Category Archives: mystery

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd – WWI Challenge

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Victoria Janssen

My April book for the The WWI Challenge was A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd, a mystery novel set (mostly) in England while the war was still going on. Heroine Bess Crawford is the daughter of a colonel … Continue reading →

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A few mystery novel previews

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Victoria Janssen

I’ve had a few more previews of new mystery novels up at The Criminal Element recently. Fresh Meat: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee – a young adult spy novel featuring a female spy. Fresh Meat: Nine for … Continue reading →

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WWI-era Mysteries?

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

I’m attempting to compile a list of mystery series that are set during World War One or shortly afterwards (say, through the 1920s) that refer back to the war or the resulting social changes. I am looking for suggestions! Doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Some Thoughts on Nairobi Heat by Mukoma wa Ngugi

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

Mukoma wa Ngugi’s first novel, Nairobi Heat, involves themes including African Americans in their relationship to Africans as well as outcomes of the Rwandan genocide, both for those who suffered and those who viewed from afar. The themes of the … Continue reading →

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Dandy Gilver post

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

I had a new post up at The Criminal Element yesterday, on Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains, fifth in a series of historical mysteries I’d like to read from the beginning.

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Women of the Mean Streets and Hottest Villains

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

In case you missed them, my guest posts from last week: at Heroes and Heartbreakers about the Top 5 Villains I Wish Were Heroes; and at The Criminal Element, Fresh Meat: Women of the Mean Streets, an anthology of lesbian … Continue reading →

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Remington Steele post

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

I had a new post up on The Criminal Element yesterday – Dynamic Duos: Remington Steele and Laura Holt.

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Historical Mystery Series I Have Loved

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

My mystery-reading binge isn’t quite as overwhelming as it was for a while, but I’m still in that mode, especially feeling a craving for historicals. I’m thinking of doing some rereads. I recommend both of these series very highly. Sarah … Continue reading →

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Sexual Mores in J.D. Robb

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

One of the ways J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) uses to cue “it’s the future!” in the Eve Dallas mysteries is her portrayal of social/sexual mores. Though the future is noir, rife with horrible murders and serial killers (otherwise, no work … Continue reading →

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Days of Our (Future) Lives: Romance in J.D. Robb

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

One of the reasons J.D. Robb’s mystery series has continued so long, so successfully, is that it has ongoing romantic elements. There’s the main couple, futuristic police detective Eve Dallas and her financier husband Roarke, but there is also a … Continue reading →

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