If you’re in the mood for some mystery stories set in New York City, Lawrence Block’s Dark City Lights fits the bill. Here are 24 stories set in various parts of NYC with a variety of crimes. I especially liked “Hannibal’s Elephants” by Robert Silverberg and Lawrence Block’s own story about his favorite hit man, “Keller the Dogkiller.” As usual in collections like this, the quality varies but there are enough good stories here to make it worth your while. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
A FOREWARD By Lawrence Block
AMSTERDAM IN THE 90s By Ed Park
THE BIG SNIP By Thomas Pluck
BOWERY STATION, 3:15 A.M. By Warren Moore
CHLOE By Jerrold Mundis
THE DEAD CLIENT By Parenell Hall
THE GARMENTO AND THE MOVIE STAR By Jonathan Santlofer
HANNIBAL’S ELEPHANTS By Robert Silverberg
JIMMY TAKES A TRIP By Elaine Kagan
KNOCK-OUT WHIST By David Levien
THE LADY UPSTAIRS By Jill D. Bloch
MIDNIGHT IN THE PARK WITH HARRY By June Dentinger
OLD HANDS By Erin Mitchell
THE SAFEST FORM OF CONVEYANCE By Jim Fusilli
SEE/SAW SOMETHING By Peter Carlaftes
THE SOLDIER, THE DANCER, AND ALL THAT GLITTERS By Tom Callahan
SPIT THE TRUTH By Eve Kagan
THIS POSE IS A PROBLEM By Bill Bernico
THE TOUR GUIDE by Kat Georges
WANG DANG DOODLE By Annette Meyers
WEDNESDAY IS VIKTOR’S By Brian Koppelman
WET DOG ON A RAINY DAY by S. J. Rosan
WHY I TOOK THE JOB By Peter Hochstein
KELLER THE DOGKILLER By Lawrence Block
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

The Steve McQueen Collection qualifies as “The Bargain of the Week.” I bought this box set at Wal-Mart for $14.96. There are FOUR Blu-ray movies in this collection: The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, The Thomas Crown Affair, and The Sand Pebbles. Here are four great films for a little more than $3.50 per Blu-ray movie. Which of these classic movies is your favorite?

I read a reference to La Croix Sparkling Water in the New York Times Magazine a few weeks ago. The writer refered to La Croix as “the best water in the world.” I figured that was just marketing hyperbole. Then I saw a case of La Croix in BJ’s Warehouse for a pittance. I bought it and sampled the lemon, lime, and raspberry flavors. Delicious and refreshing! I’m not a big sparkling water fan, but La Croix has just the right blend of bubbles and flavor. Highly recommended!

Kinky Boots comes to town, finally. This musical comedy is just what we need to lift our spirits after the Winter we’ve endured. The music by Cyndi Lauper is supposed to be fun. We’re seeing Kinky Boots at Sheas Performing Arts Center during today’s matinee performance. The show is sold out. Have you seen Kinky Boots? What did you think?

UPDATE: We enjoyed Kinky Boots. Plenty of high-energy singing and dancing! The sell-out crowded laughed a lot. GRADE: B+

While many of you are enjoying balmy weather, Western New York saw snowflakes this week. Winter refuses to relax its icy grip on us! Here’s what the ice looks like in the Niagara River (just a mile from my house). I woke up to a 29 degree temperature this morning! We’ll have ice chunks floating around for at least another month. Enjoy your warmer weather. We won’t experience any warmth like yours for quite a while!

Back in 1976, Donald Wollheim, who left ACE Books to start his own science fiction and fantasy publishing house, celebrated the 200th title his company published by collecting stories from some of the writers that made DAW Books a success. Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Gordon R. Dickson, Tanith Lee, Alan Burt Akers (aka, Kenneth Bulmer), Lin Carter, and Brian Stableford represent some of the most popular of the DAW Books stable of writers. Years later, DAW would publish a similar volume to celebrate 30 years of publishing. But this slim, unassuming volume captures the essence of the DAW reading experience. This is a book that’s worth finding and reading!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Andre Norton: FUR MAGIC
Gordon R. Dickson: WARRIOR
Tanith Lee: THE TRUCE
Alan Burt Akers: WIZARD OF SCORPIO
Lin Carter: THE MARTIAN EL DORADO OF PARKER WINTLEY
Marion Zimmer Bradley: THE DAY OF THE BUTTERFLIES
Brian M. Stableford: CAPTAIN EAGAN DIED ALONE

April is Poetry Month so what better way to celebrate it that with a book that gets to the heart of the art. I’m a fan of cultural critic Clive James. I’ve read his essay collections over the years. This latest volume focuses on poetry. James writes about poets and the writing process. My favorite essay is “Five Favourite Poetry Books.” James’s five favorite poetry books are Yeats’ The Tower, Robert Frost’s Collected Poems, W. H. Auden’s Look, Stranger!, Richard Wilbur’s Poems: 1943-1956, and Philip Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings. That gives you an idea about Clive James’s taste in poetry. I found these essays enlightening and inspiring. Who is your favorite poet? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
Acknowledgements
NOTES ON POETRY
Listening to the Flavour
Five Favourite Poetry Books
The Arrow Has Not Two Points
Meeting McNeice
Little Low Heaven
On a Second Reading
Poetry Archive Tour
That Necessary Minimum
A Deeper Consideration
Product Placement in Modern Poetry
Technique’s Marginal Centrality
A Stretch of Verse
The Donaghy Negotiation
There You Come Home
Interior Music
PART II: OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT POETRY
John Updike’s Poetic Finality
Stephen Edgar Stays Perfect
Poetry Heaven, Political Hell
Les Murray’s Palatial New Shed
Talking to Posterity: Peter Porter, 1929-2010
Michael Longley Blends In
Spectator Diary
Building the Sound of Sense
PART III: FINALE TO A NOTEBOOK
Trumpets at Sunset

Season Two of Broadchurch is even more nerve-wracking than the First Season. David Tennant plays a police detective that looks more wasted than Keith Richards. I really like Olivia Coleman as Ellie Miller, Tennant’s partner. The murder of a young boy gets complicated as a trial of the suspected killer reviews more clues and secrets. At the same time, Tennant investigates the murder of two young girls. The acting is first-rate and suspenseful. I’ll be on the edge of my seat tonight.

This sequel to the 2014 surprise hit Divergent features more violence and plot twists. Shailene Woodley returns as Tris, a woman with divergent powers. Her boy friend Four, played by Theo James, helps Tris in her attempt to subvert the future dystopian city of Chicago run by Kate Winslet (Jeanine). There’s plenty of action. Poor Shailene Woodley takes a lot of punishment as Kate Winslet uses Tris’s divergent powers to tap a secret box that holds the fate of the world. I can’t wait until the final installment of this franchise shows up next year! GRADE: B+

Temptation. Every day I resist it. My latest temptations involve these cool Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 18 speakers. I love the rose-gold aluminum and walnut wood design. These wireless speakers can free-stand or be mounted on a wall. Each speaker houses two 160-watt amplifiers which spread the sound 180 degrees. These speakers only cost $9,100.00 a pair.

Maybe Art Scott will weigh in on this.