I, THE JUROR by Deborah Elliott-Upton For the third time in as many years, I received a jury summons notice in the mail. While everyone understands that serving on a jury, allowing our fellow Americans the opportunity to a fair trial and to be judged by a jury of their peers, sounds good on paper, […]

REFRIGERATOR QUESTIONS by Rob Lopresti My friend Paul is an accomplished writer in many fields but he has yet to achieve the highest pinnacle of literary achievement — which is to say, he has yet to sell a mystery story. Recently he asked me to review a story he was about to submit and I […]

LURID by Melodie Johnson Howe Larry McMurtry opined in the Los Angeles Times on July 5 on the dust jacket of Mickey Spillane’s novel, I, The Jury: “McMurtry analyzes the cover of I, the Jury, the crime writer’s 1947 pulp novel, with the zeal of an anthropologist exploring a lost culture: In the gritty paperback’s […]

STYLIN’ by James Lincoln Warren I frequently have the opportunity, or perhaps I should say obligation, of wearing evening dress. Recently I entered into a polite dispute with regard to how one should wear a black bow tie with a wing-collared shirt. Should the tie be worn outside the wings, or inside? I took one […]

A KILLER BAND of HOBBYISTS by Leigh Lundin I find myself chasing down mystery blogs and I came across a criminal group of seven called Killer Hobbies. Pray tell, I thought, what is this about? One entry mentioned ‘rubber-stamping’. I suspected the topic dealt either with rainwear, bizarre sex, or a government job, but if […]

TEAMWORK by John M. Floyd Much has been said in these columns about having friends who are also writers and readers, folks who share a common interest. I suspect that they’re often some of our closest friends, because they are among the few who understand how we, as writers and readers, think the way we […]

AMSTERDAM COPS, KYOTO DICKS, SEALS AND PORCUPINES by Steve Steinbock Janwillem van de Wetering passed away one week ago, today, on the fourth of July. I was saddened not only because Janwillem was a nice guy and a good writer, but also because he owed me a lunch. For those unfamiliar with van de Wetering, […]