Category Archives: Mystery/thriller

Ted Kosmatka’s Prophet of Bones

Posted on June 18, 2013 by

Sometimes a book comes out with an idea so compelling and intriguing and yet so simple that I wonder to myself why someone didn’t think of it ages ago!  Such is the case when I first learned about Ted Kosmatka’s … Continue reading →

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J.B. Priestley’s Benighted

Posted on April 18, 2013 by

Valancourt Books, traditionally specializing in fiction of Edwardian era and older, has recently started printing new editions of excellent but forgotten 20th century novels.  I, of course, have written introductions for a number of the books of John Blackburn (Bury … Continue reading →

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The Club Dumas, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

For reasons that I never quite understand, some books that I purchase end up sitting on my shelf, unread, for months or even years.  Typically, when I come back to read them, I end up mentally kicking myself for avoiding … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller | 5 Comments

A. Merritt’s Seven Footprints to Satan

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

Abraham Grace Merritt (1884-1943) was an author with an vivid and bizarre imagination!  Among his surreal fiction stories one can find a hive-like race of metal, electrically powered geometric shapes (The Metal Monster, 1920), a colossal stone face dripping tears … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery/thriller | 4 Comments

Richard Marsh’s The Complete Adventures of Judith Lee

Posted on March 13, 2012 by

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the work of Richard Marsh (1857-1915), who was an incredibly successful author of mystery, horror, and generally weird fiction in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.  Marsh was famous in his own … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery/thriller | 4 Comments

“The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The War of the Worlds”, by Manly and Wade Wellman

Posted on February 5, 2012 by

These days, there are countless “mashups” in fiction, in which two or more disparate genres, characters or series are brought together or into conflict.  We’ve seen werewolves versus vampires, such as in the Underworld series of films; we’ve also seen … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery/thriller, Science fiction | 7 Comments

Marie Corelli’s Vendetta

Posted on July 14, 2010 by

Marie Corelli (1855-1924) is another of those curious set of authors whose work was stunningly successful during their lifetime but is virtually unknown today. This neglect is often independent of the quality of the writing: Richard Marsh, another Victorian/Edwardian era … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery/thriller | 10 Comments

Richard Marsh’s The Goddess: A Demon (Valancourt edition)

Posted on July 2, 2010 by

With the release of the Valancourt edition of Richard Marsh’s The Goddess: A Demon, I thought I’d repost my earlier review of the book, with some modifications specific to this edition. I’ve read a lot of the books of Richard … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller | 1 Comment

Richard Marsh’s A Spoiler of Men

Posted on January 21, 2010 by

I have yet to be really disappointed by the works of Richard Marsh (1857-1915)!  Over the Christmas holiday, I spent some time reading A Spoiler of Men (1905) , which has recently been reprinted by the always great Valancourt Books, … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller | 2 Comments

M.P. Shiel’s Prince Zaleski

Posted on December 22, 2009 by

Valancourt Books continues to release fascinating literary treasures that have been buried and forgotten for ages!  The most recent of these is a collection of stories by M.P. Shiel about his character Prince Zaleski: We’ve encountered Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865-1947) … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery/thriller | 1 Comment