The Impossible Originality

"Never write the same book twice" was the motto of the late Mark McShane, and he mostly lived by it for all his writing career. Sure not everything he wrote was the stuff of immortal masterpieces (though a lot of it is) but he always or nearly always kept his promise to not repeating himself …

I Know What You Did… and I Don’t Care

One of the minor inconveniences of reading mysteries almost exclusively over a long stretch of time (thirty years in this blogger's case) is that you're becoming harder and harder to fool (also to please, but that's another matter) While a few masters of the form elevate plotting to fine art and remain mostly unpredictable, most …

The « Progressive » Mistake

Longt-time readers of this blog (bless their long-suffering souls) know well of my pet theories and peeves. I am what one might call a "progressive" mystery reader in that while I place great emphasis on puzzle and plot I like mysteries that push the envelope so to speak, and my Books of the Year over …

Cordial Disagreement

Long-time readers of this blog know that the differences between the Anglo and French schools of detective fiction is one of my pet subjects. Lockdowns and curfews having left me with lots of time on my hands - more than is healthy for someone my age - I spent a large part of said time …

Mésentente cordiale

Ayant beaucoup de temps pour cela - bien plus qu'il n'est sain d'en avoir pour un homme de mon âge - j'ai beaucoup réfléchi entre autres choses à ce qui distingue les écoles française et anglophone du roman policier classique, et explique le long malentendu entre elles. Après avoir mûrement étudié les deux, lu les …

En un mot, les meilleurs

2020 n'est pas une année dont je me souviendrai avec nostalgie, et je pense que vous non plus. J'ai eu comme tout le monde ma part de coups du sort, mais elle restera un bon millésime au moins sur le plan des lectures. Non seulement j'ai lu davantage de livres qu'en 2019 - les confinements …

The Ten, 2020 Edition

Since it is very unlikely that I read another admirable book before Midnight, I may as well declare the year over and proceed to reveal my annual Top Ten Reads. 2020 was a rotten one for everyone everywhere and I had my share of bad luck and catastrophes like everybody else, but it oddly also …

And Now For More Controversy…

I've just finished Ely Griffiths' Edgar winner The Stranger Diaries and found it a pleasant, if not groundbreaking, read. What I liked best about it was its unpretentiousness. Diaries unlike some of its recent predecessors makes no attempt at "transcending the genre" and avoids any overt political or social agenda: It is a mystery plain …

And Now for Some Controversy…

It may come to you as something of a shock after all these years defending and promoting the traditional mystery but I'm not overly fond of whodunits. I like them for sure, but they are not my favourite brand of crime fiction. Maybe you'll have a faster recovery if I tell you what I mean …

The Carnival is Over

Since there are strong chances that it ends being my Book of the Year, I'd like to say a few words about the most radical entry in the Puzzle series, the uncharacteristically dark Puzzle for Pilgrims. It is arguably the one hardest to like, especially if you are a puzzle purist, as the Quentins bid …