tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post5186497217079141734..comments2024-03-17T02:38:18.796+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder and the Married Virgin (1944) by Brett HallidayTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-26461909481853752982021-06-21T12:48:10.178+02:002021-06-21T12:48:10.178+02:00I always take note and jot down recommendations fr...I always take note and jot down recommendations from my fellow fans for future reference. Not only had this one more than enough to make it worthwhile, but have discovered at least one other locked room title by Halliday not listed in either Adey or Skupin. So thanks for the recommendation! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-43416469861823560882021-06-21T00:41:47.771+02:002021-06-21T00:41:47.771+02:00The title did ring a bell when I saw it in my emai...The title did ring a bell when I saw it in my email box. Bit nervous when I saw it was a book I vicariously recommended via Boucher, but glad it had enough good stuff in it to make it a worthwhile read. Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05616800837907092489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-37560312587250739992021-06-20T20:57:39.413+02:002021-06-20T20:57:39.413+02:00I agree. There were writers who wrote hardboiled d...I agree. There were writers who wrote hardboiled detective stories which are still actual detective stories, with actual detection. And there were writers who wrote hardboiled crime novels, with little or no interest in plotting. Edward Anderson, James M. Cain, and to some extent Hammett, etc. Critics much prefer the latter and they often ignore the former.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-30631159974986039202021-06-20T20:03:21.807+02:002021-06-20T20:03:21.807+02:00Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler sort of set ...Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler sort of set the tone and something critics love to hammer on about, but beyond those two giants, there were (and are) many hardboiled writers who appreciated a good, solid puzzle plot. Not always to the same extant or complexity as their GAD counterparts, of course. But a lighter touch to the plotting fits the hardboiled private eye like a well-worn trench coat. <br /><br />Anyway, I hope you enjoy <i>Murder and the Married Virgin</i>.<br />TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-39733742300517763332021-06-20T19:57:43.110+02:002021-06-20T19:57:43.110+02:00I'm not saying Brett Halliday was the hardboil...I'm not saying Brett Halliday was the hardboiled John Dickson Carr, but <i>Murder and the Married Virgin</i> fared much better as a "tough guy" locked room mystery than, let's say, Stephen Brett's <i>Some Die Hard</i>, John B. Ethan's <i>The Black Gold Murders</i> and Jonathan Latimer's <i>The Dead Don't Care</i>. He was more like a proto-Bill Pronzini. And, if that isn't tempting enough for you, Robert Arthur wrote a few short stories under the Halliday name. Such as the promising-sounding "Death Dives Deep." <br /><br />"...<i>in the hope of finding something neither of us have read that's a little more worthy of enthusiasm.</i>"<br /><br />I'm eagerly looking forward to your next installment of "A Little Help for My Friends." :)TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-80882976434557929042021-06-20T13:33:04.824+02:002021-06-20T13:33:04.824+02:00I've only ever read one of the Mike Shayne boo...I've only ever read one of the Mike Shayne books but I quite enjoyed it. But then I'm quite fond of the hardboiled school (which I certainly prefer to the Psychological Crime Novel school). I'm definitely tempted to add <em>Murder and the Married Virgin</em> to my shopping list.<br /><br />And I agree that the hardboiled writers weren't quite as indifferent to plotting as some GAD fans seems to think.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-78308674395138734522021-06-20T11:14:42.593+02:002021-06-20T11:14:42.593+02:00I was dimly aware of this, and dimply aware that i...I was dimly aware of this, and dimply aware that it might not be one to rush out and find...and it sounds like those impressions weren't far off. It's always fun to see the impossible crime melded with atypical genres -- look at Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan, about which we both get rather excited -- but if the book and problem themselves don't meet a certain standard, an impossible crime ain't gonna save it.<br /><br />So, well, I'll keep a weather eye out for this one, but I'll perhaps look elsewhere first, second, third, and fourth in the hope of finding something neither of us have read that's a little more worthy of enthusiasm.JJ @ The Invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.comnoreply@blogger.com