New Nonfiction
The Root of Evil: How a Grape Plague and Deceptive Dealing Changed the World of French Wine Forever
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The source of the great Burgundy deception was the shortage of wine caused by the destructive force of phylloxera. It made its first appearance in France in the vineyards of the Rhône in 1863; Burgundians held out for more than a decade hoping that somehow they would not be touched by the devastation the louse…
On The Rise, Fall, and Seemingly Inexplicable Appeal of Golden-Age Sleuth Philo Vance
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Philo Vance—the creation of Willard Huntington Wright, writing as S. S. Van Dine—first appeared in 1926 and overnight became an American publishing phenomenon. Vance appeared in twelve novels and seventeen films, and was so successful and well-known that genre historian J. K. Van Dover declared that by 1930, “Philo Vance was the American detective.” Van…
The Orchestral Stirrings of Death on the Down Beat, a Musician’s Murder Mystery
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Death on the Down Beat, originally published in 1941, is subtitled “An Orchestral Fantasy of Detection.” This is a highly unusual detective novel which is likely to appeal particularly to music lovers. A rare and little-known novel, it has nevertheless been described by the Golden Age mystery aficionado Barry Pike in The Oxford Companion to…
What Really Went On Between Coppola and Sheen in that Hotel Room During the Filming of Apocalypse Now?
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Late in July 1976, the Coppolas returned to the Philippines. Sofia was enrolled in first grade at a Chinese school where no one spoke English (“Francis said it would be a terrific experience for her,” Eleanor recalled), and, the day before production was to resume, Eleanor dreamt heavily. At breakfast the next morning, she told…
Delving Into the Real Story of Charlie Starkweather, Spree Killer, Demon of the American ’50s
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In 1958, America was at the peak of the post-WWII boom. The country had emerged from the war as the strongest economic and military power in the world. Prosperity abounded. Returning soldiers went to college on the G.I. Bill, which also offered longer-term loans to allow the purchase of larger homes in areas that would…
The White Priory Murders, A Christmas Mystery That Deserves To Be Remembered
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The White Priory Murders is an “impossible crime” novel by the master of the locked-room mystery, John Dickson Carr, masquerading as Carter Dickson, the name associated with his stories featuring Sir Henry Merrivale. Originally published in 1934, this was Merrivale’s second recorded case, written with youthful verve at a time when the author was still…
On the Bizarre Relationship Between Lee Harvey Oswald and his Mother
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The following is an excerpt from Deanne Stillman’s new book, American Confidential: Uncovering the Bizarre Relationship Between Lee Harvey Oswald and his Mother. The book explores Lee Harvey Oswald and his mother Marguerite, and how their strange relationship factored into the JFK assassination.Together, they formed ‘a conspiracy of one’, as Deanne calls it, locked in pursuit of fame…
How Max Marshall Wrote a College Fraternity Crime Epic
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Halfway through Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story, investigative reporter Max Marshall recounts his meeting with a man who used to sell illegally sourced prescription drugs to fellow College of Charleston students. Describing a typical Saturday on campus, the former dealer spins a tale of drug-fueled debauchery that reads like a shooting script for…
Inside the Early Days of Investigating the Murdaugh Family
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Before Mandy Matney was the award-winning host of the #1 Murdaugh Murders Podcast, she was a local Hilton Head reporter practiced in viral stories about sharks and tornados. Was she up to the task of reporting on the crimes surrounding a powerful South Carolina family with generations of influence? In this exclusive excerpt from her…
A Journey Into the Heart of the Everglades, and the Alligator Poacher Sting that Divided a Community
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In January 2020, I drove down from Orlando to the easternmost edge of the Everglades and booked a room in the neon-dazzled Miccosukee Casino & Resort, a hotel in the no-man’s-land between the glitz of Miami and the seemingly endless wilderness of the glades. That night, I looked out of my window on the casino’s…