now.

October 15th

April 2021 Update

Hello, all. I hope you’re feeling swell and staying motivated. I’ve got 3 items of news to share. First, my e-books are on sale ($1.00 or an equivalent amount in your currency) until the end of April. The link is here. Second, my fourth book has a title — The Five False Suicides. You can… Continue reading April 2021 Update

Unnatural Suspects

We’ve all read this type of mystery before. Great plot, very entertaining, capable detective–but there were not enough suspects, making the question of who done it far less satisfying than it should have been. In this regard, having too many suspects (while not ideal) is better than having too few. I’m thinking about suspects a… Continue reading Unnatural Suspects

Murder Mansion (aka House of Murder) 1934

I’m a sucker for out-of-print, non-dust-jacket-having, old-timey mysteries. For all the masterpieces on my bookshelves, The Stingaree Murders and The Mystery at Chillery are my favorite objects. It is entirely possibly that I overrate such books because of their feel. I love when they have eighty-year-old notes written in the flyleaves. I love the discoloration… Continue reading Murder Mansion (aka House of Murder) 1934

Death Turns the Tables

It’s time for me to take a break from John Dickson Carr. Fortunately, I can’t imagine a better novel with which to pause than Death Turns the Tables. After the unfocused nonsense of The Punch and Judy Murders, here is a novel with nearly perfect construction. Every chapter builds on the previous one, adding only… Continue reading Death Turns the Tables

The Punch and Judy Murders

There’s a moment late in John Dickson Carr’s The Punch and Judy Murders when we are told that the earlier parts of the evening had been an adventure yarn, but now it was time for the psychological study. In other words, 2/3 of this novel was a North by Northwest/The 39 Steps hybrid, and the… Continue reading The Punch and Judy Murders