Mystery | Raging Biblio-holism

Trail of the Spellmans (Document #5)

May 7, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Things in the Spellman family / at Spellman Investigations have reached a sort of (relative) status quo. Of course, that’s obviously too good to be true and, before long, the family is up to its usual shenanigans – but nobody is getting any younger and the question arises: what, exactly, does Izzy Spellman want out of her life? The Review: It feels like an eternity since I last read a proper Spellman novel. I suppose it is, […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Document #5, Fiction, Izzy Spellman, Lisa Lutz, Mystery, The Spellman Files, Trail of the Spellmans

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Would Could That Be at This Hour? (All The Wrong Questions #1)

March 11, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: It is almost inevitable that you are familiar with the terrible tale of the Baudelaire orphans, as researched and recounted by Lemony Snicket under the title “A Series of Unfortunate Events” – but what of the unanswered questions and the life of Mr. Snicket himself? Our story begins with a town no longer by the sea, a young apprentice, and all the wrong questions… The Review: There is a particular type of child who, if you show them […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: All The Wrong Questions, Children's Lit, Daniel Handler, Fiction, Lemony Snicket, Mystery, Noir, VFD, Who Could That Be At This Hour?

Gone Girl

January 30, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Nick Dunne has the perfect wife. Amy is pretty, funny, sexy, smart, and just about everything he could ask for. But their marriage has taken a turn and when she disappears on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, signs point to him having murdered her – except that he vehemently denies it and might actually be telling the truth. Of course, the truth is relative. The Review: I approached this novel with trepidation, to say […]

Categories: Fiction, Mystery • Tags: Fiction, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, Mystery, The Tournament of Books 2013

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Broken Harbor

December 10, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Detective Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy is the straightest arrow on the force. He’s the one you call when you want a solve and he does it by the book, 100%. When his boss hands him a major case in order to make up for his… shortcomings during a previous case, it looks like it’s the slam-dunk return to form he needs. But nothing seems to add up correctly about this case and Scorcher finds himself questioning the very […]

Categories: Fiction, Mystery • Tags: Broken Harbor, Dublin Murder Squad, Fiction, Gothic, Literature, Mystery, Tana French

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A Murder of Quality

November 14, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: George Smiley is called upon by an old friend to investigate a strange letter. When the writer of the letter turns up murdered – which is just what the letter proposed was going to happen, Smiley finds himself headed to a British boarding school called Carne. There, he attempts to unravel the truth of just who murdered Stella Rode and why. The Review: What a strange alternate future we could’ve seen had John le Carré decided to […]

Categories: Fiction, Mystery • Tags: A Murder of Quality, Fiction, George Smiley, John le Carré, Mystery

The White Devil

October 26, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: An American student sent to England to finish his education at Harrow finds himself pulled into the archaic and strange universe of British boarding school – and to make matters worse, the ghost of Lord Byron’s schooltime lover may well be killing off Sixth Formers who get too close to Andrew. How coincidental that he (Andrew) looks so much like Lord Byron… The Review: There’s something mythic about British boarding school life. American boarding schools don’t come close […]

Categories: Fiction, Horror • Tags: Fiction, Gothic, Horror, Justin Evans, Mystery, The October Country, The White Devil

The Keep

October 10, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Danny is a wired-in New Yorker who, when he runs out of luck, accepts a slightly mysterious invitation from his cousin to join him in refurbishing a castle in Europe. Things go sideways from the moment he arrives and not everything is what it seems – about the castle, about his cousin, about the people working with them, or about this story. See, Danny’s story is also being written by a prison inmate named Ray in order […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature, Mystery • Tags: Fiction, Gothic, Jennifer Egan, Literature, Mystery, The Keep, The October Country

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

September 26, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Christopher, a young autistic boy, discovers his neighbor’s dog stabbed dead with a garden fork. He sets out to discover who killed the beast and it ends up becoming the biggest adventure of his young life. He travels to London, discovers a secret about his parents, solves the mystery, and writes it all down as a story in the end. The Review: I’m now somewhat sad that I didn’t catch the National Theatre stage adaptation of this […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature, Mystery • Tags: Autism, Children's Lit, Fiction, Literature, Mark Haddon, Mystery, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead

August 26, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Claire DeWitt is the greatest PI who ever lived. Or so she says. Trained by an eccentric New Orleans detective and a bit of a badass, she’s made quite a name for herself. Now, coming back to New Orleans for the first time in seven years, she faces a city in the wake of Katrina – a city without any happy endings, especially for the case she’s there to solve… The Review: I haven’t been back to New […]

Categories: Fiction, Mystery • Tags: Claire DeWitt, Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, Fiction, Katrina, Mystery, New Orleans, Sara Gran

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Wayne of Gotham

August 10, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Everyone knows that Bruce Wayne lost his parents in a tragic accident at a young age – and the young Bruce took that moment and the idealized image of his parents as the catalyst to becoming Batman. But when an unexpected visitor to Wayne Manor sets off a chain of mysterious events, Bruce realizes he barely knew his parents – and the legacy they left behind is far more than Wayne Enterprises… The Review: So, okay. It’s […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Batman, Comic Books, Fiction, Mystery, Tracy Hickman, Wayne of Gotham

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Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Archives

Trail of the Spellmans (Document #5)

Would Could That Be at This Hour? (All The Wrong Questions #1)

Gone Girl

Broken Harbor

A Murder of Quality

The White Devil

The Keep

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead

Wayne of Gotham

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