You start with a corpse. A murder has been committed — maybe it’s at a country estate, or on a train, or during a cruise headed to some exotic locale. If the victim is powerful, rich, and possibly hated for a variety of reasons, all the better. You need suspects, each with a motive for wanting said person six feet under. Lastly, and this is important: You’ve gotta have a sleuth. Preferably someone eccentric, with a quirk or a tic; bonus points if you can make the brainiac seem innocent or easily underestimated.
- 12/2/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
I’ve heard it said that old friends are the best friends. That makes sense to me. Over time, you’ve shared experiences together, both good and bad. You’ve grown to know each other, to know the little idiosyncrasies that make up who we are, that make the bonds between us.
You can form that kind of relationships with books as well, especially series. The first time you read the book, it’s to discover the story, to learn what happens next. As you return to it, or read another book in the series, it’s because you want to revisit them.
For example, for me every new book in The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is like a new visit with old friends. I know the characters, the main ones and the wide supporting cast as well, and I want to learn what...
You can form that kind of relationships with books as well, especially series. The first time you read the book, it’s to discover the story, to learn what happens next. As you return to it, or read another book in the series, it’s because you want to revisit them.
For example, for me every new book in The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is like a new visit with old friends. I know the characters, the main ones and the wide supporting cast as well, and I want to learn what...
- 5/1/2016
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
As I mentioned in a previous column, I’ve been on a Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe reading/re-reading jag as of late and have been enjoying it greatly. As other commentators have noted, the pleasure in the Nero Wolfe novels is not so much the plots, which have been noted as serviceable, but in the characters, especially the rotund and eccentric genius, Nero Wolfe, and his wise cracking legman and assistant, Archie Goodwin.
(Sidenote: when I first met the late and great comic book writer/editor, Also Archie Goodwin, I meant to ask him about Wolfe but decidedly, I think prudently, that he had probably gotten enough of that in his life. End digression.)
Stout had written 33 novels and 39 short stories on the pair between 1934 and his death in 1975. After his death, his estate authorized further Wolfe and Goodwin adventures by Robert Goldsborough who has written ten books, one of...
(Sidenote: when I first met the late and great comic book writer/editor, Also Archie Goodwin, I meant to ask him about Wolfe but decidedly, I think prudently, that he had probably gotten enough of that in his life. End digression.)
Stout had written 33 novels and 39 short stories on the pair between 1934 and his death in 1975. After his death, his estate authorized further Wolfe and Goodwin adventures by Robert Goldsborough who has written ten books, one of...
- 12/27/2015
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
My mother once told me that an odd pleasure she had in growing older was that she could go back to favorite books, particularly mysteries, and enjoy them all over again because she didn’t remember the ending. She knew she liked it but she could discover it anew.
That’s happening a bit to me these days. I’ve recently started re-reading Rex Stout’s mysteries featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin (not to be confused with the late, great comics writer and editor with the same name, although that would have been an interesting pairing as well). I read quite a few of them a few decades back but not all of them; that would be a monumental task since Stout wrote 33 novels and about 40 novellas about Wolfe and Goodwin.
Rex Stout (December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was born of Quaker parents in Indiana and was raised in Kansas. He...
That’s happening a bit to me these days. I’ve recently started re-reading Rex Stout’s mysteries featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin (not to be confused with the late, great comics writer and editor with the same name, although that would have been an interesting pairing as well). I read quite a few of them a few decades back but not all of them; that would be a monumental task since Stout wrote 33 novels and about 40 novellas about Wolfe and Goodwin.
Rex Stout (December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was born of Quaker parents in Indiana and was raised in Kansas. He...
- 11/22/2015
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
Seduction of the Innocent will release on February 19, 2013. New York Times bestselling author Max Allan Collins, known for his book Road to Perdition, once again has outdone himself with Seduction of the Innocent, which blends fact and fiction in a true-thriller fashion!
Amanda Dyar: Seduction of the Innocent is an upcoming novel from yourself that focuses on the real life story of 1950s proposed ban of violent and horror-filled comic books. How did you become involved in this project, and how did you prepare for the beginning of your work?
Max Allan Collins: Seduction of the Innocent takes a fairly lighthearted approach to a serious subject, and I hope it doesn't stint on either one. The format is a Golden Age mystery -- that's the era of Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Erle Stanley Gardner -- since the '50s setting of the novel is appropriate to that kind of story.
Amanda Dyar: Seduction of the Innocent is an upcoming novel from yourself that focuses on the real life story of 1950s proposed ban of violent and horror-filled comic books. How did you become involved in this project, and how did you prepare for the beginning of your work?
Max Allan Collins: Seduction of the Innocent takes a fairly lighthearted approach to a serious subject, and I hope it doesn't stint on either one. The format is a Golden Age mystery -- that's the era of Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Erle Stanley Gardner -- since the '50s setting of the novel is appropriate to that kind of story.
- 2/18/2013
- by Amanda Dyar
- DreadCentral.com
Ah, Valentine’s Day. We’ve officially entered the season of love, romance, and overpriced chocolate. Here to help you get in the mood, your five rotating Siipping News columnists Hannah, Yvonne, Catherine, Adri and Aja have each assembled their top five most romantic (intentionally or not) slashy moments from many different fandoms. Included in this eclectic list is everything from movies to manga, so you’re sure to find a new fandom flame or rekindle an old love. Enjoy!
Hannah’s Top 5
Picking only five romantic moments was a big challenge for me considering how many TV shows, movies, comics and books I am forever in love with. But I’ve narrowed it down to these few heart-wrenching finalists.
5. Harvey/Mike (Suits 2.12): “Who did this to you?”
I’ll be the first to say that Suits doesn’t fit my typical TV taste – no sci-fi, no fantasy, no...
Hannah’s Top 5
Picking only five romantic moments was a big challenge for me considering how many TV shows, movies, comics and books I am forever in love with. But I’ve narrowed it down to these few heart-wrenching finalists.
5. Harvey/Mike (Suits 2.12): “Who did this to you?”
I’ll be the first to say that Suits doesn’t fit my typical TV taste – no sci-fi, no fantasy, no...
- 2/11/2013
- by AfterElton.com Staff
- The Backlot
A week before he died in 2006, author Mickey Spillane turned to his wife and said, “When I’m gone, there’s going to be a treasure hunt around here. Take everything you find and give it to Max – he’ll know what to do.”
“Max” is Max Allan Collins. He was, for a number of reasons, an ideal choice to be the keeper of the Spillane flame.
A fan of Spillane’s since he’d been a kid, Collins had met the mystery writer at a convention in the early 1980s. The connection developed into both friendship and regular collaboration. But Collins was no junior partner in the duo.
Born in Muscatine, Iowa in 1948, he’s been writing mysteries since he was a kid, eventually studying in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, one of the most renowned writing programs in the country.
By the late 1970s,...
“Max” is Max Allan Collins. He was, for a number of reasons, an ideal choice to be the keeper of the Spillane flame.
A fan of Spillane’s since he’d been a kid, Collins had met the mystery writer at a convention in the early 1980s. The connection developed into both friendship and regular collaboration. But Collins was no junior partner in the duo.
Born in Muscatine, Iowa in 1948, he’s been writing mysteries since he was a kid, eventually studying in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, one of the most renowned writing programs in the country.
By the late 1970s,...
- 5/17/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Plus: Is the air fresher in a forest? Why do men bother shaving?
Who is the greatest fictional detective? Holmes? Marlowe? Marple?
Philip Marlowe didn't solve all his crimes; his main business was doing what his clients wanted and getting beaten up occasionally. He never sorted out who killed the chauffeur in The Big Sleep (unsurprisingly, because Raymond Chandler, when asked, didn't know either). So it must be one of the other two, and I don't know whether to prefer Holmes because he did it with cocaine or Marple because she did it with knitting. Could we compromise on Father Brown?
jno50
For me, the greatest fictional detective is the virtually unknown Nigel Strangeways, created by Nicholas Blake (which was the pen name of poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis). If you're into detective fiction I highly recommend checking him out (secondhand only, though, as just about all the books are out of print,...
Who is the greatest fictional detective? Holmes? Marlowe? Marple?
Philip Marlowe didn't solve all his crimes; his main business was doing what his clients wanted and getting beaten up occasionally. He never sorted out who killed the chauffeur in The Big Sleep (unsurprisingly, because Raymond Chandler, when asked, didn't know either). So it must be one of the other two, and I don't know whether to prefer Holmes because he did it with cocaine or Marple because she did it with knitting. Could we compromise on Father Brown?
jno50
For me, the greatest fictional detective is the virtually unknown Nigel Strangeways, created by Nicholas Blake (which was the pen name of poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis). If you're into detective fiction I highly recommend checking him out (secondhand only, though, as just about all the books are out of print,...
- 4/4/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Many—maybe too many, looking at this bunch of bone-tired warriors of Av-virtue—were the travels the Ferroni Brigade embarked on all through 2011: oftentimes for festivals all over Europe, sometimes for visits to this archive or that as part of our programming arbeit (to be read with a Japanese drawl). During those months in the dark, we saw a lot—some of which chimed and rhymed with new works we encountered in this multiplex back home or that gallery abroad, on this collector's Steenbeck or in that producer's private projection room (they still exist).
On one of those trips, we were joined by our main Mubi-man, His Kasness a.k.a. the Kasest with whom we plunged one evening into a brainstorming on what The Festival would look and feel like (truth be told: it was more like a communal delirium—but what do you expect from folks sitting...
On one of those trips, we were joined by our main Mubi-man, His Kasness a.k.a. the Kasest with whom we plunged one evening into a brainstorming on what The Festival would look and feel like (truth be told: it was more like a communal delirium—but what do you expect from folks sitting...
- 1/5/2012
- MUBI
You gotta love a good detective story. Hollywood certainly does, and over the years some of the best fictional detectives have made their way onto TV and movie screens, played by actors ranging from Humphrey Bogart to James Garner. We've seen Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, and the troubled, broken men of James Ellroy's worlds. One classic gumshoe of the printed page who hasn't gotten his due in a while is Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer, star of over a dozen novels, including The Drowning Pool and The Way Some People Die. Now Deadline reports that Archer will be returning to the big screen in The Galton Case, courtesy of Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver. Lew Archer is an old-school Southern Californian private dick in the vein of Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. The Galton Case is actually the eighth book in the Archer series,...
- 10/31/2011
- cinemablend.com
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
The wonderfully named Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's older brother, is somewhat of an obscure Arthur Conan Doyle creation, appearing in four Sherlock Holmes stories, most notably 'The Greek Interpreter'. He is described as sort of a fatter, lazier version of Holmes, armed with powers of deduction that may surpass even those of his younger sibling's, but utterly unwilling to do the legwork to put them to any practical use. (Short digression: In this way, Mycroft Holmes is sort of like another of the great fictional detectives, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, a sedentary mountain of a man who refused to leave his Manhattan brownstone and had his assistant (and the books' narrator), Archie Goodwin, do all the running around. Wolfe was portrayed by Maury Chaykin in a short-lived but very good A&E television series.)
Obscurity notwithstanding, Mycroft Holmes will be included in...
The wonderfully named Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's older brother, is somewhat of an obscure Arthur Conan Doyle creation, appearing in four Sherlock Holmes stories, most notably 'The Greek Interpreter'. He is described as sort of a fatter, lazier version of Holmes, armed with powers of deduction that may surpass even those of his younger sibling's, but utterly unwilling to do the legwork to put them to any practical use. (Short digression: In this way, Mycroft Holmes is sort of like another of the great fictional detectives, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, a sedentary mountain of a man who refused to leave his Manhattan brownstone and had his assistant (and the books' narrator), Archie Goodwin, do all the running around. Wolfe was portrayed by Maury Chaykin in a short-lived but very good A&E television series.)
Obscurity notwithstanding, Mycroft Holmes will be included in...
- 9/25/2010
- by Eugene Novikov
- Moviefone
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
The wonderfully named Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's older brother, is somewhat of an obscure Arthur Conan Doyle creation, appearing in four Sherlock Holmes stories, most notably 'The Greek Interpreter'. He is described as sort of a fatter, lazier version of Holmes, armed with powers of deduction that may surpass even those of his younger sibling's, but utterly unwilling to do the legwork to put them to any practical use. (Short digression: In this way, Mycroft Holmes is sort of like another of the great fictional detectives, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, a sedentary mountain of a man who refused to leave his Manhattan brownstone and had his assistant (and the books' narrator), Archie Goodwin, do all the running around. Wolfe was portrayed by Maury Chaykin in a short-lived but very good A&E television series.)
Obscurity notwithstanding, Mycroft Holmes will be included in...
The wonderfully named Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's older brother, is somewhat of an obscure Arthur Conan Doyle creation, appearing in four Sherlock Holmes stories, most notably 'The Greek Interpreter'. He is described as sort of a fatter, lazier version of Holmes, armed with powers of deduction that may surpass even those of his younger sibling's, but utterly unwilling to do the legwork to put them to any practical use. (Short digression: In this way, Mycroft Holmes is sort of like another of the great fictional detectives, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, a sedentary mountain of a man who refused to leave his Manhattan brownstone and had his assistant (and the books' narrator), Archie Goodwin, do all the running around. Wolfe was portrayed by Maury Chaykin in a short-lived but very good A&E television series.)
Obscurity notwithstanding, Mycroft Holmes will be included in...
- 9/25/2010
- by Eugene Novikov
- Cinematical
Another fine character actor is gone. He appeared in over 100 movies in his career and had one of those familiar, recognizable faces. It’s hard to believe that Maury Chaykin was only 61 when he died on Tuesday of heart disease. That means he was just 41 when he costarred as the doomed Major Fambrough in Dances With Wolves. He seemed older but had a great movie face and showed great range in his roles. Chaykin was a talented actor who was a regular in the films of Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter) and was a regular on the La Femme Nikita and Entourage TV shows.
From The New York Times:
A hefty man with expressive, doughy features, Mr. Chaykin was the kind of actor whose name was known to few but whose face to many. His screen career lasted 35 years, and he appeared in dozens if not hundreds of movies and television shows,...
From The New York Times:
A hefty man with expressive, doughy features, Mr. Chaykin was the kind of actor whose name was known to few but whose face to many. His screen career lasted 35 years, and he appeared in dozens if not hundreds of movies and television shows,...
- 7/30/2010
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
On Saturday, I took the train to Trenton. Now, this is remarkable because first, I so seldom go into New York City on a weekend (isn’t Five Days a week enough?), maybe five or six Saturdays a year. And, second, I’ve never been to Trenton—Through it on Amtrak, yes—but as a destination, No! Third, although I retired from convention-going in April 2008 (after guesting at more than 200 of them), I was off to a con and Only as a customer! This, I confess, was my Second relapse (I showed up to see friends at NYC’s Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors in June 2009).
It wasn’t just Any kind of con, but a Pulp Adventurecon (masterminded by Rich Harvey, author of several articles that I published in Comics Scene in the 1990s). I’ve never actually been to a pulp event (just Sf, Star Trek, comics, horror,...
It wasn’t just Any kind of con, but a Pulp Adventurecon (masterminded by Rich Harvey, author of several articles that I published in Comics Scene in the 1990s). I’ve never actually been to a pulp event (just Sf, Star Trek, comics, horror,...
- 11/11/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (David McDonnell )
- Starlog
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.