dublinduchess.blogspot.com
DUBLIN DUCHESS: August 2014
http://dublinduchess.blogspot.com/2014_08_01_archive.html
I live in Dublin. I'm not a Duchess but I like the idea and I can act posh if I want to. Follow on Twitter @dublinduchess. Thursday, August 21, 2014. Twelfth Night at Smock Alley Theatre. Just heard word of a British travelling company who are going to be at Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin's Temple Bar for 'one night only' with a production of Twelfth Night. If Shakespeare is your 'thang' then Smock Alley is a lovely casual environment in which to enjoy the experience. Thursday, August 21, 2014. But maybe ...
oldexportlags.com
Old Export Lags: Ion Mills
http://www.oldexportlags.com/2014/02/ion-mills.html
Ion Mills was European Sales Manager for Pan Books from 1981 to 1984. He left to work for the Irish Export Board, setting up the UK sales operation for a group of four Irish publishers. Subsequently he founded Oldcastle Books / No Exit Press. Which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Email: ion@noexitpress.demon.co.uk. OEL Annual Lunch 2016. The Lake Clinic, Cambodia. OEL Annual Lunch 2015. OEL Annual Lunch 2014. OEL Annual Lunch 2013. OEL Annual Lunch 2012. OEL Annual Lunch 2011.
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: Death of a Flack (Henry Kane, 1961)
http://a60books.blogspot.com/2015/07/death-of-flack-henry-kane-1961.html
Saturday, July 25, 2015. Death of a Flack (Henry Kane, 1961). There are three beautiful women in this one, three cases of blackmail and even three (! Towards the end this became clear to a Mr. Kane himself because he included this somehow apologetic (funny? Invent a toilet paper with a new scent for each day of the week and sit back and wipe up the profits. Hasten to promulgate the harsh facts of the interminable succession? And asks himself a rhetorical question " Did that lessen my desire for her?
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: Brainquake (Samuel Fuller, written in early 90s, published 2014)
http://a60books.blogspot.com/2015/08/brainquake-samuel-fuller-written-in.html
Sunday, August 16, 2015. Brainquake (Samuel Fuller, written in early 90s, published 2014). Paul Page is a bagman in New York who falls for a wrong woman. Together they steal money from his employers, go on the run and end up tragically in Paris. A bagman? Highly trained professional who transports dirty money for the organized crime. It starts super cool: " Sixty seconds before the baby shot its father, leaves fell lazily in Central Park. In a mere five pages Cornelius and his four lieutenants manage to ...
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: So Nude, So Dead aka The Evil Sleep! (Ed McBain, 1952)
http://a60books.blogspot.com/2015/08/so-nude-so-dead-aka-evil-sleep-ed.html
Thursday, August 6, 2015. So Nude, So Dead aka The Evil Sleep! Ed McBain, 1952). Wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time mystery. Of the amnesiac-awakened-by-the-corpse sub genre. With a touch of a special flavor because in this one our hero is a junkie. Which is cool - I prefer that leading character in these kind of average-guy-turns-amateur-detective types to be some sort of "society reject" than the usual doctor, school teacher, priest and so on. Loose ends and coincidences. The final whodunit is decent al...
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: March 2015
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Saturday, March 28, 2015. 13 French Street (Gil Brewer, 1951). Very Edgar Allan Poe-ish beginning. Our hero arrives to a secluded countryside house visiting his old friend who is now living there with his hot wife and aging mother. Something's definitely wrong and this delightfully dark and sinister atmosphere is nicely rounded up in the following dinner scene:. To her. So " there's nothing wrong with him, only I'm too much for him. He couldn't keep me - happy. Alex's reasoning, on the other hand, is muc...
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: Pearls are a Nuisance (Raymond Chandler, 1950)
http://a60books.blogspot.com/2015/08/pearls-are-nuisance-raymond-chandler.html
Sunday, August 16, 2015. Pearls are a Nuisance (Raymond Chandler, 1950). Checked this one out while reading's Chandler's letters. And watching again the brilliant HBO series. With Powers Booth. It's a collection of three short stories and seminal essay The Simple Art of Murder. Pearls are a Nuisance (1939). Not bad, but quite forgettable cozy buddy-buddy nonsense. Of interest probably only to Chandler's scholars. Finger Man (original story 1934, re-written with Marlowe in 1950). The King in Yellow (1938).
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: December 2014
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Friday, December 26, 2014. Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man (Ed McBain, 1972). In this one we follow three unrelated cases assigned to detectives Carella and Kling. So, I guess, it's about a typical week at the 87th precinct police station. 8221; Things do start to unravel when he finally encounters a suspicious guy acting nervously and not willing to cooperate. And he’s missing the left shoe. 8221; in the otherwise excellent review that can be found here. Steve Carella and Bert Kling. Mary Margaret Ryan -...
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: May 2015
http://a60books.blogspot.com/2015_05_01_archive.html
Thursday, May 28, 2015. Stopover For Murder (Terry Harknett aka Thomas H. Stone, 1973). So it's a running-against-the-clock type of thriller. With our hero's libido clicking instead of some bomb triggering clock. It moves with a super sonic speed. So fast that in fact it very quickly becomes comical because the amount of shit that happens to Chester in this short period (plus total mileage that he covers with his rented Ford) is just ridiculous. First Nel Paperback Edition, June 1973. Thomas H. Stone.
a60books.blogspot.com
Alpha-60 Books: June 2015
http://a60books.blogspot.com/2015_06_01_archive.html
Friday, June 19, 2015. The Lost Sister (Russel D. McLean, 2009). Hardly a crime/mystery novel, more like a family drama. Heavy one. God-daughter of the local mobster disappears and our hero gets involved in her search. With "gets involved" I'm being vague intentionally because I'm still not sure what the fuck his motive was. First he's contacted/hired by the local newspaper, then cops ask him to be some sort of their counselor (! Yes - 300 pages. It does take its time. Moves slowly, constantly go...You'r...
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