I saw Titanic on television the other night. While I’m not a big fan of the movie (watching hundreds of people drown for entertainment is not my thing) it always has one effect on me: always go to my bookcases and pull out my copy of Jacques Futrelle’s Thinking Machine tales.

Futrelle was a journalist and short story writer who was returning from Europe in 1912, when he and his wife decided to sail on the Titanic.

Futrelle’s most popular creation was the Thinking Machine, a scientist-sleuth who felt that the mind could conquer all. Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, Ph. D.,LL. D., F. R. S., M. D., M. D. S., to give his full name and most letters in the alphabet, was one of the sleuths of the early 1900s who seemed to know everything.

The Thinking Machine’s most celebrated case - and one of the best “locked room” mysteries ever written - is “The Problem of Cell 13.” In it, the Professor accepts a wager to escape from a seemingly impregnable prison cell on death row using nothing but his wits. Needles to say, the Thinking Machine triumphs.

Sadly, the mind could not conquer the icy North Atlantic on that April night. Futrelle secured his wife a seat in one of the few lifeboats; Futrelle and a new batch of Thinking Machine stories went down with the ship.

Jeffrey Marks is an award-winning biographer and novelist as well as a Contributing Editor to Mystery Scene. His newest book, Anthony Boucher: A Bio-bibliography, is a biography of the noted mystery writer, critic and editor. (McFarland, 2008). www.jeffreymarks.com

Birthdays, graduations, holidays — there are many occasions calling for gifts for the young mystery reader. Here are a few suggestions, currently on the shelves of your favorite bookstore:
Some of our favorite paperback series for children are available in boxed sets. James Preller’s Jigsaw Jones series is already on the scene, with books #1 through 5 in a handsome slipcase (Scholastic, $19.95).

And the beloved Boxcar Children Mysteries by Gertrude Chandler Warner, are being re-packaged in 3-in-1 omnibus paperbacks. Summer Special (The Mystery at the Ball Park, The Mystery of the Hidden Beach, The Summer Camp Mystery) and Winter Adventures (The Mystery at Snowflake Inn, The Mystery in the Snow, The Mystery on Blizzard Mountain) are already available, and just out is Spring Break Special (The Mystery in the Mall, The Mystery Cruise, The Black Pearl Mystery). These 3-in-1 collections are published by Alfred Whitman at $7.95 each.

Another old favorite, the Hardy Boys series, has been re-framed for today’s kids: The dauntless Frank and Joe are now undercover agents for ATAC (American Teens Against Crime). The first four books of the new series — Extreme Danger, Running on Fumes, Boardwalk Bust, and Thrill Ride — have been put into a slipcase as The Hardy Boys Spy Set (Aladdin, $19.95). New adventures continue to come out under the nom de plume of Franklin W. Dixon.

Interest in Nancy Drew has been escalating, particularly after the recent movie and the various new formats for paperback books. Now a young lady can get The Nancy Drew Pocketbook Mysteries: the first two of the original Nancy Drew hardcovers in a handsome carrying-case, cardboard overlaid with leatherette binding and canvas handles. (Simon and Schuster, $19.95)

For someone old or young who can’t get enough of the teenaged sleuth, there’s The Lost Files of Nancy Drew (Simon and Schuster, $19.95, 2007), a compendium of Nancy Drew lore in a album format, that contains everything you ever wanted to know about Nancy Drew, beginning with her very first cases in the 1930’s. Using illustrations from the original books, pull-out items, and other oddments, Nancy’s life and times are revealed. There are pictures of her friends and some of her opponents and scenes from the books. A final chapter explains how the books came to be written, some of the history of the Stratemeyer syndicate, and where Nancy is headed as she continues into the Twenty-First Century.

For the youngster who wants to put some of the stuff he or she is reading into practice, Christ Oxlade has put together a Detective Tool Kit (Running Press, $24,95, 2007). The shrink-wrapped box contains everything a young detective might need as he or she pursues the suspects: a magnifying glass, clue containers, fingerprint pad and paper, etc. The enclosed manual explains how all this equipment is used by working detectives.

Crime Scene Detective: Whodunit and How We Know Kit (DK Children, $15.99, 2007). Four crimes are examined carefully, with photos, facsimile notes of interviews, etc. A magnifying glass and fingerprint pad are included, but the real value in this kit is in the book that follows the police investigation step by step, as they solve cases of arson, forgery, theft and murder.

Roberta Rogow, the author of four mysteries, has been a Children’s Librarian since 1971 and has reviewed for School Library Journal and VOYA. She reviews mysteries for children and young adults in every issue of Mystery Scene.

Is it the snappy red coat? That nerdy but winning Dudley Do-Rightish vibe? Whatever their secret, these Canadian cuties have a truly timeless appeal.

Fans will enjoy the outstanding collection of Royal Canadian Mounted Police artwork at The Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota.

The Tweed’s collection derives from advertisements of a local Minnesota paper company. Here’s what their website says:

“Beginning in 1931, Northwest Paper Company commissioned nearly 400 paintings and illustrations, in watercolor, oil and line drawings, which were used to merchandise the company’s printing papers. The illustrations of the RCMP in their distinctive red surge uniforms were an instant advertising success.

In all, 16 artists painted Mountie illustrations for Northwest Paper from 1931 until 1970, when it was determined the collection was large enough to meet the company’s future marketing needs.
Hal Foster, who went on to create the Prince Valiant cartoon strip, was the first Mountie artist. As Foster devoted more time to cartooning and Northwest Paper’s marketing efforts expanded from illustrations in printing trade magazines to calendars, memo pads and broadsides, other artists were called upon to contribute.
The most prolific and best known of this group is Arnold Friberg. Although most of his works were in oil, Friberg’s first work for the company in 1937 was in watercolor. Over the next 33 years, he sold paintings or reproduction rights on 208 Mountie subjects to Northwest Paper….

There’s lots more of the history at The Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota. Their online store offers everything from fine art prints to calendars to T-shirts featuring the classic Arnold Friberg painting of a stalwart Mountie saluting under the corps’ motto: “Maintain the Right.”

Honor (um, I mean, honour) our northern neighbors with a tasteful display in your home or office.

Cheers!
Kate Stine
(happily married to a very nice Canadian fellow)

Artwork Caption: “M.P. with Husky” Notecard by Arnold Friberg. The Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota.

Hi everyone!

Our Winter Issue #103 is out! And as the Brits would say, here’s what’s on offer:

• A chat with Minette Walters whose dark suspense has made her the UK’s bestselling female crime writer.

• A history of the Great (Dane) Detective, Scooby-Doo.

• An insider’s look at law enforcement on feminism’s TV frontlines with Cagney & Lacey.

• A look at Joan Druett’s seafaring mysteries of the early 19th century and conversation with new author Cornelia Read who has only to open the family album to find a blue-blooded rogue’s gallery of inspiration.

• Jon L. Breen’s consideration of William Campbell Gault’s work which combined great entertainment with a strong social consciousness.

• New Books essays from Michael Sherer, Pari Noskin taichert, Karen Harper, Betty Webb, Rosemary Harris and Jack Getze.

• A fiendishly difficult mystery quiz, a chat with Sheri Tepper (aka A.J. Orde, B.J. Oliphant) and Gary Phillips’ look at comic books and their creators as depicted in mystery TV shows.

• Hundreds of reviews of novels, short stories, films, TV shows, paperback originals, reference works, audio books, children’s and YA mysteries, and more.

Enjoy! Mystery Scene is available in bookstores nationwide or you can buy an issue at our website. www.mysteryscenemag.com

Kate Stine, Editor

Hi everyone,

Brian has pointed out more than once that my entire life could be neatly summed up as an ongoing quest for entertainment.

As Exhibit A — a thoroughly entertaining spouse — I think he may have a case.

Certainly entertainment has been my criteria for picking jobs. And after five years at Mystery Scene, I can honestly say that boredom has never threatened. We work with hundreds of interesting people — writers, editors, booksellers, critics, and librarians.

Just as importantly, we work for mystery readers — people who demand and properly value entertainment.

True entertainment is not only the pleasure of a moment. It’s a layer added to life — a joke that illuminates, a character that inspires, a story that pulls us into its world and shows us new aspects of our own.

So onward with our quest!

From the time he was four years old, Joshua Green has been an avid Sherlockian — a passion he shares with his father, Richard, and a growing circle of friends. A photo essay chronicling their activities is on page 12.

For years, Charlaine Harris produced well-written, interesting mysteries that made excellent use of their southern settings. Her career hit the stratosphere, though, when she added elements of the supernatural to her books. The Southern Vampire Mysteries are funny, romantic, action-packed, and scary, although it’s often the humans who chill the heart rather than the “monsters.” Equally effective, although darker in tone, are her Harper Connelly books about a woman who can “sense” the dead. Charlaine discusses both in her interview this issue.

With only three books published, Theresa Schwegel is a newcomer. But what books! Cheryl Solimini catches up with this fast-moving writer to discuss her signature blend of crime, cops, and Chicago.

We also offer for your inspection two authors whom time seems to have forgotten: Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason, and mystery innovator Anthony Berkeley aka Francis Iles. Then there’s Steve Hockensmith’s amusing interview with Roger Corman, the legendary B-movie producer and one of Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest fans.

The always entertaining Donna Moore turns on the light in the genre bedroom, revealing all. We’re shocked! Shocked!

In addition we have a mini-interview with TV reporter-turned-novelist Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Ed Gorman chats with suspense writer Tom Piccirilli. Brian has tracked down Jerome Doolittle for a “What’s Happening With” interview and, of course, our Mystery Scene Gift Guide offers all manner of delights.

We’ll have our final report on the Mystery Scene Fund Drive for the New Orleans Public Library in our next issue. It’s looking good, though—$4,270.00 and counting! We’ll continue to donate $5 for every back issue or gift subscription purchased through 2007, so solve some holiday gift dilemmas and help out New Orleans at the same time. Happy New Year!

Kate Stine

Editor-in-chief

Mystery Scene Magazine

Hi everyone,

The annual avalanche of fall books has arrived at our office and there are some real gems this year. Just out and already receiving great reviews is Walter Mosley’s latest, Blonde Ambition. No surprise there but as you read our interview, you may be taken aback by the number and dazzling variety of new projects Mosley has in the works. We won’t even comment on the rumor that this might be the last Easy Rawlins novel…

Another new book getting great reviews is Jonathon King’s Acts of Nature. In search of local color, our fearless Oline Cogdill ventures into the Everglades with King, a former colleague of hers at Fort Lauderdale’s Sun-Sentinel.

In the publishing world, writers are often dubbed “beloved.” In most cases, it’s simply marketing speak. But love is really the only word that does justice to how generations of readers feel about Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird.

First published in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize and has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. It is taught in the majority of American schools, and is regularly chosen for “One Book, One City” programs. Recently, librarians across the country voted it the best novel of the 20th century.

In this issue, Art Taylor considers the enduring impact of this tale of racial and class injustice in the Deep South of the 1930s.

Lee is one of those rare authors who lets her work speak for itself. It was news recently when she broke her customary public silence at a ceremony inducting new members into the Alabama Academy of Honor. The Academy’s chairman joked with Lee, saying he knew she had something she wanted to say to the crowd.

Lee responded “Well, it’s better to be silent than to be a fool.”

According to AP, the audience burst into laughter and gave Lee a standing ovation.

Donna Moore—whose novel …To Helena Handbasket was a recent winner of the Lefty Award for Funniest Mystery—has turned her talents to poetry. Be sure to read her clever ode to alphabetical annihilation in “A to Z Killing Spree: A Poem.”

Ever wanted your very own Batcave? Creative Home Engineering in Arizona can help you out. Hidden passageways, secret cubbyholes, and doors disguised as bookcases are their specialty. For the owner, it all started with that revolving fireplace scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Speaking of entertaining films, our latest guide offers a selection of great cop movies. The hidden treasure here, in my opinion, is Out of Sight. George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez steam up the screen like Bogie and Bacall in their heyday. Add to this a script by Scott Frank based on the Elmore Leonard novel, a first-rate cast of supporting players (Don Cheadle, Albert Brooks, Ving Rhames), and an outstanding shoot ’em up at the end. Honestly, I’ve never understood why this movie isn’t better known. Take a look, you’ll be happy you did.

Also in this issue, Gary Phillips makes his way through hordes of Star Wars Storm Troopers, elves, superheroes, and scantily clad barbarian women, all to bring us tidings of the 2007 Comic-Con. Ron Miller sorts through the new fall TV season and finds a number of mystery-themed shows with supernatural tinges. Ed Gorman tells us 15 things we should know about pulp writer Charles Williams, and Twist Phelan recounts her adventures in an outrigger canoe off the coast of Australia while researching her latest book.

Have you read something great lately? Whether it’s hot off the press or a classic that you’ve finally gotten around to, please drop us a line for the new feature “Our Readers Recommend” at info [at] mysteryscenemag.com

Kate Stine
Editor-in-chief

by Mystery Scene contributing editor Jeff Marks

In honor of a rather dour old Scottish woman’s birthday (my grandmother’s 88th), I thought I’d list 5 of my favorite Scottish mysteries.

1972 New English Library paperback ed.

1. THE FIVE RED HERRINGS (1931) by Dorothy L. Sayers. Of course, this Lord Peter Wimsey novel is number one. Not only is it by one of the best of the Golden Age British authors, the dialect is so thick that I had to read it aloud in order to understand the dialog. It was responsible for a rather odd Midwestern version of a Scottish burr for weeks.

2. MACBETH by William Shakespeare (1603-1606). It’s so cursed that you’re not even supposed to say its name. How are you ever supposed to market that today? The ultimate story of greed and desire, it makes Machiavelli look like a saint.

3. DEATH OF AN OUTSIDER (1988) by MC Beaton featuring Constable Hamish Macbeth of the sleepy Scottish town of Lochdubh. I love all of Beaton’s books including the Agatha Raisin series, but the Hamish Macbeth books set in Scotland are by far my favorites.

Ian Rankin claimed the 2004 Edgar for Best Novel with his Resurrection Men. Photo by Barry Zeman.

4. Anything Inspector Rebus. Having started with NAMING OF THE DEAD (2007), I’m a latecomer to the sizable fan club for Ian Rankin’s dour Edinborough detective. But by now I’m several books into the series and waiting anxiously to see what Rankin will do with Rebus post-retirement. Start with KNOTS & CROSSES (1987), the first Rebus nove.

5. PAYING THE PIPER (1988) by Sharyn McCrumb in which American and British archaeologists gather for a dig at a prehistoric burial site on a small Scottish island. The author pokes a little fun at those who make lists like this of all things Scottish.

Jeffrey Marks is an award-winning biographer and novelist as well as a Contributing Editor to Mystery Scene. His next book is a biography of Anthony Boucher, due out spring 2008. www.jeffreymarks.com

One of the most enjoyable facets of editing a magazine like Mystery Scene is the research. Finding photos, writing captions, tweaking articles and reviews, all this requires a lot of rooting about in the history of the genre.

Which is why I recently re-read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

There’s no doubt that this tale of racial and class injustice in the Deep South of the 1930s qualifies as an important book. First published in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize and has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. It is taught in the majority of American schools, and is regularly chosen for “One Book, One City” programs. Recently, librarians voted it the best novel of the 20th century.

Impressive credentials, but dry, very dry. These kind of descriptions don’t convey the sheer pleasure of reading Harper Lee’s novel. Here’s a typical comment from Scout Finch, the book’s narrator, discussing her brother Jem. Atticus Finch is their father.

“The sixth grade seemed to please him from the beginning: he went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me - he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other.  He declared Egyptians walked that way; I said if they did I didn’t see how they got anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn’t?  Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.” 

This excerpt isn’t a vital part of the narrative but that’s the point. Lee doesn’t skimp on any aspect of writing. The narrative voice, characterizations, setting, plot, and moral vision of this novel are all equally important and equally well-done. This isn’t a dry sermon, it’s a living, breathing slice of life.

Be good to yourself, read, or re-read, To Kill a Mockingbird.

The upcoming Fall Issue #101 of Mystery Scene has an interesting article on Harper Lee by Art Taylor which we think you’ll enjoy. It includes opinions from Carolyn Hart, Margaret Maron and Michael Malone — three writers who know about about Southern literature.

–Kate Stine, Editor

THE WRITTEN RECORD: An Excerpt from Vinnie’s Head.

“So tell me this.” I was desperate by now. “Are you going to do it yourself?”

He finally looked over at me. “‘Do it’? Do what?” Then he broke into a grin, a big one this time, showing teeth.

“You think I”m going to shoot you. Relax. While I admit there’d be a certain enjoyment in the act, I am not going to shoot you.”

“Is anybody going to shoot me?”

He shrugged. “It’s possible. It’s amazing to me, personally, that nobody shot you a long time ago.”

I brooded on this. It was something I’d wondered about myself.

(Johnnie LoDuco, hapless Long Island lowlife, in conversation with one of a succession of captors in Vinnie’s Head, Marc Lecard, St. Martin’s Minotaur, March 2007, $23.95)

In case you think that discrimination in the crime writing world is a thing of the past, here’s a recent incident recounted by the Scottish writer Val McDermid. It appeared in The Scotsman, August 15th.

Excerpted from The Scotsman, August 15, 2007:

McDermid said she was sitting next to the thriller-buyer for a major chain at a trade dinner: “He was … talking about his new job, and he said, ‘I had no idea of how much reading was going to be involved in this’.

“Then he said, ‘Of course, I don’t read books by women’. And this is one of the most powerful purchasers in the country. And he doesn’t read books by women.

“What I wanted to do was to grab him by the throat, smack him against the wall and say, ‘You stupid a***hole!’ But what I actually said was, ‘Perhaps you might like to try one of mine?’”

Congratulations to Val on her restraint!