UNUSUAL SUSPECTS By Joseph Goodrich

Martin Edwards, in his canny “Foreword,” praises Joseph Goodrich–playwright and polymath–for the range of his interests and his insights into key mystery writers.

From the first essay on Dashiell Hammett to Goodrich’s takes on Ellery Queen, this book presents a series of thought-provoking analyses. After reading these essays, I wanted to drop everything and read the writers Goodrich discusses: Hammett, Daly, Meyer, Gifford, Goodis, Lucille Fletcher, Rex Stout, and Ellery Queen. Fun, entertaining, and enlightening! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword by Martin Edwards — 1

INTRODUCTION by Joseph Goodrich — 3

THE LINEUP

Dashiell Hammett: Beyond Thursday — 7

Elizabeth Daly: East Side Stories — 11

Nicholas Meyer: An Appreciation — 14

Frederick Irving Anderson: Infallible –18

Barry Gifford: You Want It Darker — 20

Ashley Weaver: A New Golden Age — 24

David Goodis: Drugstore Dostoevsky — 28

Peter Quinn: Man About Town — 33

Dilys Winn: Magical Mystery Tour — 37

Gordon McAlpine: Untangling Holmes Entangled — 41

REHERSAL FOR MURDER: CRIME ON STAGE AND SCREEN

William Link: “Just One More Thing…” — 47

Anthony Shaffer: Grand Artificer of Mystery — 50

Lucille Fletcher: She Has Our Number — 54

Amnon Kabatchnik: Life Upon the Wicked Stage — 58

Stephen Sondheim: A Way Through the Maze — 63

Foyle’s War: Television’s Finest Hour — 68

Pushing the “Panic” Button, Or: How Plays Get Written — 73

Hearing Voices — 82

Nero Wolfe: From Page to State — 84

Flummery, Flapdoodle, and Balderdash: Nero Wolfe in the Age of Alternative Facts — 86

Killer Tunes: Music for Mystery Writers — 91

ELLERY QUEEN, MASTER DETECTIVE

A Challenge to the Viewer — 99

A Kind of Triumph — 102

Adventures in Radioland: Ellery Queen On (and Off) the Air — 104

Confessions of a Literary Safecracker — 113

On the Road with Manfred B. Lee, Part One: “We Could’nt Even Give Tickets Away” — 116

On the Road with Manfred B. Lee, Part Two: “The Most Profound Mysteries…” — 120

On the Road with Manfred B. Lee, Part Three: “The Same Bloody Imagination…” — 124

REQUIEM FOR A DANDY

Remembering Derek Marlowe — 131

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 179

THE AUTHOR — 181

11 thoughts on “UNUSUAL SUSPECTS By Joseph Goodrich

  1. Patti Abbott

    This looks like a lot of fun. Some of these writers I had forgotten all about. Like Elizabeth Daly.

    Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    Patti, Daly is being reprinted in Kindle editions. I get several different Kindle “sales” offerings daily, and I’ve noticed several of her books have been on offer. I only read her first book, many years ago.

    This does sound like something I would read. I knew the late Dilys Winn from her bookshop, Murder Ink. She and Carol Brener used to sell my fanzine there. I also sold books to Amnon Kabatchnik, who had a huge want list of things he was looking for.

    Reply
  3. maggie mason

    sounds interesting, though I’ve not read many of the authors. I’ve read only a few Eliz. Daly, and maybe one L. Fletcher. I think I’ve read the most of Ellery Queen & Nero Wolfe.

    The Dilys Winn chapter is intriguing, though I only went to Mys. Bookshop in NYC., not her shop, I remember the PB’s that were reissued based on her recommendations, and also the owner of Scene of the Crime in LA. I wish I’d kept them as I had the complete set

    Reply

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