Author Jenny Milchman is a lover of bookstores. She shares her favorite independent shops (and nearby stops) across the US. Time to sit back, hit the road, and read your way across the nation.

Image credit: Custom bookshelf designed by artist Ron Arad.

You can drive cross-country visiting amusement parks or baseball fields. You can eat your way across the country road food-style or get your kicks on route 66. But if you're a mystery fan, you can see America bookstore by bookstore—and possibly have the biggest adventure yet.

My family of four set out with stops scheduled at 19 mystery bookstores...

The Mysterious Bookshop (New York, New York)

We began at The Mysterious Bookshop, located in the snaking skein of streets in lower Manhattan. Mystery Editor Otto Penzler owns this bookstore and has peopled it with booksellers as passionate and learned as he. In addition to being a place where you can snatch up the newest blockbuster, this bookshop also serves as a mystery museum. As you make your way from the front of the store to the rear, you take a journey back in time. You can view the history of our genre preserved behind glass doors. There are rare books, signed first editions, and the largest collection of Sherlock Holmes works in the country. But nothing about the shop is archaic. It's a happening spot in a happening city, with a full calendar of events, launch parties, and a mystery book club that draws members from far beyond New York. The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007. Tel: 212-587-1011, www.mysteriousbookshop.com

Moonstone Mystery Books (Flemington, New Jersey)

You can't plan a tour of bookstores and not run into the claim that they are foundering. We found that reports of this demise were greatly exaggerated. How, in this virtual age, are the bricks and mortars continuing to thrive? One answers lies in the booksellers themselves.

Marilyn Thiele is one such person. There is a blend of new and gently used books at Moonstone Mystery Books, which is tucked away on a quiet street in Flemington, New Jersey. Despite the out-of-the-way location, customers are drawn by a myriad of strategies, including a dessert buffet at author events. But cake can only go so far. (Well, in my experience, cake can go very far.) Still, a successful bookstore relies on a whole bouquet of appealing approaches. Readers love finding books set in locations they know, and by local authors, and so Thiele features a wide range of titles with a New Jersey element. But even as a locavore movement surges, the globe also seems to be shrinking. Moonstone Mystery carries contemporary blockbusters, classics, and foreign mysteries in translation—from the Scandinavians to titles from Latin America and China. The Moonstone Mystery Bookstore, 12-14 Bloomfield Avenue, Flemington, NJ 08822. Telephone: 908-788-9094, www.facebook.com/pages/Twice-Told-Tales-The-Moonstone-Mystery-Book-Store

Nearby: Flemington is a charming Victorian town, in which you would expect something like a proper English tea house, and indeed you can have your scones and cucumber sandwiches at Teaberry's. For a more contemporary American culinary experience, try 55 Main or Matt's Red Rooster Grill.

Murder on the Beach (Delray Beach, Florida)

A recent James Patterson signing at Murder on the Beach.

Another bookseller who understands the wisdom of local is Joanne Sinchuk of Murder on the Beach, in Delray Beach, Florida. This bookstore specializes in regional mysteries, and indeed its very setting is perfect for a mystery. Wind-swept beaches, rustling palm fronds, and a blue sky that means you simply know all is not well. Inside a reader will find new, used, and antiquarian titles, with an emphasis on signed first editions by Florida authors. Oh, and a skeleton guarding the gate. What's a mystery without a dead body? Murder on the Beach,
273 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33444. Telephone: 561-279-7790, www.murderonthebeach.com

Mysteries & More (Nashville, Tennessee)

Photo by Jen Forbus from jensbookthoughts.com.

Mysteries & More outside Nashville, Tennessee, is a cozy place that allows owners Greg and Mary Bruss to surround themselves with the mysteries they loved reading all their lives. Their stock is 90% used and 10% new with an emphasis on local authors. But in a city whose population rallied in protest when the last independent bookstore closed in 2010, M&M holds a special place. The Brusses open their doors to special events such as the 4th of July Free Lunch & Carnival, and these have become the "lifeblood of the store." Mysteries and More, 6965 Sunnywood Drive, Nashville, TN 37211. Telephone: 615-837-3300, www.mysteriesandmore.net

Mystery Lovers Bookshop (Oakmont, Pennsylvania)

Laurie Stephens of Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, talks about the bookseller factor when she describes the care taken to make sure that each book recommendation is precisely pegged to the customer who asks. Readers who live nowhere near Pittsburgh routinely phone in orders; Laurie and her staff tuck peppermints into each shipment. This bookstore moves beyond local in another way as well. On MLB's bathroom walls you can find the signatures of every mystery author who has ever visited, which is seemingly every one who has ever written. You may have to climb over the toilet to see it, but yes, that's Lisa Gardner's scrawl up there. Mystery Lovers Bookshop, 514 Allegheny River Boulevard, Oakmont, PA 15139. Telephone: (412) 828-4877, www.mysterylovers.com

Aunt Agatha’s Bookshop (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, won the 2013 Raven award, and indeed the place is like a candy store for mystery lovers. Robin Agnew has held onto everything from the Pocket display rack for early pulp paperbacks to the toy safe that Steve Hamilton's publisher sent out to promote The Lock Artist. The store carries new and used titles. Robin loves the happy accidents—such as when a first edition of C Is For Corpse turned up in a box she was unpacking—but her approach to bookselling is quite deliberate. Robin or one of her booksellers will go so far as to place a title in a customer's hands. The fact that many they suggest wind up on the bookstore's bestseller list suggests they are doing their job—and a service to mystery readers. Aunt Agatha's Bookshop, 213 S. 4th Ave #1A, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Telephone: 734-769-1114

Nearby: A few blocks away is Grange Kitchen and Bar, a lovely farm to table restaurant serving local food and fancy cocktails. Also in town is the University of Michigan and its Hopwood Program for Creative Writing, something that tempted me as a teenaged writer, and inspired my daughter to want to go to college after all.

Mystery to Me (Madison, Wisconsin)

Moving farther west, Mystery to Me had just opened in Madison, Wisconsin, when we arrived. The streets were balmy and customers were walking in and out of the store. Bookseller Joanne Berg carries new and gently used titles, with a growing emphasis on children's books. She wants the bookstore to become a hub of the community, and author events are a large part of that. We wondered how a bookstore comes to life in the cyber age, and found one answer in the enormous screen on the wall, which allows authors from all over the globe to appear via Skype—not to mention spooky music played via Pandora to get browsers in the mystery mood. Mystery to Me, 1863 Monroe St, Madison, WI. Telephone: (608) 283-9332, www.mysterytomebooks.com

Nearby: Madison is a very cool college town, with the culture and inexpensive ethnic dining you'd expect with that. For Laotian food, try Vientiane Palace Restaurant. There's also Dumpling Haus and Umami Ramen & Dumpling Bar (clearly, I like dumplings). For an upscale meal, try Harvest, which is across the street from the gorgeous white marble Capitol Building and steps away from the Madison Children's Museum.

Mystery One Bookstore (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a mystery lover can find an icon of the field. Mystery One is roughly the size of a box truck whose every cubic inch is filled with books. Owner Richard Katz has an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre, and any trip to the store will find first editions, signed and carefully preserved with plastic, as well as scores of forgotten finds. Mystery One Bookstore, 2109 N. Prospect Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53202. Telephone: 414-347-4077, www.mysteryone.com

Big Sleep Books (St. Louis, Missouri)

Missouri and Kansas may not be states with the densest populations, but they belong on any mystery lover's map. In St. Louis, you can visit Big Sleep, another tiny, book-crammed store. We found an interesting contrast between mystery bookstores; the categories could be described as new and shiny versus gritty and gray. Neither is superior—think blockbuster versus noir. Readers might prefer one over the other, or favor both. Big Sleep falls into the latter category. After a conversation with owner Ed King, any mystery lover will walk away better informed and enriched by at least a few rarely seen reads. Big Sleep Books, 239 N Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108, Telephone: 314-361-6100, www.bigsleepbooks.com

Nearby: Around the corner is one of the more specific museums you will encounter, the World Chess Hall of Fame, four stories devoted to the game, the greats who have played it, and astonishing chess sets, from the precious to the whimsical. A few blocks in the other direction is Forest Park, a 1,400 acre urban greenspace that houses the Saint Louis Art Museum, the zoo, the Missouri History Museum, and many other nifty sites.

MysteryScape Bookstore (Overland Park, Kansas)

Author Patrick Rothfuss at a MysteryScape reading.

Just outside Kansas City, in Overland Park, there is a bookstore called MysteryScape that is arguably Big Sleep's polar opposite. It's branding for the new millennium, an oasis of innovation. Right down to the logos and display, MysteryScape has its own exquisite design aesthetic. Owner Cheri LeBlond believes that for a bookstore to thrive it must provide both entertainment and a personal connection. She calls her booksellers Escapologists and says the bookstore promises three things: escape, intrigue, and diversion. This could mean anything from finding the perfect, transporting title to watching a play adapted from a mystery tale performed right there in the store. Professional and amateur actors, minimal props and costumes, but plenty of suspense. There'll even be a discussion afterwards along with a potluck dinner. MysteryScape Bookstore, 7309 West 80th Street, Overland Park, KS 66204. Telephone: 916-649-0000, www.mysteryscape.com

Nearby: You know you spend a lot of time on book tour when you live on the East Coast and have a favorite dumpling restaurant in Kansas City. Mine is Blue Koi Noodles & Dumplings, where you can get a plate of maybe a dozen fried ones with several sauces, or a big bowl of them with noodles and greens in a half dozen choices of broth. The Alamo Drafthouse shows new and vintage movies, and has a video arcade with classic games from the 1980s, which is a major but rarely indulged craving of my husband's. Occasionally, they have events where you play video games on the movie screen. How cool is that? A bit closer to the bookstore in Overland Park, a few doors down in fact, is Smallcakes a Cupcakery, which tells you all you need to know.

Murder by the Book (Houston, Texas)

The great state of Texas is home to one terrific mystery bookstore, and one that's just a little bit different. Mention Houston to mystery lovers and you'll probably hear Murder by the Book. McKenna Jordan's cavernous palace displays new books arrayed on tables like jewels in cases, signed copies, plus a staggering event schedule. Murder by the Book, 2342 Bissonnet St., Houston, TX 77005. Telephone: 713-524-8597, www.murderbooks.com

Book People (Austin, Texas)

In Austin, Book People contains a secret, as does any good mystery. Wend along the aisles of the store and you will come to "Mystery People," the brainchild of "Crime Fiction Coordinator" Scott Montgomery. A series of soaring shelves hold current titles as well as a range of thematic displays. Thanks to Scott's avid love of the genre, and ability to tailor this bookstore-within-a-bookstore, authors who may be overlooked elsewhere find their day in the hot Texas sun. Book People, 603 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78703. Telephon: (512) 472-5050, www.bookpeople.com

Nearby: This may be our only bookstore-within-a-bookstore…the great Scott Montgomery’s brainchild. Plus, there is some of the country’s best ice cream around the corner at Amy’s. The talented scoop guys even juggle your dips!

The Poisoned Pen (Scottsdale, Arizona)

Image courtesy of litreactor.com

The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona, boasts columns in shades of sand and straw that call to mind their desert home. The Pen is a grand space, and its ambition and reach are grand as well. This bookstore contains mostly new mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels, displayed on tables in tempting starbursts and arrays. Owner Barbara Peters describes what might be called book theater—that intersection between literature and entertainment, which we heard about back in Kansas. "We reinvented The Pen as a media company sometime back," Barbara says. "You can buy a book anywhere, but online you can't buy the experience [of finding it] or the face-to-face with authors. A new book is a ticket to an evening or afternoon out." Events include food and giveaways, a real party either in the bookstore or offsite. Well over 100 authors have signed every single one of their titles in this store. Why not see when your favorite is planning a trip? The Poisoned Pen, 4014 N Goldwater Blvd #101, Scottsdale, AZ. Telephone: (480) 947-2974, www.poisonedpenpress.com

Nearby: Pane Bianco in Phoenix is a lovely place for artisan pizza and salads. In the mood for Earl Grey Chocolate Tartlets? Try Arcadia Farms Cafe. For new Italian comfort food, Cafe Forte is right around the corner.

Clues Unlimited (Tucson, Arizona)

Arizona is home to more than one mystery gem. In Tucson, Clues Unlimited boasts a friendly dog you might be lucky enough to meet, and a range of new and used titles. Bookseller Chris Burke's particular interest is in used copies of out-of-print mysteries, ones that might otherwise be lost to the browsing customer. This bookstore is also the place to find titles that "push the envelope," literary thrillers that at first glance might not be considered to fit within the genre. Clues Unlimited, 3146 E. Fort Lowell Rd, Tucson, AZ 85716. Telephone: 520-326-8533, cluesunlimited.com

Nearby: Tucson has the most perfect museum there could possibly be for kids, The Mini-Time Machine, A Museum of Miniatures. This is 15,000 square feet of miniature houses, rooms, and landscapes, what my daughter calls "scene setups." If you like dollhouses or miniatures, you need to see this place. My son likes it because in many of the scenes are little cars, of all periods and scales, which is his thing. Tucson is also only an hour from Sonora, Mexico, and has too many Sonoran places to name, as well as lots of modernist places, such as the gastropubWilko or Umi Star for Japanese fusion and clever drinks.

Mysterious Galaxy (San Diego, California)

Mysterious Galaxy has not one but two locations in southern California and just celebrated its twentieth birthday with a huge gala. (Yes, there was cake). There were also authors from all over the country. One of the owners, Maryelizabeth Hart, explains that MG, as it's lovingly known, carries mostly new titles, including many signed first editions: "the collectibles of tomorrow." This focus on new arises from how "many titles there are to be excited about." Maryelizabeth and the other booksellers here delight in discovering new authors. Events are a big part of bookstore life, as we've seen elsewhere. The store employs a "have books, will travel" approach whereby libraries, fitness centers, and private homes all become sites for unique events. Mysterious Galaxy Bookshop, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92111. Telephone: 858-268-4747, www.mystgalaxy.com

Mystery Ink (Huntington Beach, California)

Carola Dunn signing at Mystery Ink.

California boasts two other mystery bookstores that are off-the-beaten-freeway, but well worth a trip. Mystery Ink in Huntington Beach is a tiny shop that comes into its own around author events. The number of writers who appear, not to mention their star power, is impressive, especially for such a cozy store. Mystery Ink, 8907 Warner Avenue #136, Huntington Beach, CA 92647. Telephone: 714-960-4000, www.mysteryink.com

Book 'em Mysteries (Pasedena, California)

Storefront for Book'em Mysteries. Photo from LA Times Blog.

Book 'Em Mysteries in South Pasadena carries a range of new and used mysteries, and exemplifies yet another way in which a bookstore can be an important part of any fan's life. The store sponsors a mystery book club and holds meetings to discuss titles. Book’em Mysteries, 1118 Mission St., S. Pasadena, CA 91030. Telephone: 626-799-9600, www.bookem.com

Seattle Mystery Bookstore (Seattle, Washington)

On a steep street in Seattle, down a flight of stairs, lies a semi-subterranean repository of books. Seattle Mystery Bookstore boasts many current titles, with a middle grade and young adult section curated by a bookseller who retains a child's enthusiasm for discovering books. Actually, Fran, JB, and all of the booksellers at Seattle Mystery retain this enthusiasm. It was here that we encountered the most serious collectors of our trip. Authors from Lee Child to Hank Phillippi Ryan hightail it out to Seattle so that attendees at events can have their books signed and dated within thirty days of publication. The chalkboard roster on the wall shows that a trip to the farthest corner of the lower forty-eight is considered well worth it—for authors and readers. Seattle Mystery Bookstore, 117 Cherry Street, Seattle, WA 98104. Telephone: 206-587-5737, www.seattlemystery.com

Once Upon a Crime (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis, Minnesota is owned by Gary Schulze and Pat Frovarp, who met as collectors and decided to open a bookstore. They stock a blend of new, used, and antiquarian titles, the latter in the Mystery Annex. Like many of the booksellers in this article, Gary and Pat feel that author events, discovering new writers, and communing with readers are some of the greatest pleasures of running a bricks and mortar. And oh, the stories they tell. If you stop in the next time you're in Minnesota, you might get to hear Gary describe the inscribed edition of John D. MacDonald's I Could Go On Singing that he sold. Gary explains, "This was a movie tie-in of a Judy Garland bio-pic, with only one printing ever made. Apparently MacDonald hated it, was perhaps a bit embarrassed by it, and asked the publisher not to reprint it. In the inscription, he wrote To ---- Please don't read this. Priceless." Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55405. Telephone: 612-870-3785, www.onceuponacrimebooks.com

Nearby: The Twin Cities, in high summer at least, include verdant greenery, and my kids playing in the fountain at Whittier Park just before a soft and gauzy rainstorm. Or cooling off at Common Roots with an iced tea spiked with herbs grown in the garden just around the corner. Also nice for French pastries and a light lunch is French Meadow Bakery & Cafe. We don’t only eat out while on the road. Sometimes we stay put for a few days, get groceries, and cook. And we always try to have cereal, milk, and fruit on hand for breakfast. We've come to appreciate nice supermarkets well-placed near bookstores. A particularly nice one is Wedge Community Co-Op, a true local, community-owned, farm-oriented market.

***

We learned on our travels that just as every mystery tells a story, so does every mystery bookstore. There are many ways to find mysteries today. But hearing the tales behind the books, seeing their lore, meeting the authors, and talking to stars as your copy is signed? Well, as Gary Schulze of OUAC might say, that is truly priceless.

Jenny Milchman is a suspense writer who until recently lived on the road with her family on what Shelf Awareness called "the world's longest book tour." Jenny's debut novel, Cover of Snow, was published by Ballantine/Random House in 2013. Her second novel, is Ruin Falls (Ballantine, April 2014). She currently lives and writes in upstate New York. jennymilchman.com

I offer an appreciation as well as a fond farewell to two vastly different crime dramas: Psych, which ended its eighth-year run last week on USA network, and Justified, which ends its fifth season this week on FX but will return for its final sixth season.

(The season finale of Justified begins at 10 p.m. EST Tuesday on FX.)

The two shows could not be more different—one a comic-drama mystery, the other a hard-charging, often violent series—yet each was/is completely satisfying in its own way with realistic characters who drew you in to their exploits, good plots and, especially in Justified’s case, crisp dialogue.

Psych finished its series—no spoilers here, I promise—with an episode that paid homage to the series’ comedy, yet also gave a bit of a serious subtext; it wrapped up certain story threads, yet left room for a glimpse of these character’s future. And there were also a couple of clever surprises and a brilliant reference to a former, much beloved USA series about another defective detective.

Psych is about Shawn Spencer, wonderfully played by James Roday, whose claims of being a psychic somehow lead to him being a consultant for the Santa Barbara police department and setting up a private detective agency with his best friend Gus Guster, the equally terrific Dule Hill.

Shawn’s “heightened observational skills,” of course, have nothing to do with him being a psychic but from the intense training he got since childhood from his father Henry, a former officer with the Santa Barbara police department.

Henry, perfectly played by Corbin Bernsen, wanted his only son to be a cop but Shawn’s rebelliousness lead him to a different path. A bit of a slacker, Shawn used this early training into what began as a con game but developed into real career at which he was quite good.

Psych had its roots in those same “heightened observational skills” in the novels about Sherlock Holmes, the TV series The Mentalist and so many other detective stories in which a detective uses his wits and intuitiveness to solve a crime. Shawn could spot an errant button, a spot of blood, a misplaced book a mile a way and use that information to save the day.

The last episode featured Billy Zane, who has been referenced so many times on Psych that he has deserved an ending credit for years. And we finally got to meet Det. Dobson, played by another actor mentioned numerous times on Psych. I’ll let you figure out which police consultant was referenced as being “in the kitchen, alphabetizing the pantry.”

During the season run, Shawn, perhaps against his nature, began to grow up. He began to see his father not as an adversary but as a concerned parent. His growing relationship with Juliet "Jules" O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) has been a catalyst for the past three season’s action.

But a main point of Psych has been the unshakeable friendship between Shawn and Gus. Buddies since they were children, they are the epitome of the bro-mance. It has always been obvious how much these two men care for each other as true friends who believe in each other and support each other. Gus is the more solid, more adult but he never gives up on Shawn, even when Shawn is messing up or acting immature, which has been often in the series.

A “bro-mance” of sorts also is at the heart of Justified. But this one is quite a different kind.

The story of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (played to perfection by Timothy Olyphant, right) and the criminal Boyd Crowder (also played to perfection by Walton Goggins) has given an extra texture to Justified.

The two men grew up together and know how each other thinks. As each is fond of saying, “We shovelled coal together,” a phrase that may not mean anything outside of Kentucky's hills but implies a code of mutual obligation for those who live in Harlan County.

Each man could easily have turned the other way and each knows that.

We root for Raylan, of course, as he is supposed to be the good guy, but, in a way, we also want to see Boyd succeed. Both men are capable of incredible violence and incredible tenderness. Raylan can never completely commit to a woman, while Boyd is devoted to Ava (Joelle Carter).

This season of Justified has been perhaps the darkest in a very dark series with Ava in jail and Boyd caught up with even nastier people than usual both for business but also to get Ava freed. Too many people from big cities have underestimated the country Boyd. Hint, never smoke a cigarette with Boyd.

Raylan’s tangling with the very odd and very criminal Crowe family has brought another set of issues, including a turn in Raylan’s relationship with Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen (Nick Searcy). Art is the kind of father that Raylan’s own father wasn’t; Art, as Raylan said, “is the only man I truly care about.”

Each actor on Justified is terrific. This year the main villain in the Crowe family is played by a sneering, no holding back Michael Rapaport as Darryl Crowe, Jr. The dialogue is pitch perfect, as it should be since it is based on Elmore Leonard’s 2001 novella Fire in the Hole.

TV will be a little less fun without Psych and Justified.

Photos: Top: James Roday as Shawn Spencer, Dule Hill as Gus Guster on Psych. USA Network photo
Center:Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant). FX photo

Mystery and crime stories were a main source of programming during the golden age of what is now known as “old-time radio” (1935 to 1960, say).

Carleton Hobbs (left) and Norman Shelley were the BBC’s choice to play Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for over 20 years. Photo: BBC Radio.

Well-known literary detectives from Sherlock Holmes to Mike Hammer joined a host of colleagues on radio’s “theater of the mind,” where listeners had the mental pleasure of providing all the scenery and other visual details.

The old coast-to-coast radio networks and their weekly dramatic programs are gone; but radio drama (including mystery stories) persists here and there in America, England and Canada. Meanwhile, great shows from the past can be enjoyed today on audiotape, on CD, and online.

Most of the shows mentioned below can be found, for sale or for free, from a variety of sources. One such vendor is Jerry Haendiges’ Vintage Radio Site. And SPERDVAC is a longstanding organization of OTR-lovers.

John and Judith: Their Crime and Why They Didn’t Get to Enjoy It
Crime Classics
CBS; December 16, 1953

Producer-director Elliott Lewis was the creative force behind this extraordinary one-year series, which dramatized true-crime chronicles from ancient times to the (then) near-present. Cases ranged from the legendary (Lincoln’s assassination) to the obscure, with all scripts written (again) by the team of Morton Fine and David Friedkin, who achieved an amazing blend of stylized realism, period dialogue, and dark humor. The music was composed by Bernard Herrmann, by now one of the most respected film-scorers in Hollywood. Herrmann took the assignment as a favor and a challenge; limited by budget to a handful of musicians, he employed only instruments used during the time period of each week’s tale. The actors were the top West Coast radio players of the time, all of whom seemed to relish the opportunities given them by this most out-of-the-ordinary show.

Crime Classics told many murderous tales of 17th- and 18th-century England. “John and Judith” takes place in an English country town in 1684. A man’s affection for his servant girl leads to the poisoning death of his wife; but the new couple’s ill-gotten happiness is disturbed by the greedy intrusions of a goodwoman-neighbor (played with malicious glee by Jeanette Nolan), whose demands for payment in exchange for silence are incessant.

The Shady Lane Matter
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
CBS; July 9-13, 1956

This show featuring “America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator … the man with the action-packed expense account,” had a long and checkered broadcast history, from 1949 to 1962 (it left as the last-ever regularly scheduled network-radio dramatic program). During this span, it went from being one of the silliest detective shows on the air to one of the best (and then slipped partway back).

At its creative peak (October 1955 to November 1956), Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ran as a 15-minute, five-nights-a-week program, with a single “Matter” unfolding in five serial episodes. Dollar’s assignments took him all over the 48 states and to foreign lands, for cases that ranged in tone from hardboiled to humanistic to sometimes whimsical. Bob Bailey (supported by a stalwart stock-company of LA radio actors) was superb as Dollar, who narrated the well-written tales as itemizations of his expenseaccount: “Item one: thirty-six dollars and seventy cents, transportation and incidentals, Hartford to Shady Lane, a quiet little town of around a thousand population…”

“The Shady Lane Matter” (written by Les Crutchfield, directed by Jack Johnstone) involves a woman in a small Vermont town shot to death for no apparent reason. A coroner’s open verdict allows imminent payment of an insurance policy—but an anonymous letter to the company prompts a trip, and a probing investigation, by Dollar.

Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar. Photo: CBS.

The Hound of the Baskervilles
BBC Radio; April 6-May 11, 1958

Tired of revisionist dramatizations of the saga of Baker Street, in which Sherlock Holmes is a testy neurotic and Dr. Watson a greater intellect than he once was? Return with us then to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when Holmes was Holmes and Watson was Watson, and never the twain would ambiguously meet.

For almost 20 years, British actors Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley were the audio personifications of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mythical duo in a series of BBC radio adaptations of the Holmes canon which included this three-part, 90-minute version of that greatest of Holmes novels: the one that bears “the footprints of a gigantic hound.”

Hobbs achieved just the desired mixture of affection and condescension in his treatment of Shelley’s Watson, who was equal parts bluster, steadfastness, sympathy towards the plight of others, and amused or exasperated wonder at his brilliant friend’s abilities.

It’s the autumn of 1889 when Holmes is approached by a doctor from Dartmoor on behalf of the young heir Sir Charles Baskerville, whose predecessor as the head of the family line has come to a frightful end. Might a local legend involving a demonic hound have played a part in the dead man’s demise? And might the new heir now be in danger? After a preliminary visit to Baskerville Hall, Holmes leaves Watson in charge for a time—causing the good doctor to hope: “For once I may succeed where even Holmes has failed!” Then again, perhaps not.

This 1958 transcribed program hasn’t the ultra-crisp production values of later BBC radio dramas, but its sound effects and music work well to sustain a period feel and atmospheric mood. The supporting cast (including a blessedly non-obnoxious Canadian-American heir and a nicely underplayed villain) is uniformly fine, in a script by Felix Felton. Heard on American radio in a variety of formats, this Hound has also been packaged more than once on audiocassette.

Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt
Rumpole of the Bailey
BBC Radio; July 21, 1980

John Mortimer’s popular character Horace Rumpole, the barrister-at-law familiar from the long-running Mortimer-penned English TV series as well as from Mortimer’s short stories and a novel, had his origins in a Mortimer radio play. In fact, in 1980 Mortimer wrote a 13-episode series of BBC Radio scripts about Rumpole, in which Maurice Denham gave memorable voice to “the splendors and miseries” of this “Old Bailey hack.”

Horace—husband of Hilda (“She who must be obeyed”), father of Nick, imbiber of Chateau Fleet Street—has acquired a well-stocked bag of courtroom tricks while serving, “from time immemorial,” clients who sometimes don’t know their own best interests or even their own minds. A young Jamaican man accused of a violent crime is the one in need of Rumpole’s services in this half-hour play (one of several from this series made available over the years from different audio-publishers). Having signed a written confession, the accused now seeks to retract his statement, but once Rumpole begins work on his behalf, the defendant wants to change his plea to guilty.

Witnessing the courtroom proceedings with dismay is Horace’s son Nick, who takes a dim view of his dad’s attempt to discredit the arresting officer’s testimony. “That’s your stock in trade, isn’t it: doubt?” he taunts Rumpole. “Well they’re all guilty of something,” Horace shoots back; his job, as he sees it, is to defend the accused “by telling his story as well as I can.” This he does, with surprising and satisfying results—but son Nick isn’t present to acknowledge his triumph.

Whimsical, bittersweet, bluff, and vulnerable, the late Maurice Denham was wonderful as Rumpole, in a first-rate production skillfully directed by Ian Cotterell.

Eeny Meeny Murder Mo
Nero Wolfe
CBC Radio; March 13, 1982

Rex Stout’s durable detective Nero Wolfe made his print debut in 1934—and almost immediately also leapt into movies, radio, and (eventually) TV. But before the 2001 A&E television series, the best non-book Wolfe came via this 1982 CBC radio series, which hewed closely in style and content to Stout’s actual stories and was far superior, for instance, to the long-running American radio series from the 1940s and ’50s.

Mayver Moore stars as Wolfe, with Don Francks (Walter in La Femme Nikita) as his erstwhile assistant Archie Goodwin, in the 13 well-directed (by Ron Hartman), well-played 50-minute CBC shows, all based on Stout novelettes. Some of these, including “Eeny Meeny Murder Mo,” were released commercially on audiotape.

In “Eeny Meeny,” a woman waiting to see the great detective is murdered in Wolfe’s office—strangled with one of Wolfe’s own neckties. The sleuth thus has personal as well as professional reasons for taking up the murdered woman’s case, which apparently involves improper behavior on the part of one of the members of the law firm where she worked. It’s a typical Stout story: at once breezy and thoughtful, serious and semi-comic—with a full cast of plausible suspects, drawn just sharply enough to hold one’s interest for the length of the tale. Moore’s Wolfe exudes the perfect mix of ire and insight; and Franck’s Archie is both street-smart and suave. The rest of the Canadian players are equally good, and Don Gillis’s original score also strikes just the right note.

Shows such as these bring crime and suspense tales to life in unique fashion. Radio dramas are different in effect from stageplays and movies; they’re closer to the experience of reading—but with sets, scenery, faces and expressions all provided by your memory, and a budget as big as your imagination. It’s an all-but-vanished art form with its own demands and rewards—not unlike its polar opposite, silent film. At the flip of a switch or the turn of a dial, you’re in another world, one fueled by the greatest mystery of all: the primal enchantment of being told a story.

Further Investigation

Radio crime-drama, old and new, can still be found if you hunt for it:

KCRW-FM, a Southern California NPR station, has done dramatizations of Ross Macdonald and Walter Mosley books in recent seasons and intends more such programming.

The BBC's Radio 7 regularly offers treats from its archives (such as Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, in dramatizations of Dorothy L. Sayers’ books), which can be heard through its "Listen Again" feature.

Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater was given a Raven Award by the MWA in 2005 for its contemporary productions with an old-time feel.

Radio Days has a list of US and Canadian stations offering OTR programming.

BOOKS

On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio
by John Dunning. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Detailed, comprehensive and extremely well-written. Dunning is also, of course, the author of the “Bookman” mysteries.

The Great American Radio Broadcast: A Celebration of Radio’s Golden Age
by Leonard Maltin, Dutton, 1997.
A collection of anecdotes and stories.

Private Eye-Lashes: Radio's Lady Detectives
by Jack French, Bear Manor Media, 2004.
A look at some of the neglected female ’tecs on old time radio shows.

Read Mystery Scene's Mystery on the Air: 10 Great Old-Time Radio Thrillers (Part I)

Read Mystery Scene's Mystery on the Air: 10 Great Old-Time Radio Thrillers (Part III)

Tom Nolan is the author of Ross Macdonald: A Biography and the editor of the recently published The Couple Next Door: Collected Short Mysteries by Margaret Millar (Crippen & Landru).

This article first appeared in Mystery Scene Summer Issue #90.

The late Robert B. Parker’s novels continue to have a life of their own.

Ace Atkins has kept Parker’s iconic Spencer series alive with his contributions. Atkins' third Spencer novel Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot comes out in May.

Now Reed Coleman, left, has been tapped to continue the Jesse Stone series.

Coleman is the author of 17 novels, including the Moe Prager series. A three-time winner of the Shamus Award and a two-time Edgar nominee, Coleman also has won the Macavity, Audie, Barry and Anthony Awards. He is an adjunct instructor of English at Hofstra University and a founding member of MWA University.

And Coleman certainly knows how to keep a secret. Coleman was asked if he wanted to continue the Jesse Stone novels in May 2013. But it has only been during the last week that he was able to make the news public.

Coleman said on his website it took him “about a nanosecond to say yes. From that moment on my life has been turned on its ear.”

Coleman will write four novels in the Jesse Stone series.

Jesse Stone seems to be a good fit for him, Coleman said.

“Jesse Stone is a character with enormous appeal for me. I’d written an essay about Jesse entitled “Go East, Young Man: Robert B. Parker, Jesse Stone, and Spenser” for the book In Pursuit of Spenser, edited by Otto Penzler. In doing the research for the essay, I found a rare and magical thing that only master writers like Mr. Parker could create: the perfectly flawed hero. Easy for writers to create heroes. Easy for writers to create characters with flaws. Not so easy to do both. But Robert B. Parker was an alchemist who turned simple concepts into enduring characters,” Coleman said on his blog.

Following Parker’s death, three Jesse Stone novels were written by Michael Brandman.

Coleman’s first Jesse Stone novel Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot will be published in September by Putnam.

In Blind Spot, Jesse Stone’s reunion with his former baseball team is cut short when a young woman is murdered and her boyfriend, a son of one of Paradise’s most prominent families, is missing and presumed kidnapped.

Not every detail makes it into an author profile. Sometimes there isn’t room or things happen after publication.

Take our current issue of Mystery Scene with the profile of Laura Lippman, written by me.

Laura and I had a good interview, filled with lots of details about her work, her books, the film that has been made based on Every Secret Thing.

Much of that is in the profile.

But at the time we talked, and even with the follow up just before we went to press, where and when the film of Every Secret Thing was still up in the air.

So, naturally, soon after the issue hit the stands, the announcement comes out.

Every Secret Thing is being shown as part of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, which will take place in Manhattan from April 16-27. Here’s the link and look for updates.

Screening times for Every Secret Thing are scheduled to be 6 p.m. Sunday April 20 at BMCC Tribeca; 3 p.m. Wednesday April 23 at Bow Tie Cinemas Chelsea; and 7 p.m. Thursday April 24 at the AMC Loews Village.

Here’s how the Tribeca festival describes the film:

Every Secret Thing, directed by Amy Berg, written by Nicole Holofcener. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. One clear summer day in a Baltimore suburb, a baby goes missing from her front porch. Two young girls serve seven years for the crime and are released into a town that hasn’t fully forgiven or forgotten. Soon, another child is missing, and two detectives are called in to investigate the mystery in a community where everyone seems to have a secret. An ensemble cast, including Elizabeth Banks, Diane Lane, Dakota Fanning, and Nate Parker, brings to life Laura Lippman’s acclaimed novel of love, loss, and murder.

That sounds about right.

The website Vulture.com listed Every Secret Thing as one of the seven best films at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The Vulture.com review says: “. . . and as you might expect with that creative team, this is less a mystery and more a diffuse character study, a look at how the past can continue to haunt those broken by it. The cast is uniformly excellent, but Diane Lane, playing the mother of one of the convicted girls, stands out: She turns this efficient, suspenseful little drama into something downright Shakespearean.”

PHOTO: Ronnie Fuller (played by Dakota Fanning) has heart to heart conversation with Detective Nancy Porter (played by Elizabeth Banks) in Every Secret Thing. Photograph/Alison Rosa; courtesy Tribeca Film Festival