tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post8444975578506505926..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Stamping Out Crime TomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-76415242338250409132016-03-10T22:18:45.596+01:002016-03-10T22:18:45.596+01:00I can't vouch for any of her other books, but ...I can't vouch for any of her other books, but this was one was unmistakably from the Van Dine-Queen-Clason School of American Detective Fiction and I loved it! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-22074520412594543402016-03-10T14:37:03.284+01:002016-03-10T14:37:03.284+01:00Guess I'll end this review here and recommend ...<em>Guess I'll end this review here and recommend A Most Immoral Murder to fans of S.S. van Dine, Ellery Queen and Clyde Clason. If you enjoyed those writers, you'll enjoy Ashbrook.<br /></em><br /><br />If she's worthy to be compared to those three writers I might definitely have to start looking for some of her books.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-75234735813196434522016-03-08T22:55:14.104+01:002016-03-08T22:55:14.104+01:00There were one or two passages, with commentary ab...There were one or two passages, with commentary about the detective story, showing her credentials as a genre "fanboy." So on that account alone she deserved more than she got, but she also showed some genuine originality here. Loved how she wove the stamps and WWI-angle into a detective-plot. Yes, she deserved more than she got. <br /><br />Anyhow, looking forward to your essay. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-58985527362354119662016-03-08T18:25:43.173+01:002016-03-08T18:25:43.173+01:00She did indeed get the short stick! Amazingly, for...She did indeed get the short stick! Amazingly, for a minor mystery writer one of her books, <i>The Murder of Stephen Kester</i>, was adapted for the screen only a year after it was published. The title changed to <b>Green Eyes</b> and its fairly faithful though a bit more madcap than the novel. I can find something to admire in all of her books even if some of them have easy to spot murderers. She really did admire the genre and was quite a "fanboy" when she encountered originality as I discovered in the few mystery book reviews she wrote for newspapers. Finding them online is almost impossible, but I was successful at the library. At the time, I think she was pretty innovative for an American detective novelist. She did some very interesting research for at least two of her books. I've got another long essay planned on her books she wrote as Susannah Shane in which persona she did some interesting Woolrichian suspense plotting. Last year I managed to find copies of three of her rarest titles. Of the total six Shane books I've got only three more to read. That essay should be coming in April on my blog.J F Norrishttp://prettysinister.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com