I’ve been entertained by Ryan Johnson’s two previous Knives Out mysteries. This new one, Wake Up Dead Man, gives Johnson the opportunity to have his quirky detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), deliver a lecture about impossible crimes and locked room mysteries.
Young Father Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) finds himself a suspect in an impossible murder. But Benoit Blanc shows up and starts to unravel the tricky murder. The list of other suspects includes devout Catholic Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), local doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), struggling writer Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), disabled concert cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), the Dravens–lawyer Vera (Kerry Washington) and aspiring politico Cy (Daryl McCormack)–and the reclusive church groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Hayden Church).
If you enjoyed Knives Out (2019) and Glass Onion (2022), you’ll find Wake Up Dead Man just as suspenseful and clever. GRADE: B+
When I was teaching General Motors workers about the history of the Automobile Industry, one of my favorite characters was William Durant. “Durant was the founder of General Motors and co-founder of Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple brands – each seemingly independent, with different automobile lines – bound under a unified corporate holding company. He also founded Frigidaire.” Durant was a polymath.
You wouldn’t think the guy that founded successful companies and was a millionaire several times over would show up in Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 1929 but here’s Durant’s fate: “Durant kept up appearances until 1936 when at the age of seventy-four, he declared bankruptcy. He put his net income that year at $5,438.” (p. 425)
How in the world did Durant–and thousands of rich people–go from wealthy to broke? That is just part of the story Sorkin tells in 1929.
Greed. Having millions of dollars and lavish mansions were not enough for some of the industrial and banking leaders of the U.S. back in 1929–and small investors, too. They thought the Stock Market was just going to go up, up, up (kind of like Today). The other Big Problem was that the rules back then allowed people to buy stocks “on margin.” For as little as 10% in cash, you could buy thousands of shares of stock. The problem–that few considered–was that if the price of the stocks fell, you had to come up with the balance…in cash.
And on October 29, 1929 (aka,”Black Tuesday“) 16.4 million shares of stock were traded. Around $14 billion of stock value was lost, wiping out thousands of investors. The panic selling reached its peak with some stocks having no buyers at any price. The Dow lost an additional 30.57 points, or 11.73%, for a total drop of 68.90 points, or 23.05% in two days. The Stock Market crashed and the Great Depression began.
Andrew Ross Sorkin tells the story of 1929 in a novelistic fashion with dozens of characters–who should have known better–betting on the Market in an orgy of speculation and greed. Sorkin hints the same inclinations are active in today’s Stock Market. Worth pondering… GRADE: A
The 9-4 Buffalo Bills, favored by 1 1/2 points, take on the 11-2 New England Patriots in Foxboro. If the Patriots win, they will became AFC East Champions. The Bills have won the AFC East five years in a row, but that looks like it’s coming to an end. Last week, the Bills played great in the snow game against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, winning 39-34. I don’t see a high-scoring game this week, but I’m hoping for a Bills win.
It was Harvey Weinstein’s idea to split Kill Bill in half, and although he may have had commercial considerations in mind, Quentin Tarantino always saw Kill Bill as one long–four hours and 35 minutes–movie. Tarantino insists he’s not working on Kill Bill, Volume 3 and it probably isn’t ever going to happen.
This new incarnation of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair with a 15-minute intermission, is in select theaters now. I have DVD versions of Kill Bill, Volume 1 and Kill Bill, Volume 2 but what I’m waiting for is to have Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair box set that I’m sure will be on the market in a few months. I have no intention of sitting in a movie theater for over four hours anymore so I’ll just buy Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair and watch it at home.
I read Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes back in 2022 when it became a surprise bestseller for TOR Books (you can read my review here). Legends & Lattes was first published by Cryptid Press in February 22, 2022. Then a second edition was issued in trade paperback by TOR Books in November 2022.
We’re all familiar with the genre “Cozy Mysteries.” I think Travis Baldree writes “Cozy Fantasy.”
Bookshops & Bonedust is a prequel novel to Legends & Latte. Baldree gives the reader the origin story of the Orc mercenary, Viv, as she recuperates in a new town and discovers a love for bookselling and romance.
Brigands & Breadknives, the latest book in the series, begins with Fern, the rattkin bookseller we met in Bookshops and Bonedust, who has left her home and life and shop behind to set up a bookstore next door to Viv and Tandri. Though Fern is afraid of starting over, she’s willing to take a gamble on her friendship with the Orc coffee shop owner.
Fern has always been a bookseller and knows nothing else. But she decides she just needs to get away. This leads Fern to crawling into the back of the cart belonging to renowned elven adventurer Asteryx One-Ear, the Oathmaiden…and falling asleep. When Fern wakes up, she’s too far from home, so she resolves to continue the adventure until she can safely book passage home.
Asteryx One-Ear is a bounty hunter who is transporting her prisoner—a wild goblin named Zyll—across the continent to be delivered to justice. Zyll keeps escaping, only to return with new friends (like a creepy chicken demon), new weapons (like a talking Elder blade turned into a breadknife), and new enemies–the brigands. Asteryx and Fern work together to deal with these challenges.
If you’re looking for Feel Good cozy fantasies with likable characters and compelling stories delivering the same heartwarming touch as Legends & Lattes, give Bookshops & Bonedust and Brigands & Breadknives a try. GRADE: B (for both)
Christmas music has been blaring in stores and on local radio stations since the day after Halloween. I like Christmas music, but there is so much mediocre Christmas music out there that I have to resort to listening to my own Christmas CDs when I’m driving around or at home.
I became an Enya fan back in 1988 when I heard Watermark. Then I bought all of Enya’s albums as they were released. And Winter Came (2008) presents Christmas songs you’re not likely to hear in stores or on the local radio. But, they are beautifully arranged and sung by Enya. If you want to get into the Christmas spirit, listen to And Winter Came and feel the real joy of the season! GRADE: A
I’ve been a fan of Martin Edwards’s mystery anthologies for years. Who Killed Father Christmas and Other Seasonal Mysteries is the fifth Christmas anthology Edwards has published with the British Library Crime Classics (aka, Poisoned Pen Press). The other four anthologies are Silent Nights, Crimson Snow, The Christmas Card Crime, and A Surprise for Christmas.
I also enjoyed the title story, Patricia Moyes’s “Who Killed Father Christmas” about the murder of a department store Santa. My favorite story in this anthology is “Secrets in the Snow” by J. Jefferson Farjeon. Since it’s snowing now outside my window, the story resonated with me.
Who Killed Father Christmas (2025) blends a number of various Christmas mysteries, some serious, some not. I enjoyed Peter Todd’s clever “Herlock Sholmes’ Christmas Case.” Back in 1976, Mysterious Press published The Adventures of Herlock Sholmes, but this story wasn’t included.
If you’re in the mood for a Christmas mystery anthology, Who Killed Father Christmas and Other Seasonal Mysteries should be at the top of your wish list. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction / Martin Edwards — vii
A Note From the Publisher –xi
On the Irish Mail / Garnett Radcliffe — 1
The Christmas Thief / Frank Howel Evans — 16
The Christmas Spirit / Anthony Gilbert — 50
Among Those Present Was Santa Claus / Vincent Cornier — 69
Gold, Frankincense, and Murder / Catherine Aird — 80
Secrets in the Snow / J. Jefferson Farjeon — 101
Who Killed Father Christmas? / Patricia Moyes — 123
Death at Christmas / Glyn Daniel — 137
Scotland Yard’s Christmas / John Dickson Carr — 152
The Bird of Dawning / Michael Gilbert — 165
The Christmas Train / Will Scott — 186
The Grey Monk / Gerald Verner — 202
Who Suspects the Postman? / Michael Innes — 214
Herlock Sholmes’ Christmas Case / Peter Todd — 221
I DVRed all six episodes of PBS Masterpiece‘s Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light last year. The sticking point was finding time to read Hilary Mantel’s 761 page novel that the series was based on. Fortunately, I finally read Mantel’s tome from 2020 while waiting eight hours at the Buffalo Airport for Diane and her sister Carol to arrive from JFK during the Government Shutdown.
The Mirror and the Light is the third book in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy (you can read my reviews of Wolf Hall (2009) and Bring Up the Bodies (2012) here). Mantel’s story of the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell is chilling. King Henry VIII is a psychopath whose moods can lead to someone dying. Henry Tudor, played brilliantly by Damian Lewis, faces popular unrest as a result of his break with Rome and the establishment of the Church of England. Henry also needs a son. Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light starts with an execution so Henry can marry again.
Mark Rylance plays the dutiful Thomas Cromwell with great authenticity. Cromwell knows he serves a half-mad King and an England perilously in danger of internal dissension and foreign intrigue. Throughout the PBS series and Mantel’s historical novels, the treacherous path of power in the Court threatens Cromwell despite his successes.
Maybe it’s just the times we live in, but Henry VIII acts in very Trumpian ways. He rages, he threatens, he kills, he commits incredible cruelties, he dresses up in an absurd Turkish costume. Cromwell is urged to leave England and return to Antwerp where he once found happiness by a family member. But Cromwell stays and accepts his Fate.
If you’re a fan of historical dramas, you’ll love this Thomas Crowell trilogy. But be prepared to endure some pain and suffering at the atrocities committed by the King and his duplicitous Court. GRADE: A
“The hypothesis of this book is that suicide epidemics appear wherever a culture based on mutual aid, respect, and belonging suddenly gives way to world of anonymous market transactions, individualism, and formal institutions, and, at the same time, a demonstrative love culture is weak.” (p.115)
Helen C. Epstein’s short but powerful book presents the latest research into suicide. It’s no secret that the Holidays trigger a spike in suicides. But in Chapter 5, “What is Haunting America’s Veterans”, I learned the vast majority of veterans who had taken their lives were abused as children. In Chapter 3, “Russia’s Traumatic Transition”, I learned that half the men in Russia are alcoholics–and that greatly increases the rate of suicides.
Many people who commit suicide suffer from depression…but only 1% of depression sufferers resort to suicide. “The age-adjusted suicide rate in the U.S. was 14.1 per 100,000 in 2023, after reaching 14.2 per 100,000 in 2022. In 2023, men died by suicide at a rate 3.8 times higher than women, and white males accounted for the majority of suicide deaths. The highest age-specific rates were for those aged 85 and older (22.7 per 100,000) and the lowest were for those aged 10–14 (2.3 per 100,000).”
Why Live documents the attempts to deal with suicide as a societal problem. Epstein suggests capitalism, transactional social interactions, and rigid working conditions that steal all creativity and purpose from a job contribute to the problem of suicide. No job, living in poverty, debts, poor health, and a sense of powerlessness makes suicide an attractive option. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION — 8
CHAPTER ONE: The Inuit: The Highest Suicide Rate in the World — 27
CHAPTER TWO: Sturm und Drang in Micronesia — 42
CHAPTER THREE: Russia’s Traumatic Transition –56
CHAPTER FOUR: Deaths of Despair in America’s Heartland — 74
CHAPTER FIVE: What is Haunting American’s Veterans? — 87
Temps should be about 20 degrees at the Kick-Off of the Bengals vs. Bills game with a chance of snow. The Bills are favored by 5 1/2 points but their starting lineup is riddled with injuries. The Smart Money (aka, Vegas odds makers) suggest the Bills should run, run, run the ball to keep it out of Joe Burrow’s hands. Burrow has had the Buffalo Bills number in critical games in the Past. Last week, Burrow lit up the Ravens. Will he do it again to the Bills?
