Sunday, September 20, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Glass Tower Murders (2021) by Mikito Chinen
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Glass Tower Murders (2021) by Mikito Chinen: Last year, I came across the work of fan-lator Mitsuda Konno , formerly known as Mitsuda Madoy, who's translating first-rate Japanese de...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Count Them One by One: Black Mississippians Fighting for the Right to Vote by Gordon A. Martin, Jr.
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Count Them One by One: Black Mississippians Fighti...: This description at Goodreads is excellent: Forrest County, Mississippi, became a focal point of the civil rights movement when, in 1961,...
Saturday, September 19, 2026
SleuthSayers: The Way I Do It
SleuthSayers: The Way I Do It: The other day, as I sat here wondering what to post for my SleuthSayers column, I received an emailed request from an editor for an interv...
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: Three Reasons to Start with Pearson Grove
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: Three Reasons to Start with Pearson Grove: If you are looking for a complete Western romance series with strong heroines, dangerous secrets, and a Texas frontier town worth visiting, ...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Death at the Crossings by Jacquelyn Nowak
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Death at the Crossings by Jacquelyn Nowak: Reviewed by Jeanne Sergeant Mike Minor is called to the Art History building on a college campus after the decomposing body of...
Scott's Take: I’m Not The Hero: An Isekai LitRPG by Tommy Kerper, aka Sourpatchhero
I’m Not The Hero: An Isekai LitRPG
by Tommy Kerper, aka Sourpatchhero, is a series of webnovels that have done so
well they have been published into actual physical books. An Isekai is
something where the main character is transported into another world. A LitRPG
is something that is an RPG game in Literature form. Dungeon Crawler Carl was
my introduction to this genre. Hoopla put a selection of books that they
recommended under this genre as part of their monthly advertisement and I
selected it.
Daniel and Orrin are lifelong friends who are
basically brothers because of Orrin’s tragic backstory. Daniel is a natural
born hero. When both are simultaneously hit by a truck, they are transported to
a magical world where the AI that runs it decides that Daniel should be the
hero. The AI assigns Daniel a quest.
But what do with Orrin? Orrin is given a new class
(think power set) that is uncommon in this magical world and off they go. That
is basic gist of the initial premise. Things are way more interesting and
detailed than that, but the book blurb only tells you so much.
This tale is told from Orrin’s perspective who has
his own struggles and issues with his new powers and magic. Daniel and Orrin
are the leads of this series. Along the way they make new friends and enemies.
I think the author did a very good job of making both characters interesting
and powerful in their own right.
The second book in the series, also available on
Hoopla, is titled Secrets and Strife: An
Isekia LitRPG. Daniel and Orrin just are exploring a dungeon
(underground realm with monsters) and along the way are caught up in a war
between humans and elves. There are
currently five published novels four of which are on Hoopla. These reads are
also on Kindle Unlimited. There is a sixth novel that is being posted in installments
by the author online.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4zCBoT6
I read this by way of Hoopla through the Dallas
Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple © 2026
Friday, September 18, 2026
Mystery Fanfare: SLOW HORSES, Season 6, release
Mystery Fanfare: SLOW HORSES, Season 6, release: Slow Horses, Season 6, released this week on AppleTV. It's a 6-episode season in which two Mick Herron novels, Joe Country and Slou...
In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Ghost of a Chance
In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Ghost of a Chance: William Roos (1911-1987) was born in Pennsylvania, eventually heading to Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh to study drama, first as an actor, then...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: X
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: X: X by Eunice Sudak, adapted from the 1963 Roger Corman film scripted by Robert Dillon and Ray Russell, 1963 (unconfirmed: this may have bee...
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Got Covid Boosted
Wednesday morning Scott and I
went down to our local Kroger to get our Covid boosters. As some folks know,
Scott has not worked in weeks for the neighbor who does home remodeling and other
stuff as there is no work for him. Don't have anything doctor wise for the rest
of this month and early next, as long as nothing happens, so it seemed like a
good time to get it done.
We wanted the new Novavax shot
(aka Nuvaxovid) as it worked great last year for us. We had no side effects to
speak of at all. The belief by my docs was that it was the best one to get for
protection and it was a plus as it was a non mRNA deal. Past boosters using
mRNA technology have beaten me like drum.
So, around 9:45 yesterday
morning, we got boosted. Both of us noticed that when it went in, it hurt, and
did not remember that happening last year.
By noon, my left arm hurt pretty
good as did Scott’s. While he remained pretty much okay, by 1 yesterday
afternoon I knew it was working me.
Spent much of yesterday, and
again today, in bed with on and off chills, fever, nausea, body aches (on top
of my normal all body pain), really bad headaches, and my blood pressure
rollercoasting like crazy. My BP tends to swing very high and very low, as it
normally is, which is why I am on the drugs
I am on.
Yesterday and today have been the
worst I have had in years. One reading was as high as 217/185. Within minutes
it dropped to 84 over 54 and I damn near threw up. That crap also makes my head
pound and makes my eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my skull.
All this beats Covid and I know that. But, this shot this year has so very much sucked.
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival will take place in the historic city of Stirling from September 18-20. Headliners ...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hit List: Top 5 Favorite Mystery Short-Shorts
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hit List: Top 5 Favorite Mystery Short-Shorts: When patching together one of these lists, I always try to avoid the usual topic and opt for something slightly less obvious and original, ...
Thursday Treats: 9/17/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week.
The
news is starting to appear across social media. DEATH CAMAS: Best New
England Crime Stories 2026 is scheduled to be released in early October
from Crime Spell Books. As always, the anthology includes short stories from
numerous SMFS list members. Sone of those members are: Bruce Robert Coffin (Pump Number 2),
C. Dan Castro (The Mass Murderer and a
Little Disorder), Zakariah Johnson (Dangerous
Tastes in Literature) Nikki
Knight (Milk. Bread. Homicide.), Avram
Lavinsky (The Daughter of the King), Steve
Liskow (A Deed without a Name), Edith
Maxwell (Cough Lasagnas and Salty Memories), Ruth McCarty (I Hereby Bequeath), Ang Pompano (The Angel of
Sachem Creek), Susan Oleksiw (All’s
Well That Ends . . .), Eugenia Parrish
(Stopping by the Woods), Stephen D.
Rogers (A Scene of Salt and Sea), Bonnar
Spring (Safe?), and Leslie Wheeler
(The Wound Clinic). It can be preordered now at Amazon and elsewhere. (Big time thank you to fellow SMFS list member Nikita Costiuc who brought a number of our member's and their short stories to my attention.)
Also
coming in October is the latest book by Dallas area author Harry Hunsicker. I
have long been a fan over the decades and now doubt will enjoy the thriller, Mother
May I. You can learn more about the book, and where to preorder it, at
Mr. Hunsicker’s website.
If you are not already reading him, you should be and there is a lot of really
good stuff to read.
Just
a few minutes before I was setting up this post on Tuesday afternoon, fellow
SMFS list member Nikita Costiuc,
and welcomed frequent commenter here, announced that he is in the inaugural
issue of Betascape as is fellow SMFS list member A.L. Sirois. This is a free to read publication
aimed at, according to the website, “speculative, crime, and genre fiction” pieces
and readers. They also generate editorial comment on the stories by
highlighting certain segments. You click on that and you get information on
story structure, character development, pacing, etc. Nikita Costiuc’s short
story, A Narrative Concerning the Allocation of Assets, as well as A.L. Sirois’ short story, The Cage, can be
read here in this first issue.
SMFS
list member Aimee Kluck announced the
publication of her short story --Late, But Right on Time—was published ay
Shotgun Honey. You can read the tale online, for free, here.
And, now for something completely different--- as they used to say on a certain show when I was growing up. I have long been a fan of the science fiction and fantasy works by author Terry W. Ervin II. He has a lot of stuff out there and I am always behind. I just found out that his latest book, Relic Shield: Book Three of the Crax War Chronicles, is now out. You can pick it up on Amazon where it is also available through the KindleUnlimited program.
I
now pause to remind you, that as we have discovered the hard way, the KindleUnlimited
program, in fact, is very limited. You are limited to no more than twenty
titles at a time. Makes as much sense as telling me the buffet is unlimited and
then I get one serving of three things and can do no more. If you share the deal, as I do with Scott, you are even more limited. Boo.
Coming
in early October is the anthology, The Speculative Detective Agency: Case
Files of the Supernatural and Fantastic. Published by Diversion
Books, the read is available to preorder at
Amazon and other vendors.
Back
to crime fiction and mystery reads…
Punk
Noir Press announced on Twitter that FAFO—A
Punk Noir series that the second installment of the new series is available to read. Four more stories are here. You can also still read, for free, the first
group here.
SMFS
list member, and editor, Michelle Kubitz recently announced that Shotgun Honey Books will be releasing the new anthology, Daydream
Believer: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of the Monkees!. The book
includes a short story by fellow SMFS list member Alan
S. Orloff as well as tales by numerus other
folks. Proceeds go to American Library Association. You can preorder the book
now at the publisher
or at Amazon. September 29th is the planned release date.
I
have been a fan of author Frank Zafiro
for quite a few decades now. His latest read in his River City police
procedural series, The Quick of the Night, is now out. Assuming everything with
Amazon and Kindle worked right. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available now for preorder at Amazon and will be part of the Kindle
Unlimited program at time of publication.
Also
now out is the latest read from fellow SMFS list member and author, C. W. Blackwell. The Cold Dark
Forever: A Novel, published by Shotgun Honey Books,
is a crime fiction read set in 1942. The read is now available at Amazon.
Additionally,
now out is the young adult read, It Should Have Been You: A Novel
by Lynn Slaughter. Now published by Picarones Press, an imprint of Misti Media
Publishing, the book is available at the White City Press.
Back
last June, professor and author John
A. Tures did a guest post
here on the blog about his book, Branded, published by Huntsville Independent
Press. His next book, Independent Thought, is now out with the same
publisher. This sequel deals with the possibility of a third-party
presidential candidate and more.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Little Big Crimes: The Ordnance Special, by James D. Crabtree
Little Big Crimes: The Ordnance Special, by James D. Crabtree: "The Ordnance Special," by James D. Crabtree, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2026. There are war c...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Books from the Book Sale
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Books from the Book Sale: Since I already own so many short story collections and anthologies, not to mention all my husband's short story books, I always plan ...
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
SleuthSayers: Mixing Urban Legends and Crime Stories
SleuthSayers: Mixing Urban Legends and Crime Stories: Coming up with anthology themes isn't always so easy. Ideally a good theme is at least a little different from what's already been...
Monday, September 14, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday: It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news: THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES The Arena p...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: A Murmuration of Starlings: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows
A
Murmuration of Starlings (Durndurn Press, September 2026) is the tenth book
in the Birder Murder Mysteries by Canadian Steve Burrows. The first title, A
Siege of Bitterns, won the Crime Writers of Canada award for Best First
Novel and was selected as one of the Globe & Mail’s top 100 books of
the year. Burrows has pursued his birdwatching interest on eight
continents so far and has published articles on travel and environmental issues
around the world.
In this
newest story with a multi-layered approach Detective Chief Inspector Dominic Jejeune
visits a former superior, Detective Chief Superintendent Colleen Shepherd, now in
the Australian outback, to discuss his future career and becomes enmeshed in
the kidnapping and death of the Environmental Compliance Officer of a large
mining firm. Meanwhile his team back in Norfolk has the sudden death of the CEO
of the largest lithium battery production facility in the country to
investigate. It could have been an accident but the timing was entirely too
convenient for some people not to suspect foul play.
Relationships
are in high focus in this story, both personal and professional, and the
outcome of both cases lead to major turning points for several of the
characters. What is even more prominent is the discussion of present-day
Australian environmental concerns, their history, current impact, and possible
solutions. An aboriginal elder adds a strand of mysticism to the narrative. The
descriptions of the Australian landscape, the animals, and of course the birds
are wonderful and make the book worth reading for the travelogue alone.
Usually I
have no trouble collecting enough back story to understand the context of a
mid-series title but just identifying the location of action, Norfolk or
Australia, wasn’t always clear in this book. This is not the right place to
start the series. Environmentalists and nature lovers will likely already know
this author, but if not, they definitely should. Police procedural fans will
enjoy the complex plot and the careful work of both the Norfolk and the
Australian investigation teams to unravel the mystery. Recommended.
·
Publisher: Dundurn Press
·
Publication date: September 22, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 360 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1459756592
·
ISBN-13: 978-1459756595
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4rd08xw
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night
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