Adam Worth: The Man Behind Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Moriarty

By Adrienne Rivera. Jan 27, 2024. 4:22 PM.

Topics: Mystery, Suspense & Crime

What's a hero without a villain? It's a question asked in both literature and film, but with the immense popularity of villainous characters, it's no surprise. Villains provide entertainment and conflict and serve as foils from which we can see our favorite heroes from a new angle and against whom heroes can pit themselves to show what makes them special and heroic.

     
Read more...


Gertrude Chandler Warner and The Boxcar Children

For most people, the biggest names in mysteries are Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While those beloved masters are well known worldwide, for many young readers, their first introduction into the genre is through another author: Gertrude Chandler Warner, author of the classic children's series The Boxcar Children. Join us today as we take a look at her life and work.

     
Read more...


Collecting Nancy Drew

By Adrienne Rivera. Dec 10, 2023. 6:15 AM.

Topics: Children's Books, Mystery, Suspense & Crime

Sherlock Holmes. Miss Marple. Hercule Poirot. All of these detectives are household names, and all of them are adults. While these sleuths are all much loved and timeless, there is something to be said for reading about a character your own age, which is why teen girl detective Nancy Drew has had such staying power in the world of mystery novels.

     
Read more...


Collecting Dean Koontz

By Adrienne Rivera. Feb 7, 2023. 10:07 AM.

Topics: Book Collecting, Mystery, Suspense & Crime

American suspense writer Dean Koontz was born in 1945 and to date has published one hundred and five novels under his own name and various pseudonyms. He published his first novel, a work of science fiction called Star Quest, in 1968. He continued to publish science fiction, horror, and suspense novels for the next ten years, none of which reached commercial success. His breakthrough novel, Whispers, was released in 1980. Since then, Koontz has topped the New York Times Best Sellers List multiple times for both hardback and paperback novels. Many of his novels have been adapted into films. He is widely considered to be one of the most successful suspense writers alive. He continues to publish widely, often producing several novels and novellas a year. Let’s take a look at a few of Koontz’s best novels for those looking to start collecting the legendary and prolific novelist’s work.

     
Read more...


Five Facts About Romantic Adventure Writer Janet Evanovich

By Adrienne Rivera. Apr 20, 2021. 9:00 AM.

Topics: Literature, Movie Tie-Ins, Mystery, Suspense & Crime

Janet Evanovich was born in South River, New Jersey in 1943. Evanovich has become a household name thanks to her much beloved adventure series featuring bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. A prolific writer, she has published over sixty novels, many of which have topped the New York Times Best Sellers list. Her novels are published all over the world and have been translated into more than 40 languages. In celebration of this writer's amazing career, here are five things you might not know about one of America's most loved adventure novelists.

     
Read more...


James Patterson: Master of the Thriller

By Adrienne Rivera. Apr 22, 2020. 9:00 AM.

Topics: Movie Tie-Ins, Mystery, Suspense & Crime

For fans of mystery and thriller novels, there is perhaps no bigger name than James Patterson. With over 147 books under his belt, Patterson is often considered the most prolific writer working in the field. Since the publication of his first novel in 1976, The Thomas Berryman Number, Patterson has produced a steady stream of mysteries and thrillers popular with both adults and young adults alike, While Patterson has come under fire for his extensive collaboration with co-writers, a practice which many suspect has not called for Patterson to do much of the writing, he has maintained a presence on the New York Times Best Seller list for years, with numerous books topping the charts. From his Alex Cross series to the Women's Murder Club series, his thrillers have made him a must-read author for decades. Even non-readers likely have a familiarity to his work due to numerous television and film adaptation based on his novels. Let's take a closer look at some of the best novels by this author and philanthropist for those wishing to add to their collection or break into this massive body of work for the first time.

     
Read more...


Mickey Spillane: Hardboiled Detectives and Salted Peanuts

By Brian Hoey. Mar 9, 2020. 9:00 AM.

Topics: Mystery, Suspense & Crime

"Those big-shot writers could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar.” Mickey Spillane

For a writer, one of the most depressing literary pantheons is the “books written in a matter of weeks” category. This includes such classics and arguable classics as Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying (1930, written in six weeks while the author worked as a security guard), Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (1957, written in three weeks on a 120 foot long roll of paper), and Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (1989, written in a 28 day “crash” during which time he didn't see anyone, answer any mail, answer the phone, etc.). While not a classic by anyone definition, Dostoevsky’s The Gambler (1866) was written in about a month in order to pay off a gambling debt. Also on that list is hardboiled mystery writer Mickey Spillane’s 1947 first novel, I, the Jury—which marked the debut of the iconic private eye Mike Hammer.

     
Read more...


Carl Bernstein: Mystery Writer

By Brian Hoey. Feb 14, 2020. 9:00 AM.

Topics: History, Mystery, Suspense & Crime

The Big Sleep (1939). The Maltese Falcon (1929). All the President’s Men (1974). These three books represent some of the best mystery writing produced in the last century. And yet, one of these things is not like the others: where Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett honed and perfected a particular kind of detective novel, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s account of corruption and fraud within the Nixon administration leverages the conventions of those novels to present us with something all too true. Though All the President’s Men isn't a novel in the strict sense, it often reads like one—a good one, at that. As a reader, you’re fascinated by the investigative process, you feel real stakes and tension, you want to keep turning pages to figure out whodunnit, and that’s precisely what made the book so powerful.

     
Read more...


Michael Crichton: The Arthur Conan Doyle of the 20th Century?

By Brian Hoey. Oct 23, 2019. 9:00 AM.

Topics: Mystery, Suspense & Crime

If you’re good with dates, dear reader, you no doubt have a number of objections ready based simply on the title of this blog post. The Hound of the Baskervilles, which represents Sherlock Holmes’ first appearance after he was unceremoniously killed off by his author, actually appears in 1901, with a slow trickle of additional Holmes stories and other writings throughout the aughts, teens, and twenties. So, in point of fact, Arthur Conan Doyle is the Arthur Conan Doyle of the 20th century. We could call Michael Crichton the Conan Doyle of the Cold War, but Jurassic Park (1990) was published after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Let’s say instead that Crichton, who was born 12 years after Doyle’s death, could be Arthur Conan Doyle reincarnated.

     
Read more...


Agatha Christie: Queen of Crime with Continuing Appeal

By Shelley Kelber. Sep 15, 2019. 9:00 AM.

Topics: Mystery, Suspense & Crime

Everybody knows Agatha Christie wrote an amazing number of books, and lots of movies and TV shows have been based on them. She is considered a genius for her plotting and understanding of the psychology behind her characters. But not as many know that she and her first husband were among the first Brits to surf standing up. And they did this in Hawaii, in the 1920s, while touring the world promoting the British Empire Exhibition.

     
Read more...


  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

About this blog

How can I identify a first edition? Where do I learn about caring for books? How should I start collecting? Hear from librarians about amazing collections, learn about historic bindings or printing techniques, get to know other collectors. Whether you are just starting or looking for expert advice, chances are, you'll find something of interest on blogis librorum.

Get blog notifications per email:

Download the James Bond Dossier

Recent Posts

Book Glossary
Get your free Guide to Book Care

Blog Archive

> see older posts
A Guide to Historic Libraries Part I