Author Archives: dorothyjames

About dorothyjames

Welsh-American writer, German scholar, translator, traveller.

Interview with Sally Spedding

Posted on October 24, 2011 by dorothyjames

Sally Spedding was born in Wales to a Dutch father and Welsh mother. She studied sculpture at Manchester and at St. Martin’s, London, and when still a practicing and exhibiting artist, won an international short story competition. She was approached … Continue reading →

Posted in murder mystery, thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Chilling Thrillers of Sally Spedding

Posted on October 12, 2011 by dorothyjames

Sally Spedding does not write cozies.  Some people have called her novels “creepy chillers.”  They are not for the faint-hearted. They frighten me. But that, I think, is what they are supposed to do, and they do it with style, … Continue reading →

Posted in murder mystery, paranormal, thriller | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Review of William Ryan’s “The Bloody Meadow”

Posted on October 5, 2011 by dorothyjames

“What will William Ryan do with Korolev’s dilemma, as the 30s in the Soviet Union grind on into more and more terrible times?” This was the question I asked at the end of my recent review of William Ryan’s first … Continue reading →

Posted in detective fiction, historical fiction, murder mystery, thriller | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Aaron Paul Lazar

Posted on September 26, 2011 by dorothyjames

Aaron Paul Lazar is the author of  three series of mysteries, the LeGarde Mysteries, Moore Mysteries, and Tall Pines Mysteries.  He lives in the Genesee Valley  in upstate New York, and enjoys the countryside where, in his own words, his … Continue reading →

Posted in country mystery, cozy mystery, murder mystery | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Country Mysteries of Aaron Paul Lazar

Posted on September 8, 2011 by dorothyjames

Aaron Paul Lazar is an all-American writer of popular mysteries. He sometimes calls them country mysteries, and this goes some way towards describing them. Because I come from Britain and have many connections with Europe, I might wish to call … Continue reading →

Posted in country mystery, cozy mystery, murder mystery, review | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Fallada’s Portrait of a Police Detective in Nazi Germany

Posted on July 29, 2011 by dorothyjames

Fallada’s 1946 novel, Jeder stirbt für sich allein  recently acquired best-seller status in the English-speaking world through the translation of Michael Hofmann in the new Melville House edition, Every Man Dies Alone.  It was based right after the war on … Continue reading →

Posted in detective fiction | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Detecting Crime in a Police State: Fact and Fiction, Quotes

Posted on July 15, 2011 by dorothyjames

Reading William Ryan’s The Holy Thief and getting to know Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolev of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Division set me to thinking about the role of a police detective in a totalitarian state, often called a “police state.” … Continue reading →

Posted in detective fiction, quotations | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Frank Tallis

Posted on July 11, 2011 by dorothyjames

Frank Tallis is a clinical psychologist and an expert in obsessional states. He is the author of “A Death in Vienna,” “Vienna Blood,” “Fatal Lies” and “Vienna Secrets,” as well as seven non-fiction books on psychology and two previous novels, … Continue reading →

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Review of Frank Tallis’s “Vienna Twilight”

Posted on July 5, 2011 by dorothyjames

Viennese mysteries are close to my heart, and Tallis is surely the master of Viennese mystery. He writes historical, psychological thrillers—nothing cozy about him, despite the number of cakes that are consumed in the course of his novels.  They are … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, murder mystery, psychological thriller, Vienna mysteries | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with William Ryan

Posted on June 28, 2011 by dorothyjames

William Ryan, author of The Holy Thief, was born in London in 1965 and attended Trinity College, Dublin. He practiced briefly as a barrister before completing his master’s in creative writing at St. Andrews University. His work has appeared in … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, murder mystery | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments