CRIMINAL BRIEF IN REVIEW by James Lincoln Warren New Year’s Eve is always a time for reflection. Criminal Brief was launched on May 7, 2007. We’ve been going strong now for eight months. I frankly have no idea how successful we’ve been in our avowed purpose of advocating short crime fiction, but I can state […]

CUDGELING the BRAIN by Leigh Lundin I just had an odd occurrence. For 24 hours, I’ve been trying to think of a sauce used in Cantonese cooking. It wasn’t soy sauce, or fish or oyster sauce, not pepper sauce, not sesame oil or rice vinegar, nor any of the sauces associated with Japanese, Thai, or […]

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK by John M. Floyd As the rookie on the team of Criminal Brief correspondents, I thought it might be a good idea to use this first column to tell you a little about me, and sort of sit on the side of the pool (or at least paddle around in […]

BANDERSNATCHES by Steve Steinbock Conventional Wisdom We Mystery People are great. I challenge anyone to find a more congenial, interesting, funny, and just plain nice group of people. Writers, editors, booksellers, and fans gather several times a year celebrate mystery fiction through workshops, presentations, discussions, and parties. Last week I shared how I befriended Doug […]

THE ART OF REGIFTING by Deborah Elliott-Upton I love hearing holiday songs, especially the old ones (or even the old ones made new again by someone like Michael Buble.) One of my favorite movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life” and I enjoy watching it again every December. To paraphrase the old song sung by Brownies […]

MERRY HOGSWATCH TO ALL by Robert Lopresti I have written before about Terry Pratchett’s wonderful fantasy series, Discworld. They are one of the most amazing collections of books I have ever read. Imagine my delight a few weeks ago when I discovered that a three-hour production of Pratchett’s novel Hogfather was going to be on […]

EMILY DICKINSON and CHRISTMAS by Melodie Johnson Howe On this Christmas Day I would like to share a spiritual moment I experienced recently, even though I am not a spiritual person. Funny how many non-spiritual people have spiritual moments, isn’t it? My friend, Lenore, and I recently drove to Amherst, Massachusetts to visit Emily Dickinson’s […]