(Give Me That) OLD-TIME DETECTION (OTD). Summer 2026. Issue #72. Editor: Arthur Vidro. Old-Time Detection Special Interest Group of American Mensa, Ltd. 34 pages (including covers).

   ARTHUR VIDRO is clearly on a roll, generating a readable and entertaining compendium of mystery lore every time.
In this issue: Two hardboiled’s get their due notice – Agatha gets dissed – Meanwhile, Carolyn Wells gets overlooked – In contrast, Sir Arthur receives the royal treatment – We have a plenitude of paperbacks to choose from – There was more to Moriarty than Conan Doyle told us – Indeed, there was a lot more to one of JDC’s novels than most of us realize – Not all puns are atrocious; some can even help solve a crime – And getting tuckerized just might make your day.

   Being an established crimefic author himself, Martin Edwards is more than qualified to give us his take on Dashiell Hammetts’s THE DAIN CURSE (1929): “His execution of the concept is artistically flawed . . .”

   While we’re dealing with hardboiled detectives, let’s hear what Lawrence Block has to say about Philip Marlowe’s creator in “Raymond Chandler.”: “He decided to write his way out of it.”

   Dr. John Curran’s “Christie Corner” illuminates the dark side of the “re-imagining” craze that, when all is said and done, results in trashing the original sources (our list: STAR TREK and even THE ODYSSEY; Curran provides his own listing). He produces a quotable quote near the end of the article: “Poirot never walked around his apartment barefoot; Miss Marple never climbed onto a barstool and ordered a whiskey; Tommy and Tuppence never worked alongside Jane Marple. We have re-imagining to thank for these aberrations.”

   Michael Dirda considers a literary puzzle involving the virtual disappearance of a once-popular mystery novelist in his review of THE VANISHING OF CAROLYN WELLS: INVESTIGATIONS INTO A FORGOTTEN MYSTERY AUTHOR (2024) by Rebecca Rego Barry: “. . . Wells seems to have settled happily into writing formulaic country-house whodunits.”

   The first fiction piece in this issue is “The Adventure of the Clothes-Line,” when the aforementioned Carolyn Wells decided to have fun with Sherlock Holmes and the plethora of copycat sleuths that were prevalent at the time (1915). If you’ve never read it, here’s your chance.: “A reward is offered for the solution of a great mystery – so great, my colleagues, that I fear none of you will be able to solve it . .”

   J. Randolph Cox makes a huge contribution to Sherlockian scholarship (and literature in general) with his biobibliographical article, “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”: “Conan Doyle had no intention of writing more than those first six Holmes stories.”

   Charles Shibuk continues to chronicle the efflorescence of paperback reprints of classic mysteries as well as new ones, from fifty (yes, fifty!) years ago. Featured authors: John Dickson Carr, Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, P. D. James, Peter Lovesey, Arthur Lyons, John D. MacDonald, Ngaio Marsh, Douglas Rutherford, and Rex Stout (“This is one more example of Stout’s pre-World War II mastery of the classic detective novel.”). Then come Adrian Conan Doyle along with John Dickson Carr and John Gardner.

   John Gardner, by the way, successfully spun stories off the original Sherlock Holmes canon, earning him not just money but also an interview with EQMM, which is reproduced here.: “. . . it was obvious there was only one thing James Moriarty could be: he must have been the Victorian Godfather.”

   Even if you’re not a JDC fan, Dan Napolitano’s well-researched “Carr’s THE BURNING COURT: Inception and Influences” is neverthless worth your time.: “THE BURNING COURT is worth reflection, and indeed, worth revisiting.”

   If you’re fond of puns, then you’ll probably enjoy the second piece of fiction in today’s issue, Jon L. Breen’s “The Pun Detector and the Danny Boy Killer.” (And if you’re not fond of puns, what can we say?): “I advise you to investigate every plumber in the city.” (This was Breen’s third, and latest, Pun Detector story; the first one is dealt with at the ONTOS weblog here

   Art Scott recalls how on one occasion he got “Tuckerized by Ed Hoch.” Have you been tuckerized lately? It’s not really that bad.

   Judging from the letters column, it’s obvious that OTD readers are pleased with Arthur’s efforts.

   This issue’s puzzle is just that, a real puzzler. We’ll say no more.

   But we will say a little more about how this issue proves that OTD is well-worth the subscription price. Speaking of which . . .

– Published three times a year: Spring, summer, and autumn. – Sample copy: $7.00 in U.S.; $12.00 anywhere else. – Subscription rates: One-year U.S.: $20.00.; one-year overseas: $45.00 (33 pounds sterling or 38 euros). – Payment: Checks payable to Arthur Vidro, or cash from any nation, or U.S. postage stamps or PayPal. Mailing address:

Arthur Vidro, editor
Old-Time Detection
2 Ellery Street
Claremont, New Hampshire 03743

<strong>Web address:</strong> <a href=”mailto:vidro@myfairpoint.net”>vidro@myfairpoint.net</a>