Category Archives: detective fiction

Review of “A Detailed Man” by David Swinson

Posted on May 8, 2012 by dorothyjames

“That’s the life of a detailed man.  You never have anything of your own. Everything’s borrowed. Even the time.” Detective Simeon is this detailed man.  The author, David Swinson, has himself worked robbery and homicide details.  Some readers may wonder … Continue reading →

Posted in crime fiction, detective fiction, literary mystery, police procedural | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Requiem for the Detective Novel: Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s “The Pledge”

Posted on February 9, 2012 by dorothyjames

Requiem auf den Kriminalroman:  This was Dürrenmatt’s own subtitle for his short and stunning novel, Das Versprechen [The Pledge] (1958).  It has no place in Sean Penn’s film version of the book  though this did keep the title, The Pledge … Continue reading →

Posted in crime fiction, detective fiction, literary mystery, movie thriller, murder mystery | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Julian Barnes: “Life is not a detective story.”

Posted on December 1, 2011 by dorothyjames

When Julian Barnes, 2011 winner of the Man Booker Prize, was asked (2006) whether the readers of Arthur and George expected him to name the culprit in that novel, he replied, “Well, one or two were disappointed that they didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in crime fiction, detective fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 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

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

Agatha Christie in Berlin

Posted on June 1, 2011 by dorothyjames

Longest Running Cozy in the World: Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap has been running uninterruptedly in London since November 25, 1952.  Last night I saw it here in the Kriminaltheater in Berlin.  This theater, with its repertoire of murder mystery plays, from … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin theater, cozy mystery, detective fiction, mystery play | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Review of William Ryan’s “The Holy Thief”

Posted on April 28, 2011 by dorothyjames

There is a great book club in my native Wales, called CardiffRead.  They meet once a month and communicate electronically in between. This month they are reading  William Ryan’s  The Holy Thief  (Minotaur, New York, 2010).  I bought this book … Continue reading →

Posted in detective fiction, historical fiction | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Quotations: And other people say . . .

Posted on April 27, 2011 by dorothyjames

 Erik Routley: In a perfect world there will be no need for detective stories: but then there will be nothing to detect. Their disappearance at this moment, however, will not bring the world any nearer to perfection. The high-minded would … Continue reading →

Posted in detective fiction, mystery, quotations | Tagged | Leave a comment