Essays

G.M.Malliet: The Bedridden Detective and The Daughter of Time

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I stumbled across G.M. Malliet’s write up of Tey’s classic, The Daughter of Time, on goodreads, and she agreed to share it with us.  Malliet, of course, is the gifted creator of the St. Just and Max Tudor books, among others.  She’s a lover of golden age mystery fiction – The Daughter of Time being a prominent example – and a perpetrator herself in continuing that tradition, with her own modern updates to the form.  Read on!

What if the most gripping mystery you ever read involved no car chases, no shootouts, and a detective who literally cannot get out of bed? That’s the premise of The Daughter of Time – and it works brilliantly. read more

Ellery Queen: Forgotten Master Detective?

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Essay & Review by Cathy Akers-Jordan

Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee

Once upon an time there was a mystery writer whose character was so popular that a letter addressed to the character with just the character’s name and city would arrive at the author’s office. This character starred in books, short stories, public debates, movies, and radio, and even started a ground-breaking magazine that still exists today. Like Sherlock Holmes, some people assumed the character was a real person – yet today that character is not as well remembered as his contemporaries, like Father Brown and Lord Peter Wimsey. You now have all the clues, can you solve the puzzle of the character’s identity? read more

Charles Todd: an overview of two beloved series

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After a two-year hiatus, Charles Todd has a new novella and a new novel coming out soon. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to their series, this is a cause for celebration – and time for a quick recap to remind you where both series left off. Warning for new readers: SPOILERS included.

Charles and Caroline Todd

For those who don’t know, Charles Todd is the pseudonym of mother-and-son team Caroline and Charles Todd, renowned authors of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series and the Beth Crawford series, both set in WWI and 1920s Britain. The authors have won the Barry Award for Best First Novel (A Test of Wills), the Mary Higgins Clark Award (The Shattered Tree), the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel (A Question of Honor), and the Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel (An Unmarked Grave). read more

Cathy Akers-Jordan: A look at Lilian Jackson Braun

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Essay

Editors note:  Cathy wrote this essay in 2008, Braun died at age 97 in 2011.  In 2022, the Mystery Writers of America established the Lilian Jackson Braun award to honor cozy fiction, awarding it for the first time at the Edgar ceremony in 2023.  This was a long overdue move, in my opinion.

Lilian Jackson Braun

This summer I am listening to the audio books of one my favorite mystery series: The Cat Who…by Lilian Jackson Braun. For those who aren’t familiar with the series, each title begins with the words “The Cat Who” as you can see by following this link to a list of the books. read more

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice: 30 years of reading magic

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Every writer of historical mystery fiction writes in the shadow of Ellis Peters, whose first Brother Cadfael novel was published in 1975, and Elizabeth Peters, whose first Amelia Peabody novel was published the same year.  Elizabeth Peters, an incredibly influential figure, created not only the historical cozy-slash-adventure novel, she also foregrounded a woman as the central figure.  Anne Perry’s first Pitt novel was published in 1979.  There was, in other words, a cluster of work, a zeitgeist.  This pop zeitgeist worked it’s way through mystery fiction for the next 20 or so years, and with the publication of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice in 1994, Laurie R.King upended the historical mystery genre once again. Once again there was a cluster of novels written around the same time – Sharan Newman’s Death Comes as Epiphany (1993), Margaret Frazer’s The Novice’s Tale (1992) and Candace Robb’s The Apothecary Rose (1993) – all of which featured, as King’s novel does, a woman at the center of the action. read more

Reader’s Picks: Favorite reads

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This list was complied from passionate reader’s suggestions on facebook, after I published an oddball top 10 list that had many people protesting.  I can see that facebook folks LOVE their classic and traditional mysteries – as do I – but I also see there aren’t many recent novels on this list (Naomi Hirahara and Richard Osman being exceptions).  Enjoy this list but I put it to you readers – there have been other great books published recently!  In the traditional category it’s hard to discount Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders; new books by E.J. Copperman and Gigi Pandian that are experimenting and pushing the traditional form; new series from S.J. Bennett and Harini Nagendra that I feel may become as beloved as some of these books listed; and books by Ann Cleeves, Peter Robinson and Allison Montclair that honor the form and deepen it.  Thanks to readers who brought new titles to my attention – Ronnie Bannerjie posted two lists including authors I haven’t yet read.  Thank you! Read on! read more

A Story Told in Cover Art: Murder at the Vicarage

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Agatha Christie’s first Miss Marple book, The Murder at the Vicarage, was published by Collins Crime Club in the UK in October of 1930. It’s one of my very favorite books – with its clever plot, humor, beautifully rendered characters and of course, the introduction in novel form of the subversive Miss Marple, it stands the test of time and has never been out of print.  For that reason, it’s fun to look at covers through the years.

The US first edition of Vicarage was published by Dodd, Mead and is what I would think of as a “prestige” cover, with its old English font and decorous arrangement of text.  There’s no art to speak of, no interpretation of the plot. read more

Reading for Black History Month

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When we opened Aunt Agatha’s in 1992, we celebrated Black History Month every February by putting the work of black authors in our front window.  In 1992, that group of authors was small, and if we were to still be an open store, out window display would be much larger.  In 1992 it included Eleanor Taylor Bland, Hugh Holton, Iceberg Slim, Chester Himes, Donald Goines and of course, Walter Mosley, whose first novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, was published in 1990.  Bill Clinton, a famous mystery fan, had helped his career by mentioning him as a favorite writer. read more

Guest essay: Susan Elia MacNeal on The Hollywood Spy

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Today I’m really pleased to welcome Susan Elia MacNeal, author of the beloved Maggie Hope series.  Best news for readers – the new addition to this great series, The Hollywood Spy, will be published on July 6.  Susan agreed to give readers an advance look at what promises to be another great read.  You can pre-order it here.

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Lassie Who? Meet Tallulah, the newest star of The Hollywood Spy.

 The Hollywood Spy has a wide range of characters—there’s Maggie Hope, of course, and her ballerina friend Sarah Sanderson, who’s in Los Angeles to dance in the film, Star Spangled Canteen. There’s Maggie’s former fiancé, John Sterling, a wounded RAF pilot now working for Walt Disney. And there are cameos from historic figures—Cab Calloway, Howard Hughes, Walt Disney, and Lena Horne, among others. read more

Cate Conte: Christmas Traditions

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Author Cate Conte/Liz Mugavero joins us with this nostalgic look at Christmases of her childhood and Christmas as it appears in her Cat Cafe books.  Time to get in the holiday spirit…A Whisker of a Doubt will be published on December 1st.

Christmas, to many people, means the most wonderful time of the year. (Note: in my view Halloween takes that award, but I’ve always been a bit off-the-beaten-path…)

Regardless, I understand the appeal and I do love Christmas myself. Growing up, my family always made sure we had the best holiday season, full of traditions, family, and yes, gifts galore. I was very blessed. read more