Posts Tagged ‘mystery’

Frank Delaney’s most recent novel is a misty-sweet race through softcore Irish political history, country farms and criminal intrigue. We watch a father’s obsession turn into a son’s fate, in the framework of the Vaudevillian traveling show of the novel’s title character.

This book is charming: Delaney knows how to woo his Ire-phile gaga American audience, and he’s keyed right into his early-1930s setting.

A mystery based on real events set during the senescence of Victorian ideals, starring the real human Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “Arthur & George” combines literary suspense with the themes of slowly declining empire. It explores what it means to be English at a time when what it means to be English is changing faster than it has ever done so before; it glances at the accelerating evolution of change in the time of full-steam-ahead Edwardian idealism.

Satellite views like this one are what make conspiracy folks and lovers of the mysterious have “squee” moments. View Larger Map In Oregon’s remote Christmas Valley, coming upon this military installation of debated purpose is certainly eerie. The Internetty consensus is that the establishment has something to do with Over-the-Horizon radar or some such–at least [...]

The following is text from an actual email I just sent. Someone was adopted. I’ve never spoken to this person before. Dear E—–, I am sorry for the delay in responding. I wanted to recheck some facts first. I think I can help you–and I will try. There are a lot of secrets in that [...]

After Tana French’s first novel, In the Woods, I was left breathless and absolutely committed to buying her sophomore effort. It’s not that I regret it, but it didn’t show the same care and craft. While still displaying some of her hallmark subtleties and qualities, it felt rushed, and lacked both in believability and polish. [...]

There are the following pre-prequisites for reading this book, if you wish to do so comfortably. I recommend that you take any illusion you have about being well-read, fold it, box it, and tuck it away during the use of this novel. Then brush up on your Nabokovian grammar and ironies. Finally, don’t think too [...]