Sunday, July 26, 2026
Little Big Crimes: Noir Canal, by Manu Causse
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Murder on the Yellow Brick Road: Stuart M. Kaminsky
Review: Waves of Burden: A Novel by Curtis Ippolito
Waves
of Burden: A Novel by Curtis
Ippolito is an intense crime fiction read. Published by Rock and a Hard Place
Press, the read takes the usual crime fiction stereotype of the problematic
family member that is always in a jam and shakes it up a bit. It’s also good to have
friends you can call on for help.
Drew
Jones works hard for the money in San Diego, California. He is a contractor
with a baby on the way as the baby is due in less than three months. Drew needs
every penny he can earn as Gaby and he live on the edge as it is and their baby
is going to need things. As he finishes up a job one day, he gets a call from
his former foster brother, Jake. He hasn’t seen him in months and his older
brother is back in town.
They
get together, eat, hang out, Jake crashes at their place, and things are
seemingly okay. He has a tendency to bring trouble with him. It has been that
way since Drew was left to clean up the mess when they were kids and he is
still that way as he lives a nomadic lifestyle. But, this time seems a bit
different, at first.
That
was a mirage. It soon slowly becomes
clear that, Jake being Jake, has really screwed up things this time. Before
long, cops want to talk. If that was not enough, some very dangerous people
have started showing up and are making demands that must be met. Everything and
everyone Drew holds dear is under threat of prison or worse. With next to no
frame of reference for the mess they have been shoved into, Drew has to figure
out a way to save them all.
What
follows is a complicated crime fiction read full of rich characters, plenty of action,
and a world where almost nothing is clear. The author loves San Diego and that
is clear as the area is its own character from start to finish. What isn’t
clear is how Drew will save those he loves.
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4yxgEvk
My
PDF ARC came from the publisher shortly before publication day with no
expectation of a review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2026
Saturday, July 25, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week a review and giveaway of the latest Longmire mystery by Craig Johnson, "The Brothers McKay" https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/the-brothers-mckay-by-craig-johnson/
We also have reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun mysteries for your summer reading-"Dead Men Don’t Play Fetch" by David Rosenfelt, "Sweet Spot" Ghostwriter Mystery by Kemper Donovan, & "I, Spy" by L.M. Kemp https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/end-of-july-mystery-catchup/
And a review and giveaway of "Murder at Haddonford Manor” by Irina McGrath https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/murder-at-haddonford-manor-by-irina-mcgrath/
And the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-august-2026/
Up on KRL during the week we posted an excerpt from "The Girl on the Beach" by Carol Snow https://kingsriverlife.com/07/22/excerpt-from-the-girl-on-the-beach-by-carol-snow/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of the latest Marlow Murder Club mystery, "The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts" by Robert Thorogood https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-mysterious-affair-of-judith-potts.html
And a review and Kindle giveaway of "The Corpse at the Cottage" by Kathleen Bridge https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-corpse-at-cottage-by-kathleen.html
And a review and giveaway of "The Taverna at the Edge of Night" by H.Y. Hanna https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-taverna-at-edge-of-night-by-hy.html
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 19 Awesome Writing Conferences and Workshops in August 2026
Scott's Take: A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl series) by Matt Dinniman
A Parade of Horribles by Matt
Dinniman is the eighth book in the Dungeon
Crawler Carl series.
I read this as an eBook so I did not have access to the short story. At the
time of writing this review at the end of May, the hardback version is still on
order at the Dallas Public Library System. I have a hold on one, whenever they
get them in, so that I can read the short story.
In this action-packed installment,
Princess Donut, Carl, and the remaining Crawlers, compete in various races and
must try to survive and win them. Then, once the races are done, the evil AI is
planning to have “A Parade of Horribles.” The AI is calling it a coming out
party for himself.
This one is heavy on the lore building
at the end. There is a lot of violence, but it is a lot less than one would
expect in this series. I also found the
races to be very different than what I was expecting. I was kind of
disappointed in that aspect of the read.
Carl and Donut get some more quality
character development but some of the gimmick jokes drag on longer than I think
they should have. Also, a lot of the plot points that have been running in the
background for more than one book are still not followed up on here. I kind of wish we would get a novel
focusing on the kinder facility or the human resistance on Earth against the
aliens. Instead of a few sentences here
and there. I feel like a lot happened in this book, but mostly towards the end.
I enjoyed this read, but maybe I was
overhyped for it. I thought this one was one of the weaker books. In the next
book, The Ascendery Games begin as the
Crawlers will attempt to escape various floors while trying to stop one of the
gods from becoming the King of The Gods.
There should be quite a lot going on as the large cast of the series has
been scattered to so many other places by this point. It is going to require
some very good scene switching to make it all work.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dCSpDE
My reading copy came through the Libby App by way of the Dallas Public Library system. I have a hold on the hardback through the system. Sometimes the short stories are important, sometimes not, but either way I want to read it.
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
Friday, July 24, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Death of a Busybody
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
Review: Dirty Little Town: A River City Novel by Frank Zafiro
When I recently read and reviewed Frank
Zafiro’s cozy mystery novellas (Hallmarks
of the Job, Shades
of the Job), I was reminded that I was way behind in my reading of
his police procedural River City series.
I knew I was behind. I had no idea how far behind I was. Dirty Little
Town: A River City Novel is the seventh book in the series and was
released back in November 2021.
The read opens in August 2003 and a bit after
the events in Place
of Wrath and Tears. Officer Katie Macleod has been through some
things. In the here and now, she’s getting a provisional promotion to detective
and being assigned to assist Detective Browning on his hunt for a serial
killer. No pay bump due to contract issues, and it leaves patrol shorthanded
due to ongoing staffing issues due to budget and contract issues, but it could
give the department some positive PR at a time when that is very much needed.
It also gives her a chance to shine. She’s been an officer for twelve years.
But being a detective is like starting all over again.
As is the department as a whole because
the mayor has installed a new chief of police. Chief of Police Richard Sannael
has arrived and Captain Robert Saylor is way less than impressed. It does not
help that Saylor had been the acting Police Chief after being appointed to the
position by the previous mayor.
The recent election went way different
than planned or expected, and the new mayor has been a micromanager and
problematic. This new chief selected by the mayor seems to be focused on
casting blame and making changes that will make things worse and sacrifice
loyal officers to do it. He is a political animal and maybe something worse.
These are just two of a number of
storylines at work in Dirty Little Town: A River City Novel. I
have long said that if you loved the work of Ed McBain, the tv shows Hill
Street Blues, Southland, Line of Duty, Blue Lights,
and other authors and shows, you will love this series. These books detail
police work and the men and women who do the job. It showcases them off shift just
as much and how their jobs affect their personal lives.
This series has evolving and ageing
characters, like any really good series, and that always results in good
reading. Such is the case here. As always with any good series, start at the
beginning and work your way forward. In this case begin with Under a Raging Moon.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4b80yye
According to Amazon, I picked this up
back in November 2021. I suspect it was by funds in my Amazon Associate account,
but I do not know that for sure.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Jerry's House of Everything: SUSPENSE: THE BLACK CURTAIN (NOVEMBER 30, 1944)
Thursday Treats: 7/23/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week.
SMFS
list member Mia Dalia announced that her short story, B Minor, was published
online at The Sunlight Press. You can read it for free here.
SMFS
list member James Patrick Focarile
announced that his short story, What Whiskey Won’t Cure, was published online
at The Saturday Evening Post. You can read it for free here.
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Black
Cat Weekly #255 is out and includes short stories by SMFS
list members N. M. Cedeño (Mirror Life
Meltdown), Stacy Woodson (She Loves You), and others. You can pick up the
latest issue here.
SMFS
list member James
W. Ziskin announced that his latest novel, The
Prank, comes out on the 28th. “Set in Christmas 1968, a
thirteen-year-old sociopath befriends his teacher, unaware she loved the man
his prank accidentally killed.” Published by Level
Best-Historia, the read is available in both digital
and print formats at Amazon and other
vendors.
Coming early next month. and edited by SMFS list members, Editors Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles. According to the synopsis, the anthology will feature 14 short stories by Victor Bonini, James Scott Byrnside, Shelly Dickson Carr, S.A. Cosby, Anne van Doorn, Martin Edwards, Sulari Gentill, Paul Halter, Christopher Huang, Vaseem Khan, Josh Pachter (The Allegory of the Five Senses), Masaya Yamaguchi, Ovidia Yu, and a brand-new collaboration from the editors. It is currently available for preorder at the publisher, Crippen and Landru.
And,
finally, for something completely different, the fantasy novel, Immortalized
Memories of the Omniverse: Rise of the Draconic Hero, by Alex Rosen is now out. Epic Fantasy and more are present
in this read. I am reading more than one book right now, always a dangerous
practice on my part, and this is one of them. I am not one for fantasy these
days, but I am enjoying it. Sent to me by the publisher, you can get it at Amazon or many other vendors.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: ICU
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Kill Now—Pay Later" by Rex Stout
Short Story Wednesday Review: The Last Laugh by Robert Jakues (Thriller Magazine: June 2026)
The police procedural short story, The
Last Laugh, by Robert Jakues appears in the Thriller Magazine: June 2026
issue and it is a very good tale. The story opens with Detective opens with Detective
Pilsudski being awakened by Sergeant Jack Couch calling him at home long before
dawn. Pilsudski is the weekend on call Homicide Detective in South Central Los
Angeles. There is a body and he is needed. Before long he meets his partner
Detective Jim Hampton at their 77th street station house. Together, they head to
the scene.
It is mid-winter and the chilly night air
off the Pacific certainly isn’t warming anything or anyone on the deserted
streets.
The dead man is sprawled out on the
sidewalk mid-block on Dalton Avenue. He’s been shot in the back of the head. When
the body is rolled on its side by the coroner investigator, he found an open
black wallet. Inside, the driver’s license identifies the dead man as Gaylord Pettis.
Now it is up to Detective Pilsudski and Hampton to determine who killed Mr.
Gaylord Pettis and why in this very good short story by Robert Jakues.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4futRwr
My digital reading copy came by way of
my ninety-day free Kindle Unlimited trial.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: Science Fiction and Fantasy Journals - Paying markets
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
Monday, July 20, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: A Murder is Announced (1950) by Agatha Christie
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Deadly Odds 9.0 by Allen Wyler
Allen Wyler
is a retired neurosurgeon who lives in Seattle. He’s taken up writing thrillers
as a second career, first publishing seven medical thrillers and then using the
technology-rich environment of Seattle as the basis for the Deadly Odds series
about a reformed computer hacker named Arnold Gold. Three titles in the series
have been finalists for Best Thriller awards, www.bestthrillers.com. The ninth book Deadly
Odds 9.0 was released in mid-July.
Gold has
established a strong reputation as a trusted IT security specialist for the
most sensitive of systems. He and his small team are booked for weeks to come,
often for security testing of crucial networks and data centers. The most
challenging of this kind of testing is to determine how easy the network in
question is to break into, both digitally and physically, and to formulate
recommendations for strengthening the system’s defenses. In the background the
artificial intelligence network Gold developed privately is always working,
monitoring financial markets and assessing political threats.
A terrorist
cell Gold helped take down years ago has revitalized. Its members have learned
about Gold’s powerful AI tool and they are determined to acquire it as well as take
revenge against Gold himself. Gold juggles the workload of his company to
maintain its public status while collecting data on the terrorist organization
to hand off to law enforcement and bolstering his AI network against theft. The
latter includes dismantling his back-up network in Hawaii and shipping it to
Seattle for establishment in a safe location.
A fast-moving
techno-thriller with geopolitical overtones. The story is replete with
technological references, as should be expected, with concise explanations of
more obscure aspects that are worked smoothly into the narrative flow. The
occasional references to character ethnicity, although within the context of
terrorism, can be jarring. Readers who enjoy political thrillers or
technology-driven plots will want to consider this series for their reading
lists. In particular fans of the Monkeewrench novels, 11 books about another
group of technology gurus set in Minneapolis by P. J. Tracy, will want to look
at these stories.
·
Publisher: Stairway Press
·
Publication date: July 14, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 264 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1960405713
·
ISBN-13: 978-1960405715
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fnS5bF
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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