Wed 24 Sep 2008
A LOCKED ROOM LIBRARY, by John Pugmire [Update]
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Collecting , Covers[4] Comments
If you check back, it was a year ago yesterday that I announced here on the blog that I’d uploaded an article by John Pugmire about one of his favorite subgenres of mystery fiction, Locked Room Mysteries. (Mine, too, of course.)
It’s largely a list of such stories considered to be the best by a couple of noted panels of experts — I’ll leave the details to the article itself — along (and here is where I came in) with cover images of as many of them as John and I could come up with — or nearly 100 or so.
Some time ago — and longer ago than I’d rather admit — John sent me images of five more covers, one an improvement over one that we’d used to fill a gap, plus four that are brand new. I’ve finally gotten around to doing what I do, and that’s get them online at last.
The page is on the primary M*F website, and even if you’ve seen it before, I think it’s worth a look. Here’s the URL: https://mysteryfile.com/Locked_Rooms/Library.html, and here are a couple of the newly added covers:
September 25th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I love them. If I remember correctly Sjowall and Wahloo have one with an arrow. Or am I completely at bay here.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Hi Patti
Sjowall and Wahloo wrote a book called “The Locked Room,” but I’ve never read it, so if there was an arrow involved, I can’t tell you. (None of the reviews on Amazon mention it, for what that’s worth.)
And I hate to say it, but I’ve never read any of the Sjowall-Wahloo collaborations. Not deliberately. I just never got around to them when they were popular, and after that, a whole new list of authors came along.
Another name (or pair thereof) to go on the “To Be Read” list. Thanks for reminding me about them. I think “The Locked Room” would be a good one to start with…
— Steve
September 26th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Steve,
This article is an important resource. I’m going to add a link to it from my web site.
On a less enthusiastic note, I tried some years ago to read Sjowall and Wahloo’s “The Locked Room,” and just couldn’t get into it. The tale way drowning in descriptions of the mediocre adventures of some neurotic crooks. It spent pages following characters up and down streets, telling us about their bad attitudes…
Mike
September 26th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Mike,
Even back when they were popular, Sjowall and Wahloo got mixed reviews. Besides comments on the downbeat characters like yours, their books were criticized by a lot of people for being too political and anti-capitalistic.
All plenty of reason for me not to care for their work, but sometime when I have the time, I really ought to give one of their books a try myself.
— Steve