A Cineaste’s Bookshelf
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REVIEW: 1923 - The Mystery of Lot 212
On a whim, Boultin's friend sent him an auction listing for a scrap of silent film reel that was labelled Tour de France. He won Lot 212 and embarked on a three-year, multinational odyssey to preserve the film and restore it to its place in history, however small that might be. Read More »
Books for September
September days are here, With summer’s best of weather, And autumn’s best of cheer. ~ Helen Hunt JacksonRead More »
REVIEW: Crook O' Lune
What begins as a spate of sheep-stealing, escalates to arson and murder. Luckily for the villagers, Inspector MacDonald is visiting the area as he considers buying property ahead of his retirement from the police force. His attempt to remain on vacation doesn't last long as he begins to assist local authorities in their inquiry.Read More »
REVIEW: Trail of the Lost
Trail of the Lost collects the investigations of Lankford as she searches for three hikers who went missing. She wrangles members of online groups, family members, locals, and psychics to find any clue to their disappearances.Read More »
REVIEW: Death of Jezebel
Death of Jezebel features her recurring character Inspector Cockrill, a rumpled, unassuming detective. Like the Shakespearean "wise fool," he makes outlandish observations and watches the chaos rattle around among the suspects.Read More »
REVIEW: Blackstone Fell & Sepulchre Street
Rachel Savernake is the daughter of a judge, ridiculously wealthy, slightly bored, and smart as a whip. In other words, she has all the qualities of a Bright Young Thing ready to solve mysteries.Read More »
REVIEW: Death of a Bookseller
The author, Bernard J. Farmer, was a Metropolitan police officer himself and had a penchant for book collecting, so the hero of this novel reflects the author quite a bit.Read More »
REVIEW: Lady Caroline Lamb
Lady Caroline Lamb and Lord Byron were two celebrities, each proponents of the Romantic movements, swept up in a mad entanglement. Fraser's biography teases out the many facets of a once one-sided story.Read More »
REVIEW: The Wager
David Grann, noted for his eye-opening exploration in the The Killers of The Flower Moon, has tackled the complex, mutinous Antarctic voyage to round Cape Horn. Captain Anson brought The Wager and five other armed ships down the coast of South America, around the point between Chile and Antarctica, to attack the Spanish interests on the Pacific side of the continent.Read More »
ACCENT: House with Good Bones
It's a haunted house horror novel with Southern gothic tinges.Read More »
REVIEW: The Angel Makers
There was something about these women in their fight to survive, to claw their way out of an inhuman, unimaginable existence that makes them sympathetic -- at least a bit. These were not monsters. These were people pushing back on a world that had offered only its worst.Read More »
REVIEW: The Ghost Slayers
The British Library has gathered stories that include a supernatural detective. Each story revolves around an unusual event, that might -- or might not -- have a ghostly explanation.Read More »
REVIEW: Comet Madness
In 1910, the imminent appearance of Halley's Comet set off an unusual collection of fears, theories, and superstitions.Read More »
REVIEW: The Twyford Code
Steve "Smithy" Smith is both Magwitch and Pip in this unusual story of wild expectations and the long-delayed solution to a mystery that has haunted him for decades.Read More »
REVIEW: A Mystery of Mysteries
As many theories as there are about how Poe died, there are even more reasons why he lived. This book is a wonderful read for Poe enthusiasts, but it's also a reminder that there are dozens of ways people have come to admire Poe, and each is as beguiling as the last. Read More »