tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post7825676124250875637..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: The Obeah Murders - Hulbert FootnerJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-16482636174808242422013-07-12T02:08:49.049-05:002013-07-12T02:08:49.049-05:00Fascinating John especially as I know nothign abou...Fascinating John especially as I know nothign about Danish colonialism and thanks for the additional author info - love learnign about this kind of stuff. <br /><br />Cheers, <br /><br />SergioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-37479422509518865212013-07-09T23:24:54.170-05:002013-07-09T23:24:54.170-05:00Coachwhip is going to be reprinting some of his bo...Coachwhip is going to be reprinting some of his books, with cooperation of the estate. I reviewed one of his awhile back at Mysteryfile. Though it was no classic as a mystery, it was enjoyably written and kept me interested in reading Footner.<br /><br />I have this book (though without that jacket!) and was certainly intrigued by the title. The review makes me want to read it. Nice pic of Footner too!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-73993773634436452502013-07-09T15:58:55.767-05:002013-07-09T15:58:55.767-05:00Aha! There had to be an earlier mystery with a sim...Aha! There had to be an earlier mystery with a similar theme. I've not read any of Vandercook's mystery novels. I'll have to check him out soon. I know you reviewed that book at your blog a while ago.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-7496048552647265842013-07-09T15:47:23.681-05:002013-07-09T15:47:23.681-05:00Are you familiar with John Vandercook's 1936 m...Are you familiar with John Vandercook's 1936 mystery novel <i>Murder in Fiji</i>? <br /><br />Race relations and native culture are integral to the plot, in which the colonials of the South Pacific island fear the natives are returning to the cannibalistic customs of the past. There are calls for punitive measures against the natives after a white colonial becomes one of the victims, because that's where they drew the line in those days, but Vandercook (an explorer) gives his reader a different picture of locals then the newspapers in the story. <br />TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-75409094877051248422013-07-09T09:47:11.966-05:002013-07-09T09:47:11.966-05:00Since I rarely include author info in my posts her...Since I rarely include author info in my posts here are some highlights about Hulbert Footner:<br /><br />--He was Canadian born but is thought of as an American writer since he lived most of his life in the U.S.<br /><br />--He was very good friends with Christopher Morley I have recently learned. Morley appears as a character in <i>The Mystery of the Folded Paper</i>, also distinctive for being the first detective novel set in Hoboken, New Jersey.<br /><br />--Footner had two series characters: Madame Rosika Storey, one of the first female private detectives in pulp fiction and Amos Lee Mappin who is in <i>...Folded Paper</i> and several other novels.<br /><br />--Footner was a frequent contributor to many pulp magazines, notably <i>Argosy, All-Story Weekly</i> and <i>Detective Story</i> where most of his novels were originally serialized. He also wrote hundreds of short stories.<br /><br /><i>The Obeah Murders</i> shows its pulp fiction roots with so many genre influences (spy, western, adventure, supernatural, and detective). In the end, however, the race issue was the book's most surprising, and ultimately most crucial, aspect. More Footner reviews are coming later this summer.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-18381669946192447882013-07-09T09:01:42.075-05:002013-07-09T09:01:42.075-05:00It was only this spring that I became aware of Hul...It was only this spring that I became aware of Hulbert Footner, a lapse in my education that I blame on the sad fact that neither <i>The Canadian Encyclopedia</i> nor <i>The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature</i> have entries. Ever since I've been wondering where to start. You've made a strong case for this book, John.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.com