Monthly Archives: January 2011

Havana Noir, Cuban Detective Fiction

Posted on January 29, 2011 by carto

When a Cuban mystery writer is published in the US, it’s a surprise and, in the case of Leonardo Padura, a major event. Padura is a native Cuban living in Havana who writes dark detective fiction in a style some … Continue reading →

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Crime & Punishment LA Style

Posted on January 26, 2011 by carto

Reading Chandler’s classic detective novel The Big Sleep is a journey back to the LA before freeways, to a time when there were oil derricks in Hollywood and automobiles ruled the streets and blonds ruled everything else. This story is … Continue reading →

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Americans Solve Jack the Ripper Murders

Posted on January 25, 2011 by carto

Online book stores make it easy to buy eBooks, sometimes a single click will do the job. I was on Amazon looking for a novel about the life of Alice Liddell, the precocious child of Charles Dodgson’s Alice in Wonderland. … Continue reading →

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Saramago’s Lucid Novels

Posted on January 24, 2011 by carto

Suppose you are holding an open house or sponsoring a public reception. Are you in suspense as they wait for guests to arrive? What if for some reason or other no guests show up? Now, imagine the turmoil at a … Continue reading →

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A Chamber of Secrets

Posted on January 23, 2011 by carto

Turing’s Delirium is a fictional take on the inner workings of a South American government as a former dictator, now president, prepares the country for elections. The president must suppress the revelation of illegal activities of members of his cabinet … Continue reading →

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An American Post 9/11 Story

Posted on January 21, 2011 by carto

Paging through the front matter of American Subversive by David Goodwille I found the unusual pairing of two historical personages; Che Guevara, the hero of the Cuban revolution, and our 26th president Theodore Roosevelt, the hero of the battle of … Continue reading →

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Cyberspace and Borges’ Universe

Posted on January 20, 2011 by carto

When opening a book, I usually thumb through the front matter to see if there is an introduction, dedication or epigraph. Often there is little there to interest the reader, but occasionally a gem is discovered. Opening my copy of … Continue reading →

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Hard-boiled Fiction Noir

Posted on January 19, 2011 by carto

The detective fiction garlanded by the Hammett Awards in both North America and Spain owes much to the Philip Marlowe series of crime novels by Raymond Chandler. I recently bought the Kindle edition of The Big Sleep, which was the … Continue reading →

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Historian, Inquisitor Cyber Chat

Posted on January 18, 2011 by carto

The historian Teresa fidgets at her computer terminal hoping that Inquisitor will connect to the chat room, but her cyber chat friend remains offline and unavailable. It has been several weeks and the historian is distraught by the waiting, but she … Continue reading →

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Hammett in the land of Cervantes

Posted on January 17, 2011 by carto

A second 2010 Hammett Prize was awarded during the Semana Negra (Week of Fiction Noir) book festival in Gijon, Spain. Argentine writer Guillermo Orsi wowed the judges with his novel relating stories of rich cruise ship passengers abandoned in a … Continue reading →

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