Category Archives: Blogs

The Other Miss Marple

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Millie

There is another female detective similar in style and nature to Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple. The other Miss Marple is Miss Maude Silver, the fictional character created by Patricia Wentworth. She appears in 32 classic whodunit crime novels in … Continue reading →

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Sherlock Holmes and the Science of Forensics

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Millie

Note: Spoiler alert. Since Sherlock uses forensics to solve the crimes in the stories featured in this blog, it isn’t easy to discuss these elements without, in some cases giving away the solution. Sherlock Holmes drew his crime solutions from … Continue reading →

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Cats in Mysteries

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Millie

I’ve noticed that today’s cozy mystery book covers often feature a cat as part of the art. Many times, the cat pictured is there for decoration and does not play a role in the story. In other books, the cat … Continue reading →

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Take the Spirit of Murder – Faraday Murder Series Book #4

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Millie

Baffling incidents, ghostly sightings, and murder confront Carrie and Charles Faraday in the latest entry in my cozy mystery series. I’d like to tell you a bit about the plot. But don’t worry, I’ve been very careful not to give … Continue reading →

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Leslie Charteris–Creator of The Saint

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Millie

Those of us who love mysteries are living in a splendid time. There are so many channels and streaming options available to help the mystery lover, like you, find a movie or a television show representing the genre. One of … Continue reading →

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Sue Grafton—A Tribute

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Millie

In December 2017, we lost a fine writer and a giant in the mystery genre with the passing of Sue Grafton. Grafton was best known as the creator of the Alphabet Mystery series featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She hoped … Continue reading →

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Edith Ngaio Marsh

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Millie

Many of you have heard about the Golden Age of Mysteries. It was introduced in the 1920’s and reached a peak in the 1930’s, and perhaps lasted as long as the authors who wrote in this style. The Golden Age … Continue reading →

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M.C. Beaton and Agatha Raisin

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Millie

As many of you would agree, British television does a marvelous job with developing and presenting mystery shows. And fortunately for us, PBS brings many of these shows to this country. After watching hundreds of episodes of the various British … Continue reading →

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Erle Stanley Gardner

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Millie

Mention the name of actor, Raymond Burr and most people will immediately respond− “Perry Mason.” Burr made his acting mark playing this television lawyer.  But ask this same audience the name of the writer of the Perry Mason stories and … Continue reading →

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Raymond Chandler

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Millie

What do you do when you’re a top executive with a large oil company and you lose your job during the depression. If your Raymond Chandler, you become a writer of hardboiled detective fiction. He may have started his writing … Continue reading →

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The Value of Clues in Mysteries

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Millie

It’s hard for me to believe that five years have passed since I started my Dark and Stormy Night Mysteries blog. During this time, I have written about mystery authors, characteristics of mysteries, crime methods, detectives and I even sprinkled … Continue reading →

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Georges Simenon & Jules Maigret

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Millie

Georges Simenon was a Belgium writer who produced 200 novels and numerous short stories. Of course from a mystery perspective he was best known for his creation of fictional detective Jules Maigret. His sales from the Maigret series are estimated … Continue reading →

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Dorothy Sayers-Lord Peter Wimsey

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Millie

I’ve blogged many times about Agatha Christie and her characters, but there was another well-known mystery writer from the same time period −Dorothy Leigh Sayers. Christie and Sayers are in a select group of writers from the early Golden Age … Continue reading →

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Writing the Faraday Murder Series

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Millie

My dashing duo Charles and Carrie are back in the third book in the Faraday Murder Series ─Take a Byte Out of Murder.  The couple has decided they need a vacation after solving their second murder. Off they go to … Continue reading →

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Miss Marple- Still Going Strong

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Millie

I recently took a course on Agatha Christie. At the first class the teacher asked—what makes Agatha Christie’s mysteries as popular today as when they were first published? I found this question of interest, because I have some personal experience … Continue reading →

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Film Noir

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Millie

Film Noir is French for Black Film. Classic Film Noir generally refers to a period of Hollywood film making between 1940 through the 1950’s. It’s believed its cinematic style was influenced by German Expressionism which featured bold artistic styling including … Continue reading →

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GK Chesterton and Father Brown

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Millie

Who Is G.K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith (G.K.) Chesterton was an English writer, lay theologian, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, art critic, biographer and last but not least mystery writer. For the American mystery fan he is best known as the author … Continue reading →

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Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Millie

For those of us who enjoy the mystery programs presented on PBS they have added another great series to their repertoire—Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. This show is an Australian production that provides a glimpse into high society life after World … Continue reading →

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Millie Mack’s Faraday Murder Series Returns!

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Millie

My two amateur sleuths, Carrie and Charles Faraday return in my latest cozy mystery Take Stock in Murder. However, there are changes for our detectives since they first appeared in Take a Dive for Murder. In addition to joining together to … Continue reading →

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25 Years of Poirot

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Millie

It’s amazing how quickly twenty-five years can pass by, especially when a good mystery is involved like Poirot. It’s hard to believe the last episodes featuring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot are complete and will air on PBS. The star … Continue reading →

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Charlie Chan Movies

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Millie

It’s generally accepted that Earl Derr Biggers enhanced the image of the Chinese race with his portrayal of Charlie Chan in his books. The character he developed was not the stereotypical evil China man from the underbelly of Chinatown. Instead … Continue reading →

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Earl Derr Biggers

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Millie

Charlie Chan the “Honorable” Detective   Earl Derr Biggers was born in 1884 in Warren Ohio and was an American novelist and playwright. However he is primarily remembered for his books featuring the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan. Biggers graduated from … Continue reading →

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Black Mask Magazine

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Millie

In a previous blog we discussed pulp magazines as an important publishing outlet for many writers and especially writers of mystery and detective stories. In this blog let’s focus on one of the more popular of these magazines–Black Mask. H.L. … Continue reading →

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Pulp Fiction

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Millie

Aside from the movie of the same name what was Pulp Fiction and more importantly what was its influence on the mystery genre? Pulp Fiction Pulp fiction refers to stories that were published in magazines from 1896 through the 1950’s.  The … Continue reading →

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Writing Take a Dive for Murder

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Millie

For those of you who regularly follow the Dark and Stormy Night Mysteries blog —you are aware that I took a few weeks off from my blog postings. But I had a good reason—I was finalizing the details of publishing … Continue reading →

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Hard Boiled Detectives

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Millie

What comes to mind when I say the word hard-boiled. Yup, for me too –I think of hardboiled eggs. What? You say you think of one of the mystery genres. Of course you are absolutely correct, but let’s talk about … Continue reading →

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Dashiell Hammett

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Millie

You can’t talk about the mystery genre, especially hard-boiled detectives, without a discussion about Dashiell Hammett. He continues to be revered as one of America’s finest mystery writers, not to mention he is credited with being instrumental in introducing the … Continue reading →

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Suspense in Mysteries

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Millie

We generally associate suspense with thrillers. It’s the cliff-hanger format in thrillers that leaves the reader on edge as to what will happen next. However, a little suspense never hurt a good mystery. What is Suspense Here is how the … Continue reading →

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Nancy Drew-Her Mysterious Influence

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Millie

When I’m asked what was my first mystery book I answer quickly by saying Nancy Drew. Like many little girls my love of mysteries started with this teenage sleuth. And before we talk about Nancy Drew let me share a quick … Continue reading →

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Wilkie Collins vs. Edgar Allan Poe

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Millie

In the last several blogs we’ve discussed Edgar Allan Poe and his contributions to the mystery genre including being credited as the “father” of the detective story. However, this accolade is not without controversy. Many scholars want the credit for … Continue reading →

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