LB's Rambles

"The Case of the Constant Suicides"

Murders that couldn't possibly have happened inside locked rooms, crimes that could never have taken place - but did, these were the specialty of John Dickson Carr, the acknowledged master of the impossible crime story. On the Classic Mysteries podcast this week, you'll find a review of "The Case of the Constant Suicides," a 1941 masterpiece by Carr, set in the Scottish highlands. You can listen to the podcast review here.

Who - or what - is forcing members of the Campbell clan to fall - or perhaps be pushed - out of the window of a locked and bolted bedroom at the top of a high tower? Carr will provide clues - if you can spot them, for many are buried in the general mayhem provided in a book which is not only a fine mystery but also a very funny slapstick comedy. "The Case of the Constant Suicides" is generally regarded as one of Carr's best - and that means it is very good indeed. Carr's books are finally coming back into print, which is cause for rejoicing among fans of the traditional, fair-play mystery. To Carr, the game of wits between author and reader was the grandest game in the world - and few authors played it as well or as fairly as he did.

Free Streaming with Amazon Prime

We interrupt this blog to pass along what sounds to me like major news, particularly for those who enjoy watching movies and TV shows via Internet streaming. Amazon has just announced unlimited, commercial-free cost-free streaming for Amazon Prime customers.

I have been a customer of Amazon Prime - costs $79 a year - since they began a few years back. My wife and I do order a lot of materials from Amazon, and the free shipping is a big deal. Now, in addition to the free shipping, Amazon will provide free - yes, free - streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows via the Internet to our computers. As they say, check it out! Details at the link above.

(Cross-posted to Classic Mysteries and LB's Rambles blogs)

Blogs: On the Way Out?

Are blogs really declining in both usage and popularity, as the New York Times seems to think?

Maybe. And maybe not so much.

The Times quotes a Pew study saying that blogging among young people ages 12-17 fell by half between 2006 and 2009, to the point where only about 14% of those in that age group now blog. Apparently, the rest of them believe they can reach a larger audience with Facebook and/or Twitter.

Perhaps so. And yet it's hard to say much of anything in 140 characters. Or to limit your potential readership to your existing circle of friends, as many people do on Facebook.

To me, as a blogger, blogs serve a different purpose. They allow for longer discussions. They allow me to link to a variety of sources. A broad reading of a number of blogs can help avoid the kind of tunnel vision which - sorry! - has largely overtaken outlets like the New York Times and much of the legacy media, for that matter. I'm with Elisa Camahort Page, the co-founder of BlogHer, who is quoted WAY down in the Times article: "if you're looking for substantive conversation, you turn to blogs."

Hat tip: Shelly Palmer.

 

"Ten Thousand Blunt Instruments"

This week's review on the Classic Mysteries podcast is of "Ten Thousand Blunt Instruments and Other Tales of Mystery," by Philip Wylie. It's a collection of six short mysteries, written between 1931 and 1944 by an amazingly prolific and talented writer. Philip Wylie wrote in a wide variety of genres; I hadn't realized that he was also a first-rate mystery author until I read this collection. You can listen to a full review here.

Wylie creates memorable characters, puts them into interesting settings, and embroils them in ingenious and fairly-clued plots. You'll meet a young man, being framed for murder, who must find the truth while fighting a violent hurricane on a remote Florida island. Another story features a young artist who discovers that what seems to be a natural series of deaths due to heart attacks is really a fiendish murder plot. There's a chilling story about a newspaperman, temporarily blind following an operation, who overhears a murder in the next apartment - and then must grapple with an unseen killer. Six stories. Six gems. The collection is edited by Bill Pronzini, who provides a first-rate introduction to the career of Philip Wylie, an author who deserves to be better remembered than he is today.

Keep it Transparent

I've been preaching the gospel of transparency on line for a long time now. It seems so obvious to me: if you try to pull a fast one, or say something stupid online, it's not going to stay a secret. Period. And if you're a company, trying a little fancy footwork with the truth, your brand is going to take a hit.

It's not a new concept. But my friend Peter Shankman, I think, says it a lot better today than I can, so I urge you to read his take on transparency and stupidity.

"The Puzzle of the Silver Persian"

The natural behavior of a patient cat named Tobermory provides schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers with a critical clue to a particularly nasty murder in "The Puzzle of the Silver Persian," by Stuart Palmer. It's reviewed this week on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review here.

In this 1934 entry in the popular series, Hildy Withers travels to England - but the voyage is spoiled by the disappearance of one passenger, followed by what could be a suicide or murder. When the ship arrives in England and everyone disembarks, the mysterious deaths continue, until Hildy finally unravels the plot while visiting a castle in Cornwall.

That's where Tobermory, a silver Persian cat, gets into the act. And by observing him, Hildy is put on the right track to the solution. It's a fine entry in what was an extremely popular series, with plenty of clues for the observant reader and a fair amount of humor along the way.

Dumb as...

No excuses, please.

Social media is not that new a phenomenon. The Internet, and a few basic rules of conduct, shouldn't be that mysterious. So when a congressperson gets "caught" doing something unbelievably dumb on line...there really isn't that much to say except, goodbye.

I'm referring, of course, to the strange case of (now ex-) Congressman Christopher Lee. Not the actor, the apparently not-too-bright (now ex-) member of Congress who got himself caught doing something so incredibly dumb that...

Well, let Erik Sass of MediaPost's The Social Graf blog tell you the story. And remind us of a few rules about dumbness. Not that most readers of this blog haven't already figured these rules out. But, hey, you never know.

Why They Say Goodbye

I suspect we've all had it happen to us (or done it to other people): somebody annoys us once too often on Twitter or Facebook...and they're unfollowed and/or unfriended. For that matter, I know people who regularly re-friend (and, I presume, then re-unfriend) people, depending on their mood.

What makes somebody unfriend you? Peter Shankman has an excellent list of things that we all probably should never do. But I'd have to admit that most of us, self included, have been guilty of one or more of these items. So here's a quick "thank you" to those who have refrained from unfriending and unfollowing me. And when you visit Shankman's blog, be sure to read the additional suggestions in the comments!

"Merlin's Furlong"

On the Classic Mysteries podcast this week, you'll find a review of Gladys Mitchell's excellent Mrs. Bradley mystery from 1953, "Merlin's Furlong." It's full of the offbeat humor and eccentric characters which made Mitchell so popular in England, although she's not nearly as well known in the U.S. 

The central figure of 66 novels by Gladys Mitchell, Mrs. Bradley - Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley - is a psychiatrist by trade who is often called in by police to help solve a particularly puzzling case. She certainly has one such case on hand in "Merlin's Furlong." It's a complex story, beginning with a bad-tempered old man who keeps changing his will (thus annoying his assorted heirs), another old man who sends some students off on a peculiar errand to recover what he says was a stolen religious article, too many places with "Merlin's" in their name (Furlong, Fort, Castle, etc.), and far too many suspects for what turns out to be a growing number of murders. There's also an element of witchcraft involved, which greatly pleases Mrs. Bradley.

You can listen to the full review here, and I hope you'll take this opportunity to meet Mrs. Bradley. She's quite unique among English detectives.

To Gaffe or Not to Gaffe?

When is a social media gaffe not a gaffe? When a company, brand or individual posts something stupid...then apologizes a few hours later and pulls down the offending post or tweet or article, is that a gaffe? Is the withdrawal the end of the matter?

We had an example this past week with a widely-publicized tweet from Kenneth Cole, seeking to link events in Egypt to the brand's spring fashion collection. Gaffe? Strategy? Some thoughts from PR guru Mark Ragan at Ragan.com.

Is Ragan too cynical? I'd like to think so. I'm not sure I can think so.