Despite Stephen King’s rave blurb on the back cover of The Black-Eyed Blonde (don’t read it before you read the book because it contains a spoiler), I can’t echo Stephen King’s enthusiasm. When John Banville decided to write a Philip Marlowe novel, his biggest challenge was could he imitate Raymond Chandler’s unique writing style. My vote is: NO. But, that being said, The Black-Eyed Blonde is a solid private eye novel. Banville’s Philip Marlowe is more emotional than Chandler’s Marlowe. A black-eyed blonde shows up at Marlowe’s office and hires him to find her missing lover. Marlowe immediately falls in love with his client which leads him into some very dangerous territory. The bodies mount up and Marlowe discovers links to the past. For purists, this pastiche will be unreadable. But, John Banville is a clever writer who does the best he can with a book like this. GRADE: B

Patrick attended a computer conference in South Korea. He took some photographs and provides some commentary here.  Tomorrow, Patrick begins his 16-hour flight to India to attend a wedding of a friend he met during his student days at Carnegie-Mellon University.  My children are taking my advice to travel while they’re young!.

A locked room mystery. That’s about the last thing I would have expected in Adrain McKinty’s In the Morning I’ll Be Gone. In the Morning I’ll Be Gone is Book Three of “The Troubles Trilogy.” Set in Ireland in the early 1980s, these mysteries feature Sean Duffy, a scruffy, tenacious Catholic cop in the Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Duffy is recruited by MI5, the British intelligence agency, to locate Dermot MCann, an IRA bomber. As Duffy investigates, he’s offered a deal by one of the principals in the case: if Duffy can solve a cold case murder, he’ll be given the location of Dermot McCann. But, as Duffy learns, the possible murder of a young woman happened in a pub whose doors were bolted. The police had to break in to recover the body. Duffy doesn’t give up and comes up with a stunning solution. You can read my reviews of the first two books in “The Troubles Triolgy”–The Cold Cold Ground and I Hear the Sirens in the Street here. If you’re looking for a well-written, intense, and clever locked-room mystery, pick up a copy of In the Morning I’ll Be Gone. GRADE: B+

Stark House has done it again! Here in one attractive package are two noir classics by Wade Miller. “Wade Miller” was the collaborative team of Bob Wade and Bill Miller. Together they wrote some great private eye adventures featuring Max Thursday (sadly, only six books in that series). The team of Wade Miller produced 30 novels, hundreds of short stories, radio scripts, and plays. This new Stark House collection brings two of Wade Miller’s best stand-alone novels together. Some of you may remember the movie version of Kitten With a Whip from 1964 starring John Forsythe and Ann-Margret. Kiss Her Goodbye is a chase novel where the two main characters try to escape their past. If you’re in the mood for some noir fiction, try this Wade Miller collection. It’s terrific!

It’s hard to believe I’ve been listening to Loreena McKennitt’s ethereal music for 30 years. But, as the sticker on the cover of this 2-CD set says: 30th Anniversary Collection. If you’re new to Loreena McKennitt’s music, The Journey So Far is the perfect place to start. Her popular “The Mummer’s Dance” is here as well as “The Mystic’s Dream.” My favorite Loreena McKennitt songs, “The Bonny Swans” and “The Lady of Shalott” are here, too. Disc 2 features music from McKennitt’s 2012 tour. All in all, a very satisfying set of music. Don’t miss it! GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
Disc 1
1. The Mystic’s Dream (Album Version) 4:32
2. Bonny Portmore (Album Version) 4:21
3. The Bonny Swans (Album Version/Edit) 3:58
4. The Mummers’ Dance (Single Remix) 4:01
5. Down By The Sally Gardens 5:38
6. Stolen Child (Album Version) 5:01
7. The Lady Of Shalott (Album Version/Edit) 4:44
8. Marco Polo (Album Version) 5:13
9. Penelope’s Song 4:20
10. Huron ‘Beltane’ Fire Dance (Album Version) 4:19
11. The Old Ways (Album Version) 5:49
12. Dante’s Prayer (Album Version) 7:13

Disc 2:
1. The Star Of The Country Down (Live In Germany/2012) 3:57
2. Night Ride Across The Caucasus (Live In Germany/2012) 8:08
3. The Dark Night Of The Soul (Live In Germany/2012) 6:56
4. Santiago (Live In Germany/2012) 6:42
5. Beneath A Phrygian Sky (Live In Germany/2012) 7:22
6. As I Roved Out (Live In Germany/2012) 4:34
7. All Souls Night (Live In Germany/2012) 5:00
8. Caravanserai (Live In Germany/2012) 5:49
9. Full Circle (Live in Germany/2012) 4.44

I’ve been reading David lodge’s novels and insightful essays for decades. Lives in Writing is Lodge’s latest book of literary articles with an emphasis on biography. Lodge seems to be taking the measure of the writers who most affected him over a life-time of reading. Lodge is a careful reader. When reviewing Norman Sherry’s 900-page third volume of Graham Greene’s biography, Lodge notes that the first volume was the best, the second volume was acceptable, but third volume was a mess. And then Lodge goes on to tell you why–in detail. If you’re a fan of intelligent, literary essays written for the Common Reader Lodge’s Lives of Writing will provide hours of insight and delight. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Late Graham Greene
The Rise and Fall and Rise and Fall of Kingsley Amis
A Tricky Undertaking: The Biography of Muriel Spark
John Boorman’s Quest
Alan Bennent’s Serial Autobiography
The Greene Man Within
Simon Gray’s Diaries
Terry Eagleton’s Goodbye to All That
Frank Remembered–By a Kermodian
Malcolm Bradbury: Writer and Friend
The Death of Diana
Trollope’s Fixed Period
Writing H. G. Wells

I’ve been a fan of Celtic Woman over the years. This latest concert DVD was filmed in 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. If you like bagpipers and Irish step dancers, there’s plenty here to enjoy. My only quibble is that I wish there was a more ambitious selection of songs. I enjoy the songs they sing on this DVD, but it’s a pretty safe list of standards. A little boldness would have made this concert even more enjoying. GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:
1. Awakening
2. Dulaman
3. Nocturne
4. Teir Abhaile Riu
5. Coast Of Galicia
6. Danny Boy
7. Mo Ghile Mear
8. Amazing Grace
9. She Moved Through The Fair
10. Nil Se’n La
11. Shenandoah-Dancer
12. The Voice
13. You Raise Me Up
14. Parting Glass
15. Celtic Woman Playoff
16. Caledonia (Bonus)
17. Bridge Over Troubled (Bonus)
18. Ave Maria (Bonus)

I’m a sucker for a book like Rick Gekoski’s Outside of a Dog. The title comes from the famous line “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read” by Groucho Marx. Rick Gekoski grew up on Long Island, attended the University of Pennsylvania, and then went to Oxford University in England for his PhD. Throughout his life, Gekoski loves books. I got a kick out of Gekoski trying to win his girl friend back by sending her a poem by Yeats. Unfortunately, Gekoski’s rival sent a better poem by Yeats and won the girl. Gekoski finds teaching Literature classes not the dream job he thought it would be. After a few years of struggling with undergraduate essays, Gekoski gives up his secure job and decides to do what he really loves: become a rare book seller. Gekoski meets Graham Greene and buys a large part of his personal collection. The stories of book deals make for fascinating reading. If you love books as much as I do, you’ll relate to Rick Gekoski’s stories and his wonderful books. GRADE: B+

I have no inside information on who will win the Oscars, but here are my picks for the winners:

BEST ACTOR: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club
BEST ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave
BEST DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity
BEST MOVIE: 12 Years a Slave

If The Academy doesn’t want to deal with Woody Allen’s latest controversy, Cate Blanchett could lose and Amy Admas could win for American Hustle. Who do you think will win?

Justice League: War tells the origin story of the Justice League as part of DC Comic’s The New 52. Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Shazam, and Cyborg come together to defend Earth from an alien invasion. If you’re a fan of these super-heroes, you’ll love Justice League: War. My package cost a pittance at Wal-Mart and is one of those increasingly popular Blu-ray-DVD-Digital Ultraviolet packages. In addition to the movie, the Special Features include: Creating Heroes: The Life and Art of Jim Lee and Justice League: War–From Animatic to Pencil Test. On top of that the Blu-ray disc has 4 Vintage cartoons from the DC Comic Vault. Both the DVD and Blu-ray include Deconstructing WAR with Jay Oliva and Jim Lee. There’s plenty here to enjoy. GRADE: B+