Murder Mysteries

"Murder Mysteries" is a fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman first published in the 1992 anthology Midnight Graffiti and later collected in his collections Angels and Visitations and Smoke and Mirrors.

Plot[]

The angel Raguel is called upon to solve a mystery in the Silver City—an angel has been murdered and he has to find the killer.

Adaptations[]

It was adapted by the author into an audio drama, which was produced by Seeing Ear Theater in 2000, starring Brian Dennehy and narrated by Michael Emerson. (Gaiman and Seeing Ear Theatre went on to collaborate on an adaptation of another story, "Snow, Glass, Apples", and the two adaptations have been released together on CD under the title Two Plays for Voices.)^[1]

Hollywood scriptwriter David S. Goyer wrote a script for a potential film. Although it was never made, according to him, Gaiman himself still refers to it as being one of the best adaptations of his work. ^[2]

In 2002, it was adapted into a comic book by P. Craig Russell, and published by Dark Horse Books.^[3]

Reception[]

Reception to the various incarnations of the story have been positive,^[4] with Publishers Weekly saying that the graphic novel's "crisp and vividly rendered drawings capture the haunting sense of loss and isolation Gaiman expresses in this mythic tale of love and jealousy."^[5] Valentinelli of FlamesRising.com praised the casting for the audio drama, but said that the plot was "a bit too vague and almost leaves too much to the imagination."^[6]

Connection to other works[]

The angels and their city are also depicted in Gaiman's earlier Sandman series. S. T. Joshi suggests the events of this story provide a rationale for Lucifer's eventual revolt against the Presence.^[7] At the end of the story Lucifer leaves, dissatisfied with the justice of the conclusion.

References[]

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