Category Archives: Switzerland

SINGLE & SINGLE (1999) by John le Carré

Posted on 19 October 2017 by

John le Carré (born David Cornwell on 19 October 1931) is 86 years old today – and to celebrate here is a quick review of a title that is perhaps unfairly neglected. This is one of the later books that … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Espionage, John le Carre, London, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey | 16 Comments

THE NIGHT MANAGER (1993) by John le Carré

Posted on 27 July 2017 by

This is a spy novel that got great reviews from the get-go, but I somehow kept delaying actually reading it and despite several attempts, never seemed to actually crack on with it (I don’t mean that literally – cracking spines … Continue reading →

Posted in Bahamas, Egypt, England, Espionage, John le Carre, Switzerland | 38 Comments

THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL (1983) by John le Carré

Posted on 19 August 2016 by

John le Carré remains a true perennial and an astonishing success story. Some 55 years from his debut, he is still a best-selling author and adaptations of his work, like the BBC mini-series of The Night Manager, are big ratings winners and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt, England, Espionage, Germany, Greece, John le Carre, Middle East, Switzerland | 32 Comments

Vote for your favourite 1930s Hitchcock movies

Posted on 17 April 2016 by

In the 1930s Hitchcock hired a PR firm to get his name in the news and very soon he was cultivating the black humour and publicity gimmicks that would ultimately make him as well-known as the films he made. During … Continue reading →

Posted in 'In praise of ...', Alfred Hitchcock, England, Espionage, Film Poll, Joseph Conrad, Josephine Tey, Scotland, Switzerland | 44 Comments

THE PLEDGE (1958) by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Posted on 31 March 2015 by

This is a police procedural with a real difference. The story of an investigation that goes wrong, it tries to bring the reality of crime investigation (circa 1958) in a face-off with the conventions of the mystery genre. Indeed, it … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 Vintage Mystery Challenge, Film Noir, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzerland, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

Try This One for Size (1989) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film

Posted on 16 September 2014 by

This amusing comedy-thriller was the first of a quartet of films starring Michael Brandon derived from the work of euro noir legend, James Hadley Chase. Set in the double-dealing world of smugglers and dodgy art dealers, this one brought Paradise City detective Tom … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Book to Movie Challenge, 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, Florida, France, James Hadley Chase, Noir, Switzerland | 24 Comments

THE SAINT IN EUROPE (1953) by Leslie Charteris

Posted on 16 May 2014 by

I can’t quite believe it but this may in fact be the first Saint book I have read in about 35 years! I do remember picking up some of the tie-ins reprinted when Return of the Saint premiered on TV in 1978 … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Book to Movie Challenge, 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, Austria, Friday's Forgotten Book, Germany, Leslie Charteris, Mike Ripley, Paris, Rome, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands | Tagged | 59 Comments

The End of the Game (1975)

Posted on 10 April 2012 by

In 1950 Swiss novelist and playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt published his existential crime classic The Judge and His Hangman, which I previously reviewed here and which I have also listed in my ongoing list of Top 100 Mystery Books. Twenty-five years … Continue reading →

Posted in Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Police procedural, Switzerland, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | 30 Comments

THE JUDGE AND HIS HANGMAN (1950) by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Posted on 19 November 2011 by

Originally published in German in 1950 as ‘Der Richter und sein Henker’ by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, this was the first of two books featuring Kommissar Hans Bärlach of the Berne police (they have since been collected in an omnibus volume as … Continue reading →

Posted in Colin Dexter, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Georges Simenon, Inspector Morse, Maigret, Police procedural, Switzerland, Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2011 | 9 Comments