Dru's Book Critiques: New Releases ~ Week of October 4, 2026
Sunday, October 04, 2026
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Annual Book Sale 2026: My Husband's Books
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Annual Book Sale 2026: My Husband's Books: Every year in September we attend the Planned Parenthood book sale, which lasts ten days. This time we visited five times. My husband's ...
Publishing News: Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
As you may have seen, Short Mystery Fiction
Society Mystery Magazine: Volume 1 Number 1 - October 2026, is now out. It
includes a short story of mine; Sweet Dreams Are Made of This. You can pick it
up on Amazon in both print and digital
formats.
Saturday, October 03, 2026
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New Fiction in October!
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New Fiction in October!: Readers have reason to rejoice in October, because there are many, many, many new books coming out from popular authors! Books by Barbara K...
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week a review and giveaway of another Halloween mystery, "'Tis the Season to Be Scary" by Vicki Delany https://kingsriverlife.com/10/03/tis-the-season-to-be-scary-by-vicki-delany/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "That Time I Killed You" by Lisa de Nikolits along with an interesting interview with Lisa https://kingsriverlife.com/10/03/that-time-i-killed-you-by-lisa-de-nikolits/
And a review and giveaway of "An Artful Dodge" by Karen Oden https://kingsriverlife.com/10/03/an-artful-dodge-by-karen-odden/
We also have the latest Mystery Coming Attractions from Victoria Fair, this one includes some fun Halloween and spooky recommendations https://kingsriverlife.com/10/03/mystery-current-coming-attractions-october-2026/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Dog of Secrets" by Neil Plakcy https://www.krlnews.com/2026/10/dog-of-secrets-by-neil-s-plakcy.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Murder at the Horse Auction" by DonnaRae Menard https://www.krlnews.com/2026/10/murder-at-horse-auction-by-donnarae.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
SleuthSayers: Boo-hoo, Wow, and Hooray
SleuthSayers: Boo-hoo, Wow, and Hooray: A few weeks ago, I wrote a post here at SleuthSayers called "Whoa, Look at THAT," about current YouTube channels showing movie...
Scott's Take: Supergirl’s Family Vacation by Brandon T. Snider and Sarah Leuver
Supergirl’s Family Vacation by Brandon T.
Snider and Sarah Leuver is about Superman’s family on summer vacation.
Supergirl is feeling overshadowed by Superman. She asks that for summer
vacation they visit Argo, the last remaining Kryptonian city in outer space.
Clark and Lois agree. They also take their young son Jon so he can explore his
heritage. They invite Natasha, the niece of Steel to come along.
Along the way they make a brief pit stop
to celebrate a planet’s freedom. A planet and its people that Superman saved
early in his career. The leaders of this planet convince the family to stay a
while before going on to Argo. Of course, there are things going on that are
not right and slowly the family begins to realize there is something very
wrong.
This is a strong character led story
with action, humor, and goofy moments like a drunk Superman dealing with a
hangover. The art is excellent and fits the story well. Making Jon and Kara
closer in age and more like siblings was an interesting take. The main
character is supposed to be Supergirl, but the other characters play big roles
in this tale.
I could easily see this becoming a
series. But, for now, this is a one and done tale.
I read this is paperback form by way of
the Audelia
Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3SzZxcl
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
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
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