Wednesday, October 07, 2026
SleuthSayers: The Writing Life?
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: ARREST
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
SleuthSayers: More Books I Recommend
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Halloween Night Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Liz Ireland
Monday, October 05, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
Little Big Crimes: I'll Never Fall in Love Again, by Chris Curran
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Murder on 34th Street: A Novel by Mariah Fredericks
The newest historical mystery
from Mariah Fredericks will be released in early October by Minotaur. Murder
on 34th Street is a holiday story that is set in the flagship
Macy’s Department Store on 34th Street in New York City and narrated
by the personable Grace Verlander, assistant to the Human Resources Manager who
hides in his office all day while Grace does his job for him. it is a fine
period piece, not overloaded with obvious historical research but nonetheless
true to its time, which is November 1932, the depths of the Great Depression.
Macy’s is gearing up for the
holiday shopping season, which the store owners have every reason to believe
will not be especially successful, while preparing the floats for the annual
Thanksgiving Parade. One of the floats will carry the Macy’s Santa Claus in a
bid to bring children and their parents (with money) into the store. Grace is
alarmed to learn that Santa Claus, actually Harry Gardner of children’s shoes,
has received a threatening letter promising that he will not live to see
Christmas. Grace cannot imagine who would find the quiet older gentleman
offensive but she alerts store security in the person of former police officer
Frank Halsey. Halsey agrees that Santa is likely safe within the store but vulnerable
in his perch on the Macy’s float in full view of thousands and he decides to
ride on the float with Santa.
While Gardner survives the
parade, others do not, and Grace has a mystery to solve while dealing with
dozens of personnel crises that become more urgent daily as Christmas draws
near. She is also devoting more attention than perhaps absolutely necessary to
the window display section where the new creative manager has captured her imagination.
Absorbing story with
believable characters from the major to the folks with a single throw-away scene.
The operational details of the enormous store that occupied an entire block are
fascinating and worth the read alone. And the mystery is not forgotten. It
steadily unfolds bit by bit, ending with an entirely unexpected revelation.
Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review &
Editor's Pick):
“Fredericks’ dialogue is sharp
as a box cutter and her cast of characters as lively and colorful as Christmas
itself. Grace is a marvel: witty, perceptive, and kind, yet not so perfect that
there’s no room for moments of self-reflection . . . Fredericks’ latest
adventure should be in everyone’s Christmas stocking this year, tied with a big
red bow.”
Expect to see this one on the
short list for major 2026 awards. I will be nominating it for a Lefty. Highly
recommended.
·
Publisher:
Minotaur Books
·
Publication
date: October 6, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print
length: 288 pages
·
ISBN-10:
1250367549
·
ISBN-13:
978-1250367549
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4xZDSc3
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Annual Book Sale 2026: My Husband's Books
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!
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
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
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE GAMECOCK MURDERS
Thursday, October 01, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
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
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