2/7/1812 The Dickens you say

February 7, 1812.  This day saw the birth of one of the most popular, prolific, and influential authors in British history.  Influential?  We still expect Christmas to be snowy because London was covered in the white stuff on December 25th (unusually) every year of Dickens' childhood, and that's the way he wrote it.

What does Charles Dickens have to do with our field?  Well, he certainly created some memorable crooks.  Fagan and the Artful Dodger leap to mind.  But Bleak House includes a murder investigation conducted by Inspector Bucket, one of the first detectives in literature.

And, of course, there is The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which is eternally fascinating because Dickens died leaving it unfinished.  A mystery with no solution does tend to attract attention.

1/14/1947 Richard Laymon is born

January 14, 1947.  Richard Laymon was born today in 1947, in Chicago. He authored more than thirty novels and twice that many stories.  He wrote suspense and mystery, but was better known for horror, being nominated for the Bram Stoker award three times, with one win.