The Strand Magazine - Issue 71, 2023

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Our special holiday issue features a poem by none other than the dean of hard-boiled noir, Raymond Chandler. Written around 1955, “Requiem” shows the softer, sensitive side of the man who gave us the ever-brusque, wise-cracking PI Philip Marlowe. Fans of Chandler will enjoy Judith Freeman’s excellent biography of Chandler, The Long Embrace (2007) which also features this poem, as well as wonderful insight into Chandler’s private life. Joining Chandler in this issue are a number of modern-day writers who need no introduction. In “Mr. Slope, He Falls,” Alexander McCall Smith turns the English country-house mystery on its head when a party of backstabbing academics gathers for a weekend in the Scottish Highlands. In “The Usual Suspect,” Jeffery Deaver blends existential dread with humor as he plays on the latest paranoia concerning the power of artificial intelligence. Turning to pastiche, Mike Adamson sends Holmes and Watson on foot into the mean streets of East London in “King of the Rats.”

This issue will be a tough act to follow when it comes to interviews. Here, we are lucky to feature conversations with three great talents. Bob Odenkirk has mastered all kinds of mediums, from sketch-comedy (think cult-classic Mr. Show) to dramatic acting (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad) to memoir (Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama). Last month, he and his daughter Erin—a painter and illustrator—joined editor Andrew Gulli for a thoughtful, wide-ranging discussion about the importance of the written word, art, and what it was like to collaborate on Zilot and Other Important Rhymes, recently released by Little, Brown and Company. Also on the heels of a new book—Not Forever, But For Now, published by Simon and Schuster—Chuck Palahniuk of Fight Club fame dropped in for a chat, offering real-life inspirations for his debut novel and other minimalist postmodern masterpieces.

The Strand Magazine Description:

The Strand is the magazine for mystery fans, a full sized, full color glossy magazine that is published four times a year. Whether it is a story set in Victorian London - or a contemporary hardboiled story - The Strand has something for everyone.

Each issue of The Strand Magazine features short stories by award-winning writers such as Alexander McCall Smith, Ray Bradbury, Michael Connelly, Faye Kellerman, and R.L. Stine, plus interviews with actors and best-selling writers such as David Baldacci, Christopher Plummer, Sandra Brown, Jonathan Kellerman, and Peter Falk. The Strand has a wide array of articles from our series on "The Great Detectives" to profiles of mystery authors past and present. The Strand also publishes articles about true crimes, recent articles have included a study of the Jack the Ripper murders and an investigation into the Da Vinci code phenomenon. In addition, each issue of The Strand has at least twenty book and audiobook reviews which look at the newest releases from large as well as smaller publishers.