So how do you sum up the year in which you read 582 books (but who’s counting?) for the Edgars Best Novel?

Well, here’s how I put it last night – and I meant it: Two reactions follow in rapid succession when you let it slip that you are in the process of giving 582 mystery novels the same respectful consideration you would like to see your own work receive.  First, comes the shock and awe that

So how do you sum up the year in which you read 582 books (but who’s counting?) for the Edgars Best Novel?

The Hotel Neversink

by Adam O’Fallon Price An ambitious, skillfully written book. (This review originally appeared on the New York Journal of Books) In “The Typology of Detective Fiction,” Tsvetan Todorov demonstrated that the classic Golden Age mystery story was a text about reading and writing narratives.  In his model, the detective and reader join forces to reconstruct

The Hotel Neversink

The Enchanted Sonata

by Heather Dixon Wallwork An enjoyable and engaging novel. (This review originally appeared on the New York Journal of Books) Like many familiar fairy tales, the original version of The Nutcracker, E. T. A. Hoffmann’s novella, Nussknacker und Mausekonig, is far darker and more complex than the holiday classic beloved by generations. Tchaikovsky’s ballet is

The Enchanted Sonata

Dragons in Inwood?

The Dragon Murder Case abounds with the usual suspects: The ingenue.  The irresistible, but hardened, woman of mystery.  The crazed beldame.  The drunkard.  And Leland – no, we’re still not past Leland yet.  Then there’s the dragon, “the water-dragon, Amangemokdom, or sometimes Amangegach – was used as a bogey to frighten recalcitrant children.”  No, really,

Dragons in Inwood?

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