When I think of Christmas, only one poem leaps to mind. I didn’t want to write yet another parody of Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (so many have done it much better than I could attempt). Thinking our Criminal Brief readership would like to read an actual short story, I decided perhaps […]

Today’s hints for our Christmas Contest relate to Rob’s column last week. Rob writes: “The holiday message exists in the texts of our columns, but there is a clue about the message in the title of my column for last Wednesday, December 16. I didn’t put it there intentionally, but it is there.” Remember that […]

While taking a rest from trying to crack our Christmas Contest, you may find the following account (naturally provided by our resident research librarian, Rob Lopresti) concerning cracking safes amusing. It’s from a 19th century American journal dedicated to the building trade. The illustration comes from an issue a couple of years before the article […]

GETTING A CLUE by James Lincoln Warren Last week, we ran a series of columns, each with a hidden clue that gives a Christmas message. The opportunity to enter the contest actually started yesterday when the Entry Form was posted on the website. The prizes, as we indicated, are copies of a slender volume of […]

CHRISTMAS CONTEST… NEXT STEP by Leigh Lundin Today, as Chanukah ends, so does Phase I of our Christmas contest. Each CB story contains hints and suggestions, noteworthy being Sunday’s, Monday’s, Tuesday’s, and Friday’s which are peppered with hints, cues, and intimations. If you are encountering snags, check for anything common– or uncommon– between pieces. If any […]

Our Christmas Contest continues—check it out here. MIXED COMPANY by John M. Floyd Rob’s “Tune It or Die” CB piece a few months ago (“Non-mysteries for the Mystery Fan,” September 2nd) reminded me of something: even though I’m crazy about mysteries, some of the best books and stories I’ve read this past year have been […]

Our Christmas Contest continues—check it out here. METAPHYSICS and FATHER BROWN by Steve Steinbock For the past few weeks, I’ve been knee-deep in G. K. Chesterton, which as far as things to be knee deep in, is not a bad thing. Being who I am, I’ve been steering toward the detective stories rather than his […]