Tag Archives: mystery

Agatha Christie and Tony Soprano

Posted on October 21, 2019 by smellincoffee

Over the weekend I finished two titles that don’t bear elaborate reviews. First up was Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party,  a murder mystery set during this spooky-fun season.  Not everyone is having fun, though, especially not little Joyce, who – – … Continue reading →

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Altered Carbon

Posted on June 6, 2019 by smellincoffee

Altered Carbon© 2002 Richard K. Morgan416 pages Takeshi Kovacs,  soldier-turned-commando-turned rogue,  is rudely awakened with a job.  Imprisoned for two hundred years, he’s now being offered the chance of parole if he can solve a murder.  Or should it be … Continue reading →

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Alice Roosevelt, Linux, and Death

Posted on March 29, 2019 by smellincoffee

Approaching the end of the month, as we are, time to post a few also-reads: Alice and the Assassin, R.J. Koreto. Entertaining historical fiction following the infamous pistol-packing Alice Roosevelt and her cowboy Secret Service bodyguard.  Following the assassination of … Continue reading →

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I, the Constable

Posted on November 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

I, the Constable© 2017 Paula M. Block and Terry Erdmann150 pages Deep Space Nine once made a throwaway reference to the Mike Hammer novels of Mickey Spillane,  and featured Constable Odo reading I, the Jury.  I, the Constable,  plays with that … Continue reading →

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The Black Ice

Posted on September 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Black Ice© 1993 Michael Connelly336 pages A body discovered in a sleazy motel on Christmas Eve connects a handful of otherwise dead cases, and sets Detective Harry Bosch against his own department, culminating in the pursuit of a half-chance … Continue reading →

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The Big Sleep

Posted on March 20, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Big Sleep© 1939 Raymond Chandler277 pages A dying old man who lives in a greenhouse, sustained only by its heat and the fear of his children shaming the family,  has summoned Philip Marlowe for a job. The family is … Continue reading →

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Murder at Fenway Park

Posted on September 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

Murder at Fenway Park© 1994 Troy Soos252 pages 1912, Boston. The Titanic is only a few weeks lost to the North Atlantic bottom, but Mickey Rawling’s mind isn’t on one of the biggest maritime disasters of history. No, he’s just been … Continue reading →

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Killer Blondes and Killer Wheat

Posted on August 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

A few weeks ago I read Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man, a murder-mystery from the same Pinkerton agent turned author who produced The Maltese Falcon.   I was sold by the opening line: I was leaning against the bar in a … Continue reading →

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Airframe

Posted on August 7, 2016 by smellincoffee

Airframe© 1995 Michael Crichton352 pages What could happen on a plane to leave three people dead, fifty others seriously wounded, and the passenger cabin in ruins?   Why did its pilot only break radio silence shortly before he was due … Continue reading →

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The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Posted on April 26, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes256 pages© 1894 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Has it been five years since I read a Holmes collection? I remember picking up Memoirs shortly after reading The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, not nothing that Memoirs was published well … Continue reading →

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