Hammet - The Thin Man

The Thin Man. Dashiell Hammett. Vintage. 1933/1972. The final and perhaps best book, certainly the funniest, from Dashiel Hammet. His previous books were violent hard boiled tales, with a sprinkling of humor; this book is full-out humor with just a touch of the violence. The Thin Man takes place on Christmas, but it could as easily be New Year's Eve, as the holiday is used only to establish a party ambience. And this book is, essentially, a party. The movie, especially the first one, is as good. Picture Nick Charles laying on the couch, popping away at balloons with a pellet pistol, as Nora Charles looks on with humor and affection. That scene is from the movie. But the book also has many funny scenes, plus the characters of Nick and Nora, a supporting cast of eccentrics, and a real mystery too! The more Nick insists he is retired and not working on a case, the more everyone believes the great detective has left retirement to do exactly that. The story ends with the same sense of fun and humor that enriches the entire novel. Read the book and see the movie (or the first three).

Milne - Winnie-The-Pooh

Winnie-The-pooh. A.A. Milne. Methuen. 1926.

Review by guest poster Dorothy Parker, aka Constant Reader.

"Tonstant weader fwowed up." - Parker

Evanovich - One For The Money

One For The Money. Janet Evanovich. Scribner, 1994, & St Martin's Press. 2003. This is the first in a highly successful mystery series about Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum. Out of work, behind in rent, with a pet Hamster named Rex to feed, Stephanie blackmails her way into a job at her cousin's bail bonding company. Stephanie is forced to learn on the job, and with wit and perseverance, and some luck, she persues her man. The book follows a main plot with it's twists and turns and unique characters, and intersects with subplots of Steph's family and other fugitives. Evanovich handles the balance of drama, action, and humor very well.

Ellroy - L.A. Confidential

L.A. Confidential. James Ellroy. Warner. 1990. Bud White, Jack Vincennes, Preston Exley. Three police detectives. Each drawn to the same case. An L.A. of the 1950's rife with corruption. A dark noir novel of stakeouts, murder, scandal. Everyone has a dirty secret, the corruption taints even the three heroes. The novel sprawls along eight years in the mid to late fifties'. For the three detectives, each discovery leads ever deeper into the noir darkness which threatens to destroy them.

MacInnes - The Salzburg Connection

The Salzburg Connection. Helen MacInnes. Fawcett. 1968. What is buried in a lake in the Austrian mountains? Are Bill Mathison and Lynn Conway in over their heads? Whose side is Felix Zauner really on? Where is Eric Yates? Why are Chinese agents in Zurich? How are the British and American agents involved? Who and what is Elissa Lang? This thriller was 10 months on the Times best seller list and maintains its page-turning power today.

Vance - The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph

The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph. Jack Vance. Daw Books. 1966, 1980. A collection of short stories, comprising the entire adventures of Magnus Ridolph, written by famed sf/fantasy/mystery writer Jack Vance. Magnus is a combination Sherlock Holmes and mercenary adventurer. He is an anti-hero, defying the expected appearance of the typical fictional adventurer, and being entirely professional, or perhaps profit-driven. Magnus will take almost any case, but expects a fee commensurate with his considerable abilities. He posesses a James-Bond level of self-assurance, and for good reason. Travelling from planet to planet, alien culture to alien culture, each of Magnus' cases are different, each presenting a new challenge for Magnus and for the reader: things are never dull in the career of Magnus Ridolph. This thin volume contains all eight of Ridolph's recorded cases. It is SF's loss that Vance did not write a hundred more.

Barthelme - The King

The King. Donald Barthelme. Penguin Books. 1990. Illustrated by Barry Moser. In the thick of World War Two. Winston Churchill is Prime Minister. King Arthur and Guinevere head the Royal Family. Arthur considers seeking the Grail to counter the threat of an atomic bomb. Ezra Pound broadcasts propaganda from Italy. Arthur and his knights join the fighting as Rommel's tanks menace Tobruk. Mordred is left in England as regent.

The world of Arthurian Romance and WWII history overlap and interact. Each mileu seems at times to operate independantly of the other, though occupying the same space; and at other times they mesh totally. This novel of magic realism is one of the best five fiction books ever written, and certainly the best thing Barthelme ever wrote.