Dinner at Antoine’s is an endlessly pleasing novel.To a murder mystery Frances Parkinson Keyes adds two love stories, a conspiracy to overthrow a Latin American government, and generous dollop of New Orleans insider tittle-tattle.
Archive for the ‘Mystery’ Category
Antoine’s New Orleans mystery keeps readers coming back
Posted in 1948 Bestselling Novels, 1949 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, Romance, tagged Frances Parkinson Keyes, New Orleans on November 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
100 years on, The Man in Lower Ten is still tip-top
Posted in 1909 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, tagged Mary Roberts Rinehart, Pittsburgh, pullman, train on October 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »
With its gentle, quirky characters and period setting, Mary Roberts Rinehart’s The Man in Lower Ten is everything a mystery ought to be.
Plot Tops Characterization in Bishop Murder Case
Posted in 1929 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, tagged mathematicians, nursery rhyme, S. S. Van Dine on August 5, 2009 | Comments Off
If you don’t mind mysteries with plastic characters, you’ll find The Bishop Murder Mystery a good read.
Have Dinner at Antoine’s Again
Posted in 1949 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, Romance, tagged Frances Parkinson Keyes on April 13, 2009 | Comments Off
The novel in sixth position on the 1949 bestseller list was Dinner at Antoine’s by Frances Parkinson Keyes, which appeared in third place in 1948.
I reviewed the book last year on this blog.
Though far from a great novel, the book is one that I’ve read several times and always found enjoyable. I think you’ll find [...]
At 100, The Man in Lower Ten is still tip-top
Posted in 1909 Bestselling Novels, Mystery on March 4, 2009 | Comments Off
Mary Roberts Rinehart sets her 1909 mystery The Man in Lower Ten on a Pullman car. From there, she leads an unlikely hero down many wrong tracks, much to his discomfort and the reader’s delight.
Bachelor lawyer Lawrence Blakely hops a train to Pittsburgh to take a statement from John Gilmore proving Andy Bronson forged the [...]
Greene Murder Case Decent Potboiler
Posted in 1928 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, Psychological novel, Suspense, tagged Philo Vance, S.S. Van Dine on September 24, 2008 | Comments Off
The Green Murder Case presents Philo Vance one of his most perplexing mysteries. Two women are shot, one fatally, in a New York mansion where four adult children and one adopted daughter live with their invalid mother, according to the terms of the father’s will.
The police think it was a robbery gone wrong. A brother [...]
Rebecca hasn’t lost her fascination
Posted in 1938 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, Romance, tagged Daphne du Maurier, Gothic novel, Manderley on July 23, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Rebecca is Daphne du Maurier’s most famous novel, and with good reason. …the novel takes the standard features of the Gothic mystery romance and puts them in twentieth century garb with spine-tingling success.
Dinner at Antoine’s Always Delights
Posted in 1948 Bestselling Novels, 1949 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, Romance, tagged Louisiana, New Orleans on April 10, 2008 | Comments Off
Dinner at Antoine’s is an endlessly pleasing novel. Since I found it on my mother’s bookshelf back in the ’60s, I’ve read it many times. I never remember reading it until I’m almost done, and I enjoy it every time.
Antoine’s Keeps Readers Coming Back
Posted in 1948 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, Romance, tagged murder mystery, New Orleans on March 12, 2008 | Comments Off
Dinner at Antoine’s is an endlessly pleasing novel. Since I found it on my mother’s bookshelf back in the ’60s, I’ve read it many times. I never remember reading it until I’m almost done, but I enjoy it every time.
Victorine Better Mystery than Romance
Posted in 1958 Bestselling Novels, Mystery, Romance, tagged rice, rice mill on March 5, 2008 | Comments Off
Victorine is a surprising novel for Frances Parkinson Keyes. It’s about half her usual length, and, though it sets out to be one of her typical romances, it turns out to be an engrossing murder mystery.