For those of you celebrating Christmas – or enjoying it as a spectator sport, watching all the crazies running around – take heart: the home stretch is nearly here! We can feel the exertions, can’t we? Even in the world of the internet, with posts from writer/techie/blogger-extraordinaire Jenny Hansen, who reflects on how Christmas preparations…
How far back do we need to go to find the first detective novel? There are lots of examples of early stories from cultures around the world. My post on Judge Dee, for example, discusses how Van Gulik based his work on fictional stories from the Ming Dynasty about magistrate Gong An. But in terms of…
Ever wonder how the police came into existence? Of course, it differs with each country, so I’ll focus on England, my area of concentration in grad school. In England, the year 1829 was key. The Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 Sir Robert Peel, Home Secretary in the British Cabinet and a Tory, brought about…
Welcome to Watercooler Wednesday, where the water is above-average, the topics are bubbly, and the company is sparkling. We humans walk around this planet with a bit of a swagger, don’t you think? After all, we’re the big-shot, top-of-the-food-chain, opposible-thumbed bi-pedals with more brain capacity than we know what to do with. But there are…
Welcome to Masters of Mystery Monday, where each week we feature a fictional detective and examine his or her unique contribution to the mystery genre. You are invited to challenge yourself with a short detective quiz, and see the answers to the previous week’s quiz. Today we’re revisiting a Master Detective from an earlier post:…
It’s a busy Friday and weekend at our house, so today’s post is a quick one. Enjoy the following clip, and have a great weekend! This is one patient kitty… So what do you find tough to wrap? I’d love to hear from you. Until next time, Kathy Be the first to…
Welcome to Watercooler Wednesday, where the water is above-average, the topics are bubbly, and the company is sparkling. Since we’re all getting ready for Turkey Day, this post is a quick mash-up of fun and interesting things on the internet to get you in the mood for tomorrow! Thanksgiving Mash-up of Fun …
How did the phrase “The Butler Did It” come to be such a cliched convention in mystery stories? Did the butler – or another servant in the household of a wealthy murder victim – really “do it”? And in enough mystery novels to deserve the cliche? Any of you mystery readers remember a time…
