Sunday, March 16, 2025

Review: The Silence of the Dead: A Charlie-316 Novel by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro

 

The Silence of the Dead: A Charlie-316 Novel by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is a complicated book that spans a period from 1951 to more recent months. Set in 1951, 1973, 2005 and more recently, it considers the idea of a generational serial killer and the repercussions involved in opening cases long ago declared solved. Set in the Charlie-316 Universe, this sixth book in the series isn’t an easy book to review as revealing details of the situation early in this read would ruin the book.

 

Suffice it to say, and it has to as this reviewer does everything possible to avoid spoilers, the book begins in 2023. Major Crimes Detective Wardell Clint is a good cop, even though he has a large axe to grind with many people inside and outside the Spokane Washington Police Department. One of those people he dislikes, and the feeling is fairly mutual, is former Police Chief Robert Baumgartner. Not only does he think the former chief is a bit racist, he also thinks that the chief did everything from a political perspective first, and as a cop a distant second. So, he does not trust the man at all. But, Detective Clint is on the track of a killer that has been active for decades and the former chief has the knowledge and thereby the answers he needs. So, he heads out to the lakehouse to see the former chief, have a chat, and surreptitiously record what answers he gets.

 

Detective Clint is investigating the 2016 murder of Melaine Paz back when Baumgartner was still chief. Sexually assaulted and left dead behind a dumpster, her case is classified as a cold case and one of several Detective Clint is working. While still in the Major Crimes Unit, he has been put on cold cases only due to recent events. He’s not in the active current rotation and has been professionally sidelined. A man who is known for his conspiracy theories, he believes a conspiracy of some type is at work here with this murder case and others, and intends to expose all to get his status back.

 

If nothing else, Detective Clint is thorough. He has found links to other murder cases going back as far as 1951. All the cases share a common denominator and were classified as solved even though he sees inconsistences and holes in the investigations. Thus, he believes there is a coverup and wants know what really happened and why Baumgartner and others apparently covered it all up

 

Baumgartner eventually agrees to tell all that he knows, unofficially, this one time. As the hours pass, he starts telling it all from the very brutal beginning in 1951.

 

There is a lot to tell. It all is very complicated and shows how some things have changed and others have not.

 

The Silence Of The Dead: A Charlie-316 Novel is an incredibly complicated read. Unlike a lot of police procedurals, this book as well as the series, do not push a pro police agenda. Instead, the read highlights that there are times when no matter what you do, the choices are horrible.

 

While this was not my favorite read in the series to date that began with Charlie-316, it was an interesting and entertaining read. If you like complicated police procedurals steeped in shades of grey and black, this book, is well worth your time.


Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ivGpUc

 

My ARC reading copy came from author Frank Zafiro back in October 2024 and with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Second Grave by Jeffrey B. Burton

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Second Grave by Jeffrey B. Burton

Dru's Book Musings New Releases ~ Week of March 16, 2025

 Dru's Book Musings New Releases ~ Week of March 16, 2025

KRL Update 3/15/2025

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 2 mysteries set in England-"Two Weddings and a Murder" By Alyssa Maxwell and "A Lethal Walk in Lakeland" By Nicholas George https://kingsriverlife.com/03/15/pair-of-mysteries-set-in-england/

And a review and giveaway of "The Wagtail Murder Club" by Krista Davis https://kingsriverlife.com/03/15/the-wagtail-murder-club-by-krista-davis/

 

And a review and giveaway of "Big Name Fan" the first in a fun new series by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare, along with a fun interview with the pair https://kingsriverlife.com/03/15/big-name-fan-by-ruthie-knox-and-annie-mare/

 

We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore which includes an interview with author Marshall Thornton https://kingsriverlife.com/03/15/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-april-2025/

 

And another local true crime story by Sarah Peterson-Camacho https://kingsriverlife.com/03/15/go-ask-alice-the-evil-twin-who-did-her-own-sister-in/

 

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review of "A Side Dish of Death" by T.C. LoTempio along with a giveaway of a $15 Amazon gift card https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/a-side-dish-of-death-by-t-c-lotempio.html

 

And a review and giveaway of "The Woke and the Dead" by Mark Bacon https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/the-woke-and-dead-by-mark-s-bacon.html

 

And a review and ebook giveaway of "From the Delta to the DMZ" by Paul Sinor https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/from-delta-to-dmz-by-paul-sinor.html

 
Happy reading,
Lorie

SleuthSayers: Never Surrender

SleuthSayers: Never Surrender:    A few weeks ago, something good--and unexpected--happened to me, publishingwise: a story was accepted by one of my favorite markets,  Ell...

X-Men, Vol. 1, Homecoming by Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman (Illustrator), Netho Diaz (Illustrator)

 

X-Men, Vol. 1, Homecoming, by Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman (Illustrator), Netho Diaz (Illustrator), is the first one of the two main X-Men titles for the “From The Ashes” which is the new branding for the new X-Men era. The second is Uncanny X-Men by Gail Simone which I have nothing good to say about that other than it has pretty art. While the art is good, none of the characters are remotely right, so I am choosing not to review it. There are several plot holes in this era because the geniuses at Marvel decided that they would have the people who are writing this new era not know how the previous era was going to end. So, try to ignore that since that is not the creative team’s fault.

 

This book occurs sometime after a time skip from the previous era Cyclops, Magento (who is now old and wheelchair bound), Magik and others and living in Alaska and dealing with trying to save mutants now that Krakoa is gone. An alien invasion is happening in San Fransico with an adult mutant at the center of it. Thus, it is up to the team to investigate. The plot synopsis for the book only covers the first part of the book. There are six issues and things get a lot more interesting and complicated from there.

 

The art is rather good and there is plenty of action. This is a team that is trying to gel a bit. For those who do not know, one of the main character’s is Beast who has gone through a lot of changes over the years from hero to villain. Basically, since the character had become irredeemable, they killed him off and replaced him with a clone from far back in his history. Wiping away all that character development which turned him evil.

 

This means the new Beast is struggling with all this trauma. In addition, Magneto has lost control of his powers and struggling with his health. Cyclops has PTSD and could use the help and support of his wife. Instead, she is in outer space. Pretty much every member of the team has issues. They all should be in therapy.

 

There is a lot going on in this series. There are some plot holes with Rogue who is now being written by Gail Simone who clearly does not know the character’s history. So Rogue is an antagonist in this book. What is going on with Magneto don’t make sense because of the previous era. That isn’t all of it.

 

There is what is going on with Wolverine here despite him and Cyclops having moved on from having issues with each other. They were getting along so well that the Summer’s family dinners had Wolverine considered a member of their family. In fact, they were living to together and both sleeping with Jean. Now for some reason Wolverine has had all his character development thrown away and is back to his 90s self. This is even though Wolverine was rescued by Cyclops and the team from being tortured earlier in this series. He is now mad at him in Gail’s series. Makes zero sense.

 

Most of what happened in the in between period of the old era and this new era is left rather vague. This volume ends on a cliffhanger which promises answers in the next issue. Not knowing how the previous era ended really hurt this creative team in how should they handle this new era.

 

I have read up to the next issue and there are still little answers to be had. The second volume will tie into an X-men crossover called Raid On Graymalkin. I have not read but based on the internet reaction it is not good. It has been universally criticized. I hope it’s better than I have read.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gYhZ4f

 

 

I read this through the Marvel Unlimited App.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2025

Friday, March 14, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin Tipple’s Favorites of 2024

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin Tipple’s Favorites of 2024

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Scout is Brave by Will Ludwigsen

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Scout is Brave by Will Ludwigsen:   Reviewed by Jeanne It’s 1963, and the Castillo family has just moved from Queens, NY to a small backwater town in Massachusetts.   Whi...

Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder Made Absolute by Michael Underwood

 Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder Made Absolute by Michael Underwood

Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: SCAVENGER

Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: SCAVENGER:   Scavenger  by David Morrell  (2007) David Morrell is considered the "father" of the modern action novel, at least in the mind of...

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Battle Mountain by C.J. Box

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Battle Mountain by C.J. Box

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore Tibetan Peach Pie, No Plan B, Killers of a Certain Age

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore Tibetan Peach Pie, No Plan B, Killers of...:   Reported by Rita Tibetan Peach Pie: a True Account of an Imaginative Life by Tom Robbins Inviting readers into his private world, a...

Beneath the Stains of Time: Lord Edgware Dies (1933) by Agatha Christie

Beneath the Stains of Time: Lord Edgware Dies (1933) by Agatha Christie: Last year, I revisited one of Agatha Christie 's lesser-known, sometimes unjustly overlooked detective novels, Peril at End House (1932...

The Rap Sheet: The Time Is Nigh, Harry

 The Rap Sheet: The Time Is Nigh, Harry

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Still Alive

After getting a couple of emails of concern regarding the lack of blog activity and presence on social media, I thought I should say something. I'm alive. Just feeling really sick. 

Scott had a doc deal with his ENT Tuesday morning. It went okay. They don't plan any further follow-ups. 

I always feel bad after running an errand or three, so I knew Tuesday would be rough. It was. But Wednesday and today have been way worse. Nothing new really, just me being way worse than my normal bad. 

I'm hoping this does not mean I have stepped down again on my baseline. I know the time chnage has done a number on me as it always does. But, just walking outside to the car, as I did today, to go to the library (which we absolutely had to do as we had stuff that had to go back or fines would start) was almost too much. As it was, I sat in the car a few minutes to get myself together, before we rolled out. 

I stayed in the car, something I have been doing more and more, while he went inside and took care of things. 

Anyway, things are not good. Scott still can't find a job, and things are getting more and more expensive as what little I have in the bank runs out. I'm so very tired of missing Sandi, watching my health get worse, and all the rest of it. 

Monday, March 10, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Propaganda Girls by Lisa Rogak

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Propaganda Girls by Lisa Rogak

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobby Brown with Kathleen McGurl

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobby Brown with Kathleen...:   Reviewed by Kristin Nellie Morris is a young woman growing up in the East End of London during World War II. Her little sister Flo bar...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Fall from Grace: L.R. Wright

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Fall from Grace: L.R. Wright:   The Prologue opens in Spring 1980. Several friends are attending the high school graduation of Bobby Ransome, a young man who was graduati...

In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday 3/10/2025

 In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday  3/10/2025

Markets and Jobs for Writers 3/10/2025

 Markets and Jobs for Writers 3/10/2025

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Denial: A Novel by Beverley McLachlin

 

From 2000 to 2017, Beverley McLachlin was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She is the first woman to hold that position and the longest-serving Chief Justice in Canadian history. McLachlin is also the author of three legal thrillers about Vancouver defense attorney Jilly Truitt and a memoir, Truth Be Told, which won the prestigious Writers’ Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing and the Ottawa Book Award for Nonfiction. In 2018, McLachlin became a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honor within the Order.

In Denial (Simon & Schuster, 2021) the second book about Jilly Truitt, Jilly has finally reached the point in her legal practice that she does not have to take every case that comes along to keep the lights on. She can pick and choose and she tends to take only those cases that she knows she can win. So when Joseph Quentin asks her to defend his wife Vera, who has been accused of killing her very ill mother, Jilly’s instincts are to say no. Vera was alone in the house with her mother the night she died and there doesn’t seem to be any question about who administered the lethal dose of morphine. Quentin is a lawyer himself and well known as a fixer of all kinds of problems. If he can’t persuade his wife to take a plea deal, after two other lawyers have resigned in frustration, Jilly doesn’t know that she can help, but Quentin pressures her and she agrees to meet with Vera.

Vera convinces Jilly that she did not kill her mother, despite all the evidence against her, and Jilly agrees to take the case. The judge will not allow further delays in the trial process and Jilly has only three weeks to prepare a defense so she calls in an investigator and they go into overdrive. Jilly looks at the victim’s will which seems straightforward until she learns that a lawyer had visited her on her last day alive and no one knows why. Then she discovers a few holes in the police investigation which introduce an element of doubt. It was still a thin case and the prosecutor is a formidable courtroom presence who plays every trick in the legal book.

The Canadian court system is more similar to that of the U.S. than the English one so the process described here is not as difficult to follow as some of the English legal thrillers are. The forceful courtroom dialog could only be written by a subject matter expert. Jilly is a likable and sharp-witted protagonist, and her supportive staff make a good foil for her foibles. A human trafficking subplot is worked smoothly and all too credibly into the larger story. Fans of legal thrillers will want to add these books to their TBR lists.


·         Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 14, 2021)

·         Language: English

·         Paperback: 384 pages

·         ISBN-10: 1982104996

·         ISBN-13: 978-1982104993

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3DukEFa

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Sunday, March 09, 2025

Little Big Crimes: Fifteen Minutes From Fame, by Mark Thielman

Little Big Crimes: Fifteen Minutes From Fame, by Mark Thielman:   "Fifteen Minutes From Fame," by Mark Thielman, in Black Cat Weekly, #183, 2025. This is the eleventh appearance in this column...

Kathleen Marple Kalb's Blog: So You Wrote the Book, Now What?: Due Diligence

 Kathleen Marple Kalb's Blog: So You Wrote the Book, Now What?: Due Diligence 

Lesa's Book Critiques: Playing Dead, edited by Martin Edwards

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Playing Dead, edited by Martin Edwards

Don't Need A Diagram: Philip Kerr, “March Violets”

 Don't Need A Diagram: Philip Kerr, “March Violets”

Saturday, March 08, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Unbreakable Discussion on Impossible Alibis

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Unbreakable Discussion on Impossible Alibis:   Every few years, the topic of alibis and impossible crimes is brought up, " But is it a Locked Room Mystery? ," " Impossibl...

KRL Update 3/8/2025

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 2 Irish mysteries perfect for your St. Patrick's Day reading-"Murder in an Irish Garden" by Carlene O'Connor & "Death of an Irish Druid" by Catie Murphy https://kingsriverlife.com/03/08/pair-of-irish-mysteries/

And a review and giveaway of "The Next Deadly Chapter" by VM Burns https://kingsriverlife.com/03/08/the-next-deadly-chapter-by-v-m-burns/

And a review and giveaway of "A Long Time Gone By" by Joshua Moehling along with an interesting interview with Joshua https://kingsriverlife.com/03/08/a-long-time-gone-by-joshua-moehling/

Up on KRL this morning a mystery short story by Janet Alcorn https://kingsriverlife.com/03/08/mystery-short-story-proof-text/

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "Inheritance and Intrigue in the Cotswolds" by Victoria Tait (this giveaway is a little different so be sure to read the instructions in the post) https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/inheritance-and-intrigue-in-cotswolds.html

Happy reading,
Lorie

--
Kings River Life Magazine https://KingsRiverLife.com
KRL News & Reviews https://www.krlnews.com/
Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast https://mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com/

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Irish Milkshake Murder by O’Connor, Ehrhart, and Ireland

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Irish Milkshake Murder by O’Connor, Ehrhart, and I...:   Reviewed by Jeanne This is another of Kensington Publishing’s holiday novella collections, with three stories each written by a cozy m...

Scott's Take: Multiversus: Collision Detection by Bryan Miller, Matt Herms (illustrator)

 

Multiversus: Collision Detection by Bryan Miller, Matt Herms (illustrator) is a book about the DC universe crossing over with characters from Cartoon Network, Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo and more. This is based on the failed video game, Multiversus, but still a fun read. I read this through the DC Infinite App.

 

In this comic, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman are having strange dreams about various characters. Batman is dreaming of the Rabbit. Rather quickly Batman figures out the Rabbit is Bugs Bunny. He is not the only one to make it here to this universe. Thus, it’s up to the DC heroes to figure out what is going on.

 

This is a humorous action-packed tale that is rather light hearted for the most part. A lot of characters are thrown in throughout the adventure. This read leads to characters interacting which would usually not ever happen and leads to some rather good bits.

 

There are a total of six issues in this series. There is a hint that there could be a sequel but since the video game failed, I don’t think there will be one. Overall, I enjoyed this read and I still think it is worth a read even though the game failed.

 


Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ia0jo1

 

 

My reading copy came through the DC Infinite App.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025