“The trouble is that most judges have never been to prison. They have no experience with being banged up with a couple of psychopaths and their own excrement for about twenty hours a day. They have been brought up, in their long-ago pupilage, to think of prison as the answer to all criminal problems.” (p. xii-xiii)

If you’re a fan of legal mystery stories, John Mortimer’s Great Law & Order Stories (1992) will deliver a lot of entertainment and delight. Mortimer blends classic mystery stories like Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Purloined Letter” and “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” by Arthur Conan Doyle with more obscure stories like Arnold Bennett’s “Murder” and Wilkie Collins’ “The Biter Bit.”

I’ve been a fan of Mortimer’s Rumpole stories since the 1970s. I also enjoyed the Leo McKern portrayal of Rumpole in the BBC TV series. Mortimer includes “Rumpole and the Tap End” in this anthology and it’s one of my favorite stories in this book. Also excellent are Georges Simenon “The Evidence of the Alar-Boy” and “The Absence of Mr. Glass” by G. K. Chesterton.

It would be difficult to assemble a better anthology of legal mysteries than Great Law & Order Stories. Highly recommended! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction — ix

Ginger and the Kingsmarkham chalk circle / Ruth Rendell — 3

Adventure of the copper beeches / Arthur Conan Doyle — 38

The biter bit / William Wilkie Collins — 64

The purloined letter / Edgar Allan Poe — 93

Murder / Arnold Bennett — 112

The king in yellow / Raymond Chandler — 130

The absence of Mr. Glass / G.K. Chesterton — 182

The heroine — Patricia Highsmith — 195

Hunted down / Charles Dickens — 211

Rumpole and the tap end / John Mortimer — 235

The woman in the big hat / Baroness Orczy — 277

Inspector Ghote and the miracle baby / H.R.F. Keating — 299

The evidence of the altar-boy / Georges Simenon — 306

A very commonplace matter / P.D. James — 339

Back in 2023, I was mildly entertained by John Cena’s wacky character series, Peacemaker (you can read my review here). In a couple of days, Peacemaker, Season 2 will show up with some major changes over the original series. Since James Gunn is now running DC Studios, he’s revamped several series, most notably Superman this summer. Peacemaker (aka, Christopher Smith) now discovers an alternate world.

Some things stay the same. Danielle Brooks returns as Leota Adebayo, the daughter of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Freddie Stroma reprises his role as Vigilante. Jennifer Holland (Agent Emilia Harcourt) and Steve Agee (Agent John Economos) join additions Tim Meadows, Sol Rodriguez, and Frank Grillo (Rick Flag, Sr.).

If Peacemaker, Season 2 delivers the same extreme action as the first season, it could be fun. I’ll be watching.

Jeffrey Seller writes about his troubled childhood. He’s adopted by a dysfunctional couple. Seller loves acting and theater but finds little support at home. Fortunately a teacher helps Seller and his persistence leads to success.

But the struggle to advance in the Broadway world nearly breaks Seller. He works for years in an agency that books touring companies all across the country. While Seller chafes at this low-level job, he’s learning how the Broadway business works and he makes plenty of contacts that will pay off later.

My favorite chapters tell the story of our Rent came about. The iconic musical almost didn’t happen. Seller’s role in helping Jonathan Larson, the show’s creator, overcome all the problems with bringing a musical to Broadway showed how hard creative projects like this really are to bring about.

“The new American play is an endangered species… Five new plays opened on Broadway last year. Five. Forty years ago, thirty new plays opened. Sixty years ago, over sixty new plays opened. We are losing Broadway as a home for plays. And without New American plays, there is no American theater.” Those words by playwright Terrence McNally in the early 1990s described the dire state of theater in America. As bleak as this picture was, Jeffrey Seller and a group of Broadway insiders managed to produce Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, and Hamilton.

This tale of an unlikely rise to the top of Broadway is both inspiring and compelling. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Act One

The Accident — 3

Adventureland — 17

Camping — 21

Mom and Dad — 35

Miss Shively — 41

Speaking of Murder — 47

A Baby and a Bar Mitzvah — 55

Plays, Musicals, and a Talk With Dad — 63

“Gower Champion Died Today” — 78

Old Men and Clowns — 84

Go Blue! — 91

“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” — 95

Freshman Fables — 101

Scenes From a Sophomore Year — 115

628 Packard Street — 131

People Express: One-way Ticket to NYC! — 142

Act Two

“The One Place on Earth I Want to Be.” — 153

Fran and Barry and Susan — 166

Our First New Musical — 174

Three Meetings That Change My Life — 186

The Booking Office — 201

Booking Wars — 212

The Real Live Brady Bunch — 226

Rent Part I: the Reading and Workshop — 233

Rent Part II: Rehearsals — 251

Rent Part III: Performances — 262

Rent Part IV: Broadway — 270

Act Three

Unlikely — 299

“Avenue Q Tony Coup” — 301

Can We Do Better? — 315

Who Is Mark Belanger? — 326

The Hamilton Mixtape — 335

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 353

Emma Lathen is the pen name of two American businesswomen: economic analyst Mary Jane Latsis  and attorney Martha Henissart who published 24 mystery novels featuring John Putnam Thatcher, a Wall Street banker.  I enjoyed the business aspects of these books. The business authenticity enhanced the mysteries.

But Latsis and Henissart also published 7 novels featuring Congressman Benton Safford under the pseudonym, R. B. Dominic. These political mysteries captured the corrupt tenor of the Washington, D. C. swamp.

Michael Lawson may have read some of the R. B. Dominic mysteries. The first book in Lawson’s Joe DeMarco series, The Inside Ring (2005), starts out with an assassination attempt on the President of the United States. DeMarco works for Speaker of the House, John Fitzgerald Mahoney. General Andy Banks, the Secretary of Homeland Security, asks Mahoney to look into the assassination attempt–and Mahoney, always willing to deal for future political favors, assigns DeMarco to the secret investigation.

DeMarco follows a trail of clues that leads through the Secret Service, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security. While the plot of The Inside Ring is stolid and surprising, DeMarco takes a lot of punishment (reminiscent of those old Mike Shayne mysteries where Mike got conked on the head nearly every book). Lawson also creates the most fascinating character in The Inside Ring: a mysterious woman named Emma who seemingly knows everybody in Washington…and has some deft shooting skills, too. Emma becomes Lawson’s Deus ex machina which is okay by me. Are you a fan of political fiction? GRADE: B-

I’m a fan of the original Ridley Scott Alien movie and even the sequel, Aliens. After that, the Alien franchise produced dud after dud. Noah Hawley’s 8-episode has the same strengths and weaknesses of his other FX series: Legion and Fargo. The casts of these series are very good. The plots…tend to meander.

Alien: Earth begins with a crash of a space ship in a futuristic city. Of course, the Alien on-board, who has munched on many of the crew, now escapes on our planet. You would think that would be enough to keep the story going, but in typical Hawley fashion, we’re also encumbered with another plot:. Samuel Blenkin’s Boy Kavalier, Earth’s youngest trillionaire and chief creep of the first two episodes, funds the final steps in a quest for a type of immortality. Sydney Chandler’s Marcy, meanwhile, the first terminally ill child to transition into a synthetic body, takes on the name Wendy, Peter Pan’s friend that’s destined to grow up, unlike the lost boys.

So we have the murderous Alien, a synthetic humanoid with a human brain, and cyborgs all taking up screen time. I was unimpressed. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards C

I’ve read a number of Anthony Horowitz’s mysteries and enjoyed them. Just by chance, I came across a number of Horowitz’s Alex Rider paperbacks…so of course I bought them. It’s Summer so reading fluff is allowed. I was expecting something like The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew when I picked up the first book in the Alex Rider series, Stormbreaker (2000). Wrong!

Alex Rider is a 14-year-old who is being raised by his “banker” uncle. But in Chapter One, Ian Rider is killed in a car accident. Alex investigates and finds his uncle’s car in a junk yard…riddled with bullets!

It doesn’t take long for Alex to learn his uncle was a spy for MI6. Alex finds himself recruited to investigate his uncle’s death, to find Ian Rider’s killer, and complete his uncle’s final mission.

Unlike The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, this Alex Rider mystery features gunplay, an impressive Body Count, and Alex taking some physical punishment absent in most Young Adult books. Call Stormbreaker hardboiled spy fiction! I’m looking forward to Alex Rider’s next case! GRADE: B+

ALEX RIDER SERIES:

1. Stormbreaker (2000)
2. Point Blanc (2001; US title: Point Blank)
3. Skeleton Key (2002)
4. Eagle Strike (2003)
5. Scorpia (2004)
6. Ark Angel (2005)
7. Snakehead (2007)
8. Crocodile Tears (2009)
9. Scorpia Rising (2011)
10. Russian Roulette (2013)
11. Never Say Die (2017)
12. Nightshade (2020)
13. Nightshade Revenge (2023)

I think “Ultimate” is too strong a word to describe this collection of One-Hit Wonders like The Penguin’s “Earth Angel” and Thomas Wayne’s “Tragedy.” When is the last time you listened to Rosie and The Originals “Angel Baby”? It’s been five decades for me!

Some songs bring back a lot of memories like “Alley Oop” by Hollywood Argyles. That song seemingly played every hour on the radio when it hit Number One in 1960! Then there’s Sheb Wooley‘s novelty song, “The Purple People Eater,” which gets played on the radio every Halloween still!

You have to wonder how a lot of these songs ended up becoming Number One hits way back when, but listening to them again after many decades does turn into a Nostalgia Fest! How many of these One-Hit Wonders do you remember? Any favorites? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

1-1	Bobby Day–	Rockin’ Robin
1-2	The Penguins–	Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)
1-3	Phil Phillips With The Twilights–	Sea Of Love
1-4	Jody Reynolds–	Endless Sleep
1-5	Poni-tails–	Born Too Late
1-6	The Impalas–	Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home)
1-7	The Capris–	There’s A Moon Out Tonight
1-8	The Danleers–	One Summer Night
1-9	Robin Luke–	Susie Darlin’
1-10	The Safaris–	Image Of A Girl
1-11	Sanford Clark–	The Fool
1-12	The Crescendos–	Oh Julie
1-13	Thomas Wayne–	Tragedy
1-14	Rosie & The Originals–	Angel Baby
1-15	Preston Epps–	Bongo Rock
2-1	The Monotones–	Book Of Love
2-2	The Hollywood Flames–	Buzz -Buzz -Buzz
2-3	Huey “Piano” Smith & His Clowns–	Don’t You Just Know It
2-4	The Tune Weavers–	Happy, Happy Birthday Baby
2-5	The Elegants–	Little Star
2-6	Johnnie & Joe–	Over The Mountain, Across The Sea
2-7	Cathy Jean, The Roommates–	Please Love Me Forever
2-8	Little Caesar & The Romans–	Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me Of You)
2-9	Bill Parsons–	The All American Boy
2-10	The Bell Notes–	I’ve Had It
2-11	The Corsairs–	Smoky Places
2-12	Hollywood Argyles–	Alley-Oop
2-13	Jimmy McCracklin–	The Walk
2-14	Frankie Ford–	Sea Cruise
2-15	Sheb Wooley–	The Purple People Eater

I’m a big fan of Steeger Books, the reprint publisher known for bringing back pulp fiction to a contemporary audience of readers. A couple weeks ago, Steeger Books had their Summer Sale and I bought a Murray Leinster classic, Masters of Darkness (you can read my review here) and the book I’m reviewing today: The Twisted Trap.

Like many of you, I bought those “M.E. Chaber” paperbacks with the glorious Robert McGinnis covers from the early 1970s. Now, Steeger Books has reprinted the entire series–sadly, without the McGinnis covers–but in affordable, attractive formats.

For the first time in book form, the Steeger Books edition of The Twisted Trap brings stories of Milo March which were long unavailable. March is an insurance investigator (and sometime secret agent) who attracts danger. My favorite story in The Twisted Trap is “The Jelly Roll Heist” where a belly dancer has a precious ruby stolen right out of her navel–an interesting trick!

If you’re a Milo March fan, you’ll want to read The Twisted Trap. I’m also tempted to go back and read some of March’s adventures in novel form. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• FOREWORD: THE MILO MARCH STORIES By Kendra Crossen Burroughs — 7
• “The Jelly Roll Heist.” A series of thefts in Denver has the insurance executives biting their nails. Judging by the loss of a belly dancer’s navel gem, it looks like a seducer is preying on ladies with sparkly things. Or is there a more sinister gang behind it? — 13
• “Hair the Color of Blood.” Milo’s on vacation at a swank Santa Monica hotel when he hears a scream. He rushes to save the damsel in distress, and the next thing he knows, he’s waking up in bed with the naked body of a red-haired corpse! — 55
• “The Hot Ice Blues.” A new jewel robbery occurs every night, while Milo sits around playing Dixieland platters with a real gone chick. Is the insurance company’s star investigator really goofing off? — 81
• “Murder for Madame.” Someone swipes a worthless box, tossing aside the costly pearl necklace that was inside. Now four people are desperate to retrieve the box―five if you count Milo, who can’t resist trying to figure out why. — 123
• “The Red, Red Flowers.” Major March, U.S. Army Reserve, is sent undercover to Moscow, where a captured American U-2 pilot is on trial. As usual, Milo has no plan but makes it up as he goes along. He will have mere moments to retrieve a coded message and snatch the pilot from the Communists’ hands—but things don’t go exactly as expected. — 171
• “The Twisted Trap.” Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. A wealthy old policyholder claims that his sexy young wife and her psychiatrist lover have teamed up to poison him with a drug that mimics the symptoms of madness. If he should die “accidentally” as a result of this condition, his wife will get an enormous life insurance payout. Having escaped from a sanatorium, the old man insists that Milo must rescue him. But doing so may cost Milo his own sanity! — 215
• Other Stories by Kendall Foster Crossen: An Annotated List — 245
• About the Author — 253

Back in 2023, Wednesday was the series with the highest ratings on Netflix. The 8-episodes featured the surly Wednesday Addams–based on Charles Addams classic cartoons that originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between 1938 and Charles Addams death in 1988– dealing with the dangers of Nevermore Academy, a school for “Outcasts” like vampires, werewolves, and sirens. Wednesday was just learning how to deal with her power: visions.

While Wednesday nearly loses her life in Season One, her return to Nevermore plunges her right into a series of killings caused by “a murder of crows.” Netflix dropped four of the eight episodes on August 6 with the final four episodes being released on September 3rd. The Wednesday cast–Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, and Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay with other returning regulars including Steve Buscemi as Barry Dort, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams–is already in Ireland filming Season Three. If you’re a fan of the Addams Family, you’ll enjoy this new series! GRADE: Incomplete…but trending towards a B+

Anthony Gottlieb is the executive editor of The Economist so his history of philosophy from the beginning to the Renaissance aims at enlightening the general reader. This isnot an academic book. Its aim is to explain the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to the intelligent reader. A surprising number (to me) of philosophers were killed because of their ideas. Still more philosophers, like Cato, committed suicide rather an repudiate their ideas because the Government or Church didn’t like them. Others like Galileo, were threatened with death unless they “changed their opinions.” After reading a book like The Dream of Reason, I always come away with new respect for the power of ideas. If you’re interested in philosophy, this is a good place to start. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction p. vii
• Acknowledgements p. x
• Part 1
• 1 The Archetypes: the Milesians p. 3
• 2 The Harmony of the World: the Pythagoreans p. 21
• 3 The Man Who Searched for Himself: Heraclitus p. 41
• 4 The Truth about Nothing: Parmenides p. 52
• 5 The Ways of Paradox: Zeno p. 65
• 6 Love and Strife: Empedocles p. 73
• 7 Mind and Matter: Anaxagoras p. 84
• 8 He Who Laughs Last: Democritus p. 94
• 9 Opening Pandora’s Box: the Sophists p. 109
• Part 2
• 10 Philosophy’s Martyr: Socrates and the Socratics p. 131
• 11 The Republic of Reason: Plato p. 169
• 12 The Master of Those Who Know: Aristotle p. 220
• Part 3
• 13 Three Roads to Tranquillity: Epicureans, Stoics and Sceptics p. 283
• 14 The Haven of Piety: From Late Antiquity to the Renaissance p. 346
• Notes p. 432
• Index p. 457