Tuesday, October 20, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
Little Big Crimes: Dead Man's Chest, by Marcia Talley
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Seasonal Favorites: Hill, Jackson, Bradbury, McMahon, Ludwigsen
Jerry's House of Everything: OVERLOOKED FILM: THE STRANGE CASE Of DR. Rx (1942)
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in August 2026
Publication Day Review: The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2026, Editor Megan Abbott, Series Editor Steph Cha
The Best American Mystery and
Suspense 2026, Editor Megan Abbott, Series
Editor Steph Cha, reprints twenty of their favorite short stories of the year.
There are also thirty more tales listed in the honorable mention section to
consider. This means you have a lot of good reading here. I won’t try to
mention them all. What follows below are the several that really struck a chord
with me for one reason or another.
“Smoke and Mirrors” by Charles John Harper
originally appeared in an unspecified issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. It features Private Investigator Darrow Nash,
in Los Angeles, and quite the historical mystery tale. If you like a whodunit
style read, this one is for you. I am not about to ruin it by saying more.
“Finding Jimmy Baldwin” by Cheryl A. Head
originally appeared in the anthology, Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of
Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons. It is June 1954 and Roy has
shown up at the diner on schedule. Jimmy is a no show. That isn’t good news.
The fact That Jimmy, full name James Arthur Baldwin, now has a missing person’s
report according to the officer, a Sergeant Peterson, is worse news. Especially
for Roy.
“The Corpse Collector” by David Morrell
also appeared in an unspecified issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. A dental hygienist needs a second job to make
ends meet. One of her patients, a funeral director, suggested that she could
collect the dead for him. Especially in the middle of the night. The pay would
be really good and she agreed to do it on weekends. That has led to a lot of
interesting pickups, and she will tell you about several of them, and then tell
you about the big one last weekend.
“Small Things” by Wanda M. Morris previously
appeared as an Amazon Original Story. Hannah Ferguson loves the shed out
back. She does her art in it and hides her creativity in the small space. Her marriage
is on a downhill slide. At least she still has her art and the freedom it can
bring her.
For Rosalie, With Love” by M. E. Proctor originally appeared in the anthology, Myopic Duplicity: Do the Ends Ever Justify the Means? The plan is, as it always has been since they first met. Do anything and everything for Rosalie.
“Mama” by Rob D. Smith originally appeared
In Too Deep. Jimmy “Ton” Roy thought it was all clear to boost
the white Corvette. He’s behind the wheel when the beautiful driver comes back
for her purse. Jon’s plan to boost the cool car changes as does his future.
“Slow Ride” by Mark Thielman originally
appeared in Chop Shop. The young guy known as “Lil Meathead” swiped the Ford F-250
and got away with it. He did the work though the boss of the crew, Woody, fueled
by meth and ego, will take much of the credit. Huey, the overall boss and the
owner of the day time garage and night time chop shop did not really want
another pickup truck. Here in Dallas so the truck won’t bring top dollar. But,
there is a possibility of a really big payday. Lil Meathead knows of a 2022 Bently set up for American
driver. It has the steering wheel on the left, is purple, and has all the bells
and whistles. Huey is interested. That means soon Lil Meathead and Woody are dee in
conversation while headed up the Dallas North Tollway to swipe the car.
The seven stories highlighted here are my
personal favorites. No doubt your selections would probably be different. There
isn’t a bad one in the bunch. The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2026
will provide you a lot of good reading and is well worth your time.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4spesnf
My digital ARC reading copy came from the
publisher, Mariner Books, by way of NetGalley with no expectation of a positive
review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Monday, October 19, 2026
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Foreign Correspondent's Wife: A Novel by Jenna Helwig
Cookbook
author and Real Simple magazine food editor Jenna Helwig has combined
her love of food and her love of mysteries in this fiction debut set in
post-war Paris of 1949. Life is slowly coming back to something approaching
normal in the City of Lights. Rationing has finally come to an end but an
influx of U.S. expatriates has contributed to the changes in the city’s
culture. And the war is not so long ago that French citizens have forgotten who
collaborated with the Germans and who was part of the Resistance Movement. The
tension between the two groups is still strong if covert. Being outed as a
collaborator has real consequences in every way.
Committed
journalist Kat Kelley lost her job when the men began coming back from the
front and claimed their pre-war careers. Pushed out of her chosen field, she’s
looking around for something to do while her husband continues as a hotshot
news reporter. She decides to take a French cooking class in order to teach
cooking to the American wives in Paris. About a month into the course, she
finds the bloody body of her classmate in the pantry of the school building.
The French
police do not strike her as capable or dedicated so Kat exercises her
investigative journalistic skills to look into Toby’s death. Then a second
death occurs, seemingly related to the first but maybe not, and the French
police are convinced someone close to her is the killer. Kat’s journalist
husband thinks the two deaths are somehow linked to an unsolved crime ten years
old. He’s being pressured to drop his investigation which only encourages him
and his editor to move forward with the story.
Well researched and written, this book captures the sense of the time. The post-war rebuilding of Europe was an intriguing period full of plot potential. The actual mystery is convoluted and takes awhile to unravel. It would move faster if the text were tightened. As usual with amateur sleuths, a certain amount of happenstance plays a part. Fans of culinary mysteries will want to take a look at this one, as the characters are forever dining out in sidewalk bistros and elegant restaurants.
·
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
·
Publication date: October 20, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 336 pages
·
ISBN-13: 979-8892427050
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4jrXL82
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Mystery Fanfare: KAREN PIRIE, Season 3, NEWS
Things Seriously Suck
Halfway through October and things continue to seriously suck.
For all intents and purposes, Scott has been laid off. Having not worked for months now, word has come down that based on the job flow, it would be January, at the earliest before he went back to work for the contractor neighbor.
He continues to apply for anything and everything and can’t even get an interview. A lot of places are using AI chatbots, or AI as a screening tool after the application is submitted, and he can’t get by them. Even for entry level minimum wage jobs.
So, I am flat out begging for help. If you like what we do at Kevin's Corner, please consider making a donation through the PayPal widget on the left side of the blog. We really need the help.
Please and thank you.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week we have a review of "Pumpkin Vice Cafe" by Ellie Alexander along with a giveaway of a signed copy of the book & a pumpkin bookmark, and we have a fun pumpkin recipe from Ellie perfect for your Halloween celebrations! https://kingsriverlife.com/10/17/pumpkin-vice-cafe-by-ellie-alexander/
And a review and giveaway of a perfect read for Halloween season, "Summer Coven" a vampire cozy by Kat Hillis and Rosiee Thor https://kingsriverlife.com/10/17/summer-coven-by-kat-hillis-rosiee-thor/
And a review and giveaway of "Murder Like Magic" by Trisha Blanchet, along with a fun interview with Trisha https://kingsriverlife.com/10/17/murder-like-magic-by-trisha-blanchet/
We also have the latest Crime Writers of Color Coming Attractions https://kingsriverlife.com/10/17/crime-writers-of-color-coming-attractions-october-december-2026/
For those who prefer to listen to Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast directly on KRL, here is the latest episode featuring a Halloween mystery short story by John A. Tures, read by local actor Sean Hopper https://kingsriverlife.com/10/17/mysteryrats-maze-podcast-halloween-short-story-kill-your-darlings/
Up on KRL during the week, another special midweek guest post, this one perfect for the Halloween season! Mystery author Mark Leslie talked about his new book "Ghost Stories of the Great Lakes" https://kingsriverlife.com/10/14/the-ghost-stories-that-get-ghosted-along-the-way/
And another special midweek guest post perfect for Halloween season. Mystery author Ed Seaward talks about his new book "London Gothic" https://kingsriverlife.com/10/14/london-gothic/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Essentials of Homicide" by Kim Davis, https://www.krlnews.com/2026/10/essentials-of-homicide-by-kim-davis.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Haunted Homicide" by Kelly Rey https://www.krlnews.com/2026/10/haunted-homicide-by-kelly-rey.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Haunted Hula-ween" by Sally J. Smith https://www.krlnews.com/2026/10/haunted-hula-ween-by-sally-j-smith.html
SleuthSayers: Since the Ball's in My Court
Beneath the Stains of Time: She Woke to Darkness (1954) by Brett Halliday
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Halloween Picture Book Favorites: Johnston, Williams, Mueller, Boynton
Jerry's House of Everything: BING BANG COMICS #30 (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1946)
Scott's Take: Cyclops: Seeing Red by Alex Paknadel, illustrator Roge Antonio, cover art by Federico Vicentini
Cyclops: Seeing Red by Alex
Paknadel, illustrated by Roge Antonio, the cover artwork by Federico Vicentini,
is a short five issue mini-series. In this series, Cyclops, leader of the X-Men,
is alone and without his visor he uses to keep his powers in check. He is also stranded
behind enemy lines with Reavers (mutant hating cyborgs) hunting him. Things are
further complicated because he also has a young girl in tow. He is going to
have to use all his wits and savageness to keep them both safe. Can he?
This is action packed thriller with body
horror. The art is great. The Reaver are
absolutely disgusting.
There is a small plot hole, I think, but
maybe I missed it. It seems they don’t address why he can’t just call for help
telepathically since he is friends with so many telepaths. You would think that
is worth trying.
I read each of the five issues through Marvel Unlimited. The trade version
that has all the issues together will not be released until early November. I
enjoyed this solo Cyclops outing.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3TI2isu
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
Friday, October 16, 2026
SleuthSayers: Book DNA – is it for you?
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: RIPTIDE
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
The Rap Sheet: Oh No, Not Again
The Rap Sheet: Oh No, Not Again
I have the same concerns having been flagged in the past on a couple of reviews. For now, I am leaving things alone and hoping for the best.
Review: Split Screen by Lee Goldberg
Split Screen by Lee Goldberg
is the seventh installment of this thriller series. It opens with Homicide
Detective Eve Ronin of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department out running
solo because her partner, Duncan Pavone, is desk bound. He is going to be there
on his desk in the Lost Hill substation for the foreseeable future as the
powers that be are still pondering his fate. Detective Eve Ronin is feeling a
ton of guilt as he is taking the very public fall for a decision they both made
a few months ago. So, she is responding solo to the home of actress Juliette
Winter who was found dead that morning in her sprawling home in a gated
community in Calabasas.
A predictable and tragic end for the
former child star who became known for drugs and partying more than anything
she accomplished in front of the camera. Her assistant found her in the steam room.
Clearly, she had been there for quite some time before discovery. That same assistant,
Georgina Sabella, had last seen her around 7 the evening before when she left.
According to Ronin’s fellow LASD
Deputies manning the perimeter, the house was locked and the security alarm was
on when Georgina arrived earlier that morning. The firefighters that responded
to the initial call had also reported that the steam room door was not locked
and that the door was unblocked.
Ronin went up to the second-floor steam
room and found Medical Examiner Emilia Lopez and the head of Crime Scene Unit, Nan
Baker, assessing the body and the scene. With Juliette Winter’s history, it
would be very easy to assume she just overdosed and died.
But, did she really?
That is just one of the questions Ronin
has to answer while also dealing with departmental politics and pressure. Her
celebrity status continues to dog her career. The last thing she ever wanted was
for the publicity to overshadow her actual work doing the job. So, she tried
very hard to keep considerable distance between herself and the job and the very
fictional tv series based on her.
That plan is out the window now as there
is a new sheriff in town. Sheriff Waylon Gifford is well known for coming in and
taking over a law enforcement agency for a year or too, improving the image of
that agency, and then leaving for a bigger and more prestigious job. He took
over the LASD, the biggest in the nation, two weeks ago and has a very preconceived
notion of who she is, how she got to her position, and what she has done in the
department.
He demands that Detective Eve Ronin use
her celebrity status to help the department and has several expectations of how
she will do that. Not only does she have to participate in the new ad campaign,
she also has to actively participate in the department’s active social media. She
has to participate a certain number of times a day, every day. She also has to
conduct a week-long ride along with the actress, Erin Casey, who plays her on
the show and participate in their social media videos as well. Otherwise, there
will be huge consequences for herself as well as her partner, Duncan Pavone.
If that was not enough, she has to deal
with the hatred and death threats coming from within the department. While that
has always happened, it had died back some, until recent events stirred
everything back up again. At least she can still count on Duncan Pavone and a
few others who see her for what she actually is and still have her back.
And there is the Juliette Winter case to
solve as well as some other crimes.
The result is another fast paced and
highly entertaining read in this great series. The author has steadily built,
book after book, a complicated primary character, and a host of interesting
secondary characters while still delivering on a heady mix of action, mystery,
and suspense. The latest read, Split Screen, fits that mandate
and delivers from start to finish.
As the author notes at the front of the
book, a reader can safely start here, if they wish. But, if you intend to read
the second book in the series, Bone Canyon, you absolutely should read that one
first as there are huge spoilers for it in Split Screen.
Strongly Recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3S9emlp
Entire Series Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/447nfP7
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Mystery Fanfare: MACAVITY AWARD WINNERS 2026
Jerry's House of Everything: MR. MOTO: A FORCE CALLED X07 (MAY 20, 1951)
Thursday Treats: 10/15/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week.
Black Cat Weekly #267 is out and again
features short stories and more. This issue is dedicated to Halloween and
spooky season. You can pick up the issue at the website.
Back in September 2023, on the SMFS
blog, as SMFS President at the time, I announced the publication day news
of the release of Prohibition Peepers: Private Eyes During the Noble
Experiment. Editor and fellow SMFS list member Michael Bracken
announced on social media that the anthology is back in print with a new
publisher. Crimson Gate Books is
releasing it on October 19th and you can pick it up on Amazon now. The SMFS list members that
previously annpunced their presence in the book are: Michael Bracken (Cigarette
Girl), David Dean (Three Irishmen), Jim Doherty (The Private Untouchable), John
M. Floyd (River Road), Nils Gilbertson (Lovely and Useless Things), Richard
Helms (West of the Ashley), Hugh Lessig (Cloths of Heaven), Steve Liskow (Peace
of Mind Guaranteed), Adam Meyer (The Dance), Joseph S. Walker (Getting Away
Clean), and Stacy Woodson (Moonshine Turn).
A reminder
that SMFS list member Elizabeth Zelvin recently announced that her latest short
story collection, Rifts & Reprisals: Collected Stories II, is
available in digital form at Amazon. The fifteen tales were previously
published between 2017 and 2025 in EQMM, AHMM, Black Cat
Mystery Magazine, and online at Yellow Mama. This book joins her previously
published short story collection, Breaches
& Betrayals: Collected Stories, released in 2016 and also available on Kindle Unlimited.
You can learn more at her website.
A reminder
that SMFS list member M. E. Proctor’s
new mystery, The Way You Say My Name: A Declan
Shaw Mystery, is now out. will be coming out next week from Shotgun Honey Books. You can pick it up at Amazon and other vendors. This is the 3rd read
in the Declan Shaw Mystery series.
SMFS list member John A. Tures announced on the SMFS list that he had a short story podcast up on the Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast. His short story, Kill Your Darlings, is free to listen to at the website.
The new issue of the online publication
Yellow Mama is now out. Yellow Mama #118 includes short stories by SMFS list
members Sandra J. Cady (New Orleans
Bound), Pamela Ebel (The
Tenth Muse), and Joseph S. Walker
(Things That Didn't Happen at a Place That Doesn't Exist). You can read the
issue online, and for free, here.
Also now out is Black Petals
Horror/Science Fiction Magazine #117. Full of short stories and more, you can
read the issue online, for free, here.
After Claire A. Murray last week announced that her short story, Ned's Bedevilment, placed as an Honorable Mention in the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable 2026 Short Story contest, fellow SMFS list member, Debra H. Goldstein, announced earlier this week that her short story, My Pinball Knight, appears in the new anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, published by the same group. The book comes out today and is available at Amazon and other vendors.
The Alfred
Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: November/December 2026 is now out and includes short stories by SMFS
list members. John M. Floyd (Moneyland), Kate Hohl (Advance Obituary), Michael
Penncavage (Mr. Muktod Stays For Dinner) and S.B. Watson
(Under Pressure) are in the issue. Additionally, SMFS list member Ed
Ridgley announced that
his short story, A Matter of Culture, won the May/June Mysterious
Photograph Contest and is posted in the Nov/Dec issue. Per Mr. Ridgley, “This
is my second time winning the contest!” You can pick up the issue at the website
and at other vendors.
The Ellery
Queen Mystery Magazine: November/December 2026 issue is also now out. “Be Still, Your Heart”
by SMFS list member Josh Pachter is
in the issue as is “My War 2” by Stephen M. Pierce. You can pick it up on the website
and at other vendors.
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A reminder that the latest season of
podcasts, Stuff That Can Kill You (Mysteries to Die For), is now
available in eBook format at Amazon and other vendors. SMFS list member Kathleen Marple Kalb announced
on social media her short story, The Current Situation, is in the read of
twenty stories. You can get your copy at Amazon
and other vendors.
The Sisters in
Crime Colorado Chapter has announced that their lates anthology, Colorado
Mystery Merge: Crime Fiction Collection 2, is coming out later this
month. SMFS list members Chris
Dreith (The Clueologists Club), and Lisa Harkrader (The Mall
Walkers), reported being in the read. The 26 tales are not only complete individual
mysteries; they also provide the clues to solve the overarching mystery of the
book. Sounds pretty cool to this reader. Learn more at their website. You
can also preorder the digital format at Amazon.
A reminder that coming next week is Tollund
Man: Stories by SMFS list member Jeff Esterholm who announced
this fact on social media. Published in print format by Cornerstone Press, you
can order it now in advance of the October 20th publication day on Amazon.
Until next time….
Kevin R.
Tipple ©2026
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