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Category Archives: John Dickson Carr
2017 Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt Wrap-up
Bev over at My Reader’s Block has been hosting her vintage mystery reading challenges for much longer than I’ve been blogging and it’s been a pleasure to take part all these years. So how did I do this year? Well … Continue reading
Posted in 2017 Golden Age Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt, 2017 Silver Age Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt, Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley, Carter Brown, Carter Dickson, Colin Dexter, Gideon Fell, Graham Greene, Helen Nielsen, Henry Merrivale, Inspector Morse, Jim Thompson, John Dickson Carr, John Lange, Michael Crichton, Poirot, Stark House Press
18 Comments
TILL DEATH DO US PART (1944) by John Dickson Carr
This classic Golden Age detective story tends to get a little lost among the multitude of enthralling mysteries that John Dickson Carr was producing at such a prodigious rate at that time. It begins with a superb set piece in … Continue reading
NINE-AND DEATH MAKES TEN (1941) by Carter Dickson
I fell in love with John Dickson Carr’s work via his ‘Carter Dickson’ alter ego when I chanced across his classic The Reader is Warned back when I was 14. Nine and Death Makes Ten (aka Murder in the Submarine … Continue reading
THE BURNING COURT (1937) by John Dickson Carr
There are oddly obscure mysteries from the Golden Age that are in fact still entertaining and clever and deserve to be rediscovered. Then there are novels that once were considered classics but now seem very tame indeed. And then there … Continue reading
SHE DIED A LADY (1943) by Carter Dickson
OK, let’s get this out of the way: Carter Dickson, aka John Dickson Carr, is my favourite Golden Age detective story writer. For me, he was better than Christie, Queen, Sayers and Stout, love them all though I do. And … Continue reading
THE DEMON OF DARTMOOR (1993) by Paul Halter
Sometime in the 1930s, Dr Allan Twist and Inspector Archibald Hurst are called in when theatre star Nigel Manson is seemingly pushed off a window ledge to his death, even though he was surrounded by several apparently impartial witnesses none … Continue reading
Posted in England, John Dickson Carr, Locked Room Mystery, Paul Halter
81 Comments
2016 Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt
For as long as I’ve been hosting this blog, I’ve participated in Bev Hankins’ irresistible vintage mystery reading challenges. The rules have been amended over the years, but the basic criteria is the same – review a mystery from two … Continue reading
Posted in 2016 Golden Age Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt, 2016 Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt, 87th Precinct, Albert Campion, Bill Pronzini, California, Canada, Catherine Aird, Chicago, Cosy Cozy, David Callan, Don DeLillo, Dorothy L. Sayers, Edgar Wallace, Ellery Queen, England, Fletcher Fliora, Florida, Germany, Gideon Fell, Inspector Wexford, Italy, James Hadley Chase, James Mitchell, John Dickson Carr, John le Carre, Kansas City, London, Louisiana, Margery Allingham, Middle East, Montana, New York, Noir, Ostara Publishing, Patricia Moyes, Police procedural, Private Eye, Radio, Ruth Rendell, San Francisco, Stark House Press, Vintage Mystery Cover Scavenger Hunt 2016
18 Comments
HAG’S NOOK (1933) by John Dickson Carr
Today would have been John Dickson Carr’s 110th birthday and JJ, over at his blog, The Invisible Event, is celebrating the great writer’s work. So I thought I should chip in, as Carr is my favourite Golden Age detective story … Continue reading
Jonathan Creek back on our screens
Well, today’s my birthday and so I wanted to share some good news: the BBC have announced that Alan Davies will be back to investigate an improbable crime in a new 90-minute special of Jonathan Creek, one of my favourite TV … Continue reading
THE MADMAN’S ROOM (1990) by Paul Halter
For 30 years French author Paul Halter has published dozens of celebrations-cum-recreations of the impossible mysteries of John Dickson Carr. Thanks to Pietro De Palma, multi-lingual blogger at Death Can Read and La morte sa leggere, I have been reading some of … Continue reading
Posted in England, John Dickson Carr, Locked Room Mystery, Paul Halter
34 Comments
WHO KILLED MATTHEW CORBIN? by John Dickson Carr
You may not have heard of this work by the great John Dickson Carr, but that’s OK as it isn’t a novel or short story – it was in fact his debut as a radio dramatist. Recordings of the serial … Continue reading
TO WAKE THE DEAD (1937) by John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr is my favourite Golden Age mystery author and this entry, featuring his titanic sleuth Gideon Fell, was published when he was at the height of his powers. However, this one isn’t as well-known as many of the … Continue reading
CASTLE SKULL (1931) by John Dickson Carr
Henri Bencolin visits the Rhine in his third novel, and appropriately enough there are a trio of killings to solve: the impossible attack on a magician in a train carriage under constant supervision, apparently thrown out by an unseen assailant; … Continue reading
THE GOLDEN AGE OF MURDER – guest post by Martin Edwards
Martin Edwards is a pretty amazing fellow. Not only a solicitor and a fine and prolific mystery author, he is also the consulting editor for the bestselling range of vintage mystery reprints currently being undertaken by the British Library (and … Continue reading
THE JOHN DICKSON CARR COMPANION by James E. Keirans
This large and lovingly crafted tome is devoted to one of Fedora’s favourite authors, which made it a truly irresistible purchase. John Dickson Carr (1906-1977), truly the master of the locked room mystery and one of the greatest of Golden Age … Continue reading
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL (1941) by John Dickson Carr
This historical mystery, set around the battle of Waterloo and involving a locked room murder, a phantom woman who only our hero believes exists, a mysterious ‘man in black’ and a duel in a hot air balloon, was for decades a … Continue reading
HE WHO WHISPERS (1946) by John Dickson Carr
This classic Golden Age detective story features a seemingly impossible murder and came top of the 2014 John Dickson Carr poll, somewhat to my surprise. I hadn’t read it in a while (well, try 30 years actually, and only in … Continue reading
THE RIVERSIDE VILLAS MURDER (1973) by Kingsley Amis
From its mid 1930s setting to its convoluted murder method, this is an affectionate (if sui generis) hommage to the Golden Age mystery – from a seemingly unlikely champion, the angry young ironist of 1950s British literature, Kingsley Amis. But … Continue reading
John Dickson Carr Poll – The Results!
We’ve had some great responses to this poll, both here and over at the Golden Age Detection group on Facebook, leading to some genuine surprises. Let’s put it this way, if I’d put money on which book would come top … Continue reading
Vote for your Top 10 John Dickson Carr books
What are your favourite books by John Dickson Carr (aka Carter Dickson)? The topic came up while re-reading The Crooked Hinge, a title that regularly turns up in lists of the author’s best works, though few think it as ‘perfect’ a performance … Continue reading
THE BLACK SPECTACLES (1939) by John Dickson Carr
I was always predisposed to love this book: first off, it’s an impossible crime mystery, second it’s by John Dickson Carr and third it involves movie-making equipment – perfect! It sees the titanic powers of lexicographer detective Gideon Fell at … Continue reading
MYSTERIES UNLOCKED – ESSAYS IN HONOR OF DOUGLAS G. GREENE edited by Curtis Evans
Curtis Evans, he of The Passing Tramp blog and the Masters of the Humdrum Mystery book, has edited the new anthology, Mysteries Unlocked – Essays in Honor of Douglas G. Greene. It’s a celebration of the work of the founder of Crippen & … Continue reading
THE BLOODY MATCH by Paul Halter
I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions usually but I promised myself two things for 2013: first, that I would try some of the great books recommended by my blogging compadres; and second, that I would finally read some of … Continue reading
Jonathan Creek returns
Good news for lovers of the locked room mystery in the style of John Dickson Carr. It has been announced that after a (too) long sabbatical, Alan Davies will again don his duffel coat to investigate an impossible crime in … Continue reading
Mysteries in Audio: Podcast
I’m a big fan of audio drama (and for a year I even hosted a blog devoted to the subject) and have occasionally reviewed full cast radio plays here at Fedora (for a list of some of these see here). … Continue reading
Long lost essay by Agatha Christie published
In today’s edition of The Guardian newspaper there is an article with details of an essay written by Agatha Christie in 1945 on the art of the British mystery story. It was commissioned by the Ministry of Information and intended … Continue reading
That Woman Opposite (1957) – Tuesday’s Forgotten Film
Phyllis Kirk stars as the eponymous young woman in peril in this unpretentious British whodunnit (released in the US as City After Midnight). Eve Atwood is a wealthy American divorcée living in the small town of La Bandalette in France. She … Continue reading
Posted in France, John Dickson Carr, Scene of the crime, Tuesday's Overlooked Film
Tagged dan o herlihy, petula clark
21 Comments
THE EMPEROR’S SNUFFBOX (1942) by John Dickson Carr
Singled out by Carr himself as one of his best efforts, this is quite an anomalous title from the great writer’s oeuvre, though it displays many of his greatest virtues. Constructed with his trademark cunning, the story does not feature … Continue reading
INVISIBLE GREEN (1977) by John Sladek
This detective novel by science fiction author John Sladek offers several impossible crimes in the style of John Dickson Carr and deserves to be much better known. It was paid a great compliment in 1981 when, only two years after … Continue reading
Tipping My Fedora 