John D. MacDonald (1916 - 1986)

Creator of Travis McGee, 'a knight in rusting armor'

John D. MacDonald wrote 78 books and nearly 500 short stories. Born in Sharon, PA, he dropped out of University of Pennsylvania, but later earned a degree in business from Syracuse University and an MBA from Harvard. From 1953 to 1964 he wrote hardboiled crime thrillers including The Executioners (1957), which was twice adapted for the screen as Cape Fear in 1962 and 1991. His fame mounted with his intelligent, introspective "knight in rusting armor," Travis McGee, who first appeared in 1964 with The Deep Blue Good-by and then in 20 more novels, each with a color in the title. These novels, set in his adopted home of Florida and usually beginning aboard his boat, Busted Flush, moored in Ft. Lauderdale, sealed his reputation. The last in the series, The Lonely Silver Rain, appeared in 1985.

Gifts for mystery lovers

Otto Penzler, proprietor of New York City's Mysterious Book Shop, commissioned short pieces from crime writers in this most readable treat for mystery lovers: The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives (2009)

P.D. James writes about writing mysteries in Talking About Detective Fiction

Watch online:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents [Hulu]
Hawaii Five-O [Hulu]

Mysteries on TV
Set your TiVo to collect the best British mysteries on TV from PBS Masterpiece Mystery, including Wallender, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Inspector Lewis. While you're at it, check out the other Masterpiece selections: Classic for literary dramas, and Contemporary for modern dramas.

Best Mystery Movies
American Film Institute's Top 10

Recent winners of the Edgar Allan Poe Award® for Best Motion Picture Screenplay:
   In Bruges by Martin McDonagh (2009)
   Michael Clayton by Tony Gilroy (2008)
   The Departed by William Monahan (2007)
   Syriana by Stephen Gaghan (based on the novel by Robert Baer) (2006)
   A Very Long Engagement by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (based on the novel by Sebastien Japrisot) (2005)

Coming soon:
The Cause of Death Quiz
A playful test of your mystery novel knowledge.