A FILM AMERICANS WON’T BE SEEING (maybe) by Leigh Lundin It disappoints me when I read about movies that won’t be shown in America, films like Adam Curtis’ The Power of Nightmares that a nation isolated like ours could learn from, but ‘deciders’ think otherwise. Normally, these films sell in virtually every territory around the […]

CONFERENCE CALL by John M. Floyd Here’s the deal: four cold, rainy days in Indianapolis, and you foot the bill for registration, food, travel, hotel, and parking. Sound appealing? It is if you’re a mystery fan. I’m referring to Bouchercon 2009, held last week in Indy, and I enjoyed every minute. I wasn’t able to […]

ON A SHORT LEASH by Steve Steinbock I’ve got to keep myself on a short leash. Otherwise I just have too much fun. And then were would my Criminal Brief column be? Last weekend I had a wonderful time at Bouchercon. It’s always great seeing old friends and making new friends. I connected with fellow […]

SMART CRIMINALS by Deborah Elliott-Upton Despite my last column, there are some smart criminals out there, too. Real life criminals evading the police include D. B. Cooper, who in November of 1971 hijacked a Boeing 727, held the passengers hostage, and received a $200,000 ransom before jumping from the airplane and quite literally disappearing into […]

TALENT HUNT by Rob Lopresti This week I have one question for you and a whole lot of answers. The answers have nothing to do with the questions, but, hey, you can’t have everything. Here’s the question Sometimes I hear someone say, approximately, “I’d love to write, but I don’t have any talent.” (It could […]

As far as I know, Jeff Baker still lives and writes in Wichita, Kansas, just as he did last week. —JLW ROBERT ARTHUR: MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER by Jeff Baker His output was some 200 published stories of mystery, science fiction and fantasy. His admirers have included Anthony Boucher, Isaac Asimov and Joe R. Lansdale. An early […]

IMPRECISELY, MY DEAR WATSON by James Lincoln Warren “For parlor use, the vague generality is a life-saver.” —George Ade Military folks love to tell jokes about military life, either berating rival services or making light of the vagaries of their own. One of my favorites goes like this: The Difference Between the Services Define the […]