The Trap (2015) – Melanie Raabe

  There is an immediacy to Melanie Raabe’s debut novel, The Trap, which sees its English release this week, via House of Anansi Press here in Toronto. Translated from German the captivating tale draws the reader into the world that she has created, much as her character, author Linda Conrads, is drawn into the situations…

Magnum, p.i. (1987) – Pleasure Principle and Innocence… A Broad

  Things get a little weird in Hawaii this week with the Pleasure Principle. This one was written by Jay Huguely and aired 14 October, 1987. For some strange reason, Thomas (Tom Selleck) is acting like Higgins (John Hillerman) and Higgins is acting like Magnum. Thomas, still recovering from his injuries (including being partially blind…

Magnum, p.i. (1987) – Laura and Out of Sync

  Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra finds himself in Hawaii this week, with the episode Laura. Written by Chris Abbott, this one aired 25 February, 1987. Sinatra is Michael Doheny, a New York cop, who in the midst of celebrating his retirement party, has his granddaughter kidnapped, and murdered by a pair of sexual predators….

The Night of the Hunter (1955) – Charles Laughton

  The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book brings me back to the Thriller genre, with this classic starring Robert Mitchum as twisted evangelist Harry Powell, a man not afraid to commit evil in the name of the lord. He has just served time for a car theft, and had met a prisoner,…

Magnum, p.i. (1986) – Novel Connection and Magnum On Ice

  It’s crossover week in Hawaii with this pair of episodes! First up, Novel Connection, which aired 19 November 1986, and was penned by Jay Huguely, sees Thomas (Tom Selleck) helping out Murder She Wrote’s Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) when an attempt on Higgins’ (John Hillerman) life as well as those of some guests of the…

Magnum, p.i. (1986) – Photo Play and L.A.

  The season 6 finale, Photo Play, originally aired 10 April, 1986 and was written by Bruce Cervi from a story by Chas. Floyd Johnson. Shelley Faraday (Cassie Yates) is a photographer working on a book about road signs, she hires Thomas (Tom Selleck) for help because it seems someone is trying to steal something…

The Fly (1958) -Kurt Neumann

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles brings me another classic, one I am actually ashamed to admit I have never seen, but I was such a huge fan of the Cronenberg remake that I didn’t want to sully my love of it. This version, lacking Cronenberg’s body horror, is the original incarnation, has a script by Shogun’s…