Happiness Is A Book: Carnaby and the Hijackers by Peter N. Walker
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: Science Fiction and Fantasy Journals - Paying markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: Science Fiction and Fantasy Journals - Paying markets: Speculative fiction has a loyal fan base, so if you write science fiction or fantasy there are dozens of magazines that want your work! Here...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Faw...: Reviewed by Jeanne Winter in Montreal can be very cold and snowy indeed, and Agnes Aubert is desperate to find a new place for her cat...
Monday, July 20, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: A Murder is Announced (1950) by Agatha Christie
Beneath the Stains of Time: A Murder is Announced (1950) by Agatha Christie: Some years ago, while reviewing Agatha Christie's The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), I claimed the biggest difference between the Hercu...
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.
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Little Big Crimes: The Briar Patch, by Tom Milani
Little Big Crimes: The Briar Patch, by Tom Milani: "The Briar Patch," by Tom Milani, in Wish Upon a Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales , edited by Michael Bracken, and Sta...
Favorite Books: January to June 2026
I wasn’t really planning to compile this, but then Lesa Holstine did her list. So, I decided she could not have all the fun and came up with my own list. As I have said more than once, I am a big fan of police procedurals. So, my list heavily features those books and police procedural adjacent ones. We don’t need no stinking romance! My list below begins in January and features eight reads that I very much enjoyed.
Inside
Man: A Head Cases Novel by John McMahon
is the very enjoyable sequel to Head
Cases. As always in any good series, it is best to
have read the first book before
the sequel. Agent Gardner Camden leads an FBI unit named PAR. The Patterns and
Recognition team exists to find peculiarities in cases that have stalled or
gone cold. Each member of the team brings a unique set of skills. Their current
case is a fraud one out of Florida. You can read the rest of my January review here.
It is
October as Bitter Fall: A Detective Justice Novel by
Bruce Robert Coffin begins. It is just after midnight on a desolate stretch of
Maine roadway. For Maine State Police Detectives Brock Justice and Chloe
Wright, what was already a long day is about to get way longer. Homicide
Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit North out of the Troop E barracks in
Bangor are not called out to investigate fatal motor vehicle accidents. They
were told to make the ninety-minute drive, one way, not simply because Summer
Randall is dead in the road. The drunk driver did not kill her though there is
no doubt that the vehicle hit her. The stab wound in her stomach probably did
the deed. You can read the rest of my review here.
The
third book of
the police procedural series that began with The Face of Greed delivers in every possible way
for the reader. Illusion of Truth: A Novel begins a few
months after River of Lies and starts with a bang. The
call out to a local church was a ploy to get police officers to respond. For
the several officers that responded to the scene, the place was anything but
safe. Within minutes of their arrival, two separate improvised explosive
devices are detonated. You can read the rest of my review here.
Marybeth
Pickett always knew that being the wife of a Wyoming Game Warden meant the
worst could happen at any time. She knows from the start of The
Crossroads: A Joe Pickett Novel that it has almost happened. At
least her husband is still alive, if only by a thread. In one of the most
intense books I have read this year, Joe fights for life as his daughters work
to figure out who ambushed their dad. You can read the rest of my review here.
Death
is something the retired DC Metropolitan Police Department Detective is very
familiar with, professionally and personally. Graham Sanderson has quit working
homicides in Washington, DC, and moved into his dad’s house in upstate New
York. He’s there to help his younger brother, Tommy. A widower who misses his
wife tremendously, he’s coping, but not well. With no hobbies and the memories
of a lifetime of police work, he has far too much time on his hands to think
and brood. Soon, he is helping the very small and short-staffed local police
department hunt down a killer in From the Dust: A Novel by David
Swinson. You can read the rest of my review here.
Grief
over losing a spouse also is a major part of my next favorite. These days,
there are few books that
just grab me and don’t let go. Seldom Seen Road: Burnt River
Mysteries by John Degen is one of those books. Mark Roth is living
in an isolated cabin on the north shore of Lake Huron. Getting drawn into
investigating a murder was never planned. But, it happens. You can read more of
my review here.
So, there you have it. I easily could have added a dozen more. The goal was to not bury you in books. Though, come to think of it, if the series reads are new to you, and you follow my advice to read the prior ones before you get to these, I probably did bury you in books.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Saturday, July 18, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 2 fun cozy mysteries perfect for your summer reading-"The Chowder House Murder" A Downeast Maine Mystery by Lee Hollis, & "A Cyclist’s Guide to Poppies and Predicaments" by Ann Claire https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/pair-of-cycling-food-cozies-for-summer-reading/
And a review and giveaway of the first in a new series by Elaine Orr, "The Handyman's Last Bite", along with a fun summer recipe from Elaine https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/the-handymans-last-bite-by-elaine-l-orr/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "A Death After Dinner" by David S Pederson https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/a-death-after-dinner-by-david-pederson/
We also have the latest Crime Writers of Color coming attractions https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/crime-writers-of-color-coming-attractions-july-september-2026/
And a mystery short story by Albert N. Karz https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/a-complicated-life-a-mystery-short-story/
Up during the week, another special midweek guest post by mystery author Annelise Osborne https://kingsriverlife.com/07/15/the-second-language-hiding-in-my-chapter-titles/
And another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Allie Pleiter where she talks about the supporting characters https://kingsriverlife.com/07/15/best-supporting-actors/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Abigail Trench" by Randy Overbeck https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/abigail-trench-by-randy-overbeck.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Murder in La Galeria D'Arte" By Paula B. Mays https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/murder-in-la-galeria-darte-by-paula-b.html
For those who also enjoy fantasy novels, we have a review and giveaway of "What the Gods Left Behind" by Zephyr Trillian https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/what-gods-left-behind-by-zephyr.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
SleuthSayers: The Washed and the Unwashed (Once Again)
SleuthSayers: The Washed and the Unwashed (Once Again): Literary fiction, genre fiction. What are the differences? I fully understand that we've discussed this and argued about it many times, ...
Scott's Take: Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
Long Live Evil
by Sarah Rees Brennan is a book I would not have gotten except for the fact
that when I was scrolling through Libby the cover made me take a look at it.
There was a blurb comment attributed to Leigh Bardugo that she liked it. I like
Leigh Bardugo’s books, so I picked it up.
This first book in the Time of Iron series is a strange read
with a lot of metafictional elements making fun of adult fantasy novels. In
this novel, a woman who is dying of cancer is given a second chance at life by
going into a book series she has somewhat read. Without spoiling the read,
there is a way for her to come back to the real world and be well, if she escapes
into the fictional series and does what she had to do. This is not explained in
the book synopsis.
So, she goes into the fictional world and ends up
taking over the body of a villain that is going to be executed. She thinks that
by paying the role of a villain, and using her knowledge of the series, she can
find a way for the bad folks or, at least the bad woman she now inhabits, can
win. This is also not really explained well in the book synopsis. I think the
book synopsis does a bad job of explaining the book, but a good job of
describing elements of the book.
There is humor, action, adult sexual content,
violence, and more, as this book weaves through multiple perspectives until its
abrupt end. This is a read that I think you will enjoy more if you have read a
lot of these kind of fantasy novels. There are jokes that one character makes
that another does not like, such as calling his horse, Google Maps, since it
never gets lost.
It gets weird since it’s a book about someone
becoming part of another book, which is changing the original plot line of the
book that the real person got inserted into, which also gets even weirder
because of spoiler reasons. Having a normal person interacting with fictional archetype
people is a big part of the fun. The next book, All
Hail Chaos, is already out and I have put a hold on it through
Libby.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/432zZpW
As mentioned, my reading copy was a digital read
through the Libby App and the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple © 2026
Friday, July 17, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Habit of Fear
In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Habit of Fear: Dorothy Salisbury Davis (1916-2014) was born in Chicago and raised as a Roman Catholic but left the church when she married her husband, act...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK : FACES OF FEAR
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK : FACES OF FEAR: Faces of Fear by John Saul (2008) This was John Saul's 30th, and penultimate, novel published under his own name. (The count can be qu...
Guest Post: A Suspense Story Isn't (necessarily) a Thriller by Ed Teja
For some time now, you have seen news of author Ed Teja’s publishing success in my “Thursday Treats” roundup of publishing news columns. Please welcome Mr. Teja to the blog today as he discusses his latest novel, Songs of Saigon, and category placement.
A suspense story
isn't (necessarily) a thriller by Ed
Teja
In writing my latest novel, SONGS OF SAIGON, I
wound up doing a strange thing, at least for a writer who wants to sell books
that wind up categorized as thrillers — I took out several action scenes.
Those scenes weren’t badly written; they provided excitement
and drama. But in terms of advancing the story, they failed the book. They had
to come out.
To be fair (to me, of
course), I had set out to write an espionage thriller. But as the characters
and situations evolved, I found myself drawn into the personal stakes facing
Cole Miller, my main character. A young Chinese-American OSS agent, after his
mentor is killed, he finds out he is working for a boss who hates both
espionage and half breeds. An odd situation for a spy, and given the cauldron
he has been dropped into, he either evolves or dies.
When my focused changed from the larger political landscape
to the story of this man, it meant the bulk of the action — the war, the
convoluted administration of the Vichy government running the colony for the
Japanese, the gun smuggling — all became the stage. The story does revolve
around a murder mystery, but while the murder and the political intrigue
provide tension and suspense, I saw that they weren’t the story. When the novel
asserted itself, my espionage thriller had morphed into a historical crime
suspense novel.
And it took me along for the ride.
Revisiting the action scenes and cutting some of them was
not an easy decision. The realization that they didn’t fit took a long time and
three drafts. In my defense, I am a discovery writer at the moment, and that is
one of the perils of declaring one’s freedom from outlines. But I came to see that
exciting action didn’t necessarily make the suspense story come alive. And
although the murder is rather central to things, solving the crime wasn’t
exactly the point either. Learning this made me confront. in a new way (for
me), some of the many distinctions between a suspense story and a thriller. One
of the biggest distinctions was pacing and tone. Atmosphere, if you will. A suspense
novel can be quieter; its conflicts are often as much internal as external. When
the stakes increase, taking action isn’t always the best solution.
But you knew that. I should have. As with so many epiphanies
I’ve had as a writer, no sooner did I sit back in my chair to stare at my
bookshelves and mutter: “aha,” than it settled down into a dull: “Duh, Captain
Obvious.”
That’s okay. Catching on, even belatedly, was incredibly
helpful, although it had me spending an inordinate amount of time contemplating
the lesson — thinking about the nature of suspense, what creates it, and how
the tension in a suspense novel can be different from the sword of Damocles that
hangs over a thriller novel.
That was productive, but it got me thinking about the damn
categories — those irritating labels the sales platforms use to “help” readers
find your (my) book. And here is where this goes off the rails.
My artist wife likes to point out that, fundamentally, such
issues are a word thing. But then all our writing headaches are word things and
seldom do I stumble into more word traps (with deadly punji sticks in the
bottom) than in the publishing industry’s godawful (to use the technical term) distinctions
(or lack thereof) between “suspense” and “thriller.”
Let’s start with suspense: As Lee Child so eloquently points
out, all stories have suspense in them, or you wouldn’t read them. Good one.
Yes, suspense keeps the story moving, and I can’t take issue with that at all.
In fact, he goes on to suggest inserting tension into the writing at the paragraph
and sentence level, which are other excellent thoughts.
The problem, to my mind, lies more in the use of the
omnivorous and ubiquitous term “thriller.” According to the wise heads at
Wikipedia, a thriller is a story that “generally keeps its audience on the
"edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax.” Sort of
like suspense, you (and me, and Mr. Child) might say. The implication that
suspense stories are thrilling goes without saying. The problem is that our online
bookshelves lump them together.
I’d go so far as to argue that the publishing industry (I
include the platforms in this) conflates these two (quite different kinds of
stories) together to an incredible degree. For instance, while surrealism is
given its own BISAC code, mystery, thriller, and suspense stories share a
single category.
Of course, there are a few subcategories that let a clever reader
summon from the algorithm a list of cozy mysteries or even assassination
thrillers. Unfortunately, the suspense reader will have less luck doing that.
Searching on suspense leaves her confronting the task of digging through a less-than
homogenous pile of titles in an uber category called, unhelpfully, “thrillers
& suspense.”
A case in point: On its Amazon product page, Patricia
Highsmith’s THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is listed as: Books > Mystery, Thriller
& Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Crime
In all fairness, it is a crime novel. But a thriller? I
can’t see Mr. Ripley even concerning himself with global stakes or impending
doom. He’s a bit self centered for that.
And the bestseller list this book would fit into (thriller
& suspense, subgenre, crime) includes numerous books that are also listed
as “domestic thrillers,” “psychological fiction,” and “amateur sleuths.” (I
should add that delving deep into those narrower subcategories can lead the
unwary into other treacherous and equally murky miasmas.)
A quick interaction with Amazon’s online chatbot lying in
wait in the sidebar of the bestseller page assures me that the most popular
suspense crime fiction books are Lee Child’s Jack Reacher stories. Stories his
publisher calls thrillers.
All this suggests that, like so much jargon, the term
“thriller” might be a tad overused, a bit too ubiquitous, while its unwanted stepchild
“suspense” is simply misunderstood.
Of course, this essay has wandered into the dark forest that
is marketing. None of this should have anything to do with the writing, and
yet, in this age, it does. Those two intermix annoyingly. This isn’t even
restricted to abuse of us, the modern suspense writers, or even just books. If
you look at the listings for several of Hitchcock’s most famous suspense
stories, such as Vertigo or Rear Window, you will learn that, in today’s
jargon, the “master of suspense” produced thrillers.
There isn’t much one can do about this situation. It’s just
a frustrating reality confronting a writer who fancies writing suspense fiction.
Her suspense novel will inevitably enter an arena face a cohort of fiction that
is action oriented and plot driven.
From the cheap seats, the situation seems unavoidable. Using
“common sense” or even “English” (as in relying on dictionary definitions
rather than influencer-coined catchwords) to pick your book’s categories will
lead you straight off the nearest cliff. No, success lies in going with the
flow. Thus, after a lot of painful research to select the terms to feed the
platforms, I’m not thrilled by my choices. Honestly, Amazon and its ilk
sometimes ignore your input and substitute their own judgment, so even that can
be futile. For better or worse, my book is categorized as:
·
Literature & Fiction › Historical Fiction › World War II
·
Literature & Fiction › Historical Fiction › Thrillers
·
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
› Thrillers & Suspense › Suspense
As I write this, the book is on preorder, leaving me waiting
to see if those word crumbs will lead the right readers to my book. I don’t
find that particular suspense all that thrilling.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link for Songs
of Saigon: https://amzn.to/3RlxyfA
Amazon Associate Purchase Link for the
Storefront Assassin series: https://amzn.to/4fcM6WR
Ed Teja ©2026
Ed Teja is a
full-time writer and part-time martial arts instructor. A member of The Short
Mystery Fiction Society, his recent publications include stories in Black Cat
Weekly, Punk Noir, Yellow Mama, Black Petals, Thrill Ride, Wyldeblood 13,
Anotherealm, Mystery Tribune, and several Crimeucopia anthologies. In addition
to writing suspense, he actually writes a thriller series: THE STOREFRONT
ASSASSIN STORIES. https://edtejaauthor.com/
Thursday, July 16, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: Noir at the Bar, the long-running live literary event that combines crime fiction, cocktails, and live performance, returns to the Yonder Ba...
Mystery Fanfare: MAIGRET, Season 2, news
Mystery Fanfare: MAIGRET, Season 2, news: MASTERPIECE PBS has announced that Season 2 of Maigret will premiere on Sunday, October 18 at 9/8c on PBS . It will also be available t...
Beneath the Stains of Time: Out for Delivery: "The Jersey Devil" (1971) by Edward D. Hoch
Beneath the Stains of Time: Out for Delivery: "The Jersey Devil" (1971) by Edw...: Some months ago, I reviewed a short story from Edward D. Hoch's Captain Leopold series, " The Rainy-Day Bandit " (1970), which...
Thursday Treats: 7/16/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week.
.jpg)
I
am leading off with this publishing news as I am in the new issue this week. Black
Cat Weekly #254 is out and includes my crime fiction short story, A Plan
Comes Together. Also in the issue are frequent guests here, Tom Milani
(Andrea Gutiérrez) and Paula
Messina (A Little Help). You can pick up the
latest issue here.
Also
now out is the latest issue of Kings River Life Mystery Magazine. In addition
to the book giveaways, reviews, and other pieces, Leslie
Budewitz announced that publication of her
short story, Pepper Reece and the Ghost of Arthur Goodwin: A Spice Shop Short
Mystery. You can read it for free here.
Janet Rudloph announced that the latest volume of the Mystery Reader’s Journal was now out. Mystery Readers Journal: Mysteries Set in France (Volume 42:2) is available here. By the way, if you are not already paying attention to her great Mystery Fanfare blog, you should be. I watch a lot of British, and elsewhere, mystery television and I get most of my news on the programs via her blog.
Author
James
H. Lewis announced that his latest novel, The
Boy in the Mirror, is now out. You can pick it up direct from the
author here, or through
several vendors including Amazon.
Author
Allen
Wyler announced that his latest novel, Deadly
Odds 9.0 was out. Published by Stairway
Press, the latest in a long line of
techno-thrillers is available at Amazon and other
vendors. Aubrey reviews it Monday here on the blog.
SMFS
Derringer Coordinator Mark Schuster sent word that John Joseph Adams has
curated the Magic & Mystery collection scheduled to be
released on July 28th. These are seven Amazon Original Tales on
Kindle. Learn more at Amazon.
Speaking
of SMFS, recently re-elected President Joseph S. Walker posted his latest
compilation of recent publishing news of the members. News of the various books
and short stories can be found here.
By
the way, Joseph’s post title reminded me of the great blog, Make Mine Mystery.
While it is dormant now, you can still read the posts if you go to the Make
Mine Mystery blog here.
The anthology, Bad Intentions: A Crime Fiction Anthology Based on the Music of Warren Zevon, has been released by Literary Garage. Edited by Michael K. Downing, the read features fifteen stories from authors, Chance Adorjan, Colin Brightwell, Jesse Binger, Geonn Cannon, Andrew Careaga, Dylan Demasi, Zakariah Johnson, Whiskey Leavins, Scott MacLeod, Bruce W. Most, Joel Nedecky, Nathan Pettigrew, Keith Roysdon, DJ Tuskmor, and Mike Zimmerman. Cover design by Frank Vatel. All proceeds go to benefit Philabundance, a Philadelphia-based charity working to end food insecurity. You can pick it up in print or digital formats at Amazon and other vendors.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: The Best American Mystery...: The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century is an anthology edited by Tony Hillerman and Otto Penzler and published in 2000. The ant...
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