Tag Archives: book-review

Dear Edgar 53 ~ The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Truth, as the old saying goes, is stranger than fiction. It is also on occasion harder to believe. Fiction has the advantage of the internal logic of the story. Truth has to actually be true, even if that truth is … Continue reading →

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Casting Auguries

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Mark Hayes

I have other stories to write, other tales to tell, more blood to shed. These are now told and the blood is ingrained in the pages. Euryale guards her temple, the last survivor climbs the hill, the Men in Dark Tweed are waiting, the final proof of god sits between the light of four stars on a planet called midnight, the book herder waits for the rustle of pages, the Sibel calls her coven to dance around the stone, and Miss Maybe has a most unsuitable suitor. All the while no man waits for the daughter of the sea. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 50 ~ Thou Art the Man

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Without Poe’s Dupin there is no Sherlock Holmes, at least not in the form we are familiar with. Poe invented the Sherlock architype, but also the Doctor Watson type everyman who tells us the stories. Holmes and Watson in turn inspired Agatha Christie’s Poirot and inspector Japp among many others. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 49 ~ The Angel of the Odd

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Mark Hayes

The game of darts, as we know it today was, as many such things are, invented in a British pub. The first ever darts tournament took place in 1926 in ‘The Red Lion’ in Wandsworth. In fairness, while that was … Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 48 ~ The Oblong Box

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Mark Hayes

In September 1841 John C Colt, the brother of renown gunsmith and industrialist Samuel, found himself in the unenviable position of being choked to death with his own cravat. In fairness to the elegant neck wear it was not responsible for the attempt on its wearers life, rather Samuel Adams, a printer of text books who had been employed by Colt, was using the cravat as an improvised garrote. This was over the matter of $1.35, an inconsiderable sum even in 1841 to motivate an attempted murder by neckwear, one would think. Continue reading →

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The Also By Anomaly

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Mark Hayes

I decide to do something different for Auguries of Euryale, my forthcoming anthology of my own work. I decided instead to write it in a more narrative style, telling a story of my novels and other works. I think it sort of works as a more interesting way to do the Also by pages… Continue reading →

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Friday book news

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Because one is as ever behind on reviews, as well as general book news here is a catch up in general on my book news and a few new releases form authors I have reviewed before and recommend. Firstly this … Continue reading →

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Monsters in the to-read pile

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Mark Hayes

I have little doubt one day the police will break in my house after i have been ‘missing’ for several weeks to discover my body, under this pile of books.
There are worse ways to go. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 42 ~ The Black Cat

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Pluto the cat was not named for Pluto the planet. Pluto the planet was not discovered until 1930 (though one suspects it was always there…) which was almost ninety years after this story was written. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 41 ~ The Gold Bug

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Mark Hayes

To an extent then, this Poe story shorted the second world war and saved the lives of many allied soldiers… Which is almost enough to forgive its flaws… And certainly more than the DeVince code ever managed to do. Continue reading →

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