The Best Children’s Mysteries

The Best Children’s Mysteries

 

My interest in mysteries started at a very young age.  I have discussed my love of Mathnet earlier on this blog.  But mysteries written for children are a very special subgenre.  In children’s mysteries, the author usually can’t include any serious violence, especially murder.  Not only that, but a children’s mystery often has to feature a child protagonist.  If you have a child as a detective, how does that young person perform a proper investigation?

 

There were several series of children’s mysteries I enjoyed growing up– the Encyclopedia Brown books, which required a wide knowledge of trivia to solve; and the Boxcar Children mysteries, which often did not include actual crimes or detection, were frequently on my reading list.  But my favorite children’s mysteries, written for children, featuring children investigating, were E.W. Hildick’s McGurk Mysteries.

 

The McGurk Mysteries were a series featuring a group of young children who ran their own detective agency and did a remarkable job solving crimes.  At first there were four members of the group: Jack McGurk, the leader of the group with a lot of self-confidence, a manipulative streak, and a surprisingly effective sleuth.  Joey Rockaway, the narrator of the group and the organizer of information.  Wanda Greig, a tree-climbing expert.  The final member of the main group was Willie Sandowsky, whose preternatural skill for smelling proves frequently useful.  Several books into the series, Gerald “Brains” Bellingham, a technology and science whiz, joins the group, followed a bit later by the sixth and last member, Mari Yoshimura, a ventriloquist.

 

The mysteries ranged from catching bank robbers to retrieving stolen jewelry to finding missing to proving a pet cat is innocent of killing birds.  Some of the books are quite dark, involving kidnappings and preventing murders before they happened.  The books were funny, with terrific characters, and though they were geared towards children, Hildick never spoke down to children.

 

Unfortunately, all of these books are out of print, and I worry that they will soon be lost.  Hopefully, they can be brought back to the public attention so a new generation can enjoy them.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3^rd.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

What is the WORST Mystery Book Cover You’ve Ever Seen?

What is the WORST Mystery Book Cover You’ve Ever Seen?

 

It’s been said that you can’t judge a book by its cover, and there’s a lot of truth to that.  Unfortunately, a bad cover can put a potential reader off, and in my experience, one doesn’t want to look at a cover that just looks disgusting.  I’m not a fan of some of the midcentury covers that are particularly lurid, featuring corpses in various states of undress and clear indications of violence.  

 

Unfortunately, a lot of book covers these days are boringly generic.  Most contain an image of dubious connection to the book, and in most cases, one could swap them without causing any confusion.  I’m not saying that every cover has to be iconic, but way too often, the cover’s bland and forgettable.

 

I’m a big fan of Tom Adams’ Agatha Christie book covers.  I think his art is distinct, evocative, and interesting.  It’s often beautifully done, as well.  This cover for A Caribbean Mystery, however just unnerved me.  It looks like there’s a decapitation, though there isn’t one in the book.  I can think of at least a dozen Tom Adams covers for Agatha Christie novels that I’d hang up on my wall.  Not this one.

 

But for me, the mystery book cover that I disliked the most is the first one I ever saw that was actually a spoiler for the book: Dorothy L. Sayers’ Strong Poison.  The heart of the mystery is figuring out how the victim was poisoned.  This cover pretty much spells out the vehicle for the arsenic.

 

Is there a book cover for a mystery that you really disliked?

 

 

–Chris Chan

Story Profile– The Prisoners of Cawdor College

Story Profile– The Prisoners of Cawdor College 

 

Belanger Books’ two-part anthology Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Through the Multiverse has an interesting premise.  These are stories where something is a little different from the Sherlock Holmes Universe we’re used to reading.  Maybe Watson is the detective and Holmes is the doctor.  Maybe they live in America instead of London.  Maybe Holmes’ ethnic background is different.  The main linking factor is that the stories are set in a parallel universe.

 

In my story, I ask what happens if Moriarty won the fight at Reichenbach Falls.  Suppose he won, but instead of throwing Holmes over the edge, he and his men held Holmes (and Mycroft) as prisoners, occaisionally forcing them to use their brainpower for his own ends?

 

You can buy Volume Two of Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Through the Multiverse here.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3^rd.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

 

Congratulations to Lee Child and Laurie R. King!

Congratulations to Lee Child and Laurie R. King!

 

A few months ago I announced that my book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter had been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Non-Fiction!  This past weekend, the Agatha winners were announced, and the winners of the category were Lee Child and Laurie R. King for How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America.  Congratulations to them, and congratulations to the other nominees, Jan Brogan for The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston’s Struggle for Justice, and Julie Kavanaugh’s  The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge, and the Phoenix Park Murders that Stunned Victorian England.  Well done to them, and all the other winners and nominees for the recently announced Agathas and the Edgars!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3^rd.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Story Profile– Think of the Children

 Story Profile– Think of the Children

 

When Belanger Books announced their anthology The Nefarious Villains of Sherlock Holmes, featuring stories revolving around various bad guys Holmes comes across over the course of the Canon.  I immediately knew that I wanted to write about a character who is referenced in The Sign of the Four: a villain who preys on little children.  The killer is only mentioned in an intriguing line of dialogue, and Holmes also mentions a rather disgusting fellow who is far kinder in the inside than one might expect him to be from his personality.  I knew that I had to tell the story of both characters.

 

You can find my story, “Think of the Children,” here.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3^rd.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Agatha Christie’s Young Adventurers

Agatha Christie’s Young Adventurers

 

When the layperson with only a cursory knowledge of Agatha Christie’s books, they think of older detectives.  Miss Marple is a senior citizen, and Poirot is a mature man as well.  However, a significant portion of Christie’s books– around twenty percent– feature younger detectives, just starting out in their adult lives and seeking adventure and finding love.

 

Agatha Christie Ltd. has just published my profile of some of Christie’s younger detectives in “The Young Adventurers Reading List.”  Check it out, if you are interested!

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3^rd.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

 

 

Why Can’t Perry Mason Be Adapted Faithfully?

Why Can’t Perry Mason Be Adapted Faithfully?

 

In my previous post, I discussed how the characters in the Perry Mason series changed over the course of the series and also how the very adaptations changed them.  But it’s not just the characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner that were altered.  The plots and narratives have been changed dramatically, too.  

 

When Perry Mason was made into a series of six 1930’s movies, some hewed closer to the classic stories than others, but additional subplots, like romances and “comedy” bits were added.  A radio series rarely brought the narrative into the courtroom, portraying Mason as more of a private eye and man of action, using original stories largely not based on the books.  The current HBO series mostly just uses names and a bunch of Easter eggs in its first season, with a wholly original mystery at its center, and traces of Gardner’s other series thrown into the mix.

 

But what about the Raymond Burr television series (which once again, I stress, is one of my favorites)?  A great many of the early seasons drew upon Gardner’s stories, but in order to fit into fifty to fifty-two minutes, a lot had to be cut, and often, some of the most interesting and colorful characters (such as the titular Dangerous Dowager) had their roles cut and their characterization made far more pallid and less interesting.  Some narratives, often regarding sexual situations or children born outside of marriage (PG-rated at worst by today’s standards), were bowdlerized, and one of the books series’ most shocking endings (the work is not named here so as not to be a spoiler) was changed to be more conventional.  Even some titles were changed, as Vagabond Virgin was considered inappropriate and changed to Vagabond Vixen… which really sounds a lot dirtier.  A lot of plot lines and complex legal issues were cut, and often the precarious legal issues in which Mason had to extricate himself were removed.  More often than not, the changes produced enjoyable episodes, but often a lot of deleted material would have made the episodes better.

 

After the first few series, the show ran out of books to adapt, aside from a few newly published ones here and there. Late in the series’ run, a few Gardner novels that had already been adapted were adapted a second time, though with a different title and some cosmetic changes to the plot.  Viewers could understandably feel a sense of déjà vu watching these second-time-around adaptations. Incidentally, decades later, the television show Psych would take its first season episode “Cloudy… With a Chance of Murder” and remake it in its final season as “Remake A.K.A. Cloudy… With a Chance of Improvement.”  It kept the basic plot of the original intact, but it changed the ending.  Not only that, but it added a few more jokes, contemporary references, and filled the cast with actors who had played prominent roles in earlier episodes.  Psych billed the episode as “[making] television history with a never-been-done remake,” but this wasn’t true.  Perry Mason beat Psych to this by half a century.  This had been done for quite some time on the radio as well, as many long-running mystery series routinely took old episodes, changed a bit here and a tad there, and called it a new episode, as it was a lot easier than writing a brand-new episode.

 

Will the Perry Mason books ever get adaptations closer to the original novels?  There are a lot of really entertaining legal thrillers by Gardner that have only been adapted into versions that only bear a cursory resemblance to the originals.  It’s unlikely that another TV series will adapt the books and hew closely to the books, at least in the English language.  Who knows what another country might do?  There are many examples of fine examples of American and British mysteries be adapted well in other languages.  However, the best chance for new, faithful adaptations might be in the form of a radio series.  Certainly many great mystery novels have received stellar adaptations in that format.  Perhaps Perry Mason could be next.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3^rd.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.