Category Archives: Mystery

Brueghelian Obsession

Posted on September 14, 2018 by

The fourth and last in a series of novels involving the search for lost art. But a new slant here: this novel is for adults. Headlong, Michael Frayn (1999), Picador, 342 pp. Remember that Rod Serling story, where the Nazi … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Mystery | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Borrowers Meet Don Marquis’ Archy

Posted on September 12, 2018 by

Third in a series reviewing novels about stolen paintings. Masterpiece (2008), Elise Broach (illus. Kelly Murphy), 288 pp. It’s a bit strange to read about “beetles” living under the sink of a NYC apartment, but I suspect Broach’s editors wouldn’t … Continue reading →

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Ars gratia artis

Posted on September 10, 2018 by

To keep with my most recent post’s art-mystery theme, I’ve resurrected this from my now defunct earlier blog, The Ineluctable Bookshelf. Two more will follow in the next few days. Chasing Vermeer (2004), Blue Balliett, 254 pp. (+ two sequels) … Continue reading →

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Art in peril

Posted on September 8, 2018 by

Laura Marx Fitzgerald, Under the Egg (2014) and The Gallery (2016) (both read as e-books from the NYPL) It’s no surprise that these two middle-grade novels by an art historian involve art: missing masterpieces, questions of ownership, and just plain how to … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Art, Mystery | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Bad Girls

Posted on June 9, 2018 by

E. Lockhart: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (2008), We Were Liars (2014), Genuine Fraud (2017) When Jane Austen created Emma Woodhouse, she noted that here was a character “whom no one but myself will much like”. Austen must have enjoyed making … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery, Review, Violence in YA lit, YA Lit | Tagged | 5 Comments

Funny how time changes everything

Posted on June 12, 2016 by

Reblogged (and updated) from my earlier blog, The Ineluctable Bookshelf (originally posted May 10, 11, 2010) Parnassus on Wheels (1917) and The Haunted Bookshop (1919), Christopher Morley When I asked the dealer in the used bookshop about these books, he said … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Bibliiomania, Fiction, Mystery, Reblog | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Bigamous reading

Posted on March 25, 2016 by

When I haven’t the energy to read Proust, I read something else. In that respect, I’m no different from anyone else. But the other day my daughter commented on how strange it was that I was sitting on the couch reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Graphic Novel, History, Humorous, Little Free Library, Mystery, reading, Travel book | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments