I picked up this DVD set at BJ’s Warehouse for $7.99. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955), and Some Like It Hot (1959) look great on these DVDs. Marilyn Monroe dominated the decade of the Fifties. Of course, the fame took a personal toll on the actress. But these four movies show a star at the prime of her career. If you’re a Marilyn Monroe fan, pick up this bargain set! What’s your favorite Marilyn Monroe movie?

I wasn’t planning to read The Girl in the Spider’s Web because I have an aversion to Other People writing books “like” Agatha Christie, Robert Parker, Rex Stout, Robert Ludlum, and other dead writers. But The New York Times Book Review featured The Girl in the Spider’s Web on the cover so I decided to give it a try. First, David Lagercrantz writes nothing like Stieg Larsson. The novel starts off slowly. But by page 200, I was back in tune with Lisbeth Salander, the enigmatic and genius computer hacker. The plot revolves around a secret criminal group led by a mysterious figure called Thanos. If you’re a fan of this series, you’ll enjoy this book. If your haven’t read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo you might want to give that a try. The movie versions of these books, especially the Swedish trilogy, are excellent. GRADE: B

After last week’s surprising 27-14 win over Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, the Bills now face the reigning Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and Tom “I Destroy My Cell Phones All the Time” Brady. As you might suspect, Buffalo Bills fans are whipped up into a frenzy. Tom Brady has a 23-3 record against the Bills. This is a huge game for both teams as the AFC East seems to be improving in quality. All four teams in the AFC East won their games last week. How will your favorite NFL team do today?

After having almost nothing worthwhile to watch this Summer, all of a sudden plenty of series are returning starting with Doctor Who. I admit it: I was lukewarm when I first saw Peter Capaldi as the Doctor last season. What a dramatic change after Matt Smith’s energetic performance. It was like watching Jeb Bush as the Doctor. But, Capaldi grew on me. And the fetching Jenna Coleman swiftly became my Second Favorite Companion (after Karen Gillian). For those of you who are Doctor Who fans, you’ll be watching this tonight. For those of you who are tempted by the Doctor Who phenomenon, just jump in. The water’s fine!

DELL published over 60 paperback titles featuring “Alfred Hitchcock” on the cover. These short story collections were fun reading and I read dozens of them back in the Sixties and Seventies. I chose Alfred Hitchcock’s Witch’s Brew because DELL, for some bizarre reason, published two different editions with the same title but with different sets of stories. The first DELL edition of Alfred Hitchcock’s Witch’s Brew was published in 1965. The second edition, with a cooler cover, was published in 1975. If you’re a completist, you’ll have to track down both editions.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. To Whet Your Appetite… by Alfred Hitchcock (ghost written)
2. The Wishing-Well by E.F. Benson
3. That Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch
4. As Gay As Cheese by Joan Aiken
5. Madame Mim by T.H. White
6. Blood Money by M. Timothy O’Keefe
7. His Coat So Gay by Sterling E. Lanier (a Brigadier Ffellowes novelette)
8. They’ll Never Find You Now by Doreen Dugdale
9. The Widow Flynn’s Apple Tree by Lord Dunsany
10. In the Cards by John Collier
11. Strangers in Town by Shirley Jackson
12. The Proof by John Moore

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Introduction by Alfred Hitchcock (ghost written)
2. Premonition by Charles Mergendahl
3. A Shot from the Dark Night by Avram Davidson
4. I Had a Hunch, and… by Talmage Powell
5. A Killing in the Market by Robert Bloch
6. Gone as by Magic by Richard Hardwick
7. The Big Bajoor by Borden Deal
8. The Gentle Miss Bluebeard by Nedra Tyre
9. The Guy that Laughs Last by Philip Tremont
10. Diet and Die by Wenzell Brown
11. Just for Kicks by Richard Marsten
12. Please Forgive Me by Henry Kane
13. A Crime Worthy of Me by Hal Dresner
14. When Buying a Fine Murder by Jack Ritchie

This is a second-hand review. I read the first few books in Sue Grafton’s Alphabet series when they were first published in the early 1980s. I wish I’d kept those First Editions, they’d be worth a lot of money today. But after four books, I tired of Kinsey Millhone and moved on to other authors. But, my wife Diane discovered Sue Grafton and Kinsey in the 1990s. Diane said that if she had been reading the Kinsey Milhone books back in the Eighties, she would have named our daughter Katie…Kinsey! So, while I bailed out on the Alphabet series early, Diane read every book and eagerly awaited the next volume. I have met and chatted with Sue Grafton a couple of times at BOUCHERCONs, most recently in Albany. Grafton is a friendly and approachable person. I was able to get several books in the Alphabet series signed by Grafton for Diane. Diane just finished the latest volume, X, and loved it. So for all of you Grafton and Kinsey fans out there, Diane says this is a terrific book. Only “Y” and “Z” remain to be written and published. Are you a fan of Sue Grafton and her work?

David Maraniss’s impressive story of Detroit captures the vitality of the city in the Sixties. The auto industry was booming. Motown Records pumped out hit after hit. But the city was on the edge of a precipice. By the 1970s, Detroit was reeling from the affects of the riots. White flight, the oil embargo, and the decline of the auto industry brought Detroit to its knees. Maraniss tells the story of the unraveling in scintillating prose that crackles with energy. Yes, this is a sad story, but it’s brilliantly told. Once In a Great City is one of the best books of 2015. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Author’s Note
1. Gone
2. Ask Not
3. The Show
4. West Grand Boulevard
5. Party Bus
6. Glow
7. Motor City Mad Men
8. The Pitch of His Hum
9. An Important Man
10. Home Juice
11. Eight Lanes Down Woodward
12. Detroit Dreamed First
13. Heat Wave
14. The Vast Magnitude
15. Houses Divided
16. The Spirit of Detroit
17. Smoke Rings
18. Fallen
19. Big Old Waterboats
20. Unfinished Business
21. The Magic Skyway
22. Upward to the Great Society
Epilogue: Now and Then
Time Line
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index

I’ve been a fan of Jonathan Gash’s mystery series featuring a roguish antique dealer named Lovejoy. These off-beat mysteries led to a BBC series starring the likable Ian McShane. This box set collects all six seasons and includes a Christmas special as a bonus. Special guest stars include: John Gielgud (Arthur), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Michael Kitchen (Foyle’s War), Martin Clunes (Doc Martin), Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter films), Pete Postlethwaite (Inception), Julian Glover (Game of Thrones), James Nesbitt (The Hobbit trilogy), and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting). If you’re looking for some entertaining, humorous, and intelligent mysteries I recommend you sample Lovejoy. The books are good, too, especially the early volumes in the series.
Lovejoy Mystery Series:
The Judas Pair (1977)
Gold from Gemini (1978), U.S. edition: Gold by Gemini (1979)
The Grail Tree (1979)
Spend Game (1981)
The Vatican Rip (1981)
Firefly Gadroon (1982)
The Sleepers of Erin (1984)
The Gondola Scam (1984)
Pearlhanger (1985)
The Tartan Ringers (1986), U.S. edition: The Tartan Sell (1986)
Moonspender (1988)
Jade Woman (1988)
The Very Last Gambado (1989)
The Great California Game (1991)
The Lies of Fair Ladies (1992)
Paid and Loving Eyes (1993)
The Sin within Her Smile (1993)
The Grace in Older Women (1995)
The Possessions of a Lady (1996)
The Rich and the Profane (1998)
A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair (1999)
Every Last Cent (2000)
Ten Word Game (2003)
Faces in the Pool (2008)

I posted a review of D. B. Jackson’s first book in the Ethan Kaille mystery series a few weeks ago. You can read it here. With Summer winding down, I binged on the rest of the series. The Ethan Kaille series is set in pre-Revolutionary War Boston. Kaille is a thieftaker with the ability to cast spells. This unusual mixture gives this series a unique perspective of history and mystery. Book #2 in the series, Thieve’s Quarry (2013), Kaille is called in to investigate the mysterious deaths of 100 British sailors aboard their ship in Boston Harbor. Book #3, A Plunder of Souls (2014), ghosts invade Boston with dire consequences. Only Kaille has any inkling about what may be causing all the chaos. Book #4, Dead Man’s Reach (2015), begins with tensions between the British Redcoats and the colonists leading to riots. But Kaille thinks a supernatural force may be feeding the hatred between the two groups. If you enjoy historical mysteries with unusual fantasy elements, I recommend all the books in the Ethan Kaille series. GRADE: B (for all four books)

Generous Art Scott sent me a copy of The Crackpot and Other Twisted Tales of Greedy Fans and Collectors just published by Ramble House. The book is edited by Dwight R. Decker and includes a Foreward by Richard A. Lupoff. Art Scott was the key catalyst in bringing all the pieces together for this hilarious book to be published. John E. Stockman was a collector and fan who published fanzines very similar to the ones he wrote about in the stories collected in The Crackpot. Stockman wrote about rabid fans who broke into stores to steal comic books and pulp magazines. He wrote about incredible trades between fans. He wrote about crooked dealers. In essence, Stockman’s stories are funhouse mirrors of the world of wacky comic book fans and loony book collectors. Yes, these tales are crudely written but the intensity of collecting mania is apparent on every page. If you’re a book collector, you’ll see a lot of your tendencies in the wild characters Stockman creates. I had a lot of fun reading this book and recommend it to those collectors who might love books and magazines and comics a little too much.