Bruce F. Murphy	Books	Links	Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery
Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery Paperback: Date: 1/02 ISBN: 031229414X $24.95 Hardcover: Date: 12/99 ISBN: 0312215541 $75.00 Publisher: St. Martins - Minotaur (hardback), Palgrave (paperback)   This is an essential encyclopedia of a fiction genre. Murphy has assembled an A to Z of whodunit, cataloging titles, characters, weapons, murder scenes, movie adaptations, television series, and a host of other items over which mystery lovers will salivate. - From Advance, Ingram Book Magazine   Minotaur Description: Bruce F. Murphy's Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery is an A-Z of whodunit and how it was done. From Edward Sidney Aarons to "Zorak," The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery moves beyond the names and characters every mystery fan knows by heart and expands our understanding of this most popular form of popular fiction. Murphy discusses not only classic practitioners such as Raymond Chandler, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Dashiell Hammett, but also newer talents such as Patricia Cornwell, James Ellroy, and Jonathan Valin and authors ordinarily considered outside the mystery genre: Do you remember Daniel Defoe's criminal biographies or E. L. Doctorow's mystery, The Waterworks? Did you know that F. Scott Fitzgerald tried to imitate Sherlock Holmes in his early fiction? Have you ever read Paul Auster's pseudonymous baseball mystery? Murphy catalogues methods, weapons, poisons, subgenres, famous devices (like the locked room or the snowbound house), movie adaptations, and great series characters like the Continental Op, Hercule Poirot, Kinsey Millhone, and Dr. Kay Scarpetta. He analyzes particular works and writers, from epoch-making originals (such as The Big Sleep and Last Seen Wearing...), to lost classics (Wylder's Hand), to interesting and disturbing examples of work at the fringes of the genre (Devil Take the Blue-Tail Fly). The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery is the place to turn for answers to a myriad of puzzling questions: In which P. D. James mystery did Adam Dalgleish first appear? What mysteries have been based on the careers of Lizzie Borden and Jack the Ripper? Why does the case of Oscar Slater deserve to be called the "trial of the century"? What's a "berk"? Which mysteries hinge on amnesia? Which mysteries feature golf as a theme? More than a reference book, The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery provides a colorful and comprehensive map of the mystery genre constructed under the gaze of Bruce F. Murphy's own critical eye, making it an indispensable and lively guide for every mystery lover.   Reviews: Library Journal, February 1, 2000, page 76 Murphy, editor of the fourth edition of Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia, now has written an engaging and informative encyclopedia about mysteries. Arranged alphabetically, this volume contains entries on authors, characters, book titles, and sub genres of the mystery genre, as well as themes in mysteries, famous criminal cases, and murder techniques. Entries on characters in series, such as P.D. James's Adam Dalgleish, conclude with short . . . bibliographies of the novels in which they appear. Entries on specific novels (of which there are many) provide plot synopses. Entries on themes and sub genres provide names of authors writing in that style or known for using that theme. But the volume contains some analysis as well; often Murphy explains what he sees as the authors strengths and weaknesses within a literary context. There is no index, but there are useful cross references indicated by small caps in the texts of the entry. Recommended for public libraries. - Cynthia A. Johnson, Barnard College Library, New York Publisher's Weekly, November 8, 1999 "Bruce Murphy's sharp commentary makes The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery a wonderful resource: a reference book that does not shy away from opinionated evaluations. Alongside summaries of significant novels, Murphy offers descriptions of various subgenera, common plot devices and movie adaptations, as well as biographical entries on classic authors such as Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie, and on newer luminaries like James Ellroy. January Magazine - Crime Fiction Finally, let me recommend THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MURDER AND MYSTERY (St. Martin's Minotaur), Bruce F. Murphy's eminently readable resource for folks who desire more background on this genre they so enjoy. In addition to information about individual writers and works, Murphy supplies short studies of various subgenres, including cat mysteries, gay mysteries, celebrity mysteries and more. He also features items on famous criminal cases in history, slang that's familiar from these stories and distinctive plot devices. The author displays some eccentricity in his selection of books to which he gives the greatest attention (I was surprised, for instance, to see him go on at length about Thomas H. Cook's EVIDENCE OF BLOOD, but say little of Cook's Edgar-winning THE CHATHAM SCHOOL AFFAIR). And while I'm glad to see that Murphy features some newer wordsmiths (such as Janet Evanovich, Carolyn Hart and Philip Kerr) together with the classics, I was disappointed to realize how many proven or promising talents have been left out -- Anne Perry, Gary Phillips, Edward Marston, Steven Saylor and even the mondo-prolific Paul Doherty among them. But these are the quibbles of somebody who observes crime fiction for a living. Most readers (after they get over the shock of this volume's price -- $75 U.S.) will likely spend their time with Murphy's ENCYCLOPEDIA learning just how fast and far this genre has expanded. Choice: Murphy has produced a readable, informative, and critical encyclopedia about the mystery genre. His preface notes that he has tried to demonstrate "the genre's depth as well as breadth while singling out the superlative for attention." Comparable works include Jacques Barzun and W.H. Taylor's A Catalogue of Crime (1971; rev. ed., CH, Jul'90), Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, ed. By Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler (1975), and William L. DeAndrea's Encyclopedia Mysteriosa (1994). Author entries combine basic biographical details with a critical summary of the entire body of the author's work. Significant individual titles have their own entries (e.g., "The Hammer of God," a Father Brown story, or Dorothy Salisbury Davis's novel The Habit of Fear). In addition to entries for authors and individual titles are those for characters (e.g., John Dortmunder, Tom Ripley, Dave Robichaux), subgenres (murder afloat, country house, locked room, hard-boiled), terminology (caliber, jive, patsy), murder methods (ice pick, arsenic, Walther PPK), and famous criminal cases (Jack the Ripper, Dr. Crippen). Although no single work on the mystery genre is all-inclusive either in criticism or bibliography, Murphy's offers a good place to start. As a reference source, it should be used with other reference works on the genre to assure coverage. Copyright 2000 American Library Association   Author: I loved writing this book and researching it, and wrote it for people who also are fascinated with mystery stories and everything to do with them - it's not just a dry list of famous names and titles. This book is meant to be browsed and read for pleasure, not just to look up a date. For example, I got interested in the "Case of the Poisoned Umbrella," a real murder that occured on the streets of London in 1978, and which inspired John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novel entitled The Green Ripper. There's also an entry on ricin, the poison used in the umbrella case - so the book leads you from one related topic to another. If you don't remember how cyanide works or where the derringer pistol came from, you can look it up here; if you want a list of baseball, golf, or amnesia mysteries, there is an entry. Whereas most mystery reference works don't make room to discuss individual books, I wrote short essays on famous novels and stories, lost classics (it's amazing how many of these you can find in old bookshops), and little gems like "The Two Bottles of Relish." There are also entries on characters, from real ones like Jack the Ripper and Landru (the 20th century's scariest serial killer) to Philip Marlowe and Jim Wormold (from Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana). I give my real opinions of works and writers - sometimes negative - but I also give my reasons, because I think readers want a point of view that they can think about and agree or disagree with, and not just an "objective" summary. Criticism is a dialogue, after all.     Email Bruce F. Murphy: murphybruce@hotmail.com
URL: http://www.overbooked.org/murphyency.html Overbooked (Book Links) is a volunteer project undertaken by the Chesterfield County (VA) Public Library Collection Management staff. P.O. Box 297, Chesterfield, VA, 23832. Phone: 804-748-1760. Ann Chambers Theis : theisa@co.chesterfield.va.us