Scott's Take: Time to Play by Erin Ampersand (Book 1 of the Apocalypse Parenting series)

Time to Play by Erin Ampersand is the first book in the Apocalypse Parenting series.  Meghan and her three kids are enjoying a typical day when aliens use some sort of technology to render most electronics and combustible materials useless. So, no cars, no internet, no cell phones, no firearms, etc. The aliens declare that all surviving humans will be forced to fight for their lives against monsters for alien entertainment. The kids will be forced to fight as well.

 

To accomplish this each person is given an ability is given a power. The youngest, Cassie, accidently turns her stuffed turtle into an alien AI. The boys go with magical powers.  Meghan is going to be forced to solo parent this apocalypse until her husband can make it back from Colorado. He was away on business when the aliens launched their take over. So, its mom and kids vs monsters while trying to rebuild the community of survivors and while hoping dad is alive and coming home.

 

This is action packed family drama is a LITRpg is recommend by the author who writes Dungeon Crawler Carl series. According to the acknowledgement pages, he played some role in getting this book published. This read was humorous while being darker than I expected. There are deaths of children, seniors, and more. This is a violent and dangerous apocalypse

 

Additionally, one of the support characters is named Scott. He is a guy training dogs to identify hostile mimics in the environment. Mimics are shapeshifters that can disguise themselves. So, points for naming a character Scott.

 

Apparently, there are five books in the series all of which are available through Kindle Unlimited. I got my copy in eBook form from the library system. There is a spinoff, Engineer's Odyssey: An LitRPG Adventure in the Apocalypse Parenting Universe, which is about the dad trying to get home to his family. The spinoff is available through Hoopla. The spin off takes place sometime from book one until book four or so of the main series.

 

The second book in the main series is titled Making Friends. Meghan is continuing to try to survive while taking care of her kids.  One son is now a wizard, one son has turned himself into a monkey, and the daughter keeps getting new magical alien friends. Sounds like Mom has her work cut out for her.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4xGAD9i

 

 

I read this book through the Libby/Overdrive app by way of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple  ©2026

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Thursday Treats: 10/22/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 
Black Cat Weekly #268 is out and again features short stories and more. Halloween is the theme, but the issue is as wide ranging as ever. John Bentacourt reminds everyone that there are only two more issues before it goes to Level Best Books and becomes a monthly. To learn more, read the note at the end of the issue from the new publisher. SMFS list members by Leslie Budewitz (This Little Piggy) has the cover and Shari Held (Cordelia’s Quest) and by A.L. Sirois (Drowning in Monstrosity) also reported being in the issue. You can pick up the issue at the website.

 

Personal Note: My understanding is that when it becomes Black Cat Mysteries next month and relaunches as a monthly release, a subscription will be $60 bucks a year. As folks are well aware, as I have made no secret of it, things are very bad here so I will not be a subscriber. I hope the new venture works, but this reader has been priced out. And that should not be taken as a criticism of what they are doing. If anything, it is yet another indictment of my failure in life.

 

Author Maryann Miller announced on Twitter that her new book, Second Chances And Other Stories, is now available for preorder. Published by MCM Enterprises, the read is about characters experiencing life in many different ways. Scheduled to be published on November 24rth, when it will also be available on KindleUnlimited, the read can be purchased now on Amazon.

 

 

Released last week is the new anthology, Songs to Woody. Published by Cowboy Jamboree Press, the read includes short stories by SMFS list members Zakariah Johnson (Oklahoma Hills) and Stephen M. Pierce (This Machine Kills Itself). You can pick it up at Amazon.

 

Out at the end of the month is the new anthology, The Power of 13.  Authored by members of The Mesdames of Mayhem, a Canadian mystery writing collective, and published by Carrick Publishing, the read of 21 stories celebrates their 13th anniversary. The SMFS list members that have announced their presence in the read via the SMFS list are: J.E. (Jayne) Barnard (13 the Hard Way), M. H. Callway (Amdur's Mouse), Melodie Campbell (An Unlucky Stiff), Therese Greenwood (A Hard Ticket), Madona Skaff (Lennie and the 13), Hope Thompson (The Anniversary), Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Catalina andMr.  the King of the Fishes), and Melissa "Yi" Yuan-Innes (Flamingo Flamenco), Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Catalina and the King of the Fishes). It is available for preorder at Amazon and other vendors.

 

 

Speaking of SMFS, The Short Mystery Fiction Society, I remind you of other reads by our members as recently compiled and posted by SMFS President Joseph S. Walker. In his October 7^th post titled, A Plethora of Pulse-Pounding Pages as the Short Mystery Fiction Society Enters a New Age!, Mr. Walker details numerous reads and includes the launch of the first issue of the new SMFS Mystery Magazine. All the details are in his post on the SMFS blog.

 

 

Coming in November from Murderous Ink Press is the anthology, Crimeucopia - Objection! Overruled!! SMFS list members in the read are John M. Floyd (Nothing but the Truth), and Wil A. Emerson (Three Strikes—You’re Out). The read is available for preorder at Amazon and other vendors.

 

 

The Sisters in Crime Colorado Chapter has announced that their latest anthology, Colorado Mystery Merge: Crime Fiction Collection 2, is coming out tomnorrow. 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 Tollund Man: Stories by SMFS list member Jeff Esterholm is now out. Published by Cornerstone Press, you can get it at Amazon.

 

Finally, at the end of the month, A Fatal Affair: The Murder of Helen Grier by Amanda Capper and Judy Penz Sheluk will be released by Superior Shores Press. This is a true crime read on the case of the death of Helen Grier. Was it murder or something else? You can get it in eBook and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

 

Until  next time….

  

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Picture taken earlier this week. Vote. It matters. 

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“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

Lesa's Book Critiques: World News from Waverley High by Linda Kass

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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.

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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.