Noirdame

Being Bad Never Felt So Good!, Nov 7 2012

According to Gary Lovisi, bad girls are "what mothers warn their sons to stay away from, and pray their daughters will never become." That phrase alone makes this book irresistible to a book lover/pulp enthusiast like myself. The titles of the books themselves are priceless, but the cover art (by artists like Paul Rader, Robert McGinnis and Robert Maguire and many others) is a great guilty pleasure, as are the excerpts from several of the back covers. Lovisi must have had a hard time narrowing down the covers that he wanted to use for this volume, with so much to choose from! However, his other collection of pulp covers "Dames, Dolls And Delinquents" has very large variety of covers. Both… Read more

The Dark Shore Waits For You, May 14 2012

This novel by Susan Howatch, her first, published in 1965, has often been compared to Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" which can be said of many books of the romantic suspense/gothic genre. However, "The Dark Shore" has a compelling quality all its own. The familiar and often reused plot is here - a young bride, newly married to a wealthy and successful man, finds herself thrown into his world - namely, his home estate which is filled with secrets, danger and the shadow of his departed first wife who died in suspicious circumstances. The setting is in the same part of Britain - Cornwall. But Howatch puts her own unique spin on the often-told tale, created characters with not only a connection… Read more

Very Watchable Suspense-Fest!, April 14 2012

One dreary afternoon a few years ago, I happened to be flipping channels when this movie aired on A&E, and I was glued to it the entire running time. It is quite dated, to be sure, but the thrills come from actual suspense and some subtle hints, which make more graphic TV movies more obvious.

Kathleen Beller is exceptional as Amy, the heroine, who is menaced by a stranger in a ski mask. The problem is, no one believes her, and her stepmother Adele (a masterful Mariette Hartley) begins to think that her stepdaughter is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Amy is seeing a psychiatrist, portrayed by Keir Dullea, who thinks her father's tragic death may be the cause of any… Read more