Mystery

McGee takes on the Drug War in ‘Dreadful Lemon Sky’ (1974)

Travis McGee is a spiritual continuation of Philip Marlowe, but with a difference that’s nicely illustrated in “The Dreadful Lemon Sky” (1974), John D. MacDonald’s

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Jane gets nosy in ‘Agatha Christie’s Marple’ Season 2 (2006)

“Agatha Christie’s Marple” Season 2 (2006) starts with the same high standards as Season 1, with “Sleeping Murder” and the best episode so far, “The

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‘The Quick Red Fox’ (1964) is not a lazy dog of a novel

Travis McGee is John D. MacDonald’s continuation of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe in the timeline of knights-errant transposed into 20th century American crime detection, and

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Argento brings his B-game to ‘The Card Player’ (2003)

Dario Argento combines aspects of his greatest hits with Aughts trends in “The Card Player” (2003), an ultimately ridiculous but incongruously watchable giallo. While the

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Westlake’s ‘Jimmy the Kid’ (1974) and the ‘fiction vs. reality’ conundrum

Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) wrote more than 100 novels, so it’s no wonder he desired to have some fun and mix things up. Attacking the

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‘Sleepless’ (2001) more like a pleasant horror dream than a nightmare

As the century turned, Dario Argento had already earned the title of Master of Giallo, and while some would argue he’s done nothing in the

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Marriage, murder awkwardly mix in ‘Busman’s Honeymoon’ (1937)

For an author who believed strongly in the rules of murder mysteries (in a nutshell, playing fair with the reader and being true to reality),

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‘Gaudy Night’ (1935) explores chaos of changing times on campus

Dorothy Sayers marks the occasion of her 10th Lord Peter Wimsey bow, “Gaudy Night” (1935), with a novel that’s messy, socially fascinating, narratively ambitious, unwieldy,

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‘Have His Carcase’ (1932) coasts along with multiple intrigues

Without abandoning her obsession with detail, Dorothy L. Sayers follows the borderline unreadable “Five Red Herrings” with one of her elite novels, “Have His Carcase”

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‘Sorority Row’ (2009) lines up worst traits of the Naughties

What horror film is the most Naughties? Not the best or the worst, but the one that most encompasses the formulaic excesses of unoriginality (remaking

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