Kevin's Corner

Thursday, June 04, 2026

Thursday Treats: June 6/4/2026

The latest reading opportunities…

Punk Noir has published, Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends — Issue 4. This series of flash short stories are all free to read online at their website. You can also read the first issue for free here as well as the second here and the third here.

Fellow SMFS list member Brandon Barrows announced that he had gotten all right back after the previous publisher closed and Sinners Ride was back in print. Published by Full Speed Publishing, the read is available in both eBook and print formats at Amazon. Additionally, he noted that the “Paperback edition contains two bonus stories never before in print, including the Derringer Award-nominated "The Right to Hang!"’

Fellow SMFS list member Abe Margel announced that his mystery short story, Preferred Puff, was published online at Story Quilt. The story was published a month ago and is free to read here.

Fellow SMFS list member Richard Helms announced publication of his book, GREAT WHITE: an Eamon Gold novel. He says this will be the final book of this San Francisco based private investigator mystery series. Published by Barbadoes Hall Communications, you can pick it up at Amazon in digital or print formats.

Editor John Connor of Murderous Ink Press announced that his latest anthology, Crimeucopia - New Kids In Da 'Hood, will be released on June 9^th. Features 16 crime fiction short story tales including one by fellow SMFS list member Thomas F. Gorham III (Classless Reunion). It can be preordered at Amazon now.

On another list I am on, author Carole Shmurak announced that Buried Under Books: A Susan Lombardi Mystery had been published. This fifth book in the series is out in digital and print formats from Park Court Press. You can pick up the read at Amazon..

I have a lot of author alerts set up on Amazon. I have left them going, even when I am way, way, way behind in a series. That was how I found out that author Ed Lynskey’s new book, Sister: A P. I. Frank Johnson Mystery is releasing on June 20^th. Published by ‎ECL Press, this 38^th book in the long running series can be preordered here.

That is not all from this author either. Mr. Lynskey’s book, Berried Clues: An Appalachian Farmers' Market Cozy Mystery, was published on June 1^st. Also from ECL Press, this too can be picked up on Amazon here.

The latest issue of Black Cat Weekly also came out. Black Cat Weekly #248 includes a short story by fellow SMFS list member Dave Zeltserman (Sleeping Dogs) among other works. You can pick up the latest issue of this weekly, multi genre, magazine here.

Fellow SMFS list member, Michael Bracken, announced that the anthology, Wish Upon A Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales, is now out. Coedited with Stacy Woodson of the SMFS, the book features short stories from Donna Andrews, Michael Bracken (editor), David Dean, John M. Floyd, Barb Goffman, Debra H. Goldstein, James A. Hearn, Adam Meyer, Tom Milani, Laura Oles, Josh Pachter, Joseph S. Walker, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, and Stacy Woodson (editor). Published by Level Short (an imprint of Level Best Books), the anthology is available in both print and digital book versions at Amazon.

Until next time….

Wednesday, June 03, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Summer Share by Jenn McKinlay

Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder at the New York World's Fair (1938) by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (Writing as "Freeman Dana")

Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder at the New York World's Fair (1938) by Phoe...: Phoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery writer and creator of Asey Mayo, the Codfish Sherlock, who appeared in over twenty mysteries r...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Stories from Murder and Other Acts of Literature

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Stories from Murder and Oth...: Murder and Other Acts of Literature is an anthology of 24 short stories that include a crime but are written by authors who are not crime f...

The First Two Pages: “Jack and the Beanstalk” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

SleuthSayers: Fourth Wall Down

SleuthSayers: Fourth Wall Down: I have been reading Montalbano's First Case And Other Stories, (2016) Andrea Camilleri's collection of tales about a Sicilian polic...

Tuesday, June 02, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Mist and Malice by Rachel Howzell Hall

Bruce Borgos: Disclosure Day: The REAL Truth About Area 51, UFOs, and Why Physics Is a Ruthless Party Pooper

Jim Nesbitt's Substack Reviews: Radioactive --Scott Powers Captures Florida Sleaze With Nuclear Glow

SleuthSayers: And They Lived Happily Never After

SleuthSayers: And They Lived Happily Never After: When I was little, before I learned how to read, my dad used to read fables and fairy tales to me before I went to sleep. We had a big book,...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New in June!

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New in June!: Allen, Samantha Puck Andrews, Mary Kay Road Trip Arden, Katherine The Unicorn Hunters Benedict, Marie A Pair of Aces Benja...

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 Brian Gerag...

Lesa's Book Critiques: July Treasures in My Closet

Publication Day Review: The Bookseller: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan

As the father of DS George Cross faces a very hard medical diagnosis, he works the case of a murder inside Squire’s Rare Books. Located in Bristol and owned by the Squire family, the bookstore has been a fixture in Berkeley Square. The squires have been involved in the business of rare books for decades, but world of bookselling has massively changed from when Torquil Squire was a mere lad running books when he was a lad. The staff that runs the place these days is having a hard time working together and adjusting the business and there is friction.

Did that friction play a role or cause the death of Edward Squire, son of Torquil, or not? A question that DS George Cross and the rest of the team will have to answer in coming days along with a host of other questions. A team that has a lot going on, professionally and personally, as they deal with various matters including the repercussions of recent events depicted in The Teacher.

Quite a lot is happening in The Bookseller: A DS George Cross Mystery. This review deliberately skims the surface of this intense police procedural. In my opinion, to reveal more would cause spoilers and I won’t do that. Suffice it to say that this is a mighty good read in a series that just keeps getting better and better.

As I have tried to make clear before, each book in this series is well worth your time. The Bookseller: A DS George Cross Mystery is as well.

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

I received a digital ARC from the publisher, Atlantic Crime, imprint of Grove Atlantic, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

Monday, June 01, 2026

Little Big Crimes: Strangers on a Train on a Train, by Paul Ryan O'Connor

Little Big Crimes: Strangers on a Train on a Train, by Paul Ryan O'Co...: "Strangers on a Train on a Train," by Paul Ryan O'Connor, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May/June 2026. This is...

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Butler by Clare Mackintosh

The Butler by Clare Mackintosh (Podium Publishing, June 2026) is a stand-alone thriller from the author of the DC Ffion Morgan and DS Leo Brady series. CWA recently announced that Clare is shortlisted for the 2026 CWA Dagger in the Library.

Baxter is a butler who freelances for wealthy individuals in need of major domo services for a short time. He’s been hired to prepare and run a villa in the hills above Cannes for a house party of some half dozen individuals connected to the industry during the film festival and the accompanying events. Alec Prescott is the host, he and his ex-wife Sylvie Calloway are also celebrating the 21^st birthday of their only child Carter. Prescott arrives with his current much younger girl friend Kaitlynn. Baxter is alarmed to learn that Kaitlynn doesn’t know that Sylvie will be present and Sylvie doesn’t know about Kaitlynn. In addition to this worrying trio, Prescott and his girlfriend Jade and Prescott’s godparents Damian and Francesca Huxley, film producer and actress, respectively, make up the rest of the party.

Damian loses no time in trying to convince Alec to finance his next film, Alec declines and tactlessly suggests Francesca is too old to play leading roles. Alec also calls Prescott to task for not holding down a paying job, and Sylvie and Alec trade jabs over his youthful girlfriend. The atmosphere is tense and Baxter is required to supply vast quantities of alcoholic beverages to soothe tempers. The first two or three days are consumed with cinema viewings and media events, especially for Francesca who is promoting her newest film. The sniping continues whenever two or three of the party are together, and dinner with everyone is downright fractious.

Through it all, Baxter and the couple he hired to help him stay busy. They plan, shop, cook, and serve meals on time, clean all the rooms in the villa, change linen and towels, and cater to the constant demands for booze.

Early one morning Baxter finds Alec Prescott at the bottom of the swimming pool, quite dead. Too many people were upset with Prescott for Baxter to believe it was accidental. He decides to investigate on his own.

Readers familiar with Agatha Christie’s 4:50 from Paddington APA What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw will immediately see the similarity of Baxter to Lucy Eyelesbarrow, that very expensive but extremely capable housekeeper who worked for wealthy households a few weeks at a time.

An original and pleasant read. Mackintosh is a recent find whom I plan to follow more closely. I particularly enjoyed the details of the job, which gave a strong Upstairs, Downstairs feel to the narrative. This story has strong potential to become a series.

· Publisher‏: ‎Podium Publishing

· Publication date: ‎June 16, 2026

· Language: ‎English

· Print length: ‎208 pages

· ISBN-13: ‎979-8347009268

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4e1byiA

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Sunday, May 31, 2026

Sunday Evening Humor Seen On Twitter

I watch a lot of British mysteries so this deal made me laugh.

Kathleen Kalb: Oh, Never Mind

ButtonDown.Com: Wayne Shelton (Vols 1-5) by Jean Van Hamme, Christian Denayer, Thierry Cailleteau

Lesa's Book Critiques: Murder at Haddonford Manor by Irina McGrath

SleuthSayers: Twenty-Two and Counting

SleuthSayers: Twenty-Two and Counting: More than a few people have asked me why the cover image of CRIME SCENES , my recently published collection of stories from Level Best Books...

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Argosy Library: Four Corners, vol. 2 (2020) by Theodore Roscoe

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Argosy Library: Four Corners, vol. 2 (2020) by...: Theodore Roscoe was an American biographer, historian and one of the finest pulp writers of the day, known for his gripping tales of exotic...

Want To Be A Guest?

As we stare in the face of summer when the flaming Sky God tries to kill us all, I thought I would remind you that I welcome guest posts here. If you have read this kind of post before, and have an interest, please read this updated post today as I have added a couple of things.

Guests are more than welcome and very much appreciated. Unlike some folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to jump through as I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you are already answered here so please read the post before reaching out.

First and foremost, No AI for anything. Period.

With that out of the way…. Depending on my reviews—Open days are currently Tuesdays and Sundays. Sometimes other says are as well as I don’t read that fast anymore. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be published works on Sundays as excerpts seem to work best on those days.

Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly relate to the work being discussed or promoted.

Please Note --- I am not going to run anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell.

Before contacting me, please have an actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some detail. Have something to say beyond the fact that you have a new book coming out and you want to talk about it in a guest post. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your piece and tell me that in your pitch.

And, yes, book reviews are very popular here. Several folks regularly contribute book reviews. I would love to have more book reviews from guests.

Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not set a maximum or a minimum word count.

When your piece is ready, you send it to me by email and include a 100 words or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be included.

Exclusivity: The period should be original to my blog. I request that you allow me to be the exclusive home for the piece for 90 days. This allows me to make multiple posts about your guest post on social media and still bring in readers.

I have had folks write for me one weekend and, within two weeks, ignore the exclusivity period, and run the exact same piece elsewhere. Rather kills the point of my efforts to bring attention to your post.

This is, as always, a nonpaying opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself, my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed. The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in here. Scott has been without work since mid April and that has made things massively worse. Things are going downhill, rapidly, but as long as I can keep this place going, I will.

While I have no funds to pay you, I can promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.

Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net

I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Saturday, May 30, 2026

Saturday Evening Humor Courtesy of Barry Ergang

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Reluctant Matador by Mark Pryor

Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of May 31, 2026

KRL Update:

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 4 fun food and drink related cozies-"Some Like it Fudgy" A Candy-Coated Mystery by Nancy Coco, "A Poisonous Pour" A Cece Barton Mystery by Maddie Day, "Death by Chocolate Ladyfingers" Death by Chocolate Mystery by Sarah Graves, and "Confessions of an Amateur Sleuth" A Bainbridge Island Mystery by Lynn Cahoon https://kingsriverlife.com/05/30/may-food-mystery-catchup/

And the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/05/30/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-pride-month-2026/

And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Family Bix" by Alan Orloff, along with an interesting interview with Alan https://kingsriverlife.com/05/30/the-family-biz-by-alan-orloff/

And a review of "The Inklings Detective Agency" by John R Kelly https://kingsriverlife.com/05/30/the-inklings-detective-agency-by-john-r-kelly/

Up on KRL during the week another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Victoria Hamilton where she talks about tea with the Queen, and her new book "Masher of Ceremonies" https://kingsriverlife.com/05/27/tea-with-the-queen/

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "Murder Under a Bitter Moon" by Abigail Keam https://www.krlnews.com/2026/05/murder-under-bitter-moon-by-abigail.html

And a review and ebook giveaway of "Homicide on the Range" by Rosalie Spielman https://www.krlnews.com/2026/05/homicide-on-range-by-rosalie-spielman.html

And a review and giveaway of "Guilt" by Keigo Higashino https://www.krlnews.com/2026/05/guilt-by-keigo-higashino-reviewgiveaway.html

Happy reading,

Lorie

SleuthSayers: Re-Tell Me a Story

SleuthSayers: Re-Tell Me a Story: It seems that I get a lot of my ideas for SleuthSayers posts from what I see on my TV--and that's what happened with today's colum...

Jerry's House of Everything: DELL FOUR COLOR (1939 SERIES) #6: DICK TRACY

Jerry's House of Everything: DELL FOUR COLOR (1939 SERIES) #6: DICK TRACY: This issue collects 64 Sunday strips featuring Chester Gould's famous detective. It starts when Tracy arrests a gang of female perfume t...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu: Reviewed by Kristin An infinite number of universes. Humans have coded and manufactured “skunkworks” to manipulate and manage physics of t...

Scott's Take: The Butcher's Masquerade: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl series)

The Butcher's Masquerade: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman is the fifth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I read this by way of an eBook so I did not have access to the bonus short story for this novel.

The publisher’s plot synopsis for this one is pretty vague. That presents a problem as the book is hard to describe as it is without spoilers. Basically, there is a giant jungle region where the hunters are now part of the game and are hunting the crawlers. There are roaming dinosaurs, Vrah, one of the Mantis, is hunting Carl. If that was not vague enough, the book ends with a cliffhanger.

The audible book might be worth listening to instead of reading this one as there is at least one song only included only in the audible version. However, that song is also available on YouTube. Princess Donut becomes a bard in this novel so there are songs now.

I enjoyed this book, but the final third act is way different than what I expected as I was reading. It also drags a bit. If you like the humor and the action of the series than you should enjoy this one. But, you are also warned that things get pretty weird.

I am looking forward to reading The Eye of the Bedlam Bride which is the sixth book in the series.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4u4TRUH

My digital reading copy came by way of the Dallas Public Library System.

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