Friday, January 17, 2025
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s by Liz Ireland
Mystery Fanfare: AUTHORS FOR LA
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: GODS' MAN
2024 Critter's Poll Results: Kevin's Corner wins "Best Review Site"
After finishing in first place for three years in a row, I took made the decision two years ago to not enter Kevin’s Corner. The reaction to not entering the blog was massive in public and private. People were very upset with me. I heard from many folks who were most displeased with the fact that I was not entering the blog in the annual poll.
I was very surprised. I have a hard time conceiving of the idea that anything I do, especially with the blog, really impacts other folks. Apparently, there is a huge impact even if I don’t really see it happening.
So, I entered again last year and, somehow, won.
That meant that this blog had finished first 4 out of 5 years. Stunning, but true.
So, when the contest rolled around again, I thought enough was enough. I eventually decided that I would enter one more time.
Again this year, we were the only place reviewing mysteries and crime fiction. We were also the only site that was not one of the big guns with book giveaways, special events, and the like. Unlike when I first started entering in the early 2000s when there were over 100 review sites running, this year there were only 4. 2 of the sites are mega deals that handle science fiction and fantasy. Another site seems to do romances of various types.
Then there is this place.
Somehow, we won again.
I am honored and stunned. 5 out of 6 years and back to back after the break year.
On behalf of myself, Scott, Aubrey, and numerous other folks who have been a part of things here for another year, Thank You. If it was not for all the guests who contribute to this blog every month, this award and the recognition, does not happen.
A massive and heartfelt thank you goes to you, the readers, who come by here and read this blog. If it was not for your support over these years, this never would have happened one more time. I’m grateful.
Thank You. It truly means a lot.
Kevin
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Case of the Second Chance (1946) by Christopher Bush
Jerry's House of Everything: THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULE POIROT: THE CASE OF THE CARELESS VICTIM (FEBRUARY 2, 1945)
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Black Cake, Masters of Bow Street, Profiles in Ignorance, Framed
SleuthSayers: Inner Spark, Outer Spark
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: Series Rock by Caroline Clemmons
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Die Like a Dog" by Rex Stout
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE EMERALD BUDDHA
Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday:Hinges, Graham Swift
Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday:Hinges, Graham Swift
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Short Story Wednesday Review: Beat To A Pulp: Hardboiled Three Edited by David Cranmer & Else Wright
“’Just the luck of the draw,” Caleb
would say, “sometimes you pull aces and sometimes two’s, and one times you pull
an ace when what you really need is that two to make a straight.’” (Page 85,
“The Blow Jobs” by Josh Stallings)
That attitude towards life very well
sums up the situation for all the characters in Beat to a
Pulp: Hardboiled 3. The characters in these nine
pieces are folks that almost always have losing hands. Sometimes they know it
from the get go and other times they figure it out at just about the same
second their light goes out. The nine works here pull no punches and one would
not expect anything different in this series from publisher Beat To A Pulp. If
you want sweetness and light and happy endings you should be reading elsewhere.
Reality sucks and this is it.
“One Ashore In Singapore” by Andrew
Nettle stars the book off with a man named “Chance” who is to be the courier
for a very important package. He is supposed to bring it back to a restaurant
named the “Jade Dragon” located in the small city of Yass which in turned is
located a little north of Canberra, Australia’s capital city. The package isn’t
ready yet according to Mr. Tan and it will be ready when it is. In the meantime
Chance must wait for developments.
Doe is also a courier and sometimes
more in “Doe In Headlights” by Patti Abbott. Doe has been sent out to an
isolated cabin by her boss Feck. She does whatever he says and gets paid for
it. At least there is variety in the work instead of just being a waitress in a
bunch of crummy places. Now she is out in the woods 150 miles northwest of
Detroit and waiting for the call and instructions. She is really good at
waiting.
1915 in West Virginia is the setting
with Jace Russell, Danville Fuller, and John Torrio gathered
together to restore a little order their regarding local beer sales.
They are not the only ones involved in “Gunpoint” by Fred Blosser where scores
and a business dispute will be settled one way or another.
Senior Editor Emily Eldridge at Bridal
Beauty Magazine has a problem. Based on the threats she is getting in
“Fair Warning” by Hilary Davidson somebody thinks she is dating her
husband. She swears she isn’t, but has her boyfriend Jason told her
everything? And if he isn’t the issue, what does she do?
According to his drunkard father,
Matt, had no follow through on anything. There might be some truth to that, but
in “The Follow-Through” by Chris F. Holm Matt might just be ready to do that
while settling the past as well.
The size XXL granny panties have a lot
of meaning in the story titled “Granny Panties” by Sophie Littlefield. That
meaning can be transferred to others in this very short two page tale.
Keith Rawson comes next with “There
You Are” featuring a guy doing what he has to do to survive. At least Arizona
has a lot of desert to bury bodies in. But, the soil is hard to dig
through thanks to the rocks, clay, and tangled roots.
Life was rough from the get go for
twins Caleb and Seth in “The Blow Jobs” by Josh Stallings. As they
grew older the scams and the stakes got bigger until everything is now on the
line because the latest deal went way too far.
Last up is a play titled “The Speed
Date” by Kieran Shea. Secrets are important in Washington, DC whether they be
on a national security level or a personal relationship level. Those who
observe Peter and Claire at the Mexican restaurant would have no idea how
important this speed date truly is for both of them.
Three pages of short author bios which
include other titles they are involved with bring the book to a close.
As one would expect from this series as well as this publisher, these are not tales designed to make you think happy thoughts about others. No, these tales are often about the unfairness of the life you were born into or the despair you created for yourself on this mortal coil through a series of bad choices. The results are nine good pieces that contain mystery, lots of violence and action, and the occasional obscenity as the works describe a hard reality.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3CgFuY0
Material supplied by publisher and
editor David Cranmer for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014,2025
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
SleuthSayers: My Favorite Read of 2024
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals, 2025
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
Monday, January 13, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: Stuff of Legends: C.M.B. vol. 3-4 by Motohiro Katou
Mystery Fanfare: THE LEFTY AWARD NOMINEES: 2025 Left Coast Crime
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Pro Bono by Thomas Perry
Thomas Perry
is a well-known source of topnotch contemporary suspense and thrillers. He’s
received the Edgar Award once and the Barry Award twice and been shortlisted
for major awards too many times to count. His latest stand-alone thriller is a fascinating
deep dive into banking and investment crime.
Pro Bono (Mysterious
Press, 14 January 2025) introduces Charlie Warren, a lawyer and CPA who
specializes in finding money hidden from his clients. He fell into this niche
early, as his widowed mother was robbed by an opportunistic second husband
while Charlie was in college and Charlie tried unsuccessfully to trace the money
Mack Stone took. Now Vesper Ellis retains him for assistance, as she thinks
something is wrong with her investment accounts. Withdrawals have been made in
her dead husband’s name and balances are not what they should be. Charlie agrees
with her assessment; he narrows the inconsistencies to two investment firms and
files the papers to ask for a legal accounting of the monetary discrepancies,
thereby alerting the senior managers of the stockbrokerages of likely problems.
Shortly after the asset management companies acknowledge the requests, Vesper turns
up missing and a pair of thugs try hard to keep Charlie from his meeting with one
firm’s lawyers.
Charlie has
considerable presence of mind when the goons attack, more than I expect most
lawyers might have. He also shows himself willing to cut corners in the manner
of his illustrious predecessor Perry Mason. He is definitely the lawyer to call
in case of trouble.
The story
falls naturally into three parts, each showcases a different approach to appropriating
money from someone else. I found the tutorials on financial crime absorbing and
educational but I think some bits, particularly where the investment company culprits
fall out, as thieves inevitably will, could have been tightened up to good
effect. The transition from one story line to the next is a little awkward but
not enough to disrupt the flow. This thriller could easily be two short stories
and one novella with the same main character.
Overall, I
loved this book. A well told story with an ingenious plot and original
characters. Charlie Warren has series potential but I see the title is listed
as a stand-alone. Recommended, especially for fans of legal thrillers and financial
mysteries.
- Publisher:
Mysterious
Press (January 14, 2025)
- Language:
English
- Hardcover:
360
pages
- ISBN-10:
1613166168
- ISBN-13:
978-1613166161
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gNdmuQ
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Little Big Crimes: "Shots," by Claire Booth
Review: Encore in Death: In Death Series by J.D. Robb
It should have been a great evening at
the home of power couple Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh. Eliza Lane is about to go on stage
again in, Upstage, the vehicle that started her stardom back in
September 2036. Twenty five years later, she and her husband of nine years are
celebrating the revival of Upstage and her powerful role in the upcoming
production.
Not that her husband is any slouch. Brant
Fitzhugh is a powerhouse in his own
right and is about to go overseas on a major production. The movie is going to
be a global blockbuster for his new production company and he is going to be
the headliner in it.
The future is incredibly bright and they
are going to take it all. Until they don’t.
Brant dies during the party in front of hundreds of
horrified guests and in the arms of his devasted wife. Now the penthouse on the
Upper West Side is a crime scene and Dallas has an obvious murder on her hands.
Red patches on his face, dilated pupils, and the blue tint on the finger tips
indicate that yet another has been killed by cyanide. Most likely by way of the
drink that he consumed just seconds before he collapsed.
A drink that had been meant for his
wife. It was her favorite kind of drink and one she was known for. Instead, he
drank it, as she performed a song, and died. Was she the real target?
Lieutenant Eve Dallas, Detective
Peabody, and others have to answer that question and many others in Encore
in Death by J. D. Robb. Billed as the 56th book in the long running
series, it is an enjoyable and fast read. It was also a pleasant change from
the last several books as this time there were no kids involved in the crime or
the aftermath.
As always, head hopping is present.
Clearly not a bug, this a feature of this author’s writing style in the series.
A distracting feature that one that soon fades away as the story unfolds.
It maybe a little over fifteen years in the future where guns are not celebrated as they are outlawed. Still, folks get murdered because people are still messed up. Thankfully Dallas, Peabody, and others are on the case standing for the dead and seeking justice.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4cOddEB
My eBook reading copy came by way of the
Libby/OverDrive App and the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
Saturday, January 11, 2025
KRL Update 1/11/2025
Up on KRL this week a review and giveaway of "Deadly Crush" by Maddie Day / Edith Maxwell along with a fun New Year's guest post from Maddie https://kingsriverlife.com/01/11/deadly-crush-by-maddie-day/
SleuthSayers: The Holmes-Inspired Bank Heist, on Baker Street
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in December 2024, Plus Stats for the Year
Scott's Take: Absolute Power by Mark Waid (Author), Dan Mora (Illustrator)
Absolute Power by Mark Waid (Author), Dan Mora
(Illustrator) is the latest big event in the DC Universe. I read this in the DC
infinite app since the trade is not out yet. I have only read some of the tie
ins because I am on the lower tier subscription so they have not unlocked all
of them yet. For some reason, someone at DC thought it would be a good idea to
only allow people to read some of the tie ins and just wait for the rest even
though the main series is over.
In this action-packed event, the heroes of
the world are depowered by a Trinity of Evil composed of Failsafe (evil Batman
robot), Brainaic Queen, and Amanda Waller. This book takes storylines from
Batman, Superman, Titans, Green Arrow and more to make this event. The world is
turned against them as the civilian population falls for fake footage showing
the heroes massacring civilians across the world. Because of the fake footage
some heroes, such as Animal Man and his young daughter, are outright attacked
by angry mobs.
Around the same time, the heroes are also attacked by numerous
Amazos (robots who have power stealing abilities) that take their powers away
from them. Despite the wide variety of powers in the DC universe, the Amazos can
copy everyone, including the Spectre who is powered by the wrath of God. (I
know that makes little sense, but just go with it.) The surviving heroes
including a critically injured Superman retreat to the Fortress of Solitude to
plan their next move. Things only go worse from there for the heroes.
This is a good story for people who like
action sequences and pretty art. It’s rushed since a lot of the important bits
are done in the tie ins between issues. A lot of the tie in stuff I read made
me feel that the material was important enough to include in the main title.
The heroes become a resistance movement
against Waller. There is a ton of heroes involved in this tale. Some heroes get
the shaft because there is pretty much everyone in it.
Also, this is a nitpick, but how Wonder
Woman’s team is attacked in the main series vs her own tie in series is
depicted differently. There are major differences. I liked both action scenes
for different reasons, but they are different and the battles are different.
For example, in the main series Wonder Woman team is watching the tv while
Waller rants vs in her tie in, everyone is playing cards together. Obviously,
her team loses in both, so the main takeaway is they got their butts kicked.
But this continuity problem is not just in the setup, but the actual fights as
well.
Absolute Power has huge ramifications for the DC
universe as things are not the same afterwards.
This book helps set up the ongoing DC
All In relaunch as the Justice League finally returns in their own storyline.
The first issues are out now for that with the trade to follow later this year.
The DC universe is going “all in” with every major book being relaunched with a
new status quo and a fresh start. All books are supposed to be new reader
friendly. One of the biggest affected is the main Superman title.
Currently, The DC Infinite app is giving
the first issues of each relaunch early to all subscribers. Several new series
spin out from Absolute Power by Mark Waid (Author), Dan Mora
(Illustrator) besides the Justice League one, are a new Black Lightning title,
Justice Society title, and a new Question title. I have enjoyed several of these
new reads as well. The DC Universe is significantly shaken up with these new
parameters and every writer involved is finding new venues to explore and
entertain.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/49UU8Rf
As noted, I read this material, before the scheduled
February release, by way of the DC
Unlimited app.
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
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