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PLAYING THE GAME, PART I: You’re the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder, a Solve-It-Yourself Mystery

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Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 5d

PLAYING THE GAME, PART I: You're the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder, a Solve-It-Yourself Mystery ahsweetmystery.com/2025/10/03/p...

Having just read about The Murder Game, I was eager to play it. Nowadays, I’ll admit that I tend to read mysteries more passively, allowing the twists and turns of a puzzle to wash over m…

LUCID, LUDIC AND WELL-CLUED: The Murder Game, by John Curran

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 9d

Part historical survey, part ludic analysis, John Curran's The Murder Game is an essential addition to the mystery lover's bookshelf. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/29/l...

Recently, I shared photos with you as evidence of my wall to wall to wall to wall assortment of mystery books. Interspersed amongst the novels and plays and story collections are books&nb…

As we turn to nine more films this month on our 36-film-list that will form the basis of my Noirvember ’55 Top 13 Films Noirs Draft, my own personal list of favorites is starting to take shape. I o…

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 11d

With inexorable dread, we're inching ever closer to our Noirvember '55 draft!! Here are three more films for your consideration!! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/27/n...

NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 9

THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY GREAT BIG GIGANTIC AGATHA CHRISTIE QUIZ ANSWERS

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 14d

Here are the answers to the Tenth Anniversary Great Big Gigantic Agatha Christie Quiz. You're welcome! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/24/t...

Ten years ago on this very day, I posted for the first time. I promised you I would cover classic mysteries in every format – page, stage, and screen – and I made no bones about my adoration …

THE POIROT PROJECT #12: Elephants Can Remember

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 17d

The Poirot Project - fifteen titles in fifteen months - and I knew I had to get to this one sooner or later! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/21/t...

“’Elephants don’t forget,’ said Mrs. Oliver. ‘You know, a story children get brought up on? How someone, an Indian tailor, stuck a needle or something in an elephant’s tusk. No, Not a tusk, his tru…

THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN: The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink

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Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 21d

The Mason Menagerie dips into luxury this month, as Della cries, "Make mine mink!" and Perry wonders what it's all fur! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/17/t...

Over the past eight months, I’ve led you by the snout through the Perry Mason Menagerie to witness the hijinks of assorted household pets and various fowl (plus one foul but sleepy mosquito.) This …

A FRENZY OF ENVY: Celia Fremlin’s The Jealous One

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 23d

Another first-time read of a brilliant author: Celia Fremlin's The Jealous One is incisive, suspenseful, and very funny. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/15/a...

We have given a lot of space here to the Queens of Crime. More and more, however I’ve been turning my attentions to the Duchesses of Domestic Suspense! To my great shame, I haven’t yet r…

THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY GREAT BIG GIGANTIC AGATHA CHRISTIE QUIZ

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 25d

To commemorate my tenth anniversary as a blogger, I present you with a gigantic Christie quiz! How much of an Agath-ologist are you?!? Can you identify thirty of my favorite quotations? ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/13/t...

Today marks the beginning of the annual Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay! While you read this, there are walks and teas and library events and detection galore going on all around Torquay and ne…

When you’re watching thirty-six films noirs over several months, all from the same year, not all of them can be Grade-A noir! The last trio was pretty rough, but I went into this nex…

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · 28d

The next trio of films under consideration for our Noirvember draft includes a double dose of hokum and a genuine masterpiece! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/10/n...

NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 8

Considering this month marks my tenth anniversary, one hopes that the next nine films on the list for our upcoming Noirvember ’55 draft would be bangers, every one of them! (Here’s the entire list.…

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Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Sep 3

My deep dive into the noir films of 1955 continues as we inch ever closer to our big Noirvember draft. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/03/n...

NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 7

Oh #$%&! Not Another Blogger’s Tenth Anniversary!!

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Sep 1

Ten years as a blogger? Me? ahsweetmystery.com/2025/09/01/o...

I have never been a trendy guy. It isn’t like I haven’t tried, but I’ve always been slow on the uptake. Just before I started high school, I demanded that my mom, who had forever dressed me in dark…

SATURDAY REVIEW: The Thursday Murder Club

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Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 30

Two more TV mystery reviews for Saturday - but I have to warn you they're both pretty "meh." ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/30/s...

What is the world coming to? It used to be that if one announced a new film based on a hugely popular novel and starring Oscar, Tony and Olivier winner Helen Mirren, Oscar and Grammy winner S…

THE ERLE STANLEY GARDNER INDEX

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 27

Erle Stanley Gardner has emerged as a favorite of mine. Reading ALL his work may be a challenge I don't even want to attempt, but the index I've compiled shows how far I've come . . . and how very far i have to go! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/27/t...

This is a work in progress dedicated to the reading of one of my favorite authors. To say that Gardner was prolific is beyond understatement. There are hundreds of writings that have nothing to do …

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 26

My film was selected! The prize is an all-expenses-paid week in Draftland! After a deep soak on the rooftop of the Marker Majestic, the cats and I are dining at Les Poissons atop La Marmotte where, after dinner, Clay is hosting a screening of Now, Voyager for the legends and me. Redemption is mine!!

THE POIROT PROJECT #11: Hickory Dickory Dock

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 21

For this month's Poirot Project, a sentimental favorite, my birth day book - except, sadly, it's not very good. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/21/t...

Dr. John Curran’s description of what he found over the fifty pages of Notebook 12 that comprised the planning of Hickory Dickory Dock (U.S. title: Hickory Hickory Death) suggest that Agatha didn’t…

Today we reach the halfway point in our 36-film list of 1955 films noirs that Sergio Angelini compiled for our Noirvember draft. (Find the list here.) Sergio, Nick Cardillo and I are curr…

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 19

Three more entries for our upcoming Noirvember '55 draft - including a surefire candidate for Number One!! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/19/n...

NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 6

THE NEIGHS HAVE IT: The Case of the Fan-Dancer’s Horse

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 19

It's so exciting that you get to share your knowledgeable voice on so many forums! Well done, Sergio!!

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Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 17

After stomping on a drowsy mosquito, Perry Mason's brush with a bullet-nicked horse is a bit of a letdown, but it does have a thrilling opening and a terrific TV adaptation. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/17/t...

If experience is any measure, the majority of Perry Mason mysteries begin one morning, afternoon, or evening in Mason’s law office with the arrival of an intriguing new client. Doesn’t sound very e…

SIX SKIDOO: My Favorite Mysteries of the 1920’s

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Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 15

My Book Club is selecting their favorite mysteries of the 1920's. Here are mine . . . (One of them is, er, controversial!) ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/15/s...

The real fun with my Book Club occurs when we toss aside the traditional “Read-of-the-Month” format and talk about books in general. When we read something together, we make quick work of our discu…

You know the drill! The full list is here. We’re drafting the Top Thirteen 1955 Films Noirs in November. Today’s trio is a decidedly mixed bag: each has elements that work for m…

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 10

Noirvember is inching ever closer (feel the dread?) and here are three more films being considered for our 1955 draft. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/10/n...

NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 5

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 5

Blue Sky was displeased with American Mystery Classics cover art for Charlotte Armstrong's The Unsuspected. I am reposting with, I hope, a more acceptable image. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/04/l...

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Aug 1

Three more entries for our upcoming Noirvember draft of the top thirteen film noir classics of 1955! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/08/01/n...

GONE GIRL IN THE WINDOW, NO TRAIN: The Dead Friend Project

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Jul 30

My rare sojourn into the modern mystery novel has yielded mixed results. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/07/30/g...

I think I’m growing tired of these covers of modern cozy mysteries, with their punny titles, cutesy illustrations, and snarky tag lines: The cover of The Dead Friend Project, Joanna Wallace’s secon…

BRAD TAKES THE COLBERT QUESTIONERT

Brad Friedman @ahsweetmystery.bsky.social · Jul 28

Today I've given myself the Colbert Questionert. It was challenging and fun, and I took it to be known, both as a person and as a grateful fan of Stephen Colbert. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/07/28/b...

Something a little different today . . . Citing financial reasons, CBS has cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The timing couldn’t be worse. Colbert has the #1 rated program on late …