From time to time, on a most irregular basis, I'll come across a piece of mystery non-fiction which I think should be called to your attention. It's likely to be an older book written by a classic, Golden Age mystery author or a new one written by someone with what I'd call modern links to such authors. The latter is what I'm offering on the Classic Mysteries podcast this week. It's a collection of essays by Joseph Goodrich, a modern playwright, who has had some of his plays produced based on Nero Wolfe books written by Rex Stout, plus one written by Ellery Queen, He's also a fascinating essayist, writing about some of the people who who create the mysteries, in print, on television and radio, and of course on the stage as well. Who are these people? They’re pretty well defined by the book’s title, which is: Unusual Suspects: Selected Non-Fiction, by Joseph Goodrich, with a Foreword by Martin Edwards. It's the subject of this week's audio review on my podcast this week, and you are welcome to listen to the complete review by clicking here.
And who, you may be asking, is Joseph Goodrich? Well, let’s see. He’s the winner of the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the best play of 2008 for his mystery play Panic. He’s the playwright whose two plays about Nero Wolfe, created with the approval of Rex Stout’s estate, were premiered in Saint Paul, Minnesota just a few years back, while Vertigo Theatre of Canada produced his stage-play adaptation of Ellery Queen’s novel Calamity Town. He’s written mystery fiction and non-fiction in a variety of publications and formats. His newest book is called Unusual Suspects, an eclectic and entertaining collection of essays about mysteries and the people in every medium who create them.
Unusual Suspects is a deceptively small book, but it packs a very large amount of information, mostly in Goodrich's essays. Rather than go into a long description on this page, may I recommend that you listen to this week's podcast, which - I hope - should be more helpful in steering you to the essays in the book. It's well worth your time.
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