1998 Christmas Gift Suggestions

You'll Take It and Like It!
1998 Christmas Gift Suggestions
For the P.I. Fan Who Has Everything

I've just started this one, so any suggestions are more than welcome...and, of course, you can always check out Word on the Street: What's New! for what else is out there. These are just a few suggestions that I thought had particular merit. Take your pick!

(By the way, the original version of this list appears in my column in the then-current issue of Blue Murder Magazine.)

BOOKS

The Big Book of Noir
Edited by Ed Gorman, Lee Server and Martin H. Greenberg, editors.
Carroll & Graf Publishers/$19.95
A greatest hits of noir non-fiction, covering film, television, literature, comic books, etc., from Ron Goulart, Max Allan Collins, Bill Pronzini, James Sallis, Robert Skinner, Stephen King, Gary Lovisi, Dick Lochte, William Nolan, Maxim Jakubowski, Bill Crider, Leigh Brackett, Etienne Borgers, and other suspicious characters. I can't praise this book enough. Passionate, diverse, opinionated, cranky, and enlightening.
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Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir
by Eddie Muller
St. Martin's Press/Griffin/$27.95
As good as it gets. If The Big Book of Noir uses the shotgun approach, Muller uses one clean shot to the head. Perfect for the hardboiled movie buff who's already memorized The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep. Great pictures and commentary worth reading. A killer.
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A GIRL AND A GUN
The Complete Guide to Film Noir on Video
by David N. Meyer
$14, 303 pages, small b&w illustrations.
Listings of 103 films currently available on video with a summary of the plot and a critical evaluation of the driection and acting. Ranging from After Dark, My Sweet to The Wrong Man, including Chinatown, La Femme Nikita, The Big Sleep to Taxi Driver. An interesting guide, sure to make you want to go out an rent some of these noir films.
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The Nero Wolfe Cookbook
(Viking Press)
$16.95
A beautifully-illustrated revised edition of Rex Stout's collection of Nero Wolfe's favorite recipes. Get fat and phat at the same time.
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COMIC BOOKS

Jonny Double
by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso
DC/Vertigo 4 issues/$2.95 each
DC Comics' revival of their 1960's P.I., as a rumpled, street level eye trying to cling on to his ideals in a world that seems to have no place for them. Worth visiting your local comic book store. The last issue came out in November, so there's a good chance all four issues can still be found.

RADIO

Old-Time Radio's Greatest Detectives
20 Cassette Boxed Set/$59.95
Sixty of radio's greatest detectives episodes from 20 of radio's most popular gumshoes, including Barry Craig, Boston Blackie, Gregory Hood, Casey - Crime Photographer, Dragnet, Jeff Regan - Investigator, Michael Shayne - Detective, Pat Novak For Hire, Philip Marlowe, Richard Diamond, Rogue's Gallery, The Saint, The Shadow, and Johnny Dollar. Includes a 64-page booklet.
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The Adventures of Harry Nile
Volumes 7 and 8/$14.98 each
The spirit of old-time radio detectives lives on in "The Adventures of Harry Nile" which appears regularly on the KIRO Mystery Playhouse in Seattle, and the nationally-syndicated Imagination Theatre. This series started in the late 1970's and is still going strong. Volume 7 and 8 are the latest in the collection.
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Radio's Golden Years - A Visual Guide to the Shows and Stars
by Frank Bresee and Bobb Lynes
$25.00 postpaid.
It uses the informational cartoon, a format popularized in Ripley's Believe It or Not. Each of the 254 panels (8.5" by 11") deals with a single show or radio-related topic. There is informative text about each show, and drawings of radio people actors, producers, directors, writers, announcers, composers and even products. Bobb did the drawings, hundreds of them. Not just detectives are covered, but there are a lot of them in this book: Big Town, Boston Blackie, Bulldog Drummond, Casey - Crime Photographer, Dick Tracy, Ellery Queen, Fat Man, Green Hornet, Johnny Dollar six of the eight Johnny Dollars), Let George Do It, Michael Shayne, Mr. and Mrs. North, Mr. Chameleon, Mr. Keen - Tracer of Lost Persons, Nero Wolfe, Nick Carter, Night Beat, Pat Novak For Hire, Perry Mason, Philip Marlowe, Richard Diamond, Rocky Fortune, Sam Spade, Sgt. Preston, The Shadow, Sherlock Holmes, Tales of the Texas Rangers, and The Thin Man.
This self-published, limited-edition (1,000 copies) softback book, is available from the authors & costs $25.00 (US) postpaid. Send your orders to Radio's Golden Years, c/o Bobb Lynes, Box 561, So. Pasadena, CA 91031."

VIDEOS

The Singing Detective
CBS/Fox Video
6 videotapes
New release of Dennis Potter's classic 1986 British miniseries. A challenging, intelligent, emotionally-charged epic, about a writer and his detective hero, exploring issues of creativity, writing, honour, betrayal and the heartbreak of psoriasis. Strong stuff.

ETC.

The 1999 Mystery Lovers Calendar
by Jay Pearsall
St. Martin's Press/Universe /13.95
A great-looking wall calendar, this year devoted to that hardboiled stand-by, dangerous dames. Each month there's a reproduction of an old crime paperback. The books may not be classics, but the covers rock!
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The 1999 New York Public Library 365-Day Mystery Lovers Calendar
$9.95
At 5 1/4" X 4 1/4", it's the perfect size for a desk. Everyday a new page and a new trivia question on the works of famous mystery writers.
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Robicheaux Dock & Bait Shop T-Shirts and CapsT-Shirts
$24.95/Caps-$19.95 (avail. in various colors & styles)
Perfect wear for schlepping around the bayous or reading James Lee Burke's latest, Sunset Limited.
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Clue: The Deluxe 50th Anniversary Limited Gift Edition
Parker Brothers/$49.95
The world's best-selling mystery game. Everybody knows this one, either as Clue or Cluedo. "Colonel Mustard did it with the candlestick in the library." Budding detectives have made this and similar accusations since 1948 when the John Waddington Company of Britain first introduced Anthony Pratt's classic board game.
This year, to celebrate the game's fiftieth anniversary, Parker Brothers has released a deluxe limited edition, in fancy embossed tin box, with wood and brass tokens. A class act. Okay, not the most hardboiled gift - it's more in the traditional mystery vein, so skip shaving for a day or two, drink a lot of bourbon while playing, and expect everyone else to cheat.
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And finally, the ne plus ultra for any true private eye fan...
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The Maltese Falcon
$39.98
Not the real one, but an incredible facsimile. Now you can have your own Black Bird. A foot high and five and a half pounds. And I'm sure, for a price, you can have it delivered, wrapped in San Francisco newspapers, by a dying sea captain. The stuff that dreams are made of....
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Have a good one....

FALSE LEADS?

Maltese Falcon Christmas Tree Ornaments
And these were made available a few years ago, I believe, possibly by Hallmark...when you're hung on a tree, you'll take it and like it! Evidently, Hallmark or someone has a three-piece set: a miniature movie poster and Bogart and Mary Astor, he in a trenchcoat, she in the blue suit and hat ensemble. Any leads on this would be greatly appreciated....
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Our Indiana op, Victoria Esposito-Shea, (respectfully) submitted this report:
"If I recall correctly, Linda Thrasher mentioned these on Rara-Avis last year. Unfortunately, she was mistaken--they are in fact Casablanca ornaments, with Bogart, Bergman, and a Casablanca poster. I know this because I went into a frenzy looking for the Falcon ornaments and annoyed the hell out of the nice lady at the local Hallmark store. It turns out that the Casablanca set was the first in a series of Bogie ornaments, so the Falcon ones may be on their way--I haven't checked yet. Further investigation established that if you look really closely at the female figure, you can definitely tell that she's wearing Bergman's clothing--the hat is totally different from anything Astor wore in the Falcon....We bought them anyway. :)
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And my reply to all this has to be that if they ever do make a Christmas tree ornament of Brigid O'Shaughnessy, I hope they don't hang her by that pretty neck of hers....
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Noir
In this computer game, billed as "a shadowy thriller," you get to be a 1940's LA private eye, and work on six non-linear cases that takes you through a 1940's film noir atmosphere, complete with smoky jazz score and thousands of archival photos and location shots, all in "glorious black and white." Judging from the demo I saw, a truly beautiful-looking game, aimed at film noir and crime fiction fans. Created by film veteran Jeff Blyth. For Windows, although a Mac version may or may not have also been released. Alas, CyberDreams, the company that manufactured this game seems to have vanished. Their URL now leads to a company specializing in adult web sites.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS

Gift Certificates
Okay, it's not the most thoughtful gift, but at least you won't be buying someone a book they've already read. Most bookstores and online bookstores offer gift certificates, including several that offer rare and collectible books. Check out my list of Booksellers & Dealers.
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Magazines
What could be cooler than receiving a gift all year long? There are tons of great mystery magazines and newsletters, featuring a range of fiction and non-fiction, ranging from enthusiasticly amateur to slickly professional, for all tastes and budgets. Here's some suggestions.
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Mystery Parties/Events
Give your loved one murder this Christmas. What could be more fun? If you have a family or business function, consider throwing a mystery-theme party. Do it yourself, or check out these companies who will do it for you, whether you plan to entertain a few friends, or the entire office.

SUGGESTED SOURCES

The above are just a few suggestions. Try these Suggested Sources sources for gifts ranging from t-shirts, lawn ornaments, handcuffs, tapes of old radio shows, books, mugs, puzzles, and more, ranging from tacky to tasteful, from marvelous to morbid.

Thanks to Stewart Wright and Rick Robinson for their contributions to this page.
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Remember, your comments, suggestions, corrections and contributions are always welcome.
At the tone, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you...