Mystery and detective novels are popular fictional genres within Western literature. As such, they provide a wealth of information about popular art and culture. When the genre develops within various cultures, it adopts, and proceeds to dominate, native expressions and imagery. American mystery and detective novels appeared in the late nineteenth century. This reference provides a selective guide to the important criticism of American mystery and detective novels and presents general features of the genre and its historical development over the past two centuries. Critical approaches covered in the volume include story as game, images, myth criticism, formalism and structuralism, psychonalysis, Marxism and more. Comparisons with related genres, such as gothic, suspense, gangster, and postmodern novels, illustrate similarities and differences important to the understanding of the unique components of mystery and detective fiction. The guide is divided into five major sections: a brief history, related genres, criticism, authors, and reference. This organization accounts for the literary history and types of novels stemming from the mystery and detective genre. A chronology provides a helpful overview of the development and transformation of the genre.
Larry Morrow is one of Cleveland's most popular celebrities. In this book he tells stories from a lifetime in radio--how he got into broadcasting, early days in Detroit, the exciting times at Cleveland's AM powerhouse WIXY 1260 in the 1960s and '70s, and his long on-air runs at WERE AM and WQAL FM. He tells about many interesting celebrities he interviewed and unusual promotions he was involved in. Morrow was named "Mr. Cleveland" by mayor George Voinovich for his decades of tireless effort promoting his adopted city, and he has been selected as master of ceremonies for most major Cleveland events in the past three decades, including Cleveland's bicentennial celebration. He is in great demand as a public speaker and a communications teacher.
Hamstrung by the fallout from the pandemic and budget cuts thanks to the defund the police movement, the LAPD’s elite Homicide Special Section gets caught short-handed when a North Hollywood murder involving a celebrity actor goes down. The Robbery-Homicide Division commander pulls Detective Howard Drew and his partner Amy Li from Open-Unsolved to spearhead the high-profile investigation. Temporary assignment to Homicide Special puts Howard squarely into the midst of a media firestorm when he takes the lead on the murder investigation after someone shoots to death the wife of a famous Hollywood actor outside a popular Studio City restaurant. It’s been a while since Drew and his partner at Open-Unsolved have caught a fresh kill, but Howard is determined to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. But the moment he arrives at the scene, Howard quickly discovers something about the case doesn’t add up. The actor gives his statement, but the evidence tells an entirely different story. As the pressure from the tenth floor of LAPD headquarters mounts, demanding a quick resolution of the case, Drew wonders why the brass chose him to lead the investigation. Then, just when he thinks he’s building momentum on the case, things go sideways when an old nemesis in the command staff blind sides him. At odds with his superiors, and distracted by a simmering romance that starts to boil over in the middle of the investigation, Howard is as off balance as he’s ever been. Running on instinct and his commitment to getting justice for every victim, and with everything to lose, Drew must prove himself not just by clearing the case by arrest, but by surviving it.
Los Angeles Detective John Ramos and his partner, Detective Beth Harper, have solved some of L.A.'s most perplexing homicides. John is often accused of being overly paranoid. Dr. Charles Stevens, a world-famous transplant surgeon, has a high affinity for publicity and an uncanny knack for being at the right place, at the right time, to perform stunning transplant surgeries. With Dr. Stevens perceived as a national hero the LA police chief does not want John launching an official investigation. Working from suspicion only, he and Beth sniff out ominous trails left by Stevens and a sinister character-- Rico. An adept killer, an art Rico perfected while working at the CIA meticulously covers his tracks and has been untouchable until Detective Ramos starts sniffing around. It's Rico's unquenchable thirst for prostitutes that generates clues and potentially connects him to Dr. Steven's. Are Dr. Stevens' and Rico's worlds intertwined? The last thing Stevens wants is to lose his license to practice medicine, his beautiful wife, and his wealthy lifestyle. An evil twist of fate puts John and Beth's lives at risk. Detective Ramos, who has suppressed his personal feelings for his partner Beth, is desperate to save her.
The Rick Bishop private investigator series continues when a local attorney hires Bishop to find her missing friend and then insists on tagging along to help with his investigation. The missing friend has a sordid past. Her mob-connected ex-father-in-law wants to find her just as badly for about two million good reasons. When Honolulu attorney Nicole Hersey hires Bishop to help her find her best friend Diane Clark, she insists on accompanying him in the search. In a financial bind, he agrees. Rick and Nicole follow her friend’s trail to a small town on the North Shore, only to learn from the locals that Diane died there of heart failure. That literal dead end should have closed the investigation, but Bishop notices someone is tailing them. And, later, when the pair interviews the doctor who pronounced Diane dead, Rick’s suspicions Diane isn’t dead at all grow. After confronting the man following them, Clifford Shepard, he informs Bishop he is an IRS special agent, also looking for Diane Clark because she had come into two million dollars recently but hasn’t paid the taxes owed. Once Rick uncovers more evidence that Diane Clark may have faked her death, he ends up in a cemetery in the middle of the night with his two closest friends Joe Rose and Koko Mahelona, intent on digging up Clark’s casket. But just as they unearth the casket, three east coast mobsters from the mainland, also searching for Diane Clark, ambush them. When Bishop’s case takes a deadly turn, will the penurious PI find Diane Clark and her money before hitting his own dead end? Dead End is the second book in the Rick Bishop series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
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