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T U E S D AY, A U G U S T 1 5 , 2 0 0 6Happy Detective Day!Have you ever helped to launch a holiday? Now's your chance! Inreading a mystery novel, I stumbled across this information: theDetective Branch of London's Metropolitan Police was established onAugust 15, 1842. It was a plainclothes branch of detectives based atScotland Yard, of course. The first head was Inspector Nicholas Pearcewith Inspector John Haynes as his deputy. A handful of men servedunder them (roughly six) and it was for a while the only such branch inthe UK (and presumably the world) dedicated to detectives. So, I thinktoday is the 164th Annual Detective Day! Think of the possibilities: inthe future, TV stations will broadcast marathons of "Columbo" and"The Rockford Files" and old mystery films, movie studios will releasenoirs like the upcoming The Black Dahlia pegged to this date, theatricalcompanies will revive Agatha Christie's Mousetrap or The Mystery ofEdwin Drood or Deathtrap, bookstores will have readings and eventscelebrating classic and new mystery books. And I'll get to wear mydeerstalker cape and smoke a pipe and shout out "The game is afoot!"while striding down the street with my Watson. So make sure to wishyour friends and family a Happy Detective Day! Here's a rundown ofthe recent books and TV shows I've been watching that would be idealfor anyone looking to celebrate further.*** "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins is a classic mystery tale, oftenconsidered the first mystery story of all. Edgar Allan Poe wrote someshort stories before it, but the mystery as we know it (with a detectivehero filled with faults and eccentricities, details the reader can parseout on their own and so on) is all here. It's quite modern, even if themystery itself is rather tame and easy to solve. What Collins does offeris a gallery of great characters. There's Sergeant Cuff, a sly detectivewho loves roses and gets in arguments with the gardener whileinvestigating the disappearance of the Moonstone. And there's thecomic house steward Gabriel Betteridge, who reads "Robinson Crusoe"as if it were a Bible, constantly finding comfort and meaningful signs inrandom passages. Betteridge gets the "detective fever" while helpingCuff in his work. The narrative passes from character to character in aclever way and it's all amusing and quite entertaining.*** 1/2 "Right as Rain" by George P. Pelecanos -- This writer of crimeNext Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G . C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: Happy Detective Day!http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/08/happy-detective-day.html
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POPSURFING.COM: Happy Detective Day!http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/08/happy-detective-day.html
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