There are a lot of good writers. And the world has its fair share of great Writers. But there are some, those chosen few, that hold the place in your heart that you reserve for the best writers. Wordsmiths whose use of language does not just entertain… but enlightens. Words that actually challenge and change how you look at the world. Shakespeare of course. Poe. Coming into the 20th century writers such as Woolrich, and Himes without question. But leaving the 20th and entering the 21st century, the writer that I consider the best, the most brilliant working, is Walter Mosley. With his 10th Easy Rawlins Mystery, BLONDE FAITH Mosley continues his streak as not just the best mystery writer of his generation, but one of the best writers period. His works are incisive critiques of not just the American ID, but who we are beyond the fragile labels, and shifting borders… that incase us. They are our passions, our fears, our hates, our yearnings, our hopes, and our loves made… transcendent. And I highly recommend picking up any of his unabridged audio books performed by Michael Boatman (I typically pick up both the books and the audio books). Boatman was born to read the lines of Easy Rawlings, seldom does a performer so perfectly capture and express a character, his times, and his struggles of love and life. An essential pairing.

“She took off the grey dress, reavealing one of those bodies you see only in magazines and on movie screens. Her nipples were the size of apricots. She was beyond gravity’s reach.”- BLONDE FAITH

I’ve been listening to ADVENTURES BY MORSE today. It is an oft cited series from the golden age of radio, that took me a while to finally sample. But I have to say, it earns its praise. ADVENTURES BY MORSE, was the brain child of writer/director/producer Carlton E. Morse and a followup to his earlier and much lauded I LOVE A MYSTERY serial. ADVENTURES BY MORSE being a fun, exciting, thrill a minute serial, that regales the listener with the adventures of Capt. Bart Friday, a private investigator who travels the globe, unraveling the world’s greatest mysteries. The series has been defined as a high adventure serial, and you would be hard pressed to disagree with that. This was written between 1944 and 1945, and is not just more exciting and worldly and informative and erudite, than most anything produced today (movies, tv, etc) it’s also far less formulaic. It has all the trappings of the formulaic, but Carlton E. Morse’s writing and situations and share inventiveness, sets these shows apart. And thankfully all 52 episodes (as well as 2 audition episodes) are still around to wow, and impress, and entertain… a new generation. You can pick these up a couple of places online, but be aware some of the episodes on Archive.Org are missing parts of the cliffhanger endings. Most notably in THE COBRA KING STRIKES storyline. Thankfully Radio Lovers.com has complete episodes. Now onto reviews of the first 3 storylines: THE CITY OF THE DEAD- The first 10 part serial is THE CITY OF THE DEAD, and introduces us to a great cast of characters, and a deep intriguing mystery, of a bell that rings where no bell is, a shrieking thing, a weeping man, and bodies that don’t stay buried. The show is too convoluted for its own good, you need a scorecard to make sense of the wrap up episode, but the awkwardness of the conclusion and some logic issues aside, the build up is fantastic. I couldn’t stop listening. An addictive, fun, and at times spooky serial. Great serial, well performed. Introduces Elliott Lewis as Captain Bart Friday. B+/A-. A COFFIN FOR THE LADY- Is a little more conventional mystery, as compared to the fantastic and ghoulish elements of THE CITY OF DEAD, but the 3 part A COFFIN FOR THE LADY is gripping, and entertaining in its own right. It’s the little things that Morse does so right, the weight he gives to people’s injuries, or the ‘you are there’ richness of his storytelling. I’ve seen and listened to so many shows about people getting tied up, but none has expressed it as the near crippling experience that Morse does in these few episodes. A lot of times in entertainment, there is no weight to the perils. Someone is stabbed in one episode, and is climbing mountains in the next, not so with Morse, he’s ever aware, ever making you aware, of the strains of flesh, and the demands of nature, which gives his plots a gravity, and his characters a reality, they would otherwise lack. A great little serial. B+. THE COBRA KING STRIKES- Returns to the ten episode format, and it’s a doozy. A new actor plays Captain Friday, David Ellis, but he does it effectively. Took me a couple episodes to get into his leaner, less gruff interpretation of Capt Friday, but his take quickly becomes perfect for this camaraderie rich storyline. And the sizable cast is fully realized and fleshed out, in this tale of a Cambodian odyssey to uncover the remnants of a once and perhaps future Asian empire. Captain Friday is onboard to put down any such uprising. While the Captain is the agent of suppression, there’s enough differing perspectives here to make the episode surprisingly rich, and surprisingly elaborate. This is the one that archive.org has butchered copies of, but it’s worth getting the full episode, as this one is every bit as engaging as THE CITY OF DEAD, and does it one better by having a great final episode. A recommended listen. A-. Well that’s our review for this installment. Head over to RadioLovers and Archive to check these shows out for yourself. And tell them HT sent you!

Here it is. Sure sign of the apocalypse… a blogger recommending other bloggers and related pop-culture sites. But seriously my bookmarks tend to get very bloated over time, so this exercise is more than anything to help me define what sites I should keep, and that I need to visit more routinely. And if in addition to that stated purpose; this overview also comes as handy and helpful guide to one of you reading this… then so much the better. Okay onto it: SECRET DEAD BLOG- I have only read one thing by writer Duane Swierczynski, and that was his MOON KNIGHT annual of a year or so ago. What I read impressed me, and as his blog shows he has impeccable taste in all things pulp and horror, I try to remember to peek in on his site occasionally. Good stuff. Of his books, I think I’ll give his WHEEL MAN, THE CRIMES OF DR. WATSON INTERACTIVE BOOK, and MURDER AT WAYNE MANOR INTERACTIVE BOOK a try (I was a fan of those choose your own adventure books as a kid. So these sound like they would make good presents for nieces and nephews. I’ll have to read them and confirm they are age appropriate). But with a stack of books that includes 4 Chester Himes books, 12 Cornell Woolrich, 3 Charlie Huston, 1 Walter Mosley and my usual mountainous stack of comics and magazines…it may be a bit before I get to WHEEL MAN. We’ll see. THRILLING DETECTIVE- This site covering all things noirish, hard boiled, and pulp-fiction inspired has for about ten years been a regular member of my bookmark lists. It is just a staggering and valuable resource for all mystery fans out there, whether your particular poison be radio, movies, tv, comics or dare I say it… novels. And with their extensive link section it really is your one stop shop for anything mystery related. Highly Recommended! Hard-Boiled Forum recommendationsThis is actually an old Bulletin Board thread, but has some really nifty recommendations for Hard-Boiled books and films. I’ve tried a sizable # of the recommendations. Woolrich TimelineI consider Cornell Woolrich to be one of the most phenomenal writers of the 20th century, his writing style transcends what he writes about, or transforms it… so that acts of murder or the mundane become instead, in his words, dizzying moments of grace, or alien acts of birth. He is the pragmatist as romantic, and thankfully his output (writing under 3 different names) was nothing short of staggering. And he was one of the few writers who was as good at the novel as he was with the short story, which gives me quite a body of work to sample. I find this page very helpful in determining the chronology of Woolrich, and therefore the next Woolrich story to go hunting for. SAVAGE CRITIC Blog- You know when I’m looking for comic reviews, I’m not looking for long, spoiler filled dissections. Keep it short, keep it simple, tell me if the book was bad, good, or great; and a general idea why. This site run by Uber-Retailer Brian Hibbs, does just that. Arguably the best review site on the web, easily the most navigable. No Flash, No Javascript… just getting to the point. Paula Woods is a reviewer/editor turned acclaimed mystery writer. A few years ago (wait… has it really been 13 years?!), Paula Woods put together one of my favorite anthologies in 1995’s SPOOKS,SPIES, AND PRIVATE EYES: BLACK MYSTERY, CRIME, AND SUSPENSE FICTION OF THE 20TH CENTURY. Along with Harlan Ellison’s DANGEROUS VISIONS it’s one of the best anthologies I’ve come across, and long overdue. Long out of print it’s a title I always pick up copies of, when I come across them, usually to hand out as gifts. Both historically relevant, as well as plain intriguing you might find it an equally compelling gift for the Mystery Lover in your life. Highly Recommended! Fascinating article on the surge in Black Mystery writers. Interesting Writers conference happening next year And let me just wrap this surprisingly time consuming post up, with a recommendation on what I’m reading right now. I’m 59 pages into Charlie Huston’s first novel CAUGHT STEALING. In a word… phenomenal. Terse, effective, almost stream of consciousness in how information is presented, 1st person narrative, that toys with time and perspective, to gripping effect. So far CAUGHT STEALING is a home-run. that completely works. Okay that’s all for now. More later!