Lighting the Pipes

Richard Vine's debut novel transports readers to the sharp, seedy world of Manhattan art shows, broken hearts and criminal enterprise. What starts as helping out a murder investigation soon becomes much more for art-dealer (and friend of victim) Jackson Wyeth. "SoHo Sins" is crafted by Vine with a knowing pen, one that is encouraged by a wealth of career experience in the art game and inspired by the busted-up detective narrators of noirs gone by. LTP is excited to be back and kick-starting a new round of reviews with this 2016 entry from Richard Vine and Hard Case Crime.

Who killed Dimitrios Makrupoulos?

That’s what obsessive mystery writer Charles Latimer is eager to find out in Eric Ambler’s classic thriller from 1939. As he racks up European passport stamps in pursuit of an answer, the dark and criminal underbelly of a continent in flux is exposed to him, offering Latimer much more than fodder for his next novel. Join LTP as Josh and Scott give chase and explore both author and novel.

Fast facts @ 8:50; Summary @ 27:15; Pipes @ 44:30

Our look at the post-Fleming world of 007 continues with "Licence Renewed", John Gardner's inaugural outing and the first James Bond novel of the 1980s. An ousted nuclear scientist with a Braveheart complex seeks revenge in this spy adventure. From fixed horse races and holographic bedrooms to night-driving and devilish highland games, we portion out the narrative goods and take focus down the literary gun-barrel.

Artistry and imagination ran in the bloodline of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's family. His father, Charles, was driven by powerful appetites and ambitions that aptly reflected the Victorian spirit and would come to greatly influence his son. However, his personal life and mental health were marked by persistent struggle. From his advantaged start in London to his tumultuous adult years in Edinburgh to his final days in Dumfries, we step off the beaten track in this special episode for a sojourn through the life and legacy of Charles Altamont Doyle.

We conclude this summer's Sherlock Selects series with "The Devil's Foot", originally published in 1910 and presented later in Conan Doyle's "His Last Bow" collection. Highlighted by a dastardly villain with a vengeful, colonial mind, this story also features a drug-induced journey into the unknown which tests Holmes and Watson's friendship to the max! Edwardian adventure awaits you in this conversation, originally recorded in June of 2018.

Louise Penny's debut novel transports readers to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada, and the fictitious village of Three Pines. The mysterious death of a retired teacher, Jane Neal, sends this secluded community into a fog of suspicion marked by the exhumation of buried secrets, insecurities and dark history. Working the case is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, veteran of the Sûreté du Québec, whose peaceable personality puts him in good stead among the denizens of Three Pines. So pack your bag, readers, and book your B&B: visitors to the leafy lanes of "Still Life" can expect lessons in archery, antique furniture and amateur art! Fast Facts @4:00, Summary @19:30, Review from 43:30.

Josh's selection for this year's "Sherlock Selects" returns us to The Illustrious Client. Marked by the predatory exploits of a dastardly Baron, this later Conan Doyle story (1925) spins its archetypal threads of good vs. evil while promoting emergent themes in context of suffragette and female agency. Our chat, originally recorded in-person during the summer of 2018, has been trimmed down, tidied up and newly introduced here for our annual Summer Redux. Enjoy!

In this installment, Josh presents a clean line through the scandalous phlegm of HUAC and the red scare in Hollywood which served as backdrop for many great film noir productions, including 1948's "Force of Evil". Director Abraham Polonsky fills each frame with atmosphere and suggestive imagery to help convey themes of family conflict and corruption. Heralded still for its lyrical, razor-sharp script, "Force of Evil" has earned a place in the pantheon of film noir. John Garfield, Thomas Gomez and Beatrice Pearson star in this compelling thriller showcasing the rot of capitalist greed in the American underworld.

In this episode, our first in a new branch exploring the continuation novels of James Bond, we look down the literary gunbarrel at "Colonel Sun", written by Robert Markham (Kingsley Amis). Published four years after Ian Fleming's death, Markham's compelling adventure situates agent 007 in a new world of espionage. "Colonel Sun" comes on the heels of Amis's successful non-fiction character-piece, "The James Bond Dossier" and marks the first "official" 007 fiction of a new era. So, hop aboard the good ship LTP and brandish your shades and parasols - we're setting sail right now, straight for the Sun... Colonel Sun!

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

Thus starts the troubled narrative of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 classic novel. Part mystery story, part Gothic romance, Rebecca manipulates features of both genres to impressive effect. It offers readers a haunting depiction of tormented characters in an eerily prescient country mansion. The novel follows our naive narrator as she tries to make sense of married life in the aristocracy, complete with a controlling housekeeper, destructive family secrets and more repressed baggage than you can comfortably carry!

Bio & Context @ 4:55, Summary @ 25:15, Review @ 48:30