A Death at the Dionysus Club

A Death at the Dionysus Club, by Melissa Scott & Amy Griswold, is the sequel to Death by Silver, and I liked it more than the first, which is always a good thing. Ned Mathey and Julian Lynes are still figuring out how to negotiate their relationship amidst the expectations of their age. The setting is Victorian-ish, but with magic a reality, and Ned’s a sportsman while Julian is more artistic and Bohemian. They don’t have the same friends, although […]

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Hound of the Baskervilles Graphic Novel Reborn as Pop-Up Book

When I found out someone had done a Hound of the Baskervilles pop-up book, I had to get one. (A common reaction, as everyone I’ve shown it to has gone out and ordered one for themselves — since I’ve been showing it to other Sherlock Holmes fans.) I thought it would be fun, but I didn’t expect such impressive spreads. (The pop-ups were done by David Hancock.) There are only seven, but they’re well-chosen, from the hound on the moors […]

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The Great British Bump-Off

The Great British Bump-Off is an ideal high concept, and one right up my alley: a murder mystery set during a baking show. And it’s by John Allison, whose Giant Days I loved, and illustrated by his collaborator on that series, Max Sarin. I was trying to read it issue by issue, earlier this year, but there’s so much going on that I couldn’t keep track of the characters, so this collected edition is a much better approach for me. […]

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Fangirl Volume 3

I hadn’t expected to have much to say about the third volume of Fangirl. It’s part 3 of 4, after all, so it’s supposed to just be getting the characters in place for the upcoming conclusion, right? Certainly, everything’s going wrong for Cath, fanfic writer and new college student. She isn’t sure whether Levi is a friend or a potential boyfriend, particularly now that she’s seen him kissing someone else. She’s gone from writing with her sister to a classmate, […]

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Reading Holmes! Available Now – I’m in It!

Reading Holmes! is a collection of essays about different ways and methods of reading about Sherlock Holmes. I talked a bit about it when the crowdfunding campaign was running; my essay is on “what makes a good Sherlock Holmes comic” and how general expectations about the format contrast with what we think about the character. The book is now available for purchase! And I’ll be in New York City to sign it at the BSI Weekend Dealer’s Room on January […]

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Public Anchovy #1

I enjoyed the third in the Deep Dish Mystery series by Mindy Quigley, Public Anchovy #1, the most so far — because it involved a mixed group of people, some unpleasant, trapped in a mansion overnight. That’s a genre trope that makes it easy to combine drama and mystery and suspense, and the result is a page-turner. The series stars Delilah, a chef who runs a gourmet pizzeria in a Wisconsin lake resort town. The first book, Six Feet Deep […]

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Canine Detective Chris Volume 1: The Shiba Inu Detective Tracks Down the Stolen Jewels!

I at first thought Canine Detective Chris Volume 1: The Shiba Inu Detective Tracks Down the Stolen Jewels! was a manga, given the cute cover. I was wrong — it’s a light novel, an easy read aimed at kids with a double handful of illustrations. It’s written by Tomoko Tabe, illustrated by KeG, and translated by Stephen Paul. Chris (nicknamed from Christie, after the author) has to retire as a police dog. He was stung on the nose by a […]

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Death by Silver

Being a Sherlock Holmes fan means I read a lot of things I wouldn’t otherwise just for the loosest connection. Such as Death by Silver by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold. I don’t normally read fantasy, as I have plenty of mysteries and comics to catch up on, but the idea of two men with a troubled friendship trying to solve a murder in an Edwardian London where magic works was intriguing. Ned is an officially recognized metaphysician, trying to […]

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