Friday, September 27, 2013

The Mystery Lovers' Book of Quotations: Review

The Mystery Lovers' Book of Quotations by Jane Horning (ed) is a lovely book of snippets from some of the world's great crime and mystery authors.  There are quotes from the creators of such characters as Sam Spade and Sherlock Holmes, from Miss Marple to Miss Silver.  There are thoughts on the detection of crime and the mind of the murderer.  There are musings on the psychology and emotions and the nitty-gritty bottom line.  We hear echoes of The Godfather and the Nameless detective.  Horning has done a terrific job capturing well-known authors as well as writers who may have been well-known at one time, but few modern readers may recognize.  My only quibble--she quite often describes an author by citing their most famous work--and then proceeds to give us quotes from other novels.  I would have liked to have seen at least one quote from the novel/s mentioned.  But it's a minor quibble--four stars for a great reference book.  I do love me some quotes.

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