Wednesday, November 06, 2024
Little Big Crimes: The Grim, by Donna Andrews
SleuthSayers: HVI2, or Heads, You Lose
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: A Room For Murder by Michele Pariza Wacek
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Dead Man's Shoe" by Floyd Sullivan
Short Story Wednesday Review: Back in Black: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories
Inspired by songs from the bestselling AC/DC album, Back in Black: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories, is the resulting anthology. The book features short stories by ten authors all of who are major names. Billed as third in the Music and Murder Mystery Series, music rarely goes beyond the song title used as the story title.
The book opens with “Shake A Leg” by Rick Bleiweiss. In this multi chapter tale, Walker is on the run in Maui after he escaped from killers sent to take out the premier New York City hitman. He takes the time to save a teenage girl from a Hawaiian gang who killed her parents and are hunting her. Where the two go from there is the point of the tale.
Being a hitman and being good at it is the idea of “Let Me Put My Love Into You” by Editor Don Bruns. Ginger Gallagher is dressed to meld into a crowd. That is a good idea when you are going after Tito Tarantino. It is a job and he is good at it.
“You Shook Me All Night Long” by Andrew Child features Jack Reacher. Joe Reacher, espionage, and cold war stuff. Major William Hunt is trying to defect and take a briefcase full of secrets with him to Russia. The Reacher brothers, and others, want to stop that and plug the intelligence leak.
Carl lives out in the desert and is at his adobe when the dog shows up carrying a human body part. The dog has been hanging around the last several days. But, this body part in his mouth thing is new in “Givin The Dog A Bone” by Dave Bruns begins. Carl follows him and finds the rest of the body in a crashed plane. He also finds a lot more. Now he has to figure out what to do.
Candace Stone is a life coach on the radio. She gives out advice to callers who often just are not ready to hear what she is telling them. What is a normal boring shift becomes high stakes when a shooter opens fire and is looking for her in “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” by Tori Eldridge.
“Back In Black” by Sandra Balzo comes next takes the readers to a ship in the Tasman Sea. The boat is headed to Auckland, New Zealand. While on a smoke break, Leo overhears a snippet of conversation among several tourists. Minutes later a couple has gone overboard and things are set in motion.
A Story from Reed Farrel Coleman is always a treat. “Shoot To Thrill: A Tale From Gun Church” recounts how one boy, picked on for years, is befriended by others and taught a lot of things. Carter McMillian and Leeza had their own agenda for befriending him. Deceit to your face is way worse than obvious hostility.
A serial killer is working the Los Angeles
area and the media is in a frenzy. Conner Marley, ex-marine, assures April,
that their place in San Diego means they are safe and not in the killer’s
hunting ground. Are they really safe? One wonders, as does April, in “Hell’s
Bells” by Heather Graham.
Charles Todd takes readers to the western front in April 1916 in “Have A Drink On Me” by Charles Todd. Rutledge is trying to protect his men as they fight in the trenches. Sergeant Sullivan is making promises that he may not be able to keep.
“What Do You Do For Money Honey” by Ward Larsen is the final story. Thomas Driscol is a tech mogul and has been using the services of Burt Torkelson as an investigator and more for five years. The latest subject is Maricia Dahl in this complicated tale of cross and double cross.
The book closes with short bios of the various authors.
Back in Black: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories is an interesting read of crime and mystery short stories even though the music that inspired it nearly always does not reach beyond the use of story titles. Lots of big names are at work in this playground and the read is worth a look.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3NUdyLO
My reading
copy was an ARC via the publisher, Blackstone Publishing, through NetGalley
with no promise of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
Tuesday, November 05, 2024
SleuthSayers: World Builders
Briefly Recapping Dallas Noir at the Bar
Sunday evening at the Dallas Noir at the Bar at The Wild Detectives was a lot of fun. We had a small crowd due to the weather forecast. Thankfully, the severe weather held off.
I wore my Resident Alien shirt as I have always felt a bit separate from other folks. It also is a cool show.
I successfully read a part of my short story, The Hospital Boomerang, published earlier this year in the anthology, Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense. Published by Superior Shores Press, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, the read is available in both print and digital formats at Amazon and other vendors.
My short story is a Texas based crime fiction tale set in a small town. Our narrator is a bit bitter and has gone through some things over the years. He also has a bit of a sarcastic streak as he narrates the story.
If you were not here to hear me, there is an excerpt from it earlier this year here on my blog.
I also discussed the story and what I was trying to do in it at Art Taylor’s The First Two Pages back in June. You can read that piece here.
Folks that have read it, seemed to like the story, as it has gotten positive praise. That includes author Rob Lopresti who reviewed it on his Little Big Crimes blog.
I read for around twelve minutes and did about 80 percent of the story. It seemed to be received pretty well.
At this point, I am not sure if there will be another event. Even if there is one, with my financial as well as worsening health issues, it may be best not to commit to doing it again. It takes a lot out of me to be in public like that and I am seriously feeling it. If it was my last, at least it ended on a good note.
From left to right: Graham Powell, Jim Nesbitt, Johnny Wesner, our Mistress of Ceremonies Trang Quỳnh Thị Vũ, the weird fat man, Scott Montgomery, and legendary Harry Hunsicker.
Monday, November 04, 2024
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Mr Campion's Christmas by Mike Ripley
I don’t like
to rush the holidays that come around in the last three months of the calendar
year, but here I am reading a Christmas mystery in October. It feels so wrong!
But Mike Ripley’s 12th and last, according to the author’s notes at
the end of the book, story in the continuation of the Albert Campion series
originated by Margery Allingham is due to be published in early November.
A clever piece
of work, smoothly incorporating the components of the classic country house
Christmas with assorted strangers, all snowed in by an unexpected blizzard, and
adding some original bells and whistles to create a strong plot with some
familiar characters and a few new ones.
Albert
Campion and his wife Amanda have retired to the Norfolk countryside in December
1962 for the holidays, not far from the British military base where Amanda’s
aircraft company Alandel has an office. Son Rupert is home from his first year
at Harvard University. Magersfontein Lugg is in fine fettle, serving as the
household major domo. They are expecting the usual quiet Christmas with a big
Boxing Day celebration. No snow in the forecast until a gray sky gave way to
snowflakes on December 27th. They didn’t realize how much snow would
fall until the storm was in full swing. Amanda sent their cook and housekeeper
Mrs. Thursby home to collect her father to bring him back where they both would
be warmer and safer.
They are all
settled around the fire when noises outside indicate the arrival of visitors. A
touring bus has crashed into the stone pillars of the gate to the driveway and
the passengers are desperately seeking shelter. An assorted group: a retired
Episcopalian priest, a single lady on a pilgrimage, three American airmen
heading to the British base, the frazzled bus driver, a Dutch national, and a
pedantic middle-aged professor. The Campions scurry around and find sleeping
space and warm food for the group.
Early the
next morning Campion finds tracks in the deep snow, two sets leaving the house,
and only one set returning. He follows them to find the body of the driver in
the tour bus. The snow is so deep there is no hope of bringing law enforcement
in for days so ferreting out the killer falls to Campion, Lugg, and some
unexpected assistants.
A classic closed circle mystery that pays significant tribute to the original Campion series while pulling in contemporary details to invigorate the story and demonstrate the passage of time. Publishers Weekly starred review. Highly recommended.
·
Publisher: Severn House; Main edition
(November 5, 2024)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 272 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1448314712
·
ISBN-13: 978-1448314713
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/48zzmWs
Aubrey Nye Hamilton
©2024
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, November 03, 2024
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Communicating Door and Other Stories (1923) by Wadsworth Camp
Guest Post: Main Line by Tom Milani
Please welcome SMFS list member Tom Milani to the blog today as he explains the background of his short story in the new anthology, Janie’s Got a Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Aerosmith. Published by White City Press, the book is edited by SMFS list member Michael Bracken.
Main Line
Good friend Stacy Woodson alerted me to a call on Facebook by editor Michael Bracken for a crime fiction anthology based on the songs of Aerosmith. The parameters were straightforward: the anthology would contain stories based on one song from each album. Several of the band’s hits I was familiar with had already been picked (“Dream On,” “Dude Looks Like a Lady”), but I was aware of Honkin’ on Bobo, a blues album they did some years back. A quick search on Apple Music let me preview some of the songs. The last, “Jesus Is on the Main Line,” is their version of a traditional gospel song as arranged by Fred McDowell. The Aerosmith song consists of two verses and three versions of the chorus (arrangements by other artists have additional verses). There isn’t much of a story (“Jesus is on the main line, tell Him what you want”), but the second verse has a line I latched onto: “If you’re sick and you can’t get well, just tell Him what you want.” The idea of an illness became a plot point, and I was also struck by the wording, which isn’t in the form of a plea but more a request.
Some forty years ago, I helped a friend deliver patio furniture to a woman who lived on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The trip was mostly a bust for my friend—the truck rental company failed to include padded blankets; the fuel gauge didn’t work, and we ran out of gas; the woman didn’t tip—but I was happy simply to hang out with him. While we were driving down a rural road, a church stood off the side. The building was a husk of itself, a stone ruin overgrown with vines. Its presence made a strong impression on me; even at the time, I wanted to go back someday and check it out.
I never did, but I resurrected my memory of it for this story. Here, two women, Gail and Mary, needing money for Mary’s medical care, are to deliver drugs hidden in a truck filled with patio furniture to a church on the Eastern Shore. What happens next strays into the mystical, where past and present collide in the visions of a priest.
Achieving the balance between past and present, sacred and profane, shaped the structure of the story and caused me to look at religious themes in a new light.
Tom Milani ©2024
Tom Milani’s short fiction has appeared in Groovy Gumshoes: Private Eyes in the Psychedelic Sixties, Illicit Motions, Black Cat Weekly, and Urban Pigs Press. His crime fiction novella, Barracuda Backfire, was released earlier this year. His website is https://www.tommilani.com/
Saturday, November 02, 2024
SleuthSayers: For You and Me and I
Scott's Take: Beyond Mortal by Cullen Bunn, Illustrator Danny Luckert
Beyond Mortal by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by
Danny Luckert is the first graphic novel in this very dark adult series. This
is a horror series even if this reader did not find this book that scary. I might have a higher tolerance for that than
some.
In this graphic novel, a league of heroes that are
clearly inspired by more famous characters seek to defend their world from
Levithan. In this case, the Levithan is a group of evil elder gods that seek to
transform and reclaim the earth. They will transform many against their will
into serving these gods in their new forms. Can the heroes of this world
withstand the power of these gods?
There is a lot of body horror,
there is a ton of violence, and a lot of death. Heroes fall alongside
civilians. This is an action-packed terror fest. This is not a read for young
kids or preteens.
The art is not the best, in my opinion, but fits this
tale. The cliffhanger ending annoyed me especially since a second book has not
been announced yet. There are supposed to be more books in that universe next
year, but no follow up is scheduled for this title. I hope that changes
and we do not have a Netflix cancellation after Season One of something
situation here.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/48lZfcn
My reading copy came through Hoopla through the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2024
Friday, November 01, 2024
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: An Agent for Judith by Caroline Clemmons
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick
Jerry's House of Everything: SHOULD THIS BOOK BE FORGOTTEN? -- MURDER ISLAND
FFB Review: Golden in Death: In Death Series by J.D. Robb
The April 2061 day looks to be beautiful in New York City. The weather is balmy and everything is budding out and/or blooming. Dr. Kent Abner has plans for the day and for the evening as well. Unfortunately, he got a package, opened it, and died with seconds.
The airborne
poison had dissipated by the time the police and the medics had responded when
his husband, Martin Rufty, came home and found him down. He tried everything to
revive him. He was too late as were the medics.
It wasn’t until
long after the crime scene had been trampled and numerous folks had touched the
body, that Dallas and Peabody arrived on the scene. Dallas is assessing things
and realizes the victim opened a package, and then the inner package, and then
the very small container inside. It’s seven hours later, which is why they are
all still alive. Whatever it was, the substance probably aerosoled, then
quickly dissipated, and no long is a threat. Still, one needs Hazmat to check
everything and everyone.
Soon cleared by
Hazmat, Lieutenant Dallas, Detective Peabody, and the team are hard at work
chasing a killer. Who? They have no idea as Dr. Kent Abner led a nearly perfect
life. They can’t find a single enemy or anyone with a grudge that would do this
sort of thing. The man was damn near perfect.
Clearly, the
killer did not think so. Neither was his next victim, according to the killer
who sent another package of poison to victim two.
Why stop now?
Identifying the
poison, the resources to make it, and identifying the killer or killer is the
primary priority for everyone as somebody is easily killing people.
What follows is
another solidly good police procedural. Golden in Death by J.D.
Robb spins an all too real tale that pulls the reader into a complex police procedural.
One that again throws in a bit of romance (graphic at times) with some
misdirection and creates an entertaining tale.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4empRN6
As the digital
version was unavailable through the library, I requested the large print
hardback. It came from the Vickery Park Branch of the Dallas Public Library
System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
Posts
