Clues 44.2: Reappraising James Ellroy.

Clues 44.2 (2026) has been published, which is a theme issue on "Reappraising James Ellroy," guest edited by Nathan Ashman (U of East Anglia, UK) and Steven Powell (U of Liverpool, UK). See below for abstracts. I will update this post when the ebook versions are available. Contact McFarland for subscriptions. 

Introduction: Reappraising James Ellroy / Steven Powell and Nathan Ashman
The coeditors discuss the contents of this theme issue on the work of James Ellroy, including articles on The Black Dahlia, Perfidia, the Underworld USA Trilogy (American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand, Blood’s a Rover)

“It’s Good for Business”: The Conspiratorial Logic of James Ellroy’s Underworld USA Trilogy / Nathan Ashman 
This article examines the meaning and function of conspiracy in James Ellroy’s Underworld USA Trilogy. Engaging with twentieth century and contemporary debates on “conspiracy culture,” it contends that Ellroy presents a vision of history shaped less by coherent political ideologies than by competing economic interests.

Histories of Bad Men: William Guy Banister and Clandestine Archives in American Tabloid and Libra / Bradley J. Wiles (Northern Illinois U)
This article compares James Ellroy’s American Tabloid and Don DeLillo’s Libra through their portrayals of William Guy Banister, a key figure in Kennedy assassination lore. Banister’s appeal is rooted in his representation as a conduit to secret history, which could potentially provide answers to the many mysteries surrounding the Kennedy assassination. 

The Big Elsewhere: American Tabloid, States of Exception, and Imperial Noir
Rodney Taveira (U of Sydney, Australia)
American Tabloid and its successors map a dispersed network of limited sovereignty marked by a convergence of state and criminal violence. This essay argues that Ellroy’s Underworld USA trilogy and L.A. Quintet develop a form of “imperial noir” where the procedural methods of domestic crime fiction expose the extractive and racialized logics of American empire.  

The California Writers Memorial Grove (incl Hammett).

(Top) Robert Louis Stevenson, NYPL
(Bottom) Dashiell Hammett, ca. 1934

As Kristen Caven explains, the California Writers Memorial Grove at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland is an effort by the California Writers Club (est. 1909) to plant trees in honor of writers who have contributed to the West's literary landscape. The initiative was announced in October 1930. Each ceremony usually featured speeches, readings, and tree planting. Two honorees were Robert Louis Stevenson (in 1942) and Dashiell Hammett (in 1984). Go here to see a complete list of writers featured.

• Images of the grove and the original plan for the grove 

Foxwell on unexpected authors in EQMM.

H.G.Wells, ca. 1915–20. Library of 
Congress, Prints and Photographs Div.

Over on the Something Is Going to Happen blog of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, in honor of the magazine's 85th anniversary, I provide in "Behind the Pages: Moonlighting in Mystery" a rundown of some unexpected authors who have appeared in the pages of EQMM, including such writers as Pearl S. Buck and H.G. Wells. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pearl S. Buck, ca. 1932. Library of
Congress, Prints and Photographs Div.

 

"Trouble Is My Business" exhibition, LSUS.

Running through September 30 at Louisiana State University Shreveport's Noel Memorial Library is the exhibition "Trouble Is My Business: Detective Fiction and Its Historical Contexts, which looks at the figure of the detective from Sherlock Holmes to Mike Hammer and how they reflect the culture in which they lived. 

Upcoming presentation on Carter Brown's work.

The State Library of New South Wales in Sydney announced the free online presentation "Cataloguing Carter Brown's Literary Legacy" on 3 Nov 2026 from 11A to noon local time (that would be 8P to 9P EST). The presenter will be Clara Sitbon, a senior lecturer in French and Francophone studies at the University of Sydney who specializes in crime fiction and has investigated the question of what Carter Brown (aka Alan Yates) actually wrote. Yates (1923–85), who emigrated from Britain to Australia, is often credited with writing more than 300 books and 75 novellas in genres such as mystery, western, science fiction, and horror. 

Newberry Library course, the Golden Age of Mystery.

Elzbieta Foeller-Pituch (Northwestern University) will be teaching the Newberry Library online course "The Golden Age of Mystery Fiction: Soft-Boiled and Hard-Boiled," which will run from Oct 14–Nov 11, 2026 and will "explore the role of popular culture in both exposing and containing societal anxieties and aspirations." Books expected to be covered are Vera Caspary, Laura; Agatha Christie, The Labors of Hercules and The 13 Problems; Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Boscombe Valley Mystery, "The Red Headed League," and "Silver Blaze"; and Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon.  

Lester Dent's maritime detectives.

Lester Dent. The Dux, Chillicothe
(MO) Business College yearbook,
1923, p. 106

Over on the Black Gate blog, Will Murray discusses fictional detectives created by pulp writer Lester Dent (1904–59) who investigated maritime matters: Oscar Sail and Cyrus Peace.

Poe: The ballet.

The Illinois-based Ballet 5:8 has scheduled a national tour of its ballet, "The Curious Life of Edgar Allan Poe," which, as the company describes, "traces Poe's life through the short stories that made him immortal." Its creators are Ballet 5:8 artistic director Julianna Rubio Slager and choreographer Glorielle Niedfeldt. Upcoming cities include Albuquerque (October 2026); Baltimore (October 2026); and South Bend, IN (March 2027). The company's website offers thoughts on Poe's legacy by experts such as Richmond Poe Museum curator Chris Semtner.

New Clues CFP: Mid-twentieth-century American women crime writers.

There is a new call for papers for a Clues: A Journal of Detection theme issue on the work of mid–twentieth-century American female crime writers. The guest editors are Erin A. Smith (University of Texas at Dallas) and Clare Rolens (Palomar College). Proposals are due 15 January 2027, with full essays of 5,000 to 6,000 words due 1 August 2027. 

Ngaio Marsh House: Funding problems.

There's news that the Ngaio Marsh House in Christchurch, NZ, is experiencing a lack of sustained funding at both the national and local levels. 

Ngaio Marsh House in Christchurch, NZ, 2021. 
Photo by Pipjohn. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Israel Zangwill at 100.

Israel Zangwill, ca. 1901. 
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, 
Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, NYPL,

One hundred years after the death of author Israel Zangwill (1864–1926), the Victorian Jewish Writers Project will host an online symposium examining Zangwill’s writing, public career, and legacy on Aug 4 at noon (ET). Among Zangwill's works is the locked-room novel The Big Bow Mystery (1891) and the short story "Cheating the Gallows" (1893).

Scene from The Crime Doctor (1934),
adaptation of The Big Bow Mystery.

Cape Fear locations.

Over on the Travel + Leisure Asia website, Manas Sen Gupta discusses the largely Atlanta-area filming locations for the Apple TV series Cape Fear (based on The Executioners by John D. MacDonald, which has had two film adaptations). The series features Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, and Javier Bardem.

Christopher Morley studio reopened.

Christopher Morley, left, w/publisher Mitchell 
Kennerley, ca. 1930. Genthe photograph collection, 
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

As the Roslyn (NY) School District noted, the Christopher Morley Knothole (the small studio of author and Baker Street Irregulars nurturer Christopher Morley, 1890–1957) was reopened on June 9. Located within Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn, the studio includes a bathroom designed by famed inventor and Morley friend Buckminster Fuller and hosts educational programs.

More on the Knothole:

•  Christopher Morley Knothole Assn

• "Christopher Morley: Life in Roslyn" from the Bryant Library (Roslyn), which includes images of the Knothole

•  Roslyn Landmark Society

• Articles by the Long Island Press 

Fulton Oursler in Mystery Magazine.

Fulton Oursler, ca. 1928

I was browsing the Nickel Weeklies digital collection at BGSU's Browne Popular Culture Library and found a familiar name in the pages of Mystery Magazine: Charles Fulton Oursler (1893–1952). We might know him better as Fulton Oursler (the editor of Liberty magazine and Reader's Digest as well as the author of The Greatest Story Ever Told) or mystery author Anthony Abbot.

His Mystery Magazine contributions: 

"The Sign of the Seven Sharks," MM no. 12, 1 May 1918 

"Shadowing the Blue Triangle," MM no 16, 1 Jul 1918 

"The Magician Detective," MM no. 20, 1 Sept 1918 

"The Evil Eye," MM no. 28, 1 Jan. 1919 

Cover of Mystery Magazine no 81

"The Mystery of the Seven Shadows," MM no. 43, 15 Aug 1919 ("Unraveler of mysteries" Gordon Keene comes to the aid of a young woman whose life is in danger.)

"The Whispering Head," MM no 50, 1 Feb 1920 

"The Clue of the Red Lamp," MM no 63, 15 Jun 1920 

"The Spirit Bell," MM no 69, 15 Dec 1920 

"The Jeweled Pipe of Persia," MM vol 3, no 75, 15 Dec 1920 (An inspector and a magician attempt to thwart the theft of a priceless object.)

"The Spirit Witness," MM no 76, 1 Jan 1921 

"Professor Satan," MM no 81, 15 Mar 1921. (Professor Satan is a daring jewel thief)

"The Man in Room No. 7," MM no 87, 15 Jun 1921 

"The Trance Detective," MM no 91. Aug 1921 

"Counterfeit Clues," MM no 98, 1 Dec 1921 

"A Man from Siam," MM no 105, 15 Mar 1922 (A detective tangles with a mysterious figure from the East.)

"A Whispering Mummy," MM no. 110, 1 Jun 1922 

"The District Attorney's Secret," MM no 114, 1 Aug 1922 

"A Master of Millions," MM no 123, 1 Jan 1923 

"The Hand in the Dark," MM no 130, 15 Apr 1923 (A man seeks to clear his former love of a charge of murdering her husband.)

"One Clue Missing," MM no 135, 1 Jul 1923 

"The Footprints on the Ceiling," MM no 150, 15 Feb 1924 

Ava Dickerson on the papers of Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels/Barbara Mertz.

An episode of the podcast Another Shirt Ruined (focusing on Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody Emerson series) features Ava Dickerson, an archivist at IU Bloomington's Lilly Library, who catalogued the papers of Peters (aka Barbara Michaels and Barbara Mertz). Learn about aspects of the collection, some fans who wrote to Peters, challenges in cataloguing, and more. 

Further Reading: Ava Dickerson, "Journey to the Center of the Mertz" (blog posts). 

My July-Aug 2026 EQMM column.

My new Jury Box column w/reviews of mystery short story collections and classic reprints is now posted at Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, featuring works that focus on the impossible crime (Elsa Barker, Christianna Brand, Charles Chadwick, Mary Collins, Celia Fremlin, Peter Lovesey, T.S. Stribling).

New film music releases: Fried, Rozsa.

New music releases include:

•  The Grissom Gang (1971; composer Gerald Fried). Dragon's Domain Records. For more information or to hear some clips, go here.

• The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977) and Background to Violence suite (composer Miklós Rózsa); the suite includes selections from The Naked City,  The Killers, and Brute Force). Citadel Records. For more information or to hear some clips, go here.

 

 

Return to Reichenbach Falls.

"The Death of Sherlock Holmes"
by Sidney Paget. 1893.

Members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London recently re-created the fateful encounter between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls. 

New recording, The Ipcress File.

Quartet Records has released a new recording by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra of John Barry's score for The Ipcress File (1965, adapted from the book by Len Deighton and starring Michael Caine as spy Harry Palmer), In addition to content that appeared on the original album, music written by Barry for the album but not used has been included, as well as Barry's themes from the TV programs Vendetta (1966–68) and The Persuaders! (starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, 1971–72). To listen to some samples, go here.

A glimpse of Mary Roberts Rinehart.

On the Periscope Films YouTube channel, there is a newsreel program, "It Seemed Like Yesterday." In it, there are a few seconds of author Mary Roberts Rinehart aboard a ship in the 1920s. 

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