‘Shining’ (1977) makes bid as great American horror novel
Stephen King flashback (Book review): Mixing realism and metaphor, King taps into a family man’s descent into the hell of alcoholism.
Books
‘Shining’ (1977) makes bid as great American horror novel
Party vibe makes ‘Dead Man’s Folly’ (1956) a fun read
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): As Ariadne Oliver and Poirot team up at a Fete gone awry, the mystery is compelling but the solution is hoary.
Crichton previews ‘24’ in last Lange book, ‘Binary’ (1972)
Michael Crichton Monday (Book review): If you want to know where “24’s” creators (maybe) got their ideas, check out the eighth John Lange novel.
‘4:50 from Paddington’ (1957) a padded Christie whodunit
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): The reliable whodunit elements are in place, but this Christmas-set tale is unusually cold – not always in a good way.
‘Double Sin’ (1961) puts Poirot in a Christmas mood
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): “Double Sin and Other Stories” collects four Poirots, two Marples and a couple supernatural yarns.
‘Drug of Choice’ (1970) a pulpy ride of pharma paranoia
Michael Crichton Monday (Book review): In his sixth John Lange book, Crichton peppers big ideas about Big Pharma into the pulp template.
Colorful caricatures drive ‘Venom Business’ (1969)
Michael Crichton Monday (Book review): Crichton-as-Lange breaks out in this slow-developing yet consistently entertaining fifth Lange novel.
‘Pocket Full of Rye’ (1953) a pocket full of tropes
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Agatha Christie pulls out all the rules of the game in “A Pocket Full of Rye,” a comfortably familiar murder tale in a manor.
‘Next’ (2006) a weirdly engineered novel about genetics
Michael Crichton Monday (Book review): Crichton experiments with structure, making “Next” as much a scrapbook as a plotted story.
‘Funerals are Fatal’ (1953), especially in this family
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Christie doesn’t reinvent anything here, but this family-based mystery does offer a few wrinkles.