At the age of fifty-seven, Interpol detective Henri Poincare still has the capacity to be shocked and saddened by human brutality. And in this first of a projected series of mysteries Poincare has plenty to be shocked about. He is still... Read More

Who could have guessed when academic Robert B. Parker introduced Boston private eye Spenser in The Godwulf Manuscript in 1974 that the entire landscape of American detective fiction would shift? Although Spenser (last name only, please)... Read More

The mention of Emily Dickinson’s name does not generally conjure up images of a hot-blooded hussy sneaking off for steamy encounters with a married man who was old enough to be her father. But that’s essentially the picture the... Read More

This mystery explodes with a bang. Actually, it’s more like a fusillade, as six members of the US Supreme Court are gunned down within seconds of each other while the court is in session. In the confusion of the assault, the lone... Read More

“Essentially we are incapable of accepting that much of life is inexplicable. And so we use myth, art and religion as devices to explain and cope with reality.” Thus does English writer Charlie Campbell set the stage for his survey... Read More

On December 19, 2011, a Nashville newspaper carried a story about the construction of an all-faiths chapel at the nearby Fort Campbell military base that will cost taxpayers $8.4 million. A smaller article in the same issue noted that a... Read More

A Tokyo pickpocket finds meaning in his otherwise drab and aimless life by reflecting on the subtleties of his art: selecting the “mark”; using a crowd to shield his motions; and extracting the wallet with a deft, fluid, two-finger... Read More

To a large segment of Americans, the Seegers have been as culturally important as the Gershwins—and there were more of them. In fact, two of that artistically fecund tribe were still producing music as of last October. The most famous... Read More