With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I’d get into the mood with a H. P. Lovecraft pastiche. Dan Carter is a former policeman who is now a private eye. He inherits a bookstore in Providence, RI run by Emily Lovecraft, an African-American woman. Her uncle disappeared seven years ago. He’s been declared dead and his will gives the bookstore to Carter. Carter had never met Emily’s uncle and has no idea why he now owns a bookstore. Then, a college professor calls Carter, but before Carter can respond, the professor is found dead in his car. He drowned, but there’s no water. Yes, we’re in H. P. Lovecraft territory here. At 306 pages, this pastiche is a little too long. A good editor could have made this a better, tighter book. But if there’s a sequel to Carter & Lovecraft I’ll read it. GRADE: B-

This new Blu-ray version of Burn Witch Burn looks great. Charles Beaumont and Richard Mathewson wrote the script to this movie based on Fritz Leiber’s classic Conjure Wife. Originally titled Night of the Eagle, Burn Witch Burn is a good movie to put you in the Halloween spirit. What movies put you in the mood for Halloween?

So far, the Fall TV season has been disappointing when it comes to new shows. Diane and are watching Blindspot for its 24 elements. But so far, it’s mediocre. Tonight on CBS, the highly hyped Supergirl begins. The Flash and Arrow have modest audiences on the CW network. The same company that produces them is producing Supergirl. Will Supergirl draw a big enough audience on a major network like CBS? Will you be watching?

By the time you read this post, the Bills and the Jags will be playing in Wembley Stadium. Kickoff is at 9:30 A.M. EST. The big feature about this game is that YAHOO is going to stream this game online. And CBS will be broadcasting it in “selected areas.” The Bills’ starting quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, is out with a knee injury. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins is out due to an ankle injury. LeSean McCoy should play even though he’s hampered by a hamstring problem. The Bills should win this game, but the Jags could surprise them. How will your favorite NFL team fare today?

Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin present a portrait of a genius, warts and all. The stars of this movie–Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, and Seth Rogen–are at the top of their game as Sorkin’s script gives them plenty of drama and strong dialogue to work with. Fassbender is convincing as Steve Jobs, a driven perfectionist. You would NOT want to have Steve Jobs as your boss. He was demanding and ruthless. Sorkin’s story shows how Jobs’s success came at a steep price. I’m sure some of the actors in this movie will be in Oscar contention. GRADE: B+

Last week I reviewed Special Wonder: The Anthony Boucher Memorial Anthology of Fantasy and Science Fiction. This week it’s the companion volume: Crimes & Misfortunes. Anthony Boucher was a wonderful editor, book reviewer, and fiction writer. He’s a seminal figure in both the mystery and science fiction worlds. I really liked the short essays before these stories where the writer tells about his or her relationship with Anthony Boucher. If you haven’t read Special Wonder and Crimes & Misfortunes you’re in for some great reading! These are two terrific collections.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Come into my parlor/ Gloria Amoury
Dead phone/ Poul and Karen Anderson
A good imagination/ Robert Bloch-
Donoghan’s wife/ R. Bretnor
Town wanted/ Fredric Brown
The gentleman from Paris/ John Dickson Carr
The Moors Murder/ Miriam Allen deFord
The competitors/ Richard Deming-
The question/ Stanley Ellin-
The adventure of the Adam bomb/ Robert L. Fish
In the shade of the old apple tree/ Fletcher Flora
File #4: Lincoln sedan headline/ Joe Gores
Reunion/ Edward D. Hoch
Hangover/ John D. MacDonald
Find the woman/ Ross Macdonald
The Iranian Farmer Commission/ Frank McAuliffe
The man who danced/ James McKimmey
The couple next door/ Margaret Millar
Memoirs of a mystery critic/ Lenore Glen Offord
The old lady shows her prejudices/ Lenore Glen Offord
The reason/ Arthur Porges
A lot on his mind/ Bill Pronzini
No parking/ Ellery Queen
Plan nineteen/ Jack Ritchie
All of God’s children got shoes/ Howard Schoenfeld
Stan the killer/ Georges Simenon
Bullet for one/ Rex Stout
L as in loot/ Lawrence Treat
Never shake a family tree/ Donald E. Westlake

When I returned from the Raleigh BOUCHERCON, my DELL computer had “issues.” GOOGLE CHROME wouldn’t work. None of the programs like WORD and EXCEL in MICROSOFT OFFICE worked, either. Clearly, something happened while I was gone. I tried various “fixes”–which didn’t solve the problem. Finally, I decided to try SYSTEM RESTORE. It allows you to restore your computer to a previous state (like when it worked). SYSTEM RESTORE took about 20 minutes to reset WINDOWS. But now my computer is working, I can use MICROSOFT OFFICE, and I can print stuff out again. GOOGLE CHROME still doesn’t work and I can’t uninstall it or reinstall it. Patrick will have to fix it when he comes home for Thanksgiving. Until then, I’m using Mozilla Firefox. Have you had any recent computer problems?

I’m a big fan of Agatha Christie’s mysteries. I’ve read most of them. Christie used poison as a favorite way to commit a murder that Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot could investigate. Kathryn Harkup does a through job in explaining the aspects of the poison Christie uses. In addition, Harkup provides an Appendix that usefully lists all the causes of death (not just poison) in all of Agatha Christie’s mystery novels. Handy! I recommend this book to you if you’re a Christie fan. Plenty of good information here!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Dame Agatha’s Deadly Dispensary
2. A is for Arsenic – Murder is Easy
3. B is for Belladonna – The Labours of Hercules
4. C is for Cyanide – Sparkling Cyanide
5. D is for Digitalis – Appointment with Death
6. E is for Eserine – Crooked House
7. H is for Hemlock – Five Little Pigs
8. M is for Monkshood – 4:50 from Paddington
9. N is for Nicotine – Three Act Tragedy
10. O is for Opium – Sad Cypress
11. P is for Phosphorus – Dumb Witness
12. R is for Ricin – Partners in Crime
13. S is for Strychnine – The Mysterious Affair at Styles
14. T is for Thallium – The Pale Horse
15. V is for Veranol – Lord Edgware Dies

Appendix
Glossary
Bibliography
– See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/is-for-arsenic-9781472911308/#sthash.M0jJVUWC.dpuf

Back in the 1970s, my two favorite programs were Beretta and Starky & Hutch. Sure, these formulaic TV action shows were fun to watch with their loopy plots and wild car chases. Two rogue cops (Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul) driving around in a cool car, busting bad guys, and flirting with hot chicks! This was a young man’s dream! Although Starskey & Hutch only ran for four seasons, it developed a loyal fan base. This box set of 16 DVDs was a mere $22.99 at BJ’s Warehouse. AMAZON wants $26.91 for this set. Well worth it either way. Were you a fan of Starky & Hutch?

While attending the BOUCHERCON in Raleigh, NC I took Maggie Mason and her friend Nancy to dinner. I let Maggie pick the restaurant. As some of you know, Maggie loves exotic food. We went to the Stanbury restaurant. One of menu choices was Crispy Pig’s Head. Octopus was also on the menu (see below). I had Fried Green Tomatoes. And chose the Chocolate Torte with Ricotta Cheese for dessert (so did Nancy). Maggie opted for the Carrot Cake with Pistachio Ice Cream. Do you like “exotic” food?
Dinner Menu

*Stanbury’s dinner menu changes daily depending on seasonal ingredients*
Below is a sample menu.

// SMALL PLATES //
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Ribeye … smashed fingerlings, arugula, shallot vinaigrette, foie gras hollandaise 30