Philip R. Craig wrote a very popular series of novels set on Martha’s Vineyard and this mystery is Book 12 of 19 in Craig’s Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series. Vineyard Enigma is narrated by retired policeman J. W. Jackson. Jackson finds himself involved in a search for two ancient soapstone eagles that are collector’s items from Africa. Since Martha’s Vineyard is home to rich art collectors, there’s a very good chance the stone eagles are nearby.

Then a corpse is found without a head (dubbed “The Headless Horseman”). And J. W. Jackson finds the body of an art dealer. Someone takes a shot at J. W. (but fortunately for the series, they miss). If you’re in the mood for a mystery with lovely local scenery and intelligent detection, I recommend this volume in Philip R. Craig’s Martha’s Vineyard series. Perfect book for the beach! GRADE: B

Generous Beth Fedyn sent me this copy of Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It’s a hoot! As far as I know, this movie never showed up in Western New York in 2016. Now, it’s on DVD so it many get more attention (and access). Hunt for the Wilderpeople is basically a two-actor show: Julian Dennison plays a troubled teenager named Ricky in New Zealand and Sam Neill plays a grumpy old man who attempts to take care of Ricky. Because of events too incredible to describe, Sam and Ricky are on the run in the wilds of New Zealand (fabulous scenery!) while most of the law enforcement of the country is chasing them.

This movie could have been a disaster if the actor who was cast as Ricky was a dud. Julian Dennison is perfect as a kid with problems. Sam Neill has chemistry with the kid despite his crankiness. Fun and funny! GRADE: B+

Recently, Bill Crider reviewed an upcoming Science Fiction anthology, Infinite Stars edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt. In his review, Bill wrote this about SF Titan Poul Anderson: “And there’s a good one by Poul Anderson, now nearly forgotten but a fixture in the digests of the ’50s when I was growing up. He wrote great space opera, fantasy, hard SF, historical novels, and more, and he was good at all of them. Now virtually forgotten, more’s the pity.” Those words motivated me to read The Van Rijin Method, an omnibus edition BAEN Books published back in 2008. It’s almost 700 pages of delight! The best part of this book is The Man Who Counts (aka, The War of the Wing-Men). Classic SF!

And, this volume includes one of my favorite Poul Anderson mystery stories, “Hiding Place,” where Van Rijn has to figure out who aboard a starship carrying zoo animals are the intelligent aliens (who disguised themselves in the cages). BAEN Books published six more omnibus volumes and I’ll be reviewing them over the next few months of FFB. Do you have a favorite Poul Anderson story? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
“PLANETS AND PROFITS: Introducing Nicholas Van Rijn and the Polesotechnic League” By Hank Davis

THE SATURN GAME

Introduction Wings Of Victory
WINGS OF VICTORY

Introduction Problem Of Pain
PROBLEM OF PAIN

Introduction Margin Of Profit
MARGIN OF PROFIT

Introduction How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson
HOW TO BE ETHNIC IN ONE EASY LESSON

Introduction The Three-Cornered Wheel
THE THREE-CORNERED WHEEL

Introduction A Sun Invisible
A SUN INVISIBLE

Introduction The Season Of Forgiveness
THE SEASON OF FORGIVENESS

Introduction The Man Who Counts
THE MAN WHO COUNTS

Introduction Esau
ESAU

Introduction Hiding Place
HIDING PLACE

CHRONOLOGY OF TECHIC CIVILIZATION By Sandra Miesel

The Lovers on the Bridge (1991) is another of those movies I’ve had on my shelves for years. I fell in love with Juliette Binoche after seeing her in The English Patient and Chocolat. This French film mostly takes place on the oldest bridge in Paris, the Pont-Neuf. Juliette Binoche plays a homeless artist who is going blind. She meets up with a homeless street performer (he spits fire) called Alex (Denis Lavant). Both characters are damaged and their relationship has plenty of ups and downs (mostly downs). I heard a lot of about The Lovers on the Bridge and after watching it I can see what all the excitement at Cannes was about. But, I never need to see it again. GRADE: B

Tale of Tales slipped past my radar in 2015. It’s a strange movie directed by Matteo Garrone (who has plenty of talent!). The movie is based on three macabre fairy tales by 17th Century folklorist, Giambattista Basile. The stories intertwine and reinforce each other. In the first story, the King (John C. Reilly) attempts to satisfy the Queen’s (Salma Hayek) obsession to conceive a child by slaying a sea monster. In the second story, another King (Toby Jones) is obsessed by an insect which leads him to marry his daughter off to an ogre. In a third kingdom, the sexually obsessed King (Vincent Cassel) falls for an unseen woman when he hears her singing. Their midnight rendezvous leads to a Big Surprise for both of them.

If you’re in the mood for some “fractured fairy tales” Tale of Tales will startle you. Visually impressive! GRADE: B+

I somehow missed The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes back in 1970 when it was first released. I finally got around to viewing the DVD and found the movie to be a mixed bag. A dazed but beautiful woman shows up at the door of Holmes (Robert Stephens) and Watson (Colin Blakely), but–of course–she has amnesia. Holmes cleverly determines the woman’s identity and learns she’s searching for her missing husband. Holmes is about to dismiss such a mundane cases when he and Watson are summoned by Mycroft Holmes. “The game’s afoot!” is actually uttered.

The movie slows down to a glacial pace and the Loch Ness monster shows up. If you’re looking for something different, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes might be your cup of tea, but it wasn’t mine. What’s your favorite Sherlock Holmes movie or TV series? GRADE: B-

I’m fascinated by life in India. Diksha Basu’s witty novel about a family confronting sudden wealth explores the decisions they make. Mr. Jha sells his web site for $20 million. Overnight, he has wealth beyond his dreams. Mr. Jha and his wife move from their cramped housing complex in East Delhi to the wealthy part of town. Meanwhile, the Jha’s son, Rupak, is struggling in Ithaca, New York in an MBA program. Rupak knows his parents expect him to graduate and go into investment banking, but he is more interested in photography and film-making. When Rupak’s parents visit him in America, many of the stresses of their situation explode.

The Windfall (2017) shows how money changes everything. GRADE: B+

Some people think James Wood, Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University, is our best living literary critic. I’m on the bubble with that issue, but I do admire Wood’s love of literature. In these very accessible lectures, James Wood discusses Chekhov, Fitzgerald, W. G. Sebald, Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Cervantes, and a dozen other writers. If you’re in the mood for some intelligent writing about great writers, I recommend The Nearest Thing to Life. GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Why?
Serious Noticing
Using Everything
Secular Homelessness
Acknowledgments
Notes

Sean Danker has written two exciting novels featuring a mysterious character called “Admiral.” We first meet the Admiral as he wakes up from a “sleeper” on a deserted starship. The Admiral and three other “sleepers”–young military trainees–discover their starship is powerless (just emergency power) and survival looks dim. The Admiral and his three charges cleverly figure out how to survive crisis after crisis. Danker does a good job giving the Admiral (and the reader) hope, then dashing those hopes with yet another terrifying peril. Yes, Admiral is a survival novel, but the unraveling of mysteries and the solving of the problems will keep you on the edge of your seat as you quickly turn the pages of Admiral (2016).

Free Space (2017) is the sequel to Admiral. The Admiral and his date are kidnapped and separated. The clever twist in this SF novel is that the Admiral’s date (and a friend) have to rescue the Admiral from a baffling predicament. This is easy, breezy Summer Reading at its best! GRADE: B (FOR BOTH BOOKS)

Martin Edwards’s The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books is NOT a list of the “Best” crime novels of the 20th Century. In fact, Martin Edwards’s choices span 1901 to 1950 (so there’s hope for a sequel!). Edwards explores the development of the crime novel in the first half of the 20th Century both Chronologically and Thematically. And, as you cast your eyes over the TABLE OF CONTENTS you’ll see plenty of titles and authors you may not have ever heard of (I’d say 50% of Edwards’s choices are new to me). The goal of this book is to show how the crime novel developed (chiefly in England) and what innovations changed the genre.

If you’re a fan of crime novels and mysteries, you’ll find a lot to discover in The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books. And, a lot to like. I also reviewed Martin Edwards’s excellent The Golden Age of Murder here. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE: A NEW ERA DAWNS 7
The Hound of the Baskervilles–Arthur Conan Doyle 11
The Four Just Men–Edgar Wallace 13
The Case of Miss Elliott– Baroness Orczy 15
Tracks in the Snow–Godfrey R. Benson 17
Israel Rank–Roy Horniman 19
The Blotting Book–E. F. Benson 21
The Innocence of Father Brown–G. K. Chesterton 23
At the Villa Rose–A.E.W. Mason 26
The Eye of Osiris–R. Austin Freeman 28
The Lodger–Marie Belloc Lowndes 30
Max Carrados–Ernest Bramah 32
CHAPTER TWO: THE BIRTH OF THE GOLDEN AGE 34
Trent’s Last Case–E. C. Bentley 36
In the Night–Lord Gorell 39
The Middle Temple Murder–J. S. Fletcher 41
The Skeleton Key–Bernard Capes 43
The Cask–Freeman Wills Crofts 45
The Red House Mystery–A. A. Milne 47
CHAPTER THREE: THE GREAT DETECTIVES 49
The Mysterious Affair at Styles–Agatha Christie 53
Clouds of Witness–Dorothy L. Sayers 55
The Rasp–Philip MacDonald 58
Mr. Fortune, Please–H. C. Bailey 61
The Poisoned Chocolates Case–Anthony Berkeley 64
The Mystery of a Butcher’s Shop–Gladys Mitchell 67
The Murder at the Vicarage–Agatha Christie 69
The Case of the Late Pig–Margery Allingham 71
Send for Paul Temple–Francis Durbridge & John Thewes 73
CHAPTER FOUR: ‘PLAY UP! PLAY UP! AND PLAY THE GAME! 75
The Floating Admiral–The Detection Club 80
The Body in the Silo–Ronald Knox 83
She Had to Have Gas–Rupert Penny 85
CHAPTER FIVE: MIRACULOUS MURDERS 88
The Medbury Fort Murder–George Limnelius 92
Murder of a Lady–Anthony Wynne
The Hollow Man–John Dickson Carr 96
CHAPTER SIX: SERPENTS IN EDEN 99
The Secret of High Eldersham–Miles Burton 104
Death Under Sail–C. P. Snow 106
The Sussex Downs Murder–John Bude 108
Sinister Crag–Newton Gayle 110
CHAPTER SEVEN: MURDER AT THE MANOR 112
The Crime at Diana’s Pool–Victor L. Whitechurch 116
Some Must Watch–Ethel Lina White 118
Death By Request–Romilly & Katherine John 120
Birthday Party–C. H. B. Kitchin 122
CHAPTER EIGHT: CAPITAL CRIMES 124
Death at Broadcasting House–Val Gielgud & Holt Marvell 129
Bats in the Belfry–E. C. R. Lorac 132
What Beckoning Ghost?–Douglas G. Browne 134
CHAPTER NINE: RESORTING TO MURDER 137
The Red Redmaynes–Eden Phillpotts 141
Mystery at Lynden Sands–J. J. Connington 143
Murder in Black and White–Evelyn Elder 145
CHAPTER TEN: MAKING FUN OF MURDER 147
Quick Curtain–Alan Melville 152
Case for Three Detectives–Leo Bruce 154
The Moving Toyshop–Edmund Crispin 157
CHAPTER ELEVEN: EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION 159
Murder at School–Glen Trevor 164
Murder at Cambridge–Q. Patrick 166
Death at the President’s Lodging–Michael Innes 168
CHAPTER TWELVE: PLAYING POLITICS 170
Vantage Striker–Helen Simpson 174
Silence of a Purple Shirt–R. C. Woodthrope 177
The Nursing Home Murder–Ngaio Marsh & Henry Jellett 179
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRES 182
The Documents in the Case–Dorothy L. Sayers & Robert Eustace 186
The Young Vanish–Francis Everton 188
Death of an Airman–Christopher St. John Sprigg 190
A.B.C. Solves Five–C. E. Bechhofer Roberts 192
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW 195
The Grell Mystery–Frank Foest 199
the Duke of York’s Steps–Henry Wade
Hendon’s First Case–John Rhode 204
Green for Danger–Christianna Brand 206
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE JUSTICE GAME 208
Trial and Error–Anthony Berkeley 212
Verdict of Twelve–Raymond Postgate 214
Tragedy at Law–Cyril Hare 216
Smallbone Deceased–Michael Gilbert 218
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: MULTIPLYING MURDERS 220
The Perfect Murder Case–Christopher Bush 223
Death Walks in Eastrepps–Francis Beeding 225
X v. Rex–Martin Porlock 227
The Z Murders–J. Jefferson Farjeon 229
The ABC Murders–Agatha Christie 231
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIME 233
The House by the River–A. P. Herbert 238
Payment Deferred–C. S. Forester 240
No Walls of Jasper–Joanna Cannan 242
Nightmare–Lynn Brock 244
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: INVERTED MYSTERIES 246
End of an Ancient Mariner–G.D.H. & M. Cole 250
Portrait of a Murderer–Anne Meredith 252
The Department of Dead Ends–Roy Vickers 254
CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE IRONISTS 256
Malice Aforethought–Francis Iles 259
Family Matters–Anthony Rolls 261
Middle Class Murder–Bruce Hamilton 263
My Own Murderer–Richard Hull 265
CHAPTER TWENTY: FICTION FROM FACT 267
Death to the Rescue–Milward Kennedy 271
A Pin to see the Peepshow–F. Tennyson Jesse 273
Earth to Ashes–Alan Brock 275
The Franchise Affair–Josephine Tey 277
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: SINGLETONS 279
Darkness at Pemberly–T.H. White 284
The Division Bell Mystery–Ellen Wilkinson 286
Death on the Down Beat–Sebastian Farr 288
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 291
The Dain Curse–Dashiell Hammett 297
The Curious Mr. Tarrant–C. Daly King 299
Calamity Town–Ellery Queen 302
The Red Right Hand–Joel Townsley Rogers 304
Strangers on a Train–Patricia Highsmith 306
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: COSMOPOLITAN CRIMES 308
Six Dead Men–Stanislas-Andre Steeman 313
Pietr the Latvian–Georges Simenon 315
Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi–H. Bustos Domecq 317
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: THE WAY AHEAD 319
The Beast Must Die–Nicholas Blake 323
Background for Murder–Shelley Smith 325
The Killer and the Slain–Hugh Walpole 328
The 31st of February–Julian Symons 330
Select Bibiliography 332
Acknowledgements 336
Index of Titles 337
Index of Authors 347