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The Grandfather Rastin Mysteries
Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (1923-2002) is famous as a science-fiction writer who not only used genuine science but whose books emphasized human and cultural elements, including art and music. (He earned a Ph.D. in Musicology.) His detective stories about Grandfather Rastin in the Midwestern town of Borgville show this emphasis on the human element, especially as it interacts with place and time. Bill Rastin detects crimes in a nostalgic, Norman-Rockwell world of cantankerous sheriffs, schoolmarms, and con-men from the Big City. Rastin discovers how a human finger founds its way into a little girl s toybox. In another episode, he investigates a thief who stole a broach, a Bunsen Burner, a slide rule, and $68 in cash. And why does a visitor want to buy an apparently worthless violin and its bow? The Grandfather Rastin Mysteries, the 23d in Crippen & Landru s series of Lost Classics, collects 12 stories originally published between 1957 and 1972, and it also includes 2 previously unpublished Grandfather Rastin cases. The cover painting is by Native American artist Barbara Mitchell.
- GenresMystery
234 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 2007
About the author
Lloyd Biggle Jr.
132 books27 followersBiggle was born in 1923 in Waterloo, Iowa. He served in World War II as a communications sergeant in a rifle company of the 102nd Infantry Division; during the war, he was wounded twice. His second wound, a shrapnel wound in his leg received near the Elbe River at the end of the war, left him disabled for life.
After the war, Biggle resumed his education. He received an A.B. Degree with High Distinction from Wayne State University and M.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. Biggle taught at the University of Michigan and at Eastern Michigan University in the 1950s. He began writing professionally in 1955 and became a full-time writer with the publication of his novel, All the Colors of Darkness in 1963; he continued in the writing profession until his death.
After the war, Biggle resumed his education. He received an A.B. Degree with High Distinction from Wayne State University and M.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. Biggle taught at the University of Michigan and at Eastern Michigan University in the 1950s. He began writing professionally in 1955 and became a full-time writer with the publication of his novel, All the Colors of Darkness in 1963; he continued in the writing profession until his death.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 15, 2008
An excellent series of connected short stories told from Granfather Rastin's admiring grandson. Even the generally quiet little Midwestern town of "Borgville" has fallible humans who act absurdly and create mysteries to solve. These vignettes include old familiar feuds, local gossips, friendships gone awry, even con-men from the Big City who think they can fool the simple country folk. These are classic puzzles about human nature.
Want to Read
February 10, 2019Synopsis: grandfather Rastin discovers how a finger came to be in a girl's toybox and other mysteries. Fourteen shorts from 1957 to 1972.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews