Saturday, April 29, 2017

A Review of Water Signs by Janet Dawson

Water Signs (2017, Perseverance Press) is the second Janet Dawson/Jeri Ryan novel that I've recently read and reviewed, after the excellent Cold Trail.  California has always had the blessings and curses of being a paradise that fell to earth. The Jeri Ryan, P.I. series catalogues the plagues...

Friday, April 21, 2017

The Holmes Curse at the University of Michigan

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as the serial killer Dr. Henry H. Holmes, was the most notorious criminal of the late 19th century. After he was sentenced to death in 1895, the legend of a curse grew around him: death, disabling disease or personal ruin would follow those involved in his trial...

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

H.H. Holmes: A Man for Our Times

Selzer's Biography of Holmes Dr. Henry H. Holmes was the most notorious criminal of late nineteenth century America.  Adam Selzer, who has spent years separating out Holmes the historical character from Holmes the myth, has put together a near-500-page biography of Holmes which came out just...

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

To Kill A Dead Man: The Afterdeath of Edgar Allan Poe.

Poe - army deserter, drug fiend, erratic genius - or not. Edgar Allan Poe had the misfortune of having his enemy take charge of his literary estate and reputation. Upon Poe's death, the Reverend Rufus W. Griswold penned an obituary which began: "EDGAR ALLAN POE is dead. He died in Baltimore the day...