REVIEW: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Rather than a “locked room” mystery wherein the victim is found dead in a room where no one could have gotten in or out, Christie traps everyone together on a snowbound train. The victim, the suspects, and the detective are all stuck in the “locked room.” The new movie version, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh is problematic but it was much better than the trailers led me to believe.

ACCENT: THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTO

In 1888, the wealthy business tycoons of Pittsburgh retreated to their summer “cottages” at a man-made lake that hung high above Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club counted among its members Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Elizabeth Haberlin, one of the book’s two protagonists, is the daughter of one of these monied…

Books for June

It’s June. Time to find a quiet beach and something to read. After a great college class about the history of religious movements in America, I’ve always been fascinated with the activity that grew out of the so-called “Burned-Over District.” And as a frequent volunteer at a Shaker Village I know there is a great deal to…