Derek Strange's Wisdom

As you know, I have been reading The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos for Noirvember. So far, so great. I have been happy to renew with his protagonist, PI Derek Strange, who is now older and even wiser than he used to be. An old man, but he still has a sharp mind. One passage in particular struck me about his keen sense of character, and I wanted to share it here: So here it goes: "But Lennox had inadvertently told Strange something about himself. Anyone who read a newspaper, didn't have to be the New York Times, shoot, anyone who read anything these days, even a bad airport novel, was smarter than the average American." Nice observation, and nice subtle bit of meta too.

The Blue Flame (#Noirvember)

One of the reasons why I manage to finally love November, a month I used to dread, is thanks to #Noirvember. It has its own Wikipedia entry now. If October is the month of horror, November is for me the month of crime fiction, whether it is in movies, TV series or books. And I am starting this literary November with The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos. It marks the return of his PI Derek Strange. About time. I think it should deliver: Pelecanos can be quite dark at times, although his characters have a warmth and humanity that you don't always see in crime fiction. Anyway, I encourage you to embrace #Noirvember. If you have any reading or viewing suggestions, let me know in the comments. I will of course blog more about it.

The Blue Flame

I have some good news for crime fiction aficionados like myself: The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos has finally been published. You may remember that I was impatient for its release. Pelecanos is now busy with scriptwriting for television, so we don't often see new books from him. It's as rare an occurence as it is welcomed. Now I will not read it yet, as I am in a spooky mind until November. However, the novel will be perfect to start #Noirvember. Otherwise, it features PI Derek Strange, a long-time regular of Pelecanos' universe, but who hadn't been seen in his most "recent" (who were no long recent) publications. It was about time.

The Blue Flame (crime fiction)

Oh sometimes, you get some good news. I was wondering when Washington DC crime writer George Pelecanos was going to publish another novel, and I learned a few days ago that one is about to be released imminently. Better still, it will feature private eye Derek Strange. This is for another post, but the very first novel of Pelecanos I read was the debut of Derek Strange. So I have a kind of special attachment to this character. He hasn't used him in a while, so I'm curious about what will happen with him. Now, I'm will not be reading crime fiction for a long while, I'm already in a spooky mood as you know. But this book will be ready for #Noirvember.

Murphy (Board Game)

There are times during childhood when you think, you hope, you will have lots of fun with a game or an activity, maybe even create fond memories, but you end up disappointed. It happened to me with a board game. I loved board games as a child, especially those that had dramatic elements. We used to play with the board game, my brothers and I, then develop it into make belief games. And I had read a short but positive review about a board game named Murphy, so I convinced my parents to buy it. It was about a private detective agency in charge of finding heirs of a fortune in Asia. The box cover looked quite appealing, with old fashioned pulp crime fiction tropes and a dash of exoticism. The board itself looked really nice too, basically a map of Asia. Well, I never was so disappointed in a board game. We could not make head or tail of the rules and we abandoned after a few attempts. I genuinely thought it was going to be a mix of Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe meets Indiana Jones. But hey, really nice cover. Anyway, did anyone among you managed to play it? And enjoy it? I'm curious.

To Watch The Invisible

I have some exciting (yet somewhat frustrating) crime fiction news. Yopu may remember that back in August 2025 I mentioned that South African crime writer Deon Meyer's novel Blood Safari, which I reread late last year and early this year, was being adapted into a TV series. It was being retitled The Invisible. Or Invisible, I'm not sure, I have seen both. Anyway, I have recently seen the trailer on social media. And it looks really exciting. The only problem is: I have no idea where, if anywhere, it will be available to watch in the UK. Story of my life for any adaptations of Meyer novels, and there are quite a few. Anyway, that's my new crime fiction aficionado mission: finding a streaming service where I can watch it.

Sherlock Holmes Day

Today is Sherlock Holmes Day .I missed it last year, but I knew I needed to commemorate it this year. I haven't read enough Sherlock Holmes stories, but I enjoy every one I have read, and of course for any crime fiction fan Holmes is an archetypal reference, THE archetypal reference for any investigator in crime fiction, and even beyond the genre. So I have one book of his adventures on my to be read list and once I read it, I will buy more. I also have a reference guide which I might read a bit today. And to accompany this post, I am sharing this image taken from this edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles. So happy birthday Sherlock. You remain to this day the greatest detective of all time.

Tracking Trackers

 I am finishing for the second time South African crime writer Deon Meyer's novel Blood Safari.It is just as good as I remembered it and it made me eager for more. The hero appears in another novel, Trackers, which was adapted into a TV series of the same name (and not to be confuse with this one, same title except without an s). So yeah, I have beend esperate to find it. It's not on Netflix, but apparently (as far as I understand from the researches I made) it's on Sky TV, on Apple TV and on Amazon Prime. Just not the streaming services I am subscribed to. This is really frustrating. I was hoping to find it on BBC iPlayer, but no luck there either. This is very frustrating. I am kind of tempted to get Prime, but not sure it is worth it. I will be patient.

A Sherlock Holmes Guide

I found this book in a thrift sales, it cost me a quid or something. So even though my bookshelves are packed, I regret nothing. Its full title is The Sherlock Holmes Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. It's a guide to all the canonical adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I love reading Sherlock Holmes, but I am not an expert. I do hope that with this book, if I take time to read it, I will become more knowledgeable and learn to appreciate even more the stories I read and loved and see them in a new light.

Safari Outfits in South Africa

At the moment, I am rereading South African crime writer Deon Meyer's novel Blood Safari. I know I have a huge pile of TBR, however I was in the mood to revisit this novel as it features one of my favourite characters of Meyer, troubled bodyguard and sort of private eye Martin Lemmer. And sometimes rediscovering novels you enjoyed years ago (more than a decade for this particular one) is just what you need. Anyway, so rereading Blood Safari, I discovered that one of the characters, a middle aged barmaid who is attracted to Lemmer, makes an observation about tourists in South Africa, the very same another character of Meyer made in another novel (more details in this post from 2016). She notices that among tourists, "(...) the foreigners wear safari outfits." Ouch. If I ever visit South Africa, which I hope to do one day, I swear I will not commit that faux pas.

Blood Safari/The Invisible

I learned some very exciting news from the newsletter of South African crime writer Deon Meyer: there will be a TV series adaptation of his novel Blood Safari. Incidentally one of my favourite novels of his, with maybe my favourite character, Martin Lemmer. Except that he will not be named Lemmer. I don't know much about it, except some of the confirmed casting (promising) and that it will be called The Invisible, as per the original title of the novel in Afrikaans. I must confess, I prefer the English title, which ismore violent, nasty and well, bloody, but hey. Now I just hope when it will be released, I can find a it streaming somewhere here. In any case, it is something to look forward to, crime fiction wise.

Tracker VS Trackers

You may remember that I got excited when I learned that a they had made a TV adaptation of  the novel Trackers by South African crime writer Deon Meyer. It was a great novel, mostly crime fiction, but partly spy thriller. I have been desperate to watch it since its release in 2019. I haven't had the chance yet. Well, I recently discovered (as in: I found out today)  that there is another drama titled... Tracker, without an s, an American one this time and totally not related to its almost namesake. And it's also crime fiction. I'm not sure if I will like it, but I am curious to watch it. Apparently, it's quite popular. Which actually is not good news for Trackers, as both can easily be confused for the other. I'd rather watch the South African drama, but hey, let's see what the other has to offer.

Reichenbach Falls

My recent posts (this one and that one, more specifically) about Sherlock Holmes reminded me that there is one place of pilgrimage every Holmes fan, or indeed every crime fiction fan should visit. I am talking of course of the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, the place where the greatest detectivemet his"death" during the events of The Final Problem. It happened on the 4th of May 1891. Switzerland is in my list of countries to visit or, in this case, revisit, for many, many reasons. Maybe when or if it happens, we should make a stop there. It could be fun. Sometimes I find the association of places with legendary or fictitious events to be more interesting than historical ones. And if you have even been there, please tell me in the comments. I'd like to know about your experience.

I missed Sherlock Holmes Day!

 I learned recently, but too late, that the 22nd of May was Sherlock Holmes Day. Which corresponds to the birthday of his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is kind of ironic, given how much he ended up loathing Sherlock Holmes. And now his birthday has been hijacked by his most famous creation. I feel sorry for him, to be honest. I guess if he'd known he'd... cry all his way to the bank. Anyway, I first thought it was the 30th, because the Facebook page of the British Museum made me aware of the Day on the 30th. I thought it had something to do with the anniversary of Holmes' "death" in The Final Problem. Anyway, I should blog some more in the upcoming days about this short story. And, while I did not observe Sherlock Holmes Day, there is one Holmes novel I hope to read before the end of summertime. And I have now put it as a special yearly event in my calendar.

The Valley of Fear to explore

I am not a regular reader of Sherlock Holmes, but I should be, especially since I love the character and it's always a fun read. Be that as it may, from time to time, I read or reread his stories. There was one book I had always wanted to get my hands on: The Valley of Fear, so far the only cannonical Holmes novel I haven't read yet (for the short stories, that's a diffeent matter). And I couldn't find it anywhere! Well, thanks to my local bookshop, this is no longer a problem: they ordered it for me and I now am the happy owner of this (maybe lesser known?) classic. I know close to nothing about the plot, only that Professor Moriarty is featured in it. And that's enough to make it a worthy read, the Napoleon of crime being rather elusive in the original canon. And because I have a bit of an obsession for Moriarty. Anyway, I am reading something else now, but The Valley of Fear is the next crime fiction title I will explore.

Aquila and Sherlock

I said it before and I will say it again: Wolfie receives the best mail. A few days ago, he got the latest edition of Aquila Magazine, the magazine with "big ideas for inquisitive kids". So yeah, the February issue is all about forensics, crime investigation and, well, crime fiction, with  Sherlock Holmes on the cover (because well of course). I need to teach him about Sherlock Holmes, by the way, he barey knows him. But anyway, it has lots of fun stuff and it's a pleasure to read together.

#Noirvember Now

So as this is November, it means that it is the beginning of the #Noirvember season. An online event (and a hashtag)for fans of film noir. But I have extended it to crime fiction in general. So I will be reading crime fiction this month and blogging about it at least a bit. Now I already read this book by Lawrence Block. I am sharing the picture of the cover because I ended last Noirvember watching a film adaptation of another of his novels and because you can't go wrong with Block and his creation, private eye Matt Scudder. Anyway, November is a grim month. Make it Noir.

A Walk Among the Tombstones (#Noirvember)

I seldom read Lawrence Block and it is a shame, as he is an amazing crime writer and he always delivers. I plan to change this in the coming year. I thought about this when I stumbled upon an adaptation of A Walk Among the Tombstones on Netflix. So I have started watching it as part of my #Noirvember season. I cannot judge how faithful the film is, but so far it is very Noir indeed and very enjoyable. And it features Liam Neeson as private eye and reformed alcoholic Matt Scudder and I think it's a pretty good casting. Neeson delivers anyway. So yes, I will read more of Block in the next year, especially during #Noirvember of course.

The Maltese Falcon for #Noirvember

As I mentioned before, I read , The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet for this year's #Noirvember. The first time in decades, but I watched the I watched the movie over and over again. I read it at a snail's pace, shame on me, but it was great to read a proper old fashioned hardboiled novel and to revisit a classic in its original form, and meet again so many larger-than-life characters, private eye Sam Spade and all the array of shady, vulgar, obscene villains the plot has to offer. And at the heart of the plot, the Maltese Falcon of the title, the most perfect and maybe the most emblematic MacGuffin crime fiction (or indeed fiction in general) ever offered. I don't think any other book or film ever gave us a MacGuffin that is so perfect. Anyway, I don't want to give anything away for those who have not read it or watched the film, but if you are still looking for some #Noirvember read, this is the novel for you.

I, The Jury for #Noirvember

As it is #Noirvember, I am reading a lot of crime fiction. Okay, so I read crime fiction all year round or almost, but #Noirvember (how do you cann it by the way, a hashtag, a social media phenomenon, a festival?) helps me to get through the month like it's no big deal. Anyway, so I am currently reading I, The Jury, the debut novel by Mickey Spillane. It is also the first story featuring private eye Mike Hammer. I must confess, I never read Spillane before, although I had of course heard of him and read a good deal about him. Both good and bad. So far, I am enjoying it a lot. Spillane may not be Chandler or Hammet, but he can write hardboiled and the novel is suitably dark and violent for Noirvember. In fact, this may be one of the most suitable work of crime fiction for the month. A match made in Heaven, or in Hell.