Friday, October 02, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: Every Roos Has Its Thorn: "Death is a Trouper" (1946) by Kelley Roos
Beneath the Stains of Time: Every Roos Has Its Thorn: "Death is a Trouper" (19...: Writing under the shared pseudonym " Kelley Roos ," William and Audrey Roos formed one of the best, cleverest and funniest writing...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE GAMECOCK MURDERS
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE GAMECOCK MURDERS: The Gamecock Murders by Frank Gruber (originally published as The Scarlet Feather , 1948; reprinted in paperback as The Gamecock Murders ,...
Thursday, October 01, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: We had some sad news this week at the passing of Scottish crime author Peter May at the age of 74. He wife posted a tribute on Facebook fro...
Thursday Treats: 10/1/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week.
Black
Cat Weekly #265 is out and includes the cover short
story, s Huck Finn Goes West, by A.L. Sirois. You can pick up the latest issue here.
SMFS
list member Raymond J. Brash announced that his short story, Flower Girl, was
published online at September Smoke: September Smoke. You can read his tale,
for free, at the website.
Short
Mystery Fiction Society Mystery Magazine: Volume 1 Number 1 - October 2026 has been published by Murderous Ink Press. This first issue
includes short stories by SMFS list members, such as myself, and other
features. You can get it on Amazon.
SMFS
list member M. E. Proctor
announced that her new book, The Way You Say My Name, will be
coming out later this month from Shotgun
Honey Books. I do not yet see the purchase links
at the publisher or Amazon for this
third book in the Declan Shaw Mystery series. If they pop up, I will come back and edit this listing to add them.
The
fourth and final installment of the ongoing FAFO—A Punk Noir series is up. The final
batch of free to read tales in this run is here. You can also read number
three here, the second here, and the first group here.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
SleuthSayers: Old Myths, New Stories
SleuthSayers: Old Myths, New Stories: If you read this space regularly you may be aware that I am a fan (is that the right word?) of mythology, especially the Greco-Roman varie...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: The Tiger in the Grass: Stories and Other Inventions
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: The Tiger in the Grass: Sto...: This short story collection is divided into 5 sections. First is the story "The Tiger in the Grass," which I enjoyed very much. ...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: SANDY THE TINKER
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: SANDY THE TINKER: "Sandy the Tinker" by Charlotte Riddell (first published anonymously in London Society , Christmas 1880; reprinted in her collec...
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Little Big Crimes: The Million Dollar Legs Matter, by Richard Helms
Little Big Crimes: The Million Dollar Legs Matter, by Richard Helms: "The Million Dollar Legs Matter," by Richard Helms, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2026. This is Helms...
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 Sony Pictur...
Jerry's House of Everything: OVERLOOKED MONSTER FLICK: MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954)
Jerry's House of Everything: OVERLOOKED MONSTER FLICK: MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN ...: Not a great movie but it has the distinction of being the first film produced by Roger Corman; it was Corman's experience in making this...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Book Lovers’ New England: A Guide to Literary Landmarks by Sheila Moeschen
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Book Lovers’ New England: A Guide to Literary Lan...: Reviewed by Jeanne I love seeing the places where writers lived and worked, so I’ve seen many of these types of books and enjoyed them a...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hangman's Tree (1949) by Dorothy Cameron Disney
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hangman's Tree (1949) by Dorothy Cameron Disney: Dorothy Cameron Disney was an American journalist, writer and columnist whose column, "Can This Marriage Be Saved," ran for three...
Monday, September 28, 2026
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: London Station: A Novel by David McCloskey
The fifth
book about CIA agent Artemis Aphrodite Procter, London Station (Norton,
September 2026) by David McCloskey is plainly inspired by recent events in the
United States. There’s a new president in the White House, who it was rumored
intended to lower the boom on the CIA. His pick for CIA director was an
unconventional one. Bobby Jerome started a home building company with three
employees and now it has more than 15,000 personnel. He has vowed to bring a
business perspective to the running of the agency, despite his complete lack of
knowledge or experience in the field, and reduce the budget which he considered
bloated. To do so, he brought several of the senior managers of his corporation
to fill the upper level slots, all as clueless as he is.
One of
Jerome’s first acts is to examine how much money the CIA is spending to support
its fellow agencies in other countries and sees the balance is heavily weighted
on the U.S. side. He unfortunately decides to withdraw support from the British
Secret Intelligence Service to better balance the relationship financially,
leaving some of their agents dead as a result. The SIS is in an uproar and, after
Jerome offends the chief of SIS in a meeting, he fires the CIA’s head of London
Station because he is too supportive of the British. In his place Jerome
appoints Artemis, despite her disinterest, and tells her she is in charge of
rebalancing the relationship.
Artemis is an
espionage agent to the core and she knows that all intelligence agencies work
together to assess threat and defend against it. After a few more demented
instructions from Jerome and his buddies, she decides she has to find a way to aggressively
protect the U.S.-British relationship and its agents while she protects
herself.
In the
meantime the abruptly terminated former head of London Station, whose pension
is being threatened by Jerome, has gone to work for a private intelligence
agency run by an eccentric billionaire for a purpose as yet unclear. The former
CIA chief of station still has an active Rolodex and he can draw on internal
sources to help him in his new work.
Artemis has
her work cut out for her in this galloping story of boots-on-the-ground
tradecraft and political maneuvers punctuated with wisecracks. One of Jerome’s
henchmen annoys her so severely she establishes a swear jar every time she’s
tempted to smack him. By the time the book ends, she’s graduated to a large
wastebasket that is overflowing with cash. McCloskey’s background in the agency
and his first-hand knowledge of the work show in every scene. A very good read.
Especially for fans of espionage thrillers.
·
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
·
Publication date: September 29, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 432 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1324123214
·
ISBN-13: 978-1324123217
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4iRyofB
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 100 Calls for Submissions in October 2026 - Paying Markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 100 Calls for Submissions in October 2026 - Paying...: This October there are more than eight dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As alw...
We Really Do Need Help
As I began the month, I am ending the month flat out
begging for help
Things are very brutal money wise. Not just with the
groceries, gasoline, and more, that is
hitting all of us. As occurred almost all summer, Scott did not work most of
August as there was not any work for him. The contractor neighbor has not used
Scott at all this month. There is no sign of that changing. No work means no
paycheck and no income.
He is applying 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, September 26, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 4 mysteries featuring Halloween, fall, and the supernatural-"Murder at a Scottish Halloween" The Scottish Shire Mysteries by Traci Hall, "Death at a Scottish Halloween" The Scottish Isle Mysteries by Lucy Connelly, "Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cedar Falls Festival" Macki Smith Mysteries by Traci Hall, and "Any More Questions for the Corpse?" by J. J. Unthank https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/halloween-spooky-fall-mysteries-for-your-october-tbr/
And a review and giveaway of "A Cold November Murder" by Patricia Smiley, along with an interesting interview with Patricia https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/a-cold-november-murder-by-patricia-smiley/
We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-november-2026/
Up during the week we posted a mystery short story by Stephen M Pierce https://kingsriverlife.com/09/23/mystery-short-story-rattle-the-gates-of-your-cell/
And we had a special guest post by mystery author Matthew Hieti about his new book "One Soft Infested Summer" https://kingsriverlife.com/09/23/dead-mans-canyon/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review of "Get a Candle on Crime" by Sarah E. Burr along with a giveaway for a $15 Barnes and Noble gift card https://www.krlnews.com/2026/09/get-candle-on-crime-by-sarah-e-burr.html
And a review and audiobook giveaway of "Half Double Murder" by Marshall Thornton https://www.krlnews.com/2026/09/half-double-murder-by-marshall-thornton.html
And a review and giveaway of "Where There's Smoke..." by E.J. Copperman https://www.krlnews.com/2026/09/where-theres-smoke-by-ej-copperman.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 51 Writing Contests in October 2026 - No entry fees!
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 51 Writing Contests in October 2026 - No entry fees!: This October there are more than four dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes rang...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Taken at the Flood: A Hercule Poirot Novel by Agatha Christie
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Taken at the Flood: A Hercule Poirot Novel by Agat...: Reviewed by Jeanne In recently post-World War II England, the Cloade family has lived in relative comfort, helped along financially by...
Scott's Take: Discount Dan: A LitRPG Adventure by James A. Hunter (Discount Dan’s Backroom Bargains series)
Discount Dan: A LitRPG Adventure by James A.
Hunter is the first book in his Discount
Dan’s Backroom Bargains series. James Hunter also has a series, Viridian Gate Online, that I tried
but could not get into. The Discount Dan’s Backroom Bargains series
is clearly inspired by the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, but has
its own unique elements.
Former Marine and current construction
worker Dan was at a party, got drunk, and passed out. When he woke up, he is in
the “Backrooms” located somewhere else in another part of reality. Thanks to
his drunken partying, he does not know how he got here or why he is wearing a
bathrobe, among other things.
Unfortunately for him, the monsters
waiting there are not going to let him get used to his strange new reality.
Shortly after arriving, he manages to anger one of the most powerful monsters
in the Backrooms, The Flayed Monarch, leader of the Skinless Court. So, he has
made a monster king angry. The same monster king who leads a court of humans, people
who are willing to skin themselves and others for their master…. Yep, they
sound like lovely people.
So, his goals are simple. Try to stay
alive, try to get somewhere safe, find food and water, get stronger and find some
allies.
This is an action-packed humorous
adventure with LitRPG elements and some entrepreneur spirit as Dan attempts to
set up a store in this hell hole. There
are some interesting characters such as Temperance, a furry wearing witch from
the Salem Witch trials armed with a machete, and Croc, a shape shifting polymorph
who befriends Dan and acts as a guide to this new reality. On the one hand he is a warm-hearted creature.
On the other hand, he also a ravenous monster at times. His diet consists of some
type of frozen yogurt and meat.
I read this through Kindle Unlimited
which has all three books that are out currently. The Second book in the series
is called Cul-De-Sac Carnage
where Dan is trying to set up a trading post with the Howlers a small eclectic
group of survivors who are trying to make it in the backrooms. To do this he
needs to clear out the 24th level which is a nice suburbia area filled with
feral Karens, Kannibal Kids, and the tyrannical HOA. Luckily, Dan has friends to
help.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4x6fODR
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
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