Staff Recommendation #40: Psych

On the surface, comedy and murder mysteries are not two genres that seem tailor-made to compliment one another. But there's something about combining the serious with the silly that can make for fantastic storytelling, and if you want a prime example of that concept in action, look no further than the USA series Psych.

The show tells the story of Shawn Spencer, a guy whose freewheeling ways chafe against the rigorous lessons drilled in him by his father, a Santa Barbara police detective. Despite his determination to avoid following in his dad's footsteps, Shawn can't keep from using his own well-honed powers of observation to call in tips to the police for various unsolvable crimes. But when his astute observations seem a little too on the nose, Shawn finds himself a suspect in the very case he was trying to help solve. Panicking, Shawn blurts out the first thing he thinks of: he knows all these details because he's psychic.

It says something about the character that the police find it easier to believe that Shawn's psychic than to credit this irresponsible trickster with a natural affinity for crime solving. But then, that seems to suit Shawn just fine, as he finagles his way into becoming an official consultant to the Santa Barbara Police Department while also opening his own private psychic detective agency.

Roped in for the ride are Gus, his lifelong best pal who is reluctant (at least at first) to get involved in such shenanigans; and Shawn's dad, now retired, who is none too amused at his son's new profession. But Shawn needs all the help he can get to keep the truth from being discovered by Detectives Carlton Lassiter (who can't stand Shawn from the moment they meet) and Juliet O'Hara (who seems a little more inclined to give Shawn the benefit of the doubt). Luckily for Shawn, his sense of humor is as well-developed as his powers of observation, both being important skill sets when you're a fake psychic -- and a real detective.

The show ran eight seasons, making it a daunting task to know precisely where to begin. So if you'd like to start with a sampling, allow me to recommend a few of my favorite episodes:

- Tuesday the 17th (Season 3)

By the show's second episode, Psych had fun setting their mysteries in quirky places (a Civil War reenactment, a reality show set, and a comic book convention, to name but a few). But by Season Three, the show began to push the creative envelope, changing up not just the settings of the story, but the genre of the episodes themselves.

Tuesday the 17th is arguably the first episode where Psych blends its humorous procedural roots with another genre entirely -- in this case, horror movies. Shawn and Gus are called in to find a missing camp counselor at a closed summer camp, only to find themselves being stalked by a psychotic killer (in proper Friday the 13th fashion). The episode retains its signature humor as it plays and twists the tropes of the horror/slasher genre, which sets the stage for a recurrence of genre-bending episodes.



- Extradition: British Columbia (Season 4)

To make a mystery story work, you need a great detective -- but you also need a great villain. This episode introduces one of my favorites: Pierre Desperaux, an international art thief (played with great mischief and humor by Cary Elwes). Being a thief, rather than a murderer, Desperaux's more trickster than bad guy, and Shawn and Gus must decide exactly how far they can trust such a man. That is, when they're not working themselves out of the trouble that Desperaux continually manages to get them into.



- Dual Spires (Season 5)

Series star James Roday (who also wrote a fair few episodes of the show) is a huge fan of Twin Peaks and was the one to pitch the idea of a Psychified version of that show. The result was "Dual Spires," an episode which pays faithful homage to the David Lynch series while still telling an entertaining story in its own right.

Shawn and Gus travel to Duel Spires after receiving a mysterious email invitation to a local festival, only to find themselves trying to solve the mystery of "Who Killed Paula Merral?" ("Paula Marral" being an anagram of "Laura Palmer," of course.) The episode included seven of Twin Peaks' original cast members, including Ray Wise (Leland Palmer), Lenny Von Dohlen (Harold Smith), Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), and Laura Palmer herself -- Sheryl Lee.



- Right Turn or Left for Dead (Season 7)

A long-running theme of the show was Shawn's ongoing struggle to decide whether or not he should (or could) come clean about his decidedly un-psychic abilities. When the fallout finally hits, things go … rather poorly.

I consistently enjoyed watching the show expand its storytelling techniques the longer it was on the air, but I was particularly impressed with this Season 7 episode, which employed a storytelling tactic rarely seen outside the realms of science fiction: a splintered timeline. As Shawn grapples with the sudden fallout of his exposed secret, an unexpected taxi ride leads him to discover a badly-injured woman by the side of the road -- a person in desperate need of his help.

But the scenario plays out in two timelines, and, in the other, Shawn's secret stays safe -- but there's no one to help the injured woman, whose eventual murder comes to Shawn's attention when he's called in to investigate. Lives are on the line in more than one sense, and the resulting story is one of the most unique episodes of a procedural I've ever seen -- and a creative look at the ways in which our choices have the most unexpected, and powerful, of consequences.



- The Yin/Yang Trilogy (Seasons 3-5)

Psych is not the only show to combine comedy with the mystery procedural, but, being chock-full of murder and mayhem, it generally keeps a sense of serious stakes beneath the show's fun and frivolity. In a handful of episodes, those high stakes come to the forefront -- as best exemplified in the three episodes centered on Mr. Yang, Santa Barbara's resident serial killer.

Serving as the season finales of seasons three through five, Shawn finds himself the focus of Mr. Yang's psychotic puzzle-games -- on an increasingly personal level, as Yang targets Shawn's friends and family alike. The darker subject material allowed the writers and actors to show us other sides of these characters, while giving added weight to what we already know about them. Plus, Mr. Yang ended up being not only one of my favorite Psych villains -- but one of my favorite fictional baddies of all time.



- A Nightmare on State Street (Season 8)

Written by James Roday, the penultimate episode of Psych is one of their all-time weirdest (I mean that as a high compliment). The episode has the unique distinction of being fan-chosen -- it was filmed after the script's synopsis won the most votes in an online contest pitting it against two other possible episodes.

The fans chose well. The episode sees Gus seeking "dream therapy" (the original title of the episode) for a series of recurring nightmares filled with zombies, monsters, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house. The story neatly interweaves with the episode's requisite mystery, but the murder Gus and Shawn are trying to solve takes a backseat to the more pressing problem of Gus's nightmares. Many of the scenes are shot in a style befitting a horror film -- it's one of the most artistically-done episodes of Psych's run, stylistically-speaking -- which intertwines brilliantly with Gus's struggles to come to terms with how rapidly his life and circumstances are changing around him.

Most shows find it difficult to address the emotional fallout of the major changes their characters face in a series finale, mostly because it's hard to explore the issues of a final episode when there are no more episodes to do so in. Psych solves this problem by devoting their next-to-last episode to that very fallout; when the final episode gives our characters a happy place on which to end their current story, the happiness feels earned as a result.



- The Musical

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scrubs, That '70s Show, Grey's Anatomy, Ally McBeal, Northern Exposure, Oz … Doing a musical episode has become something of a rite of passage for many television shows. For a show like Psych, which excels in satire and homages, it would almost have been odder if they hadn't done a musical episode at some point in their run.

Psych: The Musical was done as a standalone special, airing during the show's seventh season. The songs were written by showrunner Steve Franks (along with show composer Adam Cohen) and manage to both pay homage to Broadway musicals while also perfectly encapsulating the spirit of the show. (Not to mention, they're quite catchy.)

Read more about the musical here.

From the Catalog

Request Psych - Season One
Request Psych - Season Two
Request Psych - Season Three
Request Psych - Season Four
Request Psych - Season Five
Request Psych - Season Six
Request Psych - Season Seven
Request Psych - Season Eight

Request Psych - The Musical

Request the book Psych's Guide to Crime Fighting For the Totally Unqualified

-- Post by Ms. B 

Honorable Mentions

Charles Dickens is rightly remembered for such beloved classics as Great Expectations and Oliver Twist -- but his most famous work remains A Christmas Carol. First published on December 17, 1843, the story tells the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, and the three Christmas ghosts who appear throughout Christmas Eve night to warm his heart -- and save his soul. It's been adapted dozens of time for stage and screen, and has become an undeniable staple of the holiday season.

But did you know that A Christmas Carol wasn't Dickens's only ghost story?  Dickens actually wrote a variety of stories featuring ghosts -- some of which, like The Signal-Man, could be considered outright horror thrillers. (The title character of The Signal-Man works on the railway, and is haunted by a specter who appears before him every time a terrible event is to occur.)

Dickens is not the only author whose own wild success actually overshadowed some of his lesser-known efforts. Here are five more authors whose littler-known works are still undeniably worthwhile:



~ Louisa May Alcott's Thrillers

She's best remembered for writing titles that might now be considered part of the "young adult" genre -- classics like Little Women and Eight Cousins. But Louisa May Alcott wrote several stories for older audiences, usually under the pen name "A. M. Barnard" -- and many of those works were not only thrillers, but stories that dealt with radical issues of nineteenth-century sexism and the constraints of society and culture.

Her most critically-acclaimed work is, arguably, the thriller novella Behind a Mask. The story details the life of Jean Muir, a character with a shady past (she was formerly an actress, a considerably more scandalous profession in the nineteenth century) who has reached her thirtieth birthday still a spinster. And then she finds one last chance to fulfill society's expectations of her: she takes the job of governess in a house with two unmarried sons and one unmarried uncle. She means to adopt the mask of a "little woman" herself -- appearing the perfect example of a polite, respectable young lady (she wins her place as governess with a feigned fainting spell in front of the family) until she ensnares a husband. But Jean's motives are far more clever, and downright manipulative, than what you'd see from the March sisters -- though this may not stop you from rooting for her!

Request Behind a Mask from the Catalog



~ Edgar Allan Poe's Detective Stories

Sherlock Holmes is the name we remember, but C. Ausguste Dupin got there first. While Conan Doyle drew on several inspirations for his Sherlock Holmes character (including his med-school professor Dr. Joseph Bell), he was always quick to praise Edgar Allan Poe for his detective stories that paved the way for Sherlock Holmes. ("Where was the detective story," Conan Doyle once asked, "until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?")

Poe is remembered as the master of horror, but he actually wrote in a wide variety of genres, including science fiction and detective stories. In the latter category, he produced three short stories: Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, and my personal favorite, The Purloined Letter. The stories star Dupin, an amateur detective (although the word "detective" had not yet been invented) who assisted the police in a trio of bizarre investigations. He's accompanied in his adventures by our unnamed narrator, who serves as Dupin's closest friend and our window into Dupin's world.

Request the Dupin stories from the Catalog



~ Conan Doyle's Historical Fiction

Most Sherlock Holmes fans already know about Arthur Conan Doyle's love-hate relationship with his most famous fictional creation. While Conan Doyle ultimately seemed to be fond enough of his consulting detective (and also loved writing about the adventures of Professor Challenger in such tales as The Lost World), he always considered his best and most important works to be his historical fiction.

Such historical works include extensively-researched novels like The White Company and Sir Nigel, both set during the Hundred Years' War between the royal houses of England and France. There was also Micah Clarke, a coming-of-age story set in seventeenth-century England that details the religious and political tension of the time; and a series of comical short stories about Brigadier Gerard, a soldier in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars, who Conan Doyle used to comment on the stereotypes and prejudices that the British and French had for one another.

Request The White Company from the Catalog

Request Sir Nigel from the Catalog

Request Micah Clarke from the Catalog

Request the Brigadier Gerard stories from the Catalog



~ Agatha Christie's Love Stories

Agatha Christie remains the best-selling novelist of all time, beloved for her classic mysteries like And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, as well as such characters as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. But while she has come to be affectionately known as "the Queen of Crime" due to her incredible skills in the mystery genre, she also wrote half a dozen novels of a different sort entirely.

Using the pen name "Mary Westmacott," Christie wrote a series of romance and family stories, referring to them as "bitter-sweet stories about love." The books enjoyed modest success -- much to Christie's delight, as the novels succeeded under their own merits and not due to her name being on the cover (her identity as Westmacott would remain hidden for nearly two decades). She wrote the Westmacott books throughout her life, telling stories that focused not only on romance, but on family relationships between parents and children or between siblings. The results were among the works she was most proud of.

Read an essay about "Mary Westmacott" written by Rosalind Hicks, Christie's daughter

Request Westmacott books from the Catalog



~ Michael Crichton's Medical Thrillers

Before he was a best-selling author of such novels as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton was a med student. But while he was earning his MD from Harvard Medical School, Crichton had his first publishing success, writing under the pen names "Jeffery Hudson" and "John Lange."

He published ten mystery thrillers that sold well enough to help pay his way through med school -- no mean feat, as any pressed-for-time med student could tell you. While Crichton viewed them mostly as pulpy entertainment ("I write them fast and the reader reads them fast and I get things off my back," he explained in a 1969 interview), they showcased his skill at engaging characters and tightly-plotted storylines, not to mention a love of research and accuracy. Though Crichton successfully graduated with his MD, it's not surprising to know he turned to writing full-time -- always incorporating his love of science into his stories.

Read more about Michael Crichton's "med school" thrillers

Request A Case of Need from the Catalog



-- Post by Ms. B 

The Other Baker Street Irregulars

The iconic figure of Sherlock Holmes has proven the inspiration for fictional detectives that run the gamut from Hercule Poirot to Temperance "Bones" Brennan, from Lt. Columbo to Richard Castle. And yet the inspiration for fictional detectives can come from all sorts of places -- even from the history books themselves.

In this book list, we offer a selection of murder mysteries that all feature a real-life historical figure as their story's star. While fictional, these novels offer a peek into what life would've been like in a variety of times -- and with a variety of very unique people. Here are historical figures like you've never seen them before. Read on and enjoy!



-- Aristotle

Philosopher, scientist ... and now, detective. In Margaret Doody's Aristotle Detective, the young student Stephanos narrates the tale of his teacher solving crimes, using deductive reasoning on par with Sherlock Holmes. The twist, of course, is that Stephanos is a student in 332 BCE Athens, and his teacher is none other than Aristotle himself. Yet this is no dry-and-dusty take on history: Doody seamlessly weaves disguises, escapes, and midnight attacks in with well-researched details of 4th century BCE Athens -- home and politics, citizenship and the legal system, the treatment of men and women, and more. The result is a story as historically informing as it is immensely entertaining.

Click here to request Aristotle Detective




-- William Shakespeare

The era: Elizabethan England. Symington Smythe (who doesn't care for his name) has been trained by his uncle as an ostler, but his real passion lies in a far different direction: the theatre. When, much to his father's disgust, Symington makes for London to realize his dreams, he does so quite on his own. That is, until he encounters one William Shakespeare, a young man also on his way to a life in the theatre. While meeting up with Shakespeare puts Symington on the path towards conspiracy, mistaken identity, arranged marriages, and murder, there's no denying it's an exciting way to jumpstart an artistic career.

Click here to request A Mystery of Errors



-- Jane Austen

Jane Austen couldn't be happier to be visiting her newly-married friend, Isobel Payne, Countess of Scargrave. But then, tragedy strikes, as Isobel's husband (many years her senior) falls victim to a strange and swift-moving illness. Isobel is heartsick, but her problems are only beginning, as she soon receives a message accusing her of adultery with her husband's nephew -- and of murdering her husband the Earl. Terrified, Isobel turns to Jane for help, and so it is up to the young author to uncover the clues and peel back the mystery before Isobel is disgraced ... and before Jane herself makes an enemy.

Click here to request Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor



-- Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt begins her (fictional) amateur sleuthing quite without meaning to; a young woman who works for Roosevelt is accused of murdering her boyfriend. Convinced that her employee is innocent, Roosevelt takes it upon herself to prove it -- even if that means stepping on the toes of several government officials, including the Congressman whose son was the murdered man. There's jewel thefts, gambling, and false identities to contend with, but through it all, Roosevelt -- like her real-life incarnation -- remains steadfast and determined to see justice done.

The Eleanor Roosevelt mystery series deserves special mention for being the work of a perhaps-unlikely author: Roosevelt's own real-life son, Elliott Roosevelt. (Though whether or not he had ghost writers helping him out has been a topic of debate.)

Click here to request Murder and the First Lady



-- Edgar Allan Poe

"Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow." So said Sherlock Holmes, in a line in which author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle poked gentle fun at Holmes's literary predecessor: C. Auguste Dupin, the deducting detective of Edgar Allan Poe's trio of mystery tales. The truth remains that it is Poe, not Conan Doyle, who wrote the first Western modern detective story -- a debt which Conan Doyle himself acknowledged on multiple occasions, with obvious admiration for Poe. It makes Poe a natural fit as the star of a mystery novel, even if we remember the author far better for his tales of horror.

In this young adult read, we hear the tale of Edmund, whose mother is gone and whose sister has just vanished. Alone in the dark streets of nineteenth-century Providence, Rhode Island, Edmund has no one to turn to for help -- save a dark and shadowy stranger who introduces himself only as "Dupin." It seems this man needs Edmund's help as much as Edmund needs his, as the two of them work together to solve the mystery surrounding them.

Click here to request The Man Who Was Poe




-- Post by Ms. B

Staff Recommendation #33: The Phryne Fisher Series

Although I am a lifelong fan of mystery stories (with, as you'll recall, a particular love of Sherlock Holmes), I am quite picky when it comes to the type of mysteries I like to read. I insist, of course, on a cracking-good story -- but it's just as important to me that the characters be well-written and engaging. If I'm not interested in the characters, it won't matter how good a puzzle the plot may be.

So finding the Phryne Fisher series has been pretty terrific.

The books are set in the Roaring Twenties -- and, indeed, part of the pleasure of reading them is the amount of research of the period that author Kerry Greenwood has undertaken. Our heroine, Phyrne Fisher, is an aristocrat with an unusual past: she was born into poverty in Melbourne, Australia. Her father had a far-removed relative of nobility, but it wasn't until several of the gentlemen between her father and the title died off that Phyrne's father was able to inherit. Phryne now finds herself with an official title ("the Honourable Phyrne Fisher"), a vast fortune, and a life of opportunities available to her.

After spending some years in London, she returns to Australia at the request of one of her fellow aristocrats, who have hired her to track down their daughter and rescue her from her husband (who they believe may be poisoning her). The case is recounted in the first book in the series, Cocaine Blues, which contains not only a crackling good puzzle with lots of twists and turns, but also introduces the reader to Phryne and her new family. Because, as it turns out, a life in Australia suits Phryne after all.

Phyrne has been described by her author as a female take on James Bond; her skills range from solving mysteries to flying planes. She's poised and eminently stylish, and has a zeal for adventure that befits an unofficial P.I. But she is also possessed of an incredibly huge heart, and she quickly fills her large Australian house with a new family: Dot, her official maid and unofficial "Dr. Watson," who Phryne rescued from a life on the streets; and her two adopted daughters, Jane and Ruth, who she rescues from orphaned poverty and slavery. She also has a romantic interest or three, although Phryne has no intention of settling down ...

It's precisely her mixture of independence and kindness, of stubbornness and compassion, that makes Phryne such a rich and engaging character. It also makes her quite a lot of fun to read about, making the Phryne Fisher series one that any mystery fan may want to take out for a spin.

She also has a tendency to drive too fast. Like, really too fast. Don't try this at home.

Books


1. Cocaine Blues
2. Flying Too High
3. Murder on the Ballarat Train
4. Death at Victoria Dock
5. The Green Mill Murder
6. Blood and Circuses
7. Ruddy Gore 
8. Urn Burial
9. Raisins and Almonds
10. Death Before Wicket
11. Away with the Fairies
12. Murder in Montparnasse
13. The Castlemaine Murders
14. Queen of the Flowers
15. Death by Water
16. Murder in the Dark 
17. Murder on a Midsummer Night 
18. Dead Man's Chest
19. Unnatural Habits
20. Murder and Mendelssohn
- A Question of Death [short story collection]



Television Series

- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Series One [DVD]
- Series One on Blu-ray

- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Series Two [DVD]

"He sounds like he might bear more investigation," said Dot.

"Did he fancy her?" asked Ruth. "It might be a tale of forbidden love."

"I swear, Ruth, one day I am going to make a little bonfire of all the romance novels in the world," said Phryne without rancour. "Actually, it would have to be a very big bonfire. Perhaps I could rent a volcano and drop them in from the air. Honestly."

-- from Unnatural Habits

-- Post by Ms. B

Come Fly With Me

This July 2nd marks the 77th anniversary of one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of all time: the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, a pilot attempting to make history as the first woman to fly around the world. But while we remain primarily fascinated with her today due to the unanswered questions surrounding her disappearance, it's worth noting that she was considered a heroic figure long before her final flight.

Amelia Earhart spent her childhood sledding, climbing trees, and hunting rats with a .22 rifle. She also, from an early age, admired women who defied the conventions of the time, even putting together a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about women who had succeeded in male-dominated fields like film directing, law, management, and engineering.

At age 23, she took her first piloting lesson, and she purchased her very own, second-hand plane a scant six months later with money she's saved from her job as a social worker in Boston. She promptly used her new ride to set her first record: the first woman to fly to an altitude of 14,000 feet.

Earhart would set many other records, such as becoming the first woman (and the second person, ever, after Charles Lindbergh) to fly solo across the Atlantic ocean. Her dangerous, and daring, accomplishment resulted in President Herbert Hoover awarding her a gold medal from the National Geographic Society, while Congress made history by giving Earhart the Distinguished Flying Cross -- the first time the Cross had ever been awarded to a woman. Later, in 1935, she became the first person (of either gender) to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean, from Honolulu to California.

On the cusp of her 40th birthday, Earhart decided to try for one final record: to become the first woman to fly around the world. When she set off with navigator Fred Noonan on June 1, 1937, it was actually her second attempt to make the trip; the first, earlier that spring, had failed when her plane had undergone severe damage.

It was a highly dangerous trip to make in 1937. Still, by July, Earhart had only 7,000 miles remaining to complete the trip and set her record. But the next leg of the journey -- a 2,500-mile stretch from New Guinea to Howland Island -- was by far the hardest to navigate. Howland Island is only a mile and a half long and a half-mile wide, and frequently changing weather conditions add to the difficulty. Though the weather reports promised ideal conditions, the sky quickly turned cloudy, and navigator Noonan apparently lost his bearings. Earhart radioed for assistance from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, stationed just offshore of the island, but her radio signal was breaking up. Earhart, Noonan, and the plane all ultimately disappeared.

A rescue attempt was launched. The U.S. government spent $4 million to search 250,000 square miles of ocean (the most extensive air and sea search in the history of the navy). Ultimately, no clue was found as to precisely what became of her, her navigator, or her plane.

To this day, no one can say with certainty what happened to Amelia Earhart. (Though theories abound ... and abound and abound.) While freshly-examined evidence points to the possibility that Earhart may have made it to a small island and survived for days or even weeks, the results are still inconclusive. (See our links below for more information.)

What is certain, however, is the Amelia Earhart will always be remembered for her courage, skill, intelligence, and decided love of adventure.

"Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."

Find Out More 

-- The Official Website of Amelia Earhart

Includes quotes, photos, and a timeline of Earhart's life.

-- Will We Ever ... Discover What Happened to Amelia Earhart? - from BBC.com

A look at the compelling, if not conclusive, evidence surrounding the mystery of Earhart's disappearance. Includes discussion on the artifacts that may point to Earhart surviving for weeks on a deserted island.

-- Amelia Earhart Reenactment Flight

Named after the legendary pilot (though she's of no relation), the 31-year-old Amelia Rose Earhart is attempting this summer to complete her namesake's goal of flying around the world. Track her progress here.



From the Catalog:

-- The Fun of It: Random Records of My Own Flying and of Women in Aviation by Amelia Earhart

-- 20 hrs, 40 min -- Our Flight in the Friendship: The American Girl, First Across the Atlantic by Air, Tells Her Story by Amelia Earhart

-- Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved by Elgen M. Long and Marie K. Long

-- Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It by Susan Wels

-- Where's Amelia Earhart? [DVD] - a National Geographic special

-- Amelia [DVD] - a 2009 film starring Hilary Swank in the title role

-- Post by Ms. B

Staff Recommendation #26 : "S." by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams

When I first heard that J. J. Abrams was co-creating a book, my inner fangirl went crazy! As readers of this blog may know I am a huge fan of Fringe, Lost, and Star Trek (2009), all either created or directed by Abrams. While I admit I have not seen everything he's been involved with, I give almost all of it a try. And I knew that S. would be another one of those that I would have to try.

S., conceived by Abrams and written by Doug Dorst, is a story within a story. One story is the physical book Ship of Theseus by V. M. Straka. The other is within the margins of Ship of Theseus, which tells the story of Jen, a college senior, and Eric, a graduate student at the same college.

Jen and Eric are trying to uncover the mystery surrounding Straka, the author of Ship of Theseus, while they are learning to trust each other and figure out what their futures hold. Jen stumbles upon the book in the college library only to discover that someone has been making notes in the margins. She decides to read the book herself and returns it with a message of her own. Thus begins their old fashioned correspondence and their friendship. They continue to communicate and try to solve the enigma that is Straka, through the margin notes and a variety of other items, such as postcards and letters (when there is too much to share in a margin).

Meanwhile, we are pulled into the mystery of the man, S, in Straka's book. S has no memory of his past but is reluctantly swept along with a group of revolutionaries. S ends up on a ship filled with a strange and intriguing crew that will be his home for many years, although it only feels like days to him. He is also desperately trying to find his way back to the woman who captured his heart so long ago.



I'm not going to get into what these stories represent because I don't think that I have that figured out. Sad to say, but the idea of this book had me more excited than the book itself. I don't regret reading it, but it's not a book to be taken lightly.

One of the most important things to know about reading S., is that you probably should have a strategy for reading. Theories abound on the internet on the best way to approach it. Some say read Ship of Theseus the whole way through and then only go back and read the margin notes and ephemera. Others say read a chapter and then the notes. While others insist on reading the margin notes along with Ship of Theseus. My strategy changed while I read it which I think affected my feelings on this book.

My overall recommendation though is that if you love books - how they look, how they feel, even how they smell - then you should take a chance on S., you won't be disappointed.

-- Get S. from the catalog.



--Post by Tracy

The Game is On

From Basil Rathbone to Jonny Lee Miller, filmed adaptations abound that take Sherlock Holmes -- and his loyal friend, partner, and biographer, Dr. Watson -- out of their native Victorian London and place them in a different world. From the Second World War to the 1980s to the twenty-second century, the idea of thrusting Holmes and Watson into new and unchartered territory has proven irresistible.

Enter Sherlock, a television series produced by the BBC which places Holmes and Watson in 21st century London. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson, the series (which airs only three episodes per season) has quickly become one of the most popular adaptations of Conan Doyle's stories and characters.

Season Two ended at quite the cliffhanger, with fans waiting nearly two years to see how Sherlock had "survived the fall." In this entry, we're taking a look back at the third and newest season of the show, which just finished airing on PBS last week.

Beware: Mild spoilers for previous seasons ahead!



EPISODE 1: THE EMPTY HEARSE

MS. B: In the original Conan Doyle stories, The Adventure of the Empty House features a Sherlock Holmes returning from his presumed death at the hands of Professor Moriarty three years before. The moment in which he reveals himself alive and well to his dear friend, Dr. Watson, is as fantastical as it heartwarming. "My dear Watson," begins Holmes, "I owe you a thousand apologies."

Most fans were disappointed in Empty Hearse for failing to give a definitive explanation of how Sherlock survived his jump off the top of St. Bartholomew's Hospital at the end of Season Two. But my disappointment was for a different reason -- we never get any real emotion. In this adaptation, Sherlock never sees fit to apologize for leaving his friend behind to mourn for the previous two years; in fact, he "wins" John's forgiveness not through a heartfelt apology, but trickery. Unfortunately, this lack of consequences for any of Sherlock's actions bleeds through the rest of the episode, as we discover that Moriarty had never been a real threat and that the crimes Sherlock was framed for last season have been brushed aside. With no consequences and no follow-through, the whole outing, at least for me, fell rather flat.

TRACY: I had been waiting almost two years for this episode, and it did not disappoint. Well, at least not in character development. The "mystery" was a little weak, but that was something I could overlook. What everyone wanted to know was, how did Sherlock survive -- and we sort of got the answer. Overall, I was very happy with this episode. Mostly I was just thrilled to be seeing Sherlock and John together again!



EPISODE 2: THE SIGN OF THREE

MS. B: Everything Empty Hearse got wrong for me, Sign of Three gets right. The previous episode had introduced us to Mary Morstan, John Watson's fiancée. This episode centers squarely on John and Mary's wedding, with the mystery coming into play thanks to the story Sherlock tells during his best man toast.

The way in which Sherlock's mystery-storytelling weaves into the episode's third act is clever and fun. But the real joy of this episode is in showing us a Sherlock who truly has changed from his "Reichenbach Fall" of the previous season. Still grumpy and callous, Sherlock nonetheless does his level-best to play his part as best man to the fullest, from a mathematically-calculated bachelor party to an outlined toast that leaves the reception guests in tears. His genuine care allows us to see the real friendship between the detective and the doctor, and his determination to place both John and Mary under his protection is truly touching. This is a changed Sherlock, indeed -- and an episode fully worth watching.

TRACY: At first viewing, I didn't think that I cared a whole lot for The Sign of Three, but after some discussions with friends, I realized that it was far more clever than I had realized. I think I was a little disillusioned with it initially, because I figured out the mystery before Sherlock did -- and that just shouldn't happen! Again, this is very much about watching the relationships grow and evolve.



EPISODE 3: HIS LAST VOW

MS. B: The final episode in the season ties together several threads, from both the original Conan Doyle stories and from the show's own previous episodes. The plot centers heavily on the mystery this time, showcasing this season's "Big Bad" -- Charles Augustus Magnussen, a blackmailer who deals in secrets and information. But Magnussen is not the only central mystery to be unraveled. Sherlock and John uncover a secret that could be the undoing of both of them, leaving Sherlock gravely injured and John fighting to protect his new wife.

The final solution, which showcases Sherlock making a horrifying sacrifice in order to protect his friends, left me a trifle uneasy. (Sherlock Holmes has always been something of a vigilante, but the lengths he proves willing to go here may push the character too dark.) Still, it was good to see Sherlock and John operating as a team once again, with a kind of mutual understanding we haven't seen since Season One's "The Great Game." Best of all, the ending held the promise of more satisfying adventures to come in future seasons.

TRACY: This is where everything paid off for me, and actually gave me a new perspective on the two previous episodes. There was still lots of character development. Plus, we got a new villain, one that Sherlock especially despises. Also, there were more twists and turns than the first two episodes had -- and a ending that, while not as shocking as season two's ending, was still quite surprising.



Check out past seasons from the Catalog:

"Sherlock" -- Series One

"Sherlock" -- Series Two



-- Post by Ms. B and Tracy

Staff Recommendation #23: A Chinese Sherlock Holmes

Our thanks to MPL librarian Sally Michalski for today's Staff Recommendation!

As I was looking through the mystery paperbacks in our collection, I stumbled across several white-bound books by author Robert Van Gulik, with intriguing titles like The Willow Pattern and The Chinese Bell Murders. I felt as if I had stepped back to a time when I was hooked on the Fu Manchu mysteries of Sax Rohmer, or even to the Green Ginger Jar of my childhood.

No one had taken these books out in ages, so I took home The Willow Pattern: A Judge Dee Mystery to try for myself. Here I was introduced to the Chinese detective Judge Dee. The mystery was pretty typical of a present-day murder mystery -- but the setting was China during the Tang Dynasty of the 7th century.

In reading Van Gulik's series, it's hard not to picture a modern-day setting. The culture of the Tang dynasty was sophisticated, and the acts of murder were for much the same reason that people murder today. There are even descriptions of martial arts fights between two people, described just as you would see them in the movies today.

My first impulse while reading the book was to find out more about the author of these Judge Dee mysteries. Robert Van Gulik was born in Holland, but was raised in Jakarta, where he learned to speak Mandarin as well as other languages. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1935 from the University of Leyden, and went on to join the Dutch Foreign Service, where he was primarily stationed in East Asia. As a diplomat, he was in Tokyo when Japan declared war on the Netherlands, and he worked with Chiang Kai-shek’s government in China. He married a Chinese woman and had four children. At the time of his death, he was the Dutch Ambassador to Japan.

Judge Dee -- who was a real person, living during the Tang Dynasty -- was well-known long before the fictional Sherlock Holmes came upon the scene with his powers of deduction. As part of the governing system, Judge Dee served as a magistrate, hearing criminal and civil cases and distributing justice in the best interest of the people. His reputation for fairness and his powers of deduction are what propelled him into modern-day literature.

Van Gulik’s original literary connection with Judge Dee was in a book called Dee Goong An. This is a volume that was written in the 18th century, but was eventually translated by Van Gulik. In this book, Judge Dee is involved in three murders at the same time, which is typical of the Chinese Detective novel as it has developed over the centuries.

There are elements in Dee Goong An that are not present in the Judge Dee series that Van Gulik wrote himself. One such element is fulfilling the audience's expectations for detective novels and revealing how the criminal is going to be punished, with all the gory details of the punishment vividly described. (Torture is also meted out in the magistrate’s courtroom; one apparently-favored method of getting someone to confess was through the use of screws on the wrists and ankles.)

Another modern-day author, Eleanor Cooney, has also written about Judge Dee. In Cooney's thick novel Deception, Judge Dee is swept up into the intrigue surrounding a royal concubine who will go on to become the Empress Wu. There are magical elements involving a sorcerer, visits to Buddhist monasteries, and nights of meditation in Buddhists chapels. (Divine inspiration is given to Judge Dee regarding the crime after such a night.) There's even a peek into Judge Dee’s private life.

Dee has been immortalized in recent movies. In the tradition of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this ancient sleuth has been showcased with fantastic action and brilliant scenery. From the 2010 film Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, men are experiencing spontaneous combustion as they work on one of the  Empress Wu’s building projects. Of course, there are battles in the tradition of the fantastical, where warring parties seemed to be imbued with supernatural strength and physical prowess.

A new Inspector Dee movie was released in September 2013 -- Young Inspector Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon.

Inspector Dee, Judge Dee, Detective Dee; they are all the same immortalized person. If you are looking for a good mystery that is not set in England and does not include spies or terrorists, try a Judge Dee mystery by Robert Van Gulik. You will find Dee’s powers of deduction to rival those of Sherlock Holmes, as you read your way through murders by poison, knifing, arrows, or magic!


From the Catalog:

-- The Judge Dee mysteries - by Robert Van Gulik.

-- Dee Goong An - translated by Robert Van Gulik.

-- Deception - by Eleanor Cooney.

-- Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame [DVD]



Bibliography

- Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An): An Authentic Eighteenth-Century Chinese Detective Novel. New York : Dover Publications, 1976.

- Cooney, Eleanor and Altieri Daniel : Deception: A Novel of Murder and Madness in Tang China.  New York : W. Morrow, c1993.

- Gulik, Robert Van: The Willow Pattern: A Judge Dee Mystery. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1993.