tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124067322024-03-07T13:20:07.949-08:00Girl-DetectiveBaby got CRIME...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-25932231497693673692015-10-31T09:57:00.001-07:002015-10-31T09:57:41.926-07:00Booo! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyGL3OQcfHVTQtgDoBWADcYE0nPuJRYDndGAbfvLh-mxY0yE2PT4p_HT-W2xq1-RGKGn-HIKMHx-Wa57O5ZsVCmBADovEFpZLXpthC3Qvtb41EX3j9zj7VO5dw8VL9TO-gA2u1w/s1600/shutterstock_99147869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyGL3OQcfHVTQtgDoBWADcYE0nPuJRYDndGAbfvLh-mxY0yE2PT4p_HT-W2xq1-RGKGn-HIKMHx-Wa57O5ZsVCmBADovEFpZLXpthC3Qvtb41EX3j9zj7VO5dw8VL9TO-gA2u1w/s400/shutterstock_99147869.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-6453285085420526902014-11-27T01:00:00.000-08:002014-11-27T01:00:00.821-08:00Happy Thanksgiving! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0EIGJ13WfkyO4x4UMHkoyAEamZ6H5_9FpqBfI-ScdNlWFHk4GpSdRoId_qVT-kPb60nlWdPzqk56LIf6hOfXgfY6m11pijviOQ3X9S4WDGKVNoZE53E4ErjbZuXcYOct1rAugQ/s1600/vintage-thanksgiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0EIGJ13WfkyO4x4UMHkoyAEamZ6H5_9FpqBfI-ScdNlWFHk4GpSdRoId_qVT-kPb60nlWdPzqk56LIf6hOfXgfY6m11pijviOQ3X9S4WDGKVNoZE53E4ErjbZuXcYOct1rAugQ/s1600/vintage-thanksgiving.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-7273782093516769642014-11-07T01:00:00.000-08:002014-11-07T01:00:00.329-08:00The Black Cabinet by Patricia WentworthSo this begins quite a bit more slowly than <i>The Astonishing Adventures of Jane Smith</i>, which I loved. There is a lot of setting up and backstory. I think it could have been condensed, but I can feel Wentworth conscientiously trying to not confuse the slower readers. ;-) And she's trying to work in a romance, and that takes a bit of time too.<br />
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It's a fascinating premise, and I'm tempted to lift it for some kind of a period mash-up -- a young woman inherits the entire estate of a distant relative -- including his thriving blackmail practice complete with villainous partner.<br />
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LOVE this cover.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjFzggUz3RHUWLHEUJYWtpP7OkcK_lVhO2QjSqeQMROnQJ-jjn1rKU8jxIfnF-VwvkfJy61yz-hK_ZRWeaGD2ORywocz6E2ZzFv0B_5x-nrdEgqWTIHdESf8B8Xg57_ixS7I2BA/s1600/P1000546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjFzggUz3RHUWLHEUJYWtpP7OkcK_lVhO2QjSqeQMROnQJ-jjn1rKU8jxIfnF-VwvkfJy61yz-hK_ZRWeaGD2ORywocz6E2ZzFv0B_5x-nrdEgqWTIHdESf8B8Xg57_ixS7I2BA/s1600/P1000546.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-33818080769438772242014-11-04T11:09:00.002-08:002014-11-04T11:09:22.610-08:00Have you voted? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bBnOBTNeQts-Rh9RyxcDkdPfYrTN-IbFk7j3-yo9dj1aa1hOSI-wLVoNO9cmqxZEIEEY8b9zQaVC_a4xOJkD8LvJMB736IUfxsMjMzqluCGDiVfRbbGmHTebnF3u2BW3CZP3vg/s1600/vintage+vote+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bBnOBTNeQts-Rh9RyxcDkdPfYrTN-IbFk7j3-yo9dj1aa1hOSI-wLVoNO9cmqxZEIEEY8b9zQaVC_a4xOJkD8LvJMB736IUfxsMjMzqluCGDiVfRbbGmHTebnF3u2BW3CZP3vg/s1600/vintage+vote+poster.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-33350439288989617552014-10-31T01:00:00.000-07:002014-10-31T01:01:23.283-07:00Crime and Cocktails - The Zombie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuO3WL-Im8K9ybmmjx7SvNqp9wnGYS0cg1XQaH3rOAbJJuvwBtSut3qsMFvuEzf7vfGG9HCs4KFs4-mnWKMdm4gQTEd0c5YS7jPWWfEVmh9Uy0-Ll8Lgfrp0nqLGkggPmK8Ly4CQ/s1600/21141387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuO3WL-Im8K9ybmmjx7SvNqp9wnGYS0cg1XQaH3rOAbJJuvwBtSut3qsMFvuEzf7vfGG9HCs4KFs4-mnWKMdm4gQTEd0c5YS7jPWWfEVmh9Uy0-Ll8Lgfrp0nqLGkggPmK8Ly4CQ/s1600/21141387.jpg" height="320" width="295" /></a></div>
The Zombie has a very interesting history. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_(cocktail)" target="_blank">You can read about it here</a>.<br />
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<b>3/4 cup crushed ice</b><br />
<b>1 1/2 ounces aged Jamaican rum</b><br />
<b>1 1/2 ounces gold Puerto Rican rum</b><br />
<b>1 ounce 151-proof Lemon Hart Demerara rum</b><br />
<b>3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice</b><br />
<b>2 teaspoons white grapefruit juice </b><br />
<b>1 teaspoon Cinnamon Syrup</b><br />
<b>1 teaspoon Grenadine</b><br />
<b>1/2 ounce falernum</b><br />
<b>1/8 teaspoon Pernod</b><br />
<b>1 dash aromatic bitters, such as angostura</b><br />
<b>Ice cubes</b><br />
<b>1 mint sprig</b><br />
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<b>Place all ingredients except ice cubes and mint sprig in a blender. Blend on high until frothy but not slushy, no more than 5 seconds.</b></div>
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<b>Pour into a tall, narrow glass and add ice cubes to fill the glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.</b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-11502868747451951022014-10-26T10:46:00.001-07:002014-10-26T10:46:48.439-07:00Looking Ahead (From Very Far Behind)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezmLl8COuYuuV33n24DocgNheUR-ektZV8q2kFC-xzACtQKzyo37MAmP6xaI8sGyCL3OvdqQ-XMDKduxkZ2DjfNV24mkiTjHK9nQaEmNNIKNT5XVFVQ7fSoJrNSQjZT-uajluWg/s1600/dell0338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezmLl8COuYuuV33n24DocgNheUR-ektZV8q2kFC-xzACtQKzyo37MAmP6xaI8sGyCL3OvdqQ-XMDKduxkZ2DjfNV24mkiTjHK9nQaEmNNIKNT5XVFVQ7fSoJrNSQjZT-uajluWg/s1600/dell0338.jpg" /></a>I want to thank everyone who over the years has taken the
time and trouble to send helpful notes and updates to the Girl-Detective
website. Unfortunately, because of the logistics of trying to run two different
writing careers in two different publishing hemispheres, Girl-Detective as a resource
site sort of got short-changed. As in completely neglected for the past five
years or so.</div>
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I’ve been speaking to <a href="http://www.thrillingdetective.com/" target="_blank">Mr. Thrilling (</a>Thrilling Dectective
Website Guy) and we’ve decided it makes more sense to break Girl-Detective away
from Diana Killian. It’s less confusing for everyone if the site exists
independently of my author site. Plus, once GD is no longer attached to DianaKillian, it stops being work and goes back to being a hobby -- which means I’ll
have fun with it again. As in might perhaps actually <i>do</i> something with it.</div>
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What that might be, I’m not sure. Mostly review vintage
books and movies. Or perhaps “review” is not the correct term for my, er,
exploration of some of these old titles. But continue to…offer them up <i>for your consideration</i> perhaps? </div>
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And perhaps even occasionally review contemporary
(historical mystery fiction) books or interview authors of such? I don’t know. I’m not going to
commit to anything because next year is going to be ferociously busy -- even
more so than usual -- plus I’ll be traveling quite a bit (quite a bit for me,
anyway).</div>
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So this blog will be attached to the <a href="http://www.girl-detective.net/" target="_blank">Girl-Detective website</a>.
And the Diana Killian blog will be attached to the n<a href="http://www.dianakillian.com/" target="_blank">ew Diana Killian website</a>.
Which doesn’t exist yet, but it will be up and running in some form before
<a href="http://www.bouchercon.info/" target="_blank">Bouchercon</a> this year.</div>
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As for those helpful notes and updates…I hang onto
everything, so chances are I’ve still got them and we’ll hopefully be able to
make the updates at long last.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-5388804537579665892014-10-16T11:33:00.000-07:002014-10-26T11:34:00.271-07:00Winter Reading 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yYFcn42ZV7Ph98Q1YkuNI_XyY9ZTYzIbuo3hSX_-OU-STW7kJBCSpRgI2_reWzUnVGhlPnEG2LOFLOmRY7DqkEASac_2dTg0tp-uwl3oa_2StmAeV-vHndQqiM8iEUIQfDlY6w/s1600/P1000540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yYFcn42ZV7Ph98Q1YkuNI_XyY9ZTYzIbuo3hSX_-OU-STW7kJBCSpRgI2_reWzUnVGhlPnEG2LOFLOmRY7DqkEASac_2dTg0tp-uwl3oa_2StmAeV-vHndQqiM8iEUIQfDlY6w/s1600/P1000540.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp62M8BWZP888ug0e5usJ5U8sdjofE_RG5W-aUm8zL5cKzPlhLUZKUFjZ3i03j4AYV5ozKBU7bu61mRCQtluVRfPOXf4jaandyYr9e7pY70YkBL0tLCiudJqYtgYWEAptZE7bRA/s1600/P1000541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp62M8BWZP888ug0e5usJ5U8sdjofE_RG5W-aUm8zL5cKzPlhLUZKUFjZ3i03j4AYV5ozKBU7bu61mRCQtluVRfPOXf4jaandyYr9e7pY70YkBL0tLCiudJqYtgYWEAptZE7bRA/s1600/P1000541.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANntnVSNadAYb6w85tjyJcmjKLsztABqnKwNDDupZesPe4ZxvuN9Ga-p6iezqDo-fji7A6lJLrZ1aKgUxcAb1aaUKOrLAWuuFibix_pNUWsme-DoUvO9SbVZWNzQiJUn6oCESWA/s1600/P1000545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANntnVSNadAYb6w85tjyJcmjKLsztABqnKwNDDupZesPe4ZxvuN9Ga-p6iezqDo-fji7A6lJLrZ1aKgUxcAb1aaUKOrLAWuuFibix_pNUWsme-DoUvO9SbVZWNzQiJUn6oCESWA/s1600/P1000545.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEeP8JXoL0R3O3yUfwHdMie7LqL2MJtgRQOisAhdNaf9wGnyrK1pqING-q-DvpjKuNihQ5Hv-4WtQiu-9OkEEE8V-p0aaYsm13AEdZOx-wn3Q4SaXO4InOEBzws9c3sX9msqRrw/s1600/P1000542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEeP8JXoL0R3O3yUfwHdMie7LqL2MJtgRQOisAhdNaf9wGnyrK1pqING-q-DvpjKuNihQ5Hv-4WtQiu-9OkEEE8V-p0aaYsm13AEdZOx-wn3Q4SaXO4InOEBzws9c3sX9msqRrw/s1600/P1000542.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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What are you planning to read? </div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-31840854531456489202014-10-09T11:02:00.000-07:002014-10-26T13:10:26.885-07:00This is how you properly unmask the killer<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxwxAeVd-5_8OvKqDo83KKoSuoYSiuNueap1UXtapFg5QETqMP-Bm5k3YG6dsDmOcgfGnIr94o3J1pRmVGno-LlPsSXs1NxNUdE65UJ0sGdyJ-3a9tOodq6qzAH1iNR1dJl8XNA/s1600/shutterstock_33383308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxwxAeVd-5_8OvKqDo83KKoSuoYSiuNueap1UXtapFg5QETqMP-Bm5k3YG6dsDmOcgfGnIr94o3J1pRmVGno-LlPsSXs1NxNUdE65UJ0sGdyJ-3a9tOodq6qzAH1iNR1dJl8XNA/s1600/shutterstock_33383308.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">licensed thru Shutterstock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From 1943, <i>Evidence of Things Seen</i> (A Henry Gamadge Mystery) by Elizabeth Daly:<br />
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<b>Gamadge provided Hunter with ice, whiskey, a tumbler and a siphon; but after pouring himself coffee, he rose, shut the dining room door and the stairway door, and returned to his seat at the end of the narrow table.</b><br />
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<b>"I want to tell you the whole story," he said, "and then we can edit it. It's not for women's ears--it's a tale of Indians, shooting, villainy unmasked and buckets of gore."</b><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-8730747732649171552014-10-02T10:14:00.000-07:002014-10-26T10:17:18.524-07:00Bouchercon Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGWbuTiiXazHmZAMtg5Wyj-5vrAmdG2HRJI-8X6-4IKgjw9xym_u_c9Beza6Kjg7gM-bCcdtLLKb400ZeSxWA68y6JBJl6I9nnMsFvkRGD3fvkgOJyryDpfvivXO8VovHQN66yA/s1600/shutterstock_80896000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGWbuTiiXazHmZAMtg5Wyj-5vrAmdG2HRJI-8X6-4IKgjw9xym_u_c9Beza6Kjg7gM-bCcdtLLKb400ZeSxWA68y6JBJl6I9nnMsFvkRGD3fvkgOJyryDpfvivXO8VovHQN66yA/s1600/shutterstock_80896000.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
As mentioned on my Diana Killian blog, I did -- to my surprise and pleasure -- end up with a panel for <a href="http://www.bouchercon.info/" target="_blank">Bouchercon</a>.<br />
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YOUR PANEL ASSIGNMENT:<br />
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<b>Make 'Em Laugh: Balancing the Lows of Loss with the Highs of Humor</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Moderator Terry Shames</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Melodie Campbell</b><br />
<b>Sharon Fiffer</b><br />
<b>Sue Ann Jaffarian</b><br />
<b>Diana Killan</b><br />
<b>Helen Smith </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b> Friday Nov. 14, 2014 11:30- 12:30 Shoreline</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I haven't had a chance to even peek at the list of who's going, but I hope to see some of my old friends. Heck, after all this time, I'll be thrilled to recognize<i> anybody</i>!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-42094846076727148152014-09-26T12:54:00.000-07:002014-10-26T12:59:10.027-07:00Seven Sinners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQu3Euk7ezDI1oWggUujkPPHvpzout3_AMv4IwR3xpziaMbV0BCMX7s6kSAMwZQ6MmQ9szBkde8HhZI9ZVjIdaeqbaPswBig-UmLzaPhehJx80Ay-FHzfx3FTd3-cMQZBUKmAsw/s1600/SevenSinners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQu3Euk7ezDI1oWggUujkPPHvpzout3_AMv4IwR3xpziaMbV0BCMX7s6kSAMwZQ6MmQ9szBkde8HhZI9ZVjIdaeqbaPswBig-UmLzaPhehJx80Ay-FHzfx3FTd3-cMQZBUKmAsw/s1600/SevenSinners.jpg" height="250" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>With female sidekick in tow, a wisecracking private detective follows a trail
of corpses around Europe shaking up a sinister criminal network which will stop
at nothing -- even causing major train wrecks -- to cover their crimes. Edmund Lowe,
Constance Cummings.</b></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028240/" target="_blank">Seven Sinners</a> </i>(later titled <i>Doomed Cargo</i>) is based on a story by Arnold Ridley and Bernard Merivale
(which I’ve looked for but not been able to find)</div>
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This delectable little British trifle is from 1936, so obviously audio and visual are not pristine, but
still this is a very engaging crime flick.</div>
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It opens when two men dressed in costumes meet at the Hotel Gallico at Carnival at Nice. It's your normal Carnival: fireworks, champagne -- in fact, one of the two men is quite the worse for drink -- and general merriment smacking dames in scanty outfits. The gentlemen part ways and it turns out the fellow in the devil's costume is actually our hero, the "European representative" of an American insurance company, and he's hoping to hook up with an associate from the New York office. But "Fenton" has not registered yet. Harwood heads back to his room only to find the man he'd met earlier dead inside. </div>
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It takes him a while to notice, given that he's so plastered. In fact, it's actually a pretty effective moment when the body slips out of its chair and crumples to the floor. Harwood goes downstairs to report the death and meets an attractive, smart-alecky female in the elevator who turns out to be Fenton.</div>
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When they return upstairs with hotel management...the body has vanished!</div>
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Fenton insists there is no time to investigate because they have to get to Scotland posthaste because Lady Beckinsale (okay, but not Beckinsale, but Lady Something-That-Starts-With-a-B) is expecting them momentarily because...I forget. Probably something to do with her jewels. They manage to catch their train and Harwood collapses in a drunken stupor dreaming about the murdered man. </div>
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BOOM! Catastrophic train-wreck. And the story is off and running.</div>
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This is a fast-paced and witty -- if convoluted -- effort in the vein of Hitchcock's <i>The Thirty-Nine Steps</i> or <i>The Lady Vanishes</i>. The chemistry between Lowe and Cummings is great and their back and forth is very amusing. There are some genuinely funny bits of dialog.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-18183621196600147552014-09-19T13:23:00.000-07:002014-10-26T13:24:57.113-07:00John Atkinson GrimshawI can't think of a single painter who better captures that mix of melancholy, mystery and romance that I'm always hoping to find in vintage mystery than <a href="http://www.johnatkinsongrimshaw.org/" target="_blank">John Atkinson Grimshaw.</a> It's very much the mood I wanted for the Poetic Death stories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlru3sFgKiq6Bp2UeX2nL2mUacEsSUyEAGwSwEj5JfxNwv7tDvmwG1f0UMRu5P_CH_4POHjV-jBDjV28bXEfkSeiPXSlAoaNbK2QgIxof_eFtvdM_ifZjr2Qo1VAPQclQTAAMlg/s1600/3635020410_5a4898e2a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlru3sFgKiq6Bp2UeX2nL2mUacEsSUyEAGwSwEj5JfxNwv7tDvmwG1f0UMRu5P_CH_4POHjV-jBDjV28bXEfkSeiPXSlAoaNbK2QgIxof_eFtvdM_ifZjr2Qo1VAPQclQTAAMlg/s1600/3635020410_5a4898e2a3.jpg" height="320" width="261" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-87763831515027061212014-09-11T16:01:00.000-07:002014-10-26T16:07:04.992-07:00Crime and Cocktails - Pink Lady<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLX9w5y9ePrLPzBbeNGOtspwcnKbK9WcC2fIkkDV-8ORlnchGhfCzUgOQbD6yAS4BA_sMVA5ekGPLWS6d9CMuK0piF0LArW4VAFiHAkKSisTYxrdnTR0O6bgsQqavvV_qA3_VLlw/s1600/21188733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLX9w5y9ePrLPzBbeNGOtspwcnKbK9WcC2fIkkDV-8ORlnchGhfCzUgOQbD6yAS4BA_sMVA5ekGPLWS6d9CMuK0piF0LArW4VAFiHAkKSisTYxrdnTR0O6bgsQqavvV_qA3_VLlw/s1600/21188733.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a></div>
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<b>4 parts Gin</b><br />
<b>2 parts Apple Brandy</b><br />
<b>2 parts Lemon Juice</b><br />
<b>1 part Grenadine</b><br />
<b>1 Egg white for each two drinks</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Shake all ingredients except liquors with cracked ice, until foamy. Add half of liquors and shake. Add balance of liquors and shake. Strain into cocktail glass.</b><br />
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<br />
From 1953's <i>The ABC of Cocktails</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-87921359644752148352014-08-08T14:27:00.000-07:002014-10-26T14:28:18.856-07:00Fast Company <b>Rare book dealer Joel Sloane (Melvyn Douglas) and his secretary/spouse Garda (Florence Rice) are investigating a book swindle when the case takes a homicidal turn.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCF8aRWgiJ5Rpp1Vw3SKrSoJeeFMhyphenhypheno_gyu7A_EEbjUa7sMogiQA0FO0iykQXs6P8MntmPMSiwHJTzVG9hYzn536ma3gluqHyO6PmiUD6yHyYRuhaRMmld-3JqfECxIP1ldfZTQ/s1600/fast+company.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCF8aRWgiJ5Rpp1Vw3SKrSoJeeFMhyphenhypheno_gyu7A_EEbjUa7sMogiQA0FO0iykQXs6P8MntmPMSiwHJTzVG9hYzn536ma3gluqHyO6PmiUD6yHyYRuhaRMmld-3JqfECxIP1ldfZTQ/s1600/fast+company.jpg" /></a><i>1938's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Company_(1938_film)" target="_blank">Fast Company</a> </i>is based on the book of the same title by the pseudonymous Marco Page. In the book (which I own, but haven't read yet), Joel's last name is Glass, but that's neither here nor there. I love the mix of --as the book jacket says "raw murder and rare books."<br />
<br />
I want to digress here and ask who the heck was Florence Rice? She's so adorable! She's really good in this. She's got a bit of a Myrna Loy thing going on (in fact, the movie is unabashedly trying to ride that <i>Thin Man </i>train) but she's so natural, so unaffected, so darned cute.<br />
<br />
And Melvyn Douglas, who was always a little more goofy than dashing, actually holds his own in this one. They do a great job together and it's puzzling and disappointing that the studio did not continue the series with them.<br />
<br />
I'm having trouble explaining the plot of Fast Company as it's not exactly linear. Basically Joel and Garda try to help a young ex-con who was convicted of stealing rare books from his fiancee's father. The girl's father is involved in his own nefarious book dealings and eventually he's bumped off and the kid is accused of murder. Garda urges Joel to take the case.<br />
<br />
The dialog is snappy, the chemistry between the leads is strong, the plot makes as much sense as these things ever do. It's definitely entertaining.<br />
<br />
The subsequent movies are progressively weaker although the star power is higher in the second film, <i>Fast and Loose,</i> with Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. The third film, <i>Fast and Furious,</i> is painful and pretty much a complete waste of time. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-42528883507166785402014-08-01T13:41:00.000-07:002014-10-26T13:42:43.289-07:00McCauley ConnorI love discovering new art and new artists. This summer's discovery is Mac (McCauley) Conner who was an illustrator back in the Mad Men days. I'd never heard of him until a reader directed me his way and I learned that there was going to be a <a href="http://www.mcny.org/exhibition/mac-conner-new-york-life" target="_blank">retrospective of his work at the City of New York Museum. </a><br />
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His work is all clean and energetic, a bit like a pared-down Rockwell, but what I really love is his crime related illustrations. There's such a great vibe to works like this one:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYzvs7hE5SMYMzxppK-x6KZElVBwCGQbSH3ZPPI_lVhRAgYE1nLpVsKCFtCJlL9-6hX8ZLWcwf_TNAbTQvu_8J4Q-AYRJKEIsq79-eH62thDBFBSU33lz4wEGop00vvl6lgJIbQ/s1600/McCauley+Connor+pulp+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYzvs7hE5SMYMzxppK-x6KZElVBwCGQbSH3ZPPI_lVhRAgYE1nLpVsKCFtCJlL9-6hX8ZLWcwf_TNAbTQvu_8J4Q-AYRJKEIsq79-eH62thDBFBSU33lz4wEGop00vvl6lgJIbQ/s1600/McCauley+Connor+pulp+art.jpg" height="320" width="310" /></a></div>
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<br />
Honey, whatever he is about to tell you, don't believe it. RUN.<br />
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There's a book available -- which is now on my Christmas list -- <a href="http://shop.mcny.org/exhibitions/mac-conner-new-york-life/mac-conner--a-new-york-life-book.html" target="_blank">Mac Conner: A New York Life.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-85028915948454696842014-06-05T16:10:00.000-07:002014-10-26T16:19:45.988-07:00Crime and Cocktails - Gypsy Queen<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuO3WL-Im8K9ybmmjx7SvNqp9wnGYS0cg1XQaH3rOAbJJuvwBtSut3qsMFvuEzf7vfGG9HCs4KFs4-mnWKMdm4gQTEd0c5YS7jPWWfEVmh9Uy0-Ll8Lgfrp0nqLGkggPmK8Ly4CQ/s1600/21141387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuO3WL-Im8K9ybmmjx7SvNqp9wnGYS0cg1XQaH3rOAbJJuvwBtSut3qsMFvuEzf7vfGG9HCs4KFs4-mnWKMdm4gQTEd0c5YS7jPWWfEVmh9Uy0-Ll8Lgfrp0nqLGkggPmK8Ly4CQ/s1600/21141387.jpg" height="320" width="295" /></a></div>
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<b>4 Parts Vodka</b><br />
<b>1 Part Benedictine</b><br />
<b>1 Dash Orange Bitters to each drink</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Shake with ice and strain</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-49879959617648354372014-05-16T01:00:00.000-07:002014-05-16T01:00:06.611-07:00Adventures in Book Hunting<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEC61NhwAlFvihKeo1x0MK2VpwxlUW4mH1dEFXozKuLDkoPOIAt256nDxA3tfoCs8FX2HgEz8Yyf3RvU4xPycgCnyfIl2cCNcmOhaCXQpgxBD8M3lCvS-jor0xT_avH3UI1fSwmg/s1600/d2ec93fdabdb4700bbeeb1a5ad8568f0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEC61NhwAlFvihKeo1x0MK2VpwxlUW4mH1dEFXozKuLDkoPOIAt256nDxA3tfoCs8FX2HgEz8Yyf3RvU4xPycgCnyfIl2cCNcmOhaCXQpgxBD8M3lCvS-jor0xT_avH3UI1fSwmg/s1600/d2ec93fdabdb4700bbeeb1a5ad8568f0.jpg" height="320" width="201" /></a>A very kind reader sent me a box of Leslie Ford mysteries
last week. Yesterday morning I finally had a chance to go through them and
check them against the books already in my library. I am now only missing two
titles: <i>The Sound of Footsteps</i> (or <i>Footsteps on the Stairs</i>), 1933 and <i>Murder of a Fifth Columnist,</i> 1944.</div>
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I’m thrilled, to say the least. There were four titles I
didn’t own and several copies were in much, much better shape than my own. I’m
giving some of the duplicates to my mother who first introduced me to Ford’s
work. I know she’ll be equally thrilled to see these books again. </div>
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I don’t have any of the three Brenda Conrad novels yet --
they appear to be very rare -- and I am long overdue going over my David Frome
books to see what I’m still missing.</div>
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And so the hunt continues. I plan to spend my summer
catching up on my Leslie Ford reading. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-62279675620800936832014-05-09T01:00:00.000-07:002014-05-09T01:00:08.565-07:00Bouchercon BoundSo we're going to Bouchercon.<br />
<br />
I really don't have much to say beyond that because I am partly (greatly) horrified I even agreed to this. It's so long since I've done live and in person at an actual conference. I mean <i>conference</i> not writing retreat (retreat I am good at)!<br />
<br />
But it's right here in our own backyard, and I couldn't seem to come up with a decent reason NOT to go. So...Bouchercon. November.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-52591222567334694402014-04-25T01:00:00.000-07:002014-04-25T01:00:10.571-07:00Dr. Holton, I Presume<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLM4GLIrg5pZCt-nAt3ZmZt4YHDctF0cXQSzyc82bOKwDCFsne0OzpfYkDBZWRkk166xfVGlFlwA5JYdElFtEYc0_W0VNSjW0z_yTVbqpFZDZFC2r_uaZKrQJ1_9huYUesCwQXGA/s1600/shutterstock_72677356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLM4GLIrg5pZCt-nAt3ZmZt4YHDctF0cXQSzyc82bOKwDCFsne0OzpfYkDBZWRkk166xfVGlFlwA5JYdElFtEYc0_W0VNSjW0z_yTVbqpFZDZFC2r_uaZKrQJ1_9huYUesCwQXGA/s1600/shutterstock_72677356.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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For years I’ve been trying to find a goofy semi-gothic
adventure romance novel I read as a kid. I used to ask periodically on DorothyL
(does DorothyL still exist?) for help, and I would always get all these
interesting but ultimately not useful suggestions. Since the only thing I could
remember was a scene where someone throws something in the fireplace and it
turns color and poisonous gas issues forth… Oh, no. I had the title. But it
turns out the title was wrong. Somehow I believed the book was called <i>Smile and Be a Villain. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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I don’t know where I got that from. It turns out it was
called <i>The Gilded Sarcophagus</i> (which
sounds like something I would love, doesn’t it?) and it’s by Charlotte Hunt
(Doris Marjorie Hodges). It’s amusing seeing Hunt’s author bio. It seems she
wrote a lot of scholarly articles on the occult, etc. <i>In purely mundane matters Miss Hunt is addicted to walking, cooking,
tape recording, and Siamese cats.</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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We authors don’t change much through the ages, do we? Of
course no one is a “Miss” anymore. And you don’t see a lot of authors addicted
to “tape recording.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, I read the description of the book -- which turned
out to be first in a series (I did know there was a sequel, but a series!) and
I decided to take a chance and I ordered about five different Hunt novels. So <i>The Gilded Sarcophagus</i> arrived last
week, and I flipped through it and…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>…the letter floated
from my hand into the fire…<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>“Damn,” I muttered,
and tried to snatch it back. But it already caught on, bursting into purple
flame--a weird, evanescent flame. Suddenly my nostrils were flaring to the
scent of some sickly, unknown perfume. A plume of white smoke puffed out, thick
and suffocating, catching at my throat and making me want to retch.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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So it turns out that this is a series about psychiatrist
Paul Holton and his battle against Dr. Blackton and the mystic Circle of Ra. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The adventure begins…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-2929111371132520362014-03-21T15:06:00.000-07:002014-03-21T15:06:01.630-07:00No wonder they always sprained their ankles<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lHxtAVn3RK0vgTduvM-VuPgUM5diXu1x7ZEWOJHU4ZCT7iTItqWgqaXvFHhbxVPNtVjmvUz_34k2_NSwnJL3k67lJ3RpNSjo2QUN6bcMflQNphnJo5Cmqiul963hBSYPRtW82w/s1600/mary+lynn+roby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lHxtAVn3RK0vgTduvM-VuPgUM5diXu1x7ZEWOJHU4ZCT7iTItqWgqaXvFHhbxVPNtVjmvUz_34k2_NSwnJL3k67lJ3RpNSjo2QUN6bcMflQNphnJo5Cmqiul963hBSYPRtW82w/s1600/mary+lynn+roby.jpg" height="320" width="191" /></a>Running barefoot down those dirt roads with only moonlight and that lamp in the tower window to guide them? How scared out of your wits would you have to be to take off sprinting into the night without so much as your peignoir and mules? <br />
<br />
I've been reading and thinking and thinking and reading. I need to write something as Diana Killian, but what? I'm over my burn-out, but I'm not ready to write the last Mantra for Murder or Poetic Death books. They need to be written, that I know. It's not fair to leave readers with an unfinished series.<br />
<br />
But...I'm just not there yet.<br />
<br />
So I've been fooling around with Gothic mysteries. I found a couple of really entertaining sites:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpY5k_wqNMGGJZffP-EzmWr-SCRFqPl8xt-PcfW-FXLY5qVC2katJiJdT8Vq2XEekmXOHXwHWe-rvGx2Kg0tL81ZoTu46_QqdlCbqrlN0bMDJ643p-SFty02Ahepx6-152CNZLQ/s1600/phyllis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpY5k_wqNMGGJZffP-EzmWr-SCRFqPl8xt-PcfW-FXLY5qVC2katJiJdT8Vq2XEekmXOHXwHWe-rvGx2Kg0tL81ZoTu46_QqdlCbqrlN0bMDJ643p-SFty02Ahepx6-152CNZLQ/s1600/phyllis.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a><br />
<a href="http://gothicromancereviews.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Gothic Romance Reviews</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://womenrunningfromhouses.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=45" target="_blank">Women Running from Houses</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://gothicked.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Gothicked</a><br />
<br />
Anyway, for some reason I have a treasure trove of Gothic romance novels in my garage. I use the word "treasure" lightly because we're talking about Genevieve St. John and her sisters.<br />
<br />
Well, there's some of the good stuff too, Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney...ah, memories of my adolescent summers! But there is really also a lot of terrible stuff. My grandmother used to buy these by the bushel. I can remember staring, mesmerized, at those covers when I was a kid. All those weird old houses with the single light in the window. I used to wonder about that light. Was someone being smart about electric bills or was something far more sinister at work? Now days I figure someone just forgot to turn the light off. We have a lot of that going on at Castle Smith & Browne.<br />
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Anyway. Maybe some kind of a mash-up? Something funny but maybe a little scary at the same time? I'd have to somehow work it in around everything else, but seeing that Mr. Thrilling and I have committed to Bouchercon this year, I do probably need to publish something as Diana.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-71984272304688114012014-01-01T16:16:00.000-08:002014-10-26T16:17:20.434-07:00Crime and Cocktails - Champagne Cocktail<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLX9w5y9ePrLPzBbeNGOtspwcnKbK9WcC2fIkkDV-8ORlnchGhfCzUgOQbD6yAS4BA_sMVA5ekGPLWS6d9CMuK0piF0LArW4VAFiHAkKSisTYxrdnTR0O6bgsQqavvV_qA3_VLlw/s1600/21188733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLX9w5y9ePrLPzBbeNGOtspwcnKbK9WcC2fIkkDV-8ORlnchGhfCzUgOQbD6yAS4BA_sMVA5ekGPLWS6d9CMuK0piF0LArW4VAFiHAkKSisTYxrdnTR0O6bgsQqavvV_qA3_VLlw/s1600/21188733.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a></div>
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<b>In a champagne glass, soak a piece of lump sugar, or a teaspoonful of granulated sugar, with a few dashes of bitters. Fill with chilled champagne.</b><br />
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From 1953's <i>The ABC of Cocktails</i>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-82531896633983224042013-10-31T15:38:00.000-07:002014-10-26T15:42:01.739-07:00Crime and Cocktails - Absinthe Frappe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmlsyFNIrl7YfibE5WU4qW-KEAg2Vi-XdMbUbblekcNuX58hxlmRRp2qMiwsaOUAeKscKGwIj4h5mQpSJMXv42CN8uTyKFMbGOc5eOHogYAWhy7zPu08LrbCwQTMNor2qq68cYg/s1600/21141387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmlsyFNIrl7YfibE5WU4qW-KEAg2Vi-XdMbUbblekcNuX58hxlmRRp2qMiwsaOUAeKscKGwIj4h5mQpSJMXv42CN8uTyKFMbGOc5eOHogYAWhy7zPu08LrbCwQTMNor2qq68cYg/s1600/21141387.jpg" height="320" width="295" /></a></div>
<b>3 Parts Absinthe (or Pernod)</b><br />
<b>1 Part Anisette </b><br />
<b>1 Part Sugar Syrup</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Shake with finely crushed ice and pour without straining into Champagne or Old Fashioned glass. Serve with short straw.</b><br />
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From 1953's <i>The ABC of Cocktails</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-90121644532574322332013-07-12T11:04:00.000-07:002014-10-26T11:05:16.120-07:00So it's not just me...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4GZa1AYNjFOsHz5j15Qhe7xDi0Tz9NG0zvIbnwg54fViX_SsculW3tta27x4LFO2OmiA-lykFZtS0pnfc6kVC3Irrtz2s1XOwWSxmPgmLmlw7F4ymTKCcSmK5d70o8JiOUveXw/s1600/430079_344052228981122_244753448911001_976335_104984490_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4GZa1AYNjFOsHz5j15Qhe7xDi0Tz9NG0zvIbnwg54fViX_SsculW3tta27x4LFO2OmiA-lykFZtS0pnfc6kVC3Irrtz2s1XOwWSxmPgmLmlw7F4ymTKCcSmK5d70o8JiOUveXw/s1600/430079_344052228981122_244753448911001_976335_104984490_n.jpg" height="640" width="504" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-83061958302622944832012-07-18T12:59:00.001-07:002012-07-18T13:02:21.614-07:00Death in a Bowl by Raoul Whitfield<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLp7z53KLZPibvZluFFdAr37zt49sv3sSqs739heGhVuEP5spBv_7_u9UD5KpR15MqhSzsLFs49tu4aqkuB9VCTBT9uQV8Y-sskk0p48XL3xPQIMsbpe7l4p_nNs6WwTPgYPq-Dw/s1600/death+in+a+bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLp7z53KLZPibvZluFFdAr37zt49sv3sSqs739heGhVuEP5spBv_7_u9UD5KpR15MqhSzsLFs49tu4aqkuB9VCTBT9uQV8Y-sskk0p48XL3xPQIMsbpe7l4p_nNs6WwTPgYPq-Dw/s1600/death+in+a+bowl.jpg" /></a>I've been reading Whitfield's <i>Death in a Bowl </i>(1931) for the last couple of nights. Lest you think this is some artsy music-lover cozy-type mystery:<br />
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<i>Frey shrugged his broad shoulders, gestured helplessly with spread hands, palms upturned. His face was white and drawn; his eyes, streaked with red, held a weary expression. He said flatly:</i><br />
<i> "She wouldn't scream like that. She's been shot in the stomach--she wouldn't scream like that."</i><br />
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I'm still undecided on this one, but then I'm not quite a quarter of the way in. Out of curiosity, I was poking around the web, and found<a href="http://readingcalifornia.typepad.com/reading_california_fictio/2010/02/death-in-a-bowl.html" target="_blank"> this site which focuses on fiction set in California,</a> which I thought was great! <span style="background-color: white;">There's a nice little mini-review there.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I'll report back when I've finished, but my general impression is Whitfield was maybe trying </span><i style="background-color: white;">too</i><span style="background-color: white;"> hard for the tough guy thing. Possibly feeling that setting a story at the Hollywood Bowl would require extra doses of vitamin lead to beef it up?</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-20145577210172417162012-07-10T11:07:00.003-07:002014-10-26T16:24:44.896-07:00Sleep, My Love<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFAa39qxq_87UvM2rxWf6kvfEIBUsDstijf-nhmV3vvJSMTaxvbivCVb2jqxZwV5y54-9NA-S-W2C7N0AWskgBDlC89wcKX_aGV7_f_x8h2zhMj2a59y7F2e9oC4zyRh4C0RXiA/s1600/Sleep_My_Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFAa39qxq_87UvM2rxWf6kvfEIBUsDstijf-nhmV3vvJSMTaxvbivCVb2jqxZwV5y54-9NA-S-W2C7N0AWskgBDlC89wcKX_aGV7_f_x8h2zhMj2a59y7F2e9oC4zyRh4C0RXiA/s1600/Sleep_My_Love.jpg" /></a></div>
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Mr. Thrilling and I were trying to come up with something to
watch the other night. We’ve got two Netflix discs of The Hour sitting here,
but I wasn’t in the mood. Anyway, we couldn’t agree on anything to rent, so
back we headed to our Netflix Instant Queue and low and behold I spotted a film
I’d tucked aside for a rainy day. Or night.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep,_My_Love" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sleep, My Love</i></a> is
a 1948 psychological thriller starring Claudette Colbert, Bob Cummings, and Don
Ameche. To Mr. Thrilling’s and my own great delight we’d neither of us seen it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> it turned out to be pretty good! </div>
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Allie Courtland wakes on a train in the middle of the night
and she can’t remember how she got there or where she’s supposed to be headed.
Her last memory is of wishing her husband goodnight. She promptly throws a
hysterical fit, which I guess is not entirely unreasonable, though I found it
annoying. Eventually she calls her husband, Richard, who has already summoned
the police. </div>
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Only the slowest of viewers will not instantly recognize
that Richard is trying to work a gaslight on poor Allie. He claims she’s been
sleepwalking for a while now and that the previous night she stole his gun,
shot him, and ran away. </div>
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Irritatingly, Alison buys this without a quibble. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Really?</i> If Mr. Thrilling accused me of
any of this without more evidence than a gun in my bag and a sleeper berth on a train, I would have more than a
quibble. He’d be lucky if I didn’t shoot him for reals on the spot. Of course
that’s because I have a suspicious nature and was weaned on crime fiction.
Apparently Allie missed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gaslight</i> when
the remake came out in 1944.</div>
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Anyway, Allie agrees to see a shrink and so this very creepy
bespectacled and mustachioed weirdo shows up and proceeds to freak her out by
leering at her and scratching the upholstery and fiddling with the fireplace
poker. It unsurprisingly results in another bout of hysterics and a dead faint.</div>
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Meanwhile, Bruce, a charming young man she met on the
original train, and who was not one whit put off by all signs pointing to Allie having
Issues, shows up and begins to get instantly suspicious. Everyone keeps saying
how wholesome and healthy and well-balanced Allie is, and that just doesn’t
jibe with her husband’s tales of sleepwalking wackiness. Besides, Bruce fell
for Allie the second he saw her.</div>
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Anyway, Richard hopes to use Bruce to help prove Allie is
suicidally unstable, so he lets Bruce escort Allie to a party – instead Bruce
takes her to a Chinese wedding -- and then the fun really begins! </div>
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This is a great little period piece – all the more charming
for a few unexpected touches like Bruce’s Chinese adopted brother, and Richard having to dose himself to prove to Allie he's not drugging her cocoa, and crazy bad girl Daphne's endless supply of lingerie and venom. Smooth performances on the part of all the players help pull it off. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12406732.post-88166899017931643222012-07-01T16:05:00.000-07:002012-07-10T10:11:26.583-07:00Little Slices of Death<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFWMYcK-2UyIH_qFfcJI8q-GJZCxIMpEYHtGhrjWFeVoeVYBjJsTXYUJsiooE2T9pUB4g20s99kJQgoTw7AlaQy69uhgTtQvQICRUGIB4_MT35qdNrSVFlaCujTDwQh4uwnRwgQ/s1600/tdfeb53dink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFWMYcK-2UyIH_qFfcJI8q-GJZCxIMpEYHtGhrjWFeVoeVYBjJsTXYUJsiooE2T9pUB4g20s99kJQgoTw7AlaQy69uhgTtQvQICRUGIB4_MT35qdNrSVFlaCujTDwQh4uwnRwgQ/s1600/tdfeb53dink.jpg" /></a>Where was I?<br />
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Oh yes. Well...to briefly condense the last few years, my writing career took off in a wildly unexpected direction, I wrote a zillion stories, found I could make a decent living writing fiction I am passionate about (oh yes, it does indeed happen), found I couldn't even pretend to keep up with Diana Killian...and let myself drop off the map.<br />
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I fell asleep for a thousand years.<br />
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That's how it feels anyway. And, to be perfectly honest, I don't know that I want to be <i>on</i> the map anymore; I doubt I will ever have the kind of spare time I had way back when my writing career was first taking off, but I thought I would perhaps go back to chattering about vintage movies and vintage mysteries on an irregular basis. I really don't have any other outlet for such bloggings and yet I'm every bit as compulsive about buying old books and watching old films as I ever was. THAT is one thing that has never changed. Never will, I suppose.<br />
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So I've pushed the button and made Girl-Detective live again and every couple of weeks or so I'll share what I'm reading or viewing.<br />
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Nothing formal, nothing structured, just...as the mood takes me. You are welcome to stop by and read along as the mood takes <i>you.</i><br />
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What I cannot seem to adjust to are the changes in blogger. Ack! The templates just don't seem to go with my Girl Detective theme. The words on a page background was too...wordy. I was finally torn between this nice dark brown map background and the pink hummingbirds. Maybe I'll go dark for autumn and stay pink for summer. I'm rather attached to pink. And hummingbirds.<br />
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As for the rest of it, I'm still happily married to Mr. Thrilling. (Ha! They said it would never last!) Yes, I wrote a fourth book in the <b>Poetic Death</b> series -- <i>Docketful of Poesy </i>-- I wrote four books in the <b>Mantra for Murder</b> series, and yes both series do eventually need to be wrapped up, and I do have the best intentions of getting around to that one of these days. But it's unlikely (in either case) to be before 2014. And no promises for 2014.<br />
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I've <a href="http://dianakillian.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">started a regular blog</a> for newsy type updates and thoughts, but posts there will likely be even more sporadic than posts here!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1