Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 95091 times)

csol

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #30 on: June 12, 2019, 01:34:41 pm »
Hi, there! I'm Cheryl Solimini, a long-time journalist and editor, and a I-wish-I-were-contributing-more Consulting Editor for Mystery Scene. I had the great good fortune to be with Family Circle as the publishing company was developing its Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine, and acted as its first Features Editor and then as a contributing writer until its untimely demise (1996-2000, RIP). The longer-lasting pleasure of that time was working with, and getting to know, Kate Stine.

Given the privilege of writing Mystery Scene profiles and reviews over the years has not only provided a less-stalkerish excuse for me to talk to some of my favorite authors (Michael Connelly, Sara Paretsky), it has also introduced me to "new" favorites, including  Lisa Lutz, Tana French, Amy Stewart.

Not sure if my crime-fiction addiction began with TV (The Avengers, Get Smart, Honey West, Burke's Law, The Man (and Girl) From U.N.C.L.E.) or books (Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, of course), but I clearly remember my first "adult" mystery. The reclusive couple who lived on the Jersey Palisades above my childhood home  heard I was "a reader" and passed along a Richard Lockridge stand-alone. I can't remember the title but the femjep plot—a sophisticated young woman retreats to a friend's weekend place to drink and brood, only to be terrorized by the man also hiding out at the house, whose hurried plastic surgery leaves him "faceless"—certainly made it hard for this 11-year-old to return to River Heights. With my mother's help, I lobbied for, and got, permission to take out mysteries (more Lockridges, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Ngaio Marsh) from the adult section of our public library—a privilege that was nearly rescinded when I was overdue, by four months, for returning William Baring-Gould's two-volume The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. (Now I have my own set.)

So, who was your "first"? (Adult mystery novel/novelist, that is.)

Cheers,
Cheryl






JRob

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #31 on: June 12, 2019, 05:22:53 pm »


So, who was your "first"? (Adult mystery novel/novelist, that is.)

Cheers,
Cheryl

I'm pretty sure the first adult mystery novel I read was The Hound of the Baskervilles. But I read it as a younger kid before years of schooling sapped my interest in reading for a few years.

When I finally got my love reading back after I was out of school, I think it was either Robert B. Parker, Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky that were the first people I started reading after I was an "adult".

MHLady

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #32 on: June 12, 2019, 05:44:37 pm »

So, who was your "first"? (Adult mystery novel/novelist, that is.)



The first grownup mystery I read was serialized in my mom's Ladies Home Journal.  It was about a young man posing as someone else.  I loved it then, and loved it even more when I read it as an adult - Brat Farrar, by Josephine Tey.

jgazis

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #33 on: June 12, 2019, 06:39:14 pm »
I love Josephine Tey! It's sad that she didn't write more. The one that sticks in my mind the most is the one about Richard III. I didn't know about the LHJ connection, my mother used to get the magazine.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2019, 07:05:05 pm by jgazis »
Read my reviews in Mystery Scene: https://www.mysteryscenemag.com/search?q=gazis

jgazis

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #34 on: June 12, 2019, 07:03:15 pm »
Hello everyone,
I've been reviewing for Mystery Scene for a couple of years and really enjoy it. I confess I'm not a mystery addict in my general reading, but when I find something I like, I read all of it. Some favorites are Josephine Tey, Tony Hillerman, Dorothy Sayers, Iain Pears (both the literary fiction and the art history mystery series), Carl Hiaasen's YA environmental mysteries, the classic Thin Man movies, and the recent BBC Sherlock series as well as Elementary. When I was younger I read lots of Ellery Queen magazine, Nero Wolfe, Agatha Christie, the Three Investigators, and Simenon's Maigret series (hand-me-downs; my grandmother was a fan) and watched the Ellery Queen tv series, McMillan and Wife, and Remington Steele. Recent favorites include Julie McElwain, Sujata Massey, and historical and psychological thrillers.

I also read a variety of literary, historical, and international fiction, some sci fi and fantasy, nonfiction, memoir, and poetry. The only thing I really steer clear of is horror. I'm always up for talking about books!
Read my reviews in Mystery Scene: https://www.mysteryscenemag.com/search?q=gazis

Brian

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #35 on: June 12, 2019, 07:42:00 pm »

So, who was your "first"? (Adult mystery novel/novelist, that is.)



The first grownup mystery I read was serialized in my mom's Ladies Home Journal.  It was about a young man posing as someone else.  I loved it then, and loved it even more when I read it as an adult - Brat Farrar, by Josephine Tey.

When I was a kid I needed glasses but nobody had realized it yet. So when I went to the library I started reading Large Print titles. At that time, in that library, it meant my choices were Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, and Victoria Holt.

I think the first one I read was The House of Brass by Queen. (I brought Victoria Holt home for my mom.)

MHLady

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #36 on: June 12, 2019, 08:57:52 pm »
The one that sticks in my mind the most is the one about Richard III.

That's The Daughter of Time.  I like it, too; I just wish some of her others got more attention, like Brat Farrar and Miss Pym Disposes.

MHLady

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #37 on: June 12, 2019, 09:05:03 pm »

When I was a kid I needed glasses but nobody had realized it yet.


I understand.  When I was in 5th grade, the school tested my eyes 3 times, but they never bothered to tell my parents.  Shortly thereafter, I complained to my mom that I couldn't read a clock on the wall.  A couple of weeks later, I had my first pair of glasses. 

PatBroeske

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #38 on: June 13, 2019, 01:14:47 am »
Hi! I’m Pat H. Broeske, a loooongtime journalist specializing in Hollywood, and, in more recent years, crime. I’ve also written about the intersection of those worlds. My favorite true crime case is the Black Dahlia murder. My favorite mystery author is Ross Macdonald. I love and often write about film noir and – jumping ahead decades – have spent many late nights watching repeats of “Law and Order.” I created a Hollywood fixer who debuted in a short story in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine – and am working on further adventures of the character named Casey Cummings. (Fingers crossed!) A native Southern Californian, I appreciate great Mexican food, proximity to freeways, and am a dedicated cat lover – though weirdly, I’ve never really gotten into the various cat mysteries. You can find some of my reviews on the pages and website of Mystery Scene. Am pleased to now be part of this forum!

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #39 on: June 13, 2019, 07:19:37 am »
You can find some of my reviews on the pages and website of Mystery Scene. Am pleased to now be part of this forum!
Hi Pat, so glad you could join us! In addition to Pat's reviews, she also wrote the excellent "The Hypnotic Allure of Nightmare Alley" article in our 2019 Spring Issue #159. Looking forward to more articles and reviews!

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #40 on: June 13, 2019, 07:44:35 am »
Hi Dick, Glad you could come visit the forum! Readers, as Dick Lochte mentioned, he reviews audiobooks for Mystery Scene. (And before that we worked together at The Armchair Detective, lo those many years ago...) He has also written a terrific series of online exclusive essays called "Beyond the Book" about TV, film, and radio adaptations of popular crime fiction. Do a search on the website for these essays, you won't be disappointed!

Beyond the Book: The Saint
Beyond the Book: The Murdoch Mysteries
Beyond the Book: Sam Spade
Beyond the Book: Nero Wolfe
Beyond the Book: Richard Stark's Parker
Beyond the Book: Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason
Beyond the Book: Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm

Margaret

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #41 on: June 13, 2019, 06:28:49 pm »
Hi, I'm Margaret! I'm a new reviewer for Mystery Scene, mostly focusing on thrillers, and a librarian. I'm currently making my way through Louise Penny's series, and absolutely love it! I'm about halfway into A Great Reckoning, which is fabulous.

JRob

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #42 on: June 13, 2019, 06:43:14 pm »
Hi, I'm Margaret! I'm a new reviewer for Mystery Scene, mostly focusing on thrillers, and a librarian. I'm currently making my way through Louise Penny's series, and absolutely love it! I'm about halfway into A Great Reckoning, which is fabulous.

Hi Margaret!

We read Louise Penny's A Beautiful Mystery for my local library's mystery book club a couple months back.


Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #43 on: June 14, 2019, 08:32:08 am »
Hi, I'm Margaret! I'm a new reviewer for Mystery Scene, mostly focusing on thrillers, and a librarian. I'm currently making my way through Louise Penny's series, and absolutely love it! I'm about halfway into A Great Reckoning, which is fabulous.

Hi Margaret!

We read Louise Penny's A Beautiful Mystery for my local library's mystery book club a couple months back.

I'm all caught up on the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache books and can't wait for A BETTER MAN in August. I remember when I worked in book publishing and the common wisdom was that nobody would buy mysteries set in Canada...those days are over!

HaffnerPress

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #44 on: June 14, 2019, 09:25:34 am »
Hiya!

I'm Stephen Haffner and in recent years I edited/published some nifty hardcover collections of crime fiction by Fredric Brown (collected mystery fiction) and Howard Browne (HALO FOR HIRE: THE COMPLETE PAUL PINE MYSTERIES), with more on the way from Fredric Brown, Henry Kuttner & Catherine L. Moore, and Donald Wandrei.

I always appreciate it when MYSTERY SCENE dips back into the past for a look at older works. The article on Leigh Brackett a few years ago was tops!

Stephen Haffner
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HAFFNER PRESS
www.haffnerpress.com