'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?'

Francis John Whaley (1897-1977) was an obscure Golden Age detective novelist whose books have long since vanished from sight, with the excep...

Thirty-five years have passed since Ridley Scott's film Thelma and Louise was first released, to much acclaim. On first viewing, decade...

Alone is an American film, shot in rural Oregon, which is apparently a remake of an earlier Swedish film called Gone ; both movies are scri...

I was saddened to learn recently, from his widow Jane, that David Roberts died on 18 December. The news came as a particular shock as I'...

Sometimes, one can own a book for a very long time before getting round to reading it. Well I can, anyway. It's not a habit I'm prou...

The Leopold and Loeb case dates back just over a century, to 1924, but it has an enduring fascination for anyone interested in criminology. ...

Like most people, I have lots of gaps in my cultural knowledge and whenever I can, I try to fill one or two of them. This explains why I...

D.M. Devine's Devil at Your Elbow , originally published by Collins Crime Club in 1966, was his fifth novel. The setting is a redbrick u...

A quick note to wish all readers of this blog a very happy and healthy 2026. Over the coming months, all being well, I plan to continue writ...

I spent time with a great many lovely people in 2025. Too many to mention in this post, for sure. There have been lots of happy times, but I...