Saturday, July 04, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: Everyone in This Bank is a Thief (2026) by Benjamin Stevenson
Beneath the Stains of Time: Everyone in This Bank is a Thief (2026) by Benjami...: Last year, I tried the first of Benjamin Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham novels after some initial skepticism, but Everyone in My Family h...
KRL Update
Due to the holiday weekend we have a very small issue up on KRL this week and this mystery seemed perfect for the holiday-we have a review and giveaway of "Hot Wings and Homicide" by Carmela Dutra https://kingsriverlife.com/07/04/hot-wings-and-homicide-by-carmela-dutra/
We also have the latest Mystery Coming Attractions from Victoria Fair https://kingsriverlife.com/07/04/mystery-current-coming-attractions-july-2026/
And a review and giveaway of a dark supernatural mystery, "The Violently Departed" by Sarah J. Daley. And this one is a rare case of being open to the UK as well as the US. https://kingsriverlife.com/07/04/the-violently-departed-by-sarah-j-daley/
Up during the week we posted a perfect mystery short story for the holiday, a story inspired by the 4th of July-"The Secret Redcoat" by Cate Moyle https://kingsriverlife.com/07/01/mystery-short-story-the-secret-redcoat/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "A Maypole of Deceit" by Victoria Tait https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/a-maypole-of-deceit-by-victoria-tait.html
Happy reading and Happy 4th!
Lorie
Jerry's House of Everything: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! SEEING WASHINGTON (1957)
Jerry's House of Everything: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! SEEING WASHINGTON (1957): I freely admit that I have a love affair with Washington, D.C. There is a sense of grandeur that I got sitting on the steps of the Lincoln ...
Scott's Take: The Bat-Man: Second Knight by Mike Perkins (Author/Illustrator)
The Bat-Man: Second Knight
by Mike Perkins is a follow up to The
Bat-Man First Knight and is set in the same universe. The plot
synopsis online for the trade is only somewhat accurate in my opinion. The car
crash does not involve Batman despite what is stated. There is no cult. I did
not realize the guy in purple was supposed to be the monk. I don’t think they
even call him that.
The actual book is about the Scarecrow and a guy in
purple killing people and spreading fear gas across Gotham. Set sometime when
Germany is marching across Europe at the beginning of World War II, Batman is
attempting to stop the killing. He is also with his very scared girlfriend who is
back in town to participate in the premier of her new movie.
Lois Lane and Clark Kent are also in town for the
premier. It is also not long before they are victimized by Scarecrow’s plan. In
the wake of that attack, Clark is quickly able to figure out Bruce has his own
secrets. Can they find a way to trust each other and work together to stop the
attacks?
There is action, horror elements, vivid art, and a
classic old school Superman. In this story, Superman is way weaker than he is
now. He can’t fly. He just jumps really high. Bruce is more of an average man
in this story. Jim Gordon is a veteran of World War 1 and has his own fears to
deal with as related to gas attacks. This book gave me a new appreciation for
how scary gas attacks are. There is a lot of historical elements drawn in to
each character’s backstory.
I enjoyed this period piece. I hope the series
continues, but there is no word at the time of writing this review in early May
if it will.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3R4bdTq
I read this by way of Hoopla through the Dallas
Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
Friday, July 03, 2026
SleuthSayers: On Rereading
SleuthSayers: On Rereading: My guest today is Tom Milani. He's been generously filling in for me while I've juggled several deadlines. I always enjoy his though...
Mystery Fanfare: FOURTH OF JULY MYSTERIES//JULY 4 CRIME FICTION
Mystery Fanfare: FOURTH OF JULY MYSTERIES//JULY 4 CRIME FICTION: The Fourth of July (Independence Day) used to be one of my favorite holidays , maybe because I was born in Philadelphia , the birt...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE FURY AND THE TERROR
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE FURY AND THE TERROR: The Fury and the Terror by John Farris, 2001 This is the first sequel to the author's bestselling horror novel The Fury , which was pu...
Thursday, July 02, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: I missed this bit of award news back in March, but at the annual Krimimessen (Crime Fair) in Denmark, four crime honors were revealed, incl...
Thursday Treats: 7/2/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week. For a change of pace this week, we start in the world of books….
Boots, BBQ, and Bloodshed: Metroplex Mysteries Vol. V, is now out. Edited by SMFS list member Michael Bracken, published by Sisters in Crime North Dallas, the read has short stories by SMFS list members Karen Harrington (We Have Lost The Plot), M.E. Proctor (Five-Pointed Stars), Tiffany Seitz (The L-Knife Murder), and Shannon Taft. You can pick up the digital read at Amazon.
A reminder that SMFS list member and the force
behind Guilty
Crime Story Magazine,
Brandon Barrows, latest book, The Darker the Night, is
scheduled to be released on July 7th. The mystery, published by Rowan
Prose Publishing, is
available to preorder in multiple formats at Amazon and other
vendors.
Moving
on to short stories, and most of these are again this week, free reads…
Fellow
SMFS list member Stephen M. Pierce
announced that his short story, Six Shots for a Sharpshooter, was published
online at Close to the Bone Magazine. Read the tale for free here.
Fellow SMFS list member John A. Tures announced
that his short story, The Ultimate Sacrifice, was published online at Exquisite
Death. The story is free to read here.
I also remind you of his recent blog guest post appearance here.
Fellow
SMFS list member Andy Boyle announced
that his short story, Video 191, was published online at The Temz Review. You
can read it for free here.
SMFS
list member Abe
Margel announced the publication of his short story, Travis’ Benefit, at
The Yard: Crime Blog. You can read it for free here.
Today
is publication day for Rock and a Hard Place: Issue 16: Summer 2026. Features
11 crime fiction short stories including SMFS list member Christina Hoag’s “Last
Night on the Track.” You can pick it up on Amazon.
And
we close with an anthology ….
Finally,
Level Best Books—Level Short is scheduled to release the anthology, What
the World Needs Now: Mystery Stories Inspired by the Music of Burt Bacharach.
SMFS list members Joseph Goodrich (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) and Josh
Pachter (Me Japanese Boy) are included in the charity anthology edited by Martin
Edwards. Funds raised are for autism charities in the US and UK. The digital
version is up for preorder at Amazon.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, July 01, 2026
SleuthSayers: Popcorn Proverbs 7
SleuthSayers: Popcorn Proverbs 7: For the seventh time, here is a collection of quotations from some crime movies. Answers are at the bottom. The quotes are in alphabetical...
Pulp Serenade: "The Town Square" by Orrie Hitt (Swank, May 1964)
Pulp Serenade: "The Town Square" by Orrie Hitt (Swank, May 1964): "The Town Square" is one of the few known short stories published by prolific novelist Orrie Hitt, and it appeared in the May 1964...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE LADY FROM YESTERDAY
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE LADY FROM YESTERDAY: "The Lady from Yesterday" by Jeremiah Healy (published in the MWA anthology Blood on their Hands , edited by Lawrence Block, 2003...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Hallmarks of the Job: A Stanley Melvin PI Story by Frank Zafiro
Last month I reviewed the novella, Shades
of the Job: A Stanley Melvin PI Story by Frank Zafiro. That novella was
my first experience with the very detail ordered and precise in his language Stanley
Melvin. I liked the read a lot as I made clear in my review. That also led the
publisher to send me the first read, Hallmarks of the Job: A Stanley
Melvin PI Story.
As the tale begins, Alan Thorpe is an
angry man as he sits across from Stanley Melvin in his office above Hamilton’s
Barber Shop. He is adamant that his wife is cheating. He wants Melvin to prove
it and to do so with pictorial proof. Because 38% of Stanley Melvin’s caseload
are these types of situations, he knows that he is fully equipped to take the
case.
But, is she really cheating?
Thorpe certainly thinks so, but all he
has is speculation. He wants proof and he is willing to sign a contract and pay
for services rendered to get that pictorial proof.
A signed contract and payment mean that Stanley
Melvin is on the case. A man of skills, and on the spectrum, he is highly
detail orientated and organized. Lists matter a lot as he moves through both
his personal and private life. But, making a list and being able to cross it
off does not solve everything.
Hallmarks of the Job: A Stanley
Melvin PI Story
by Frank Zafiro is a solidly good cozy style mystery read. This series is far
different than the gritty police procedurals that make up his River City series. These novellas,
quirky and fun, are well worth your time.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4aCoNEr
My digital reading copy came from the
publisher, Code 4 Press, with no expectation
of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: Jack the Poetical Private (1997) by MORI Hiroshi
Beneath the Stains of Time: Jack the Poetical Private (1997) by MORI Hiroshi: In 2013, the Breakthrough Bandwagon Books translated and published over half a dozen short stories by MORI Hiroshi, associate professor, en...
SleuthSayers: Using Real Life in Fiction
SleuthSayers: Using Real Life in Fiction: As writers, we often mine our lives for bits and pieces we can incorporate into our stories, from setting them in places where we have lived...
Publication Day Review: Storm Tide: A Novel by Paul Doiron
In some sense what began in The Poacher’s Son
long ago is about to come full circle. As Storm
Tide: A Novel by Paul Doiron begins, Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch,
who had a very problematic relationship with his own father, is about to be a
father. His wife, Stacey, is just a few weeks away from giving birth. The clock
is ticking on the arrival of their child in a world that has seen dad demoted
back to patrol and about to lose his career with the Maine Warden Service.
On this October night others have lost far more. The
roaring blaze in the shattered remains of the house means people have lost
their lives. Somehow, a baby made it out, and a nearby neighbor has the child.
Allegedly, the father brough the baby out and went back in for his wife. Bowditch
had made it to the scene fast after the call came out and tried the same feat.
The intense heat almost killed him as he entered and saw a man in flames collapsing
to the floor. Bowditch managed to pull the man out of the raging inferno, but
it was too late.
It is only in the aftermath with the arrival of Detective
Sergeant Delphine Cruz of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit that Bowditch
realizes something is up. Originally from Boston, she has made it to the scene
before the Arson Investigator. So too has her attitude as she doesn’t like
Maine or, as she sees it, what Bowditch represents. Through her, while
answering her questions, he learns this is the home of the Malloys.
Specifically, the home of the infamous Brian Malloy
who has been in the news for over a year due to his infidelity, a child out of
wedlock, and the disappearance of the child shortly after he was ordered to pay
child support. Many in the area searched for the missing child that has yet to
be found. The court of public opinion has found them both guilty as people
think dad took and killed the child and his wife lied for him. Their alibis had
proven unshakable. There is a lot of anger amongst the locals who believe the Malloys
got away with it all.
Now, both are thought to be dead in what is left of
their relatively new home. Bowditch is pretty sure that something is off about the
fire and the situation, in general, but he isn’t an investigator anymore, and
never has been one for arsons anyway. Nobody is going to listen to him on this.
Especially with his record and the fact that he is about to lose his job due to
his recent actions.
Then some really weird things start happening.
Somebody is once again toying with Bowditch. To mess with him is one thing.
But, now Stacy and the baby are at risk.
What follows is a complicated read full of twists,
turns, and links to the past. If Maine Game Warden Mike Bowdicth does not
figure it out fast, he and his family may not survive.
Storm Tide: A Novel
by Paul Doiron is the latest outing in a strong series best read in order. It finds
Bowditch contemplating faith, fatherhood, and family, while also trying to
prove that he isn’t just a conspiracy nutcase with a badge and gun. Sometimes
you aren’t paranoid if they really are trying to get you.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Mia20a
My digital ARC reading copy came by way of the publisher,
Minotaur Books, through NetGalley, in early November 2025, with no expectation of
a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Monday, June 29, 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 Natalie Bur...
Little Big Crimes: One For Yes, Two For No, by Will Ferguson
Little Big Crimes: One For Yes, Two For No, by Will Ferguson: "One For Yes, Two For No," by Will Ferguson, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, July/August 2026. Let's talk a bit...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in May 2026
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in May 2026: I read nine books in May, more than I expected to, but it is a good thing, because with only 3 days left in June, I have only read three b...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: McKenna's Guy by Mike Lawson
Mike Lawson
is a consistently good author whom I wish were better known. His stories have
been shortlisted for Edgar, Barry, and Shamus awards. His political thrillers
with unofficial fixer Joe DeMarco skewers the Washington establishment
thoroughly while giving his resourceful hero yet one more problem to solve. Lawson
branches out into a stand-alone in his newest book, McKenna’s Guy,
scheduled for release by Blackstone in early July 2026.
Roger Smith
is a retirement age widower living quietly in a modest neighborhood in
Washington, DC. He is closing in on a pension from his civil service job, the
only job he’s had in his adult life. Smith has one daughter who is married with
a child of her own. Predictable and inoffensive to the point of dullness. So
why a masked man dressed in black should break into Smith’s house one night and
attempt to kill him is a mystery to everyone, especially Smith. Had Smith still
been asleep, he would not have survived, as the assassin fired four or five bullets
into the bed. Smith fortunately heard the intruder break in and had time to find
a baseball bat and retreat behind the bedroom door before the killer entered
the room shooting. Then Smith hit the man as hard as he could with the bat,
knocking him to the floor. Fear bolstered Smith’s swing, the single blow killed
the intruder.
Even in his
shock Smith knew he needed a lawyer despite acting in self-defense. He called
his friend John McKenna, who had an extensive network, and asked for help, then
he called the police. Detective Grace Lillinthal of Homicide was sent to the
scene. She assumed she was dealing with a home invasion until she learned that
the lawyer that showed up was referred by McKenna, when all her antennae went
straight up. McKenna had a reputation as a criminal middleman. No matter what
devious or illicit act someone might need assistance with, McKenna knew a guy
who could help. That Smith thought to call McKenna first made his entire story
suspect in Lillinthal’s mind.
While she relentlessly
sought to establish the illicit connection between the two, Smith was trying to
find out who cared enough about him to hire a professional hitman and why.
This is
another fast-moving, well-written thriller with a unique spin, great characters,
and a clever resolution. Readers unfamiliar with Lawson’s work might find this
book a good place to start. Recommended!
Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.
·
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
·
Publication date: July 7, 2026
·
Edition: Hardcover
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 272 pages
·
ISBN-13: 979-8228358188
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4oR3k0j
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, June 28, 2026
KRL Update 6/28/2026
Up on KRL this week as we reach the end of Pride month, this week we have a review and giveaway of "Beneath a Broken Sky" by Joshua Moehling, along with an interesting interview with Joshua https://kingsriverlife.com/06/27/beneath-a-broken-sky-by-joshua-moehling/
We also have reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozies for your summer reading--"Dungeons and Danger" The Ravensea Castle Book #2 by Elizabeth Penney, "The Body in the Kitchen Garden" A Hill House Vintage Murder Mystery #2 by Paula sutton, & "Ode to the Bones" by Carolyn Haines https://kingsriverlife.com/06/27/end-of-june-mystery-catchup-2/
And the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/06/27/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-july-2026-hidden-truths-and-unlikely-detectives/
Up during the week we posted another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Lynda Allen about how her Liv Wilde Mysteries came to be https://kingsriverlife.com/06/24/menopause-as-a-superpower/
And another special midweek guest post, this one from mystery author Randy Overbeck about his new historical spy novel "Abigail Trench" https://kingsriverlife.com/06/24/women-in-the-revolution/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Pour Choices" by Adrian Andover https://www.krlnews.com/2026/06/pour-choices-by-adrian-andover.html
And a review of "Masher of Ceremonies" by Victoria Hamilton, and a giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift card https://www.krlnews.com/2026/06/masher-of-ceremonies-by-victoria.html
And a review and giveaway of a 4th of July mystery, "The Diva Hosts a Murderer" by Krista Davis https://www.krlnews.com/2026/06/the-diva-hosts-murderer-by-krista-davis.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
SleuthSayers: The Beat of the Drums, Loud and Bold
SleuthSayers: The Beat of the Drums, Loud and Bold: During my daily walks, plus drives in my car, I've long been in the practice of listening to either audiobooks or podcasts. I've tal...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
