The secrets of great mystery and suspense fiction
(Book on CD)

Compact discs.

Lecturer: Professor David Schmid, University at Buffalo.

On a dark, shadowy, cobblestone pavement in Victorian England, a pipe-smoking genius works with Scotland Yard to make meticulous observations and apply algorithm-like calculations that unravel impossible mysteries. In an internet cafe in Sweden, a chain-smoking computer hacker, working alone and outside the lines of legal constraints, creates actual algorithms that help her to decipher unfathomable puzzles. At first glance, it might seem like a long and winding road from Sherlock Holmes to Lisbeth Salander, but peer deeper into the captivating genre of mystery and suspense and you'll find that different characters, eras, and locations often share familiar traits.