Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY; THE FORGOTTEN LAND

Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY; THE FORGOTTEN LAND: "The Forgotten Land" by Henry Herbert Knibbs  (from The Popular Magazine , February 7, 1917; never reprinted to my knowledge) We c...

Guest Post: An Interview with Carolyn Haines by Joan Leotta

  

Earlier this week, Joan Leotta reviewed the new book, Joy to the Bones. Today, she has an interview with the author, Carolyn Haines.

 

 

An Interview with Carolyn Haines by Joan Leotta

 

 

Author, Carolyn Haines, was gracious enough to expand on the small paragraph that appears in the back of Joy to the Bones through an interview for this blog. I found her replies to my questions a lot like a guide to starting and finishing a mystery series.

 

Q: What made you decide to stop writing this very successful thirty-odd book series? Are you planning another mystery series?

CH: Age made me decide. I have always felt awful that Sue Grafton never got to finish the alphabet books. I also wanted the resolution of what happened to Sarah Booth’s parents to be the final book. At 73, I wanted to make sure it ended the way I envisioned. I owe Sarah Booth and the gang that much. They have been loyal friends and characters.

No, I am not writing any other series at this time. I’m going to venture into supernatural thrillers, I think. Just for a change. I love humorous mysteries, but I am keenly feeling the loss of Sarah Booth and her friends in my life. They have been with me for over 30 years, a big part of each day. I love what I call British horror (no gore). And the challenge of melding that into the structure of a thriller fascinates me. And if I’m going to do it, I’d better get in the saddle and ride.

 

Q: So, this new book you are working on, is that going to be a singleton then? Will you expand your use of supernatural characters like the” haint”, Jitty, or will aliens take over the page? Or maybe you will use both or haven’t you decided yet?

CH: I am co-writing with Daryl Marcus, a former student of mine. He and I both love horror. We are writing a book with space to go into a series or one that can be a single title, depending on what the publishers are looking for.

It melds the world of the Fae with a very real South Mississippi local and a serial killer. It’s a handful, but we are enjoying the process.

 

Q: Back to Sarah Booth! One of the things that made reading Joy to the Bones so much for me is how much I immediately related to Sara Booth. She is feisty and fun in ways that made me wish I could sit down and meet her. Is she a lot like you?

CH: Sarah Booth is very much like I was when I was 34--except she is far more limber! I do have a 501c3 animal refuge where I take care of old, unwanted animals in their final years. I've done this my whole life. I have, right now, eight dogs, twelve cats, and two horses. A few crows hang about, but no ravens. I love this so much, but I am getting older now and I am responsible enough to know I have to stop taking in animals. Sarah Booth also adores her friends and, boy, have I been blessed in the friend department. A lot of my friends have died in the last decade, and that is a huge, huge loss. And ending Sarah Booth is another emotional blow. As crazy as it sounds, she was a best friend to me.

 

Q: Are some of the larger issues Sarah Booth addresses, also issues that you find interesting and have worked on?

CH: There is much emotional truth in the Sarah Booth books. She focuses on issues that I am interested in, afraid of, or concerned about. She has more courage than I do. But she is connected to the land, the natural world, and the people around her, just as I am. I wrote a book in 1994, SUMMER OF THE REDEEMERS. In that book I gave Bekka the emotional fabric of my childhood. Not factually true, but emotionally true. Horse crazy, wild in the woods, ghost stories, adventures not far from home. But Sarah Booth is more the grown up me, only a better version.

 

Q: So, Summer of the Redeemers was a single book, not part of any series? Did the experience with that book lead you to Sarah Booth?

CH: It was a two-book contract with Dutton for SUMMER and then followed by TOUCHED. Learning plot and structure took some time, and I loved writing both of these books. They could both be classified as Southern Gothic mysteries, but I didn’t know that when I wrote them. They were published as general fiction.

 

Q: Would you share a bit about how you developed Sarah Booth over the course of the series and how you handled the timing/aging of your cast of characters? When she started out, how old was Sarah Booth? How old is she when the series ends? And if the books cover only a few years, how did you work in the twenty- year past death of her parents?

CH: When the series opens, she is 33. Thirty-one books later, she is only 34 and ½. It is criminally wrong that when I started the series I was 45 and now I am 73? The math isn’t mathing (sic) for me. The whole series arc covers 1and ½ book years--though twenty-eight “human” years.

The car wreck (that caused the death of her parents)happens off screen and years in the past. The books pick up when Sarah Booth is grown and has just returned home to Zinnia from NYC. The thirty-one books cover roughly, twenty months.


 

Q: Has Sarah Booth’s cast of friends been consistent since the beginning of the series? Was Sarah Booth always a PI? If not, when in the series does Sarah become a PI (this last book of yours is my first read in the series) How does that choice of profession help shape her?

CH: Yes, the primary characters are in the first book and continue throughout. But the relationships grow and change. In THEM BONES, Sarah Booth does a really bad thing out of desperation. She steals Tinkie’s little dog, Chablis. (Jitty supports this plan) and ransoms her back to Tinkie. Tinkie is so impressed, she hires Sarah Booth to solve a mystery. In the third book, SPLINTERED BONES, Sarah Booth and Tinkie begin working together to solve mysteries. Prior to being, a detective, Sarah Booth was in NYC attempting to be a stage actress. Things didn’t work out. (The not working out of her acting career is what prompted Sarah Booth to return to Zinnia)

 

Q: What prompted you to make the word “Bones” your title “Signature.” Can you tell us a little about how the titles help shape the series and, in your opinion, do the titles help add to its success?

CH: THEM BONES was the first title and when Random House bought the first book at auction, they wanted a 3-book contract. I thought Bones would be a good way to brand the books. And it’s an easy word to work with for titles. Yes, I think titles are really important.

 

Q: You once mentioned that Zinnia, MS is modeled on your own hometown. Are there any specific places in Zinnia that have real life counterparts with deep meaning for you?

We had a terrific restaurant in Lucedale, my hometown, called The Coffee Pot. Millie’s Cafe is loosely based on that diner. It was a treat to go there for a hamburger steak and coconut pie.

 

Finally,

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell your readers, fans of the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries??

CH: I love to write both light/humorous fiction and also dark fiction. I have a 4-book series called the Pluto Snitch: series which is set in the 1920s and deals with a woman who can talk to the dead and is hired to solve mysteries involved paranormal elements. The first title is THE BOOK OF BELOVED and is set in Mobile, Alabama.

 

I am in mourning for Sarah Booth and the gang. They have been such a big part of my life—28 years. It’s hard to voluntarily let go of these stories which I love telling. But the art of life is knowing when to let go.

 

Thank you so much, Carolyn, for your willingness to spend time on these Questions! I am sorry the series is ending since I just discovered it, but I plan to start reading the whole series starting with the first, Them Bones, and work my way back to Joy to the Bones, number 31—that should keep me busy and happy for quite some time.

 

I do hope you enjoy the books. I have loved every minute of writing them. And thank you for your time in doing this interview. I really appreciate it. --Carolyn

 

Joan Leotta ©2026


Joan Leotta offers encouraging words on page and stage. Internationally published as essayist, poet, short story writer, novelist, she’s a multiple nominee for Pushcart and Best of Net. Publications include Synkroniciti, MacQueen’s Quinterly,  One Art, Gargoyle, The Lake, Lothlorien, Ovunquesiamo, The Mackinaw, Ekphrastic Review, Yellow Mama, Impspired, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

 

She also performs stories for youth and adult audiences with programs that highlight food, kindness, family, and strong women. Her one woman show as Louisa May Alcott focuses on Alcott’s development as a writer of many genres and her time as a Civil War nurse. She also teaches storytelling and writing and has done so for the North Carolina Poetry Society,  NC Writers Network, ND Humanities, and the London Arts-Based Research Center. Contact Joan at Joanleotta@gmail.com

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Wildwood by Amy Pease

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Wildwood by Amy Pease

The First Two Pages: “Farewell to Baytown” by William Bankier and Josh Pachter

 The First Two Pages: “Farewell to Baytown” by William Bankier and Josh Pachter

Happiness Is A Book: The Scavengers by Bill Knox

 Happiness Is A Book: The Scavengers by Bill Knox

Jerry's House of Everything: TRUNCATED BITS & PIECES

Jerry's House of Everything: TRUNCATED BITS & PIECES: Openers:   I'm going you tell you the real story behind Bloodrock  and how we ended up with a dead man in a bathtub.  I was right there ...

Monday, August 17, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: A Books TBR List

 Lesa's Book Critiques: A Books TBR List

Mystery Fanfare: MANAGING MULTIPLE WRITING PROJECTS WITHOUT GOING BANANAS: Guest Post by Linda S. Gunther

Mystery Fanfare: MANAGING MULTIPLE WRITING PROJECTS WITHOUT GOING B...: Working on a few writing projects simultaneously has become second nature to me. When it comes to juggling projects, I love it. I seek it ou...

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Not a Word: A Novel by Linwood Barclay


Linwood Barclay’s newest domestic thriller will be released by Morrow on 25 August in the U.S. and in September in the U.K. It takes place in an upscale suburb west of Toronto, where Reece Chartwell decided to visit his parents and talk to his father Brent about possible career options. His job with the news division of a Canadian television network recently ended as part of a major reduction in force, and Reece does not know what his next role might look like. He did not expect find his parents dead in bed with a gun on the floor near his father and blood everywhere. While he knew his parents had developed separate interests over the years, Reece never dreamed one or the other was this unhappy. He is understandably shocked beyond words.

What initially seemed to the investigating detective to be a straightforward murder-suicide began to look a bit odd as she collected more details at the scene. When she asked more questions about the victims, their relationships, and their history, Brent Chartwell’s long-ago association with a large pharma corporation began to assume more importance.

The story flips back and forth in time from the present to some twenty years earlier when Chartwell was working for Wiffel-Smith, producer of a controversial opioid. Barclay often incorporates tense family dynamics in his books, exploring the different ways individual members of a family experience the impact of a crime. Here, as in Trust Your Eyes (2012), two brothers growing up in the same house have turned out to be very different people in maturity, and they find they need to redefine and re-negotiate their relationship after the death of their parents.

There is no shortage of plot twists here. This is Barclay’s 29th book. His ability to structure a fast-moving story with suspense and create deeply human characters is outstanding. Barclay’s fans will not be disappointed. Readers new to his work will find this book a good place to start. An absorbing read for anyone looking for a new thriller.

 


·         Publisher: ‎William Morrow

·         Publication date: ‎August 25, 2026

·         Language: English

·         Print length: ‎320 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎0063276380

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-0063276383

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4xJj0Gh

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026 

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

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Ask Me What I’m Reading by Eleanor Goymer

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Ask Me What I’m Reading by Eleanor Goymer

Kathleen Kalb: Don't Join THIS Club

 Kathleen Kalb: Don't Join THIS Club

The Rap Sheet: Revue of Reviewers: 8-16-26

 The Rap Sheet: Revue of Reviewers: 8-16-26

Little Big Crimes: Good Fences, by Terena Elizabeth Bell

Little Big Crimes: Good Fences, by Terena Elizabeth Bell: "Good Fences," by Terena Elizabeth Bell in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July/August 2026.  If you are going to use one of ...

SleuthSayers: The Gingerbread Man

SleuthSayers: The Gingerbread Man: In June, Level Short released Wish Upon a Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales , an anthology I edited with Michael Bracken. The sto...

ButtonDown.Com: Wrestle Heist

 ButtonDwon.Com: Wrestle Heist

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hit List: Top 10 Favorite Detective Novels from the 1950s

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hit List: Top 10 Favorite Detective Novels fro...: The Golden Age of Detective Fiction is generally narrowed to the interwar period, roughly covering the 1920s and '30s, because the World...

The Rap Sheet: Fab Four

 The Rap Sheet: Fab Four

Joan Leotta Reviews: Joy to the Bones: A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery by Carolyn Haines

 

Joy to the Bones: A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery

Book by Carolyn Haines

Book 31 of this series (and the last)

Available on Amazon in Hardback, Kindle, and Audio

This title will be released on October 27, 2026.

Review by Joan Leotta

 

Holiday season in Zinnia, Mississippi, a bayou country bayou country town, takes on new and rather scary dimensions for private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney. What at first presents as a small, mostly document hunting job, to determine ownership of the DeLonge Mansion turns into a murder case. Of course the abandoned property with seemingly no one left alive to claim ownership, in the swampland near Zinnia, looks the part of a haunted house, but what truly haunts our intrepid protagonist is the discovery that her parents’ deaths twenty years earlier were not accidental, and even worse, her best friend Tinkie Richmond, Sarah Booth’s boyfriend, Coleman Peters, Sherrif of Sunflower County, and even Sara Booth’s friendly “haint” (southern for ghost), Jitty, all knew that it was a murder and to protect Sara Booth had not told her.

 

Sarah Booth is stung to the core, feeling betrayed by those closest to her, and decides to cut ties with all three of them, a decision that leaves her feeling depressed and very very alone. The path to forgiving them for holding back information from her to save her from pain, leads her to discover new things about relationships and puts readers on track with the contemporary mysteries and gives the characters—all of them—a rounding out and depth of personality that made me arrive at a very positive opinion of all of them—put me firmly on their side. In addition, the author, while tracking Sarah Booth’s line of reasoning catches up first-time readers like myself with the place of this novel’s action in the life of our protagonist. Fortunately, she comes to her senses about discarding her living and the dead (Jitty) friends who love her and want to help her, she enlists their help in finding out more about her parents’ murders and also works with Coleman Peters on the contemporary murders that occur on the grounds of the mansion. Once the affirmation of the strength of the friendships is nailed down, the plot moves along smartly.

 

Threats to Sarah Booth add sizzle to the plot which simmers along like a low country crawfish boil. Seems that an old nemesis, Gertrude Stromm, might be a part of the past murder and may also be implicated in the current mansion-related murders. Haines is masterful in her use of dialog to build suspense and keep the book moving along smartly.

 

In spite of the series having been around for a while (30 other books!) this was my first encounter with Sarah Booth and her crew. Haines had a deft hand at description and also uses incidents and character interaction to reveal that Sarah Booth’s feisty, intellect that helps her friends love her and makes readers trust what she observes, inspects, and analyzes in situations of all sorts. In short, it’s easy to begin to think of Sarah Booth as a friend and the book as an encounter described over a lunch (albeit lengthy). Would Sarah Booth want to befriend someone old like me? Well, one of her close circle is well over a hundred years old. For example, I found myself shouting at Sarah Booth not to go to the old mansion alone—and sure enough she finds a dead body there-and sure enough the mystery of ownership is entangled with forces that threaten her safety. Jitty tries to warn her—but Jitty’s messages are coded and can be misinterpreted-.

 

In fact, those parts of the haint’s character, that no one except Sarah Booth can see and talk to Jitty and the haint’s use of code to communicate were two factors I did not like about the book. But once I decided to accept these elements, I was able to appreciate how Haine use them to advance the story and I allowed myself to become immersed in the solving of these two cases—the mansion murders and ownership issues and the murder of Sarah Booth’s Parents. In fact, I became so immersed, I stayed up all night reading. Haines is a master of pacing. Although I own a raft of bookmarks, I was reluctant to put one anyplace in the book. I just kept reading!

 

With a few suggestive lines at a happily -ever-after, (perhaps orange blossoms and even a law degree) for Sarah Booth, Haines leaves Sarah Booth with this mystery. Joy to the Bones is the last time we will open a book that carries us through another of Sarah Booth Delaney’s bayou adventures.  Although we readers will not be able to continue to watch future happenings for these characters, just as life often whisks us away from close contact with people we meet, I wish them well. And of course, for anyone who misses Sarah Booth, it is always possible to reread the earlier mysteries, starting with the first in the series, Them Bones, published in November 1999. And although the time period for readers’ lives covers several decades, Haines says that the time elapsed for Sarah Booth is under three years. Fans of the series will definitely want to read this last installment, and for others, who like me, have not read it before, Joy to the Bones is a great little holiday mystery and a fun read that can be enjoyed on its own.

 

 

For more information on Caroyn Haines’ future writing plans, check out the interview with her that will also appear on Kevin’s blog.

 

 

Joan Leotta ©2026

Saturday, August 15, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury

Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of August 16, 2026

 Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of August 16, 2026

SleuthSayers: Whoa, Look at THAT!

SleuthSayers: Whoa, Look at THAT!: So far this summer, I've spent a lot of time on the computer, especially when it's hot as blazes outside, and at least some of it...

KRL Update

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozies for your end of summer reading TBR- "All Shell Breaks Loose" A Haunted Shell Shop Mystery by Molly MacRae, "Whose Body in the Library" A Lighthouse Library Mystery by Eva Gates, & "Malice in Puzzle Land" An Alice Pepper Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club by Roz Noonan https://kingsriverlife.com/08/15/end-of-summer-mystery-catchup/

And a review and giveaway of "Killer Art" by Jon St. Denis, along with an interesting interview with Jon https://kingsriverlife.com/08/15/killer-art-by-jon-st-denis/

 

Looking for a new British mystery TV show to binge? Up on KRL this week we have a review of "Inspector Ellis" on Acorn TV https://kingsriverlife.com/08/15/inspector-ellis-seasons-1-2-on-acorn-tv/

 

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "Four on the Floor" By Gabriel Valjan https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/four-on-floor-by-gabriel-valjan.html

 

And a review and giveaway of "Mr. and Mrs. Dixon Hide a Body" By Jennifer Holdich https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/mr-and-mrs-dixon-hide-body-by-jennifer.html

 

And a review and giveaway of "Killer Vibes" by Jack Friday https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/killer-vibes-by-jack-friday.html

 

Happy reading,

Lorie 

The Rap Sheet: Plenteous Peepers

 The Rap Sheet: Plenteous Peepers

Scott's Take: Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher (The Saints of Steel series)


Paladin’s Strength by T.  Kingfisher is the second book in The Saints of Steel series that began with Paladin’s Grace. Each book in the series spotlights a different Paladin.

 

In this one, the Paladin featured is Ishtvan, a large man who sort kind of leads what is left of “The Saints of Steel.” Ishtvan and Galen (another character from the previous book) are, allegedly, providing escort for a merchant who is in fear of bandit attack. The real mission is that they are hunting the head cutting off people from the first book.

 

Things are going slow, but predictable, until Clara, a slave who is actually a nun, is won in a duel with the locals. As soon as they have her, Clara says she is not the only nun that has been kidnapped. She and the rest of her fellow nuns were taken away during a fire at their convent. Someone has kidnapped a group of nuns for some reason.

 

Of course, Clara and Ishtvan are hiding things from the other, but agree to work each with each other. Of course, there is some sort of attraction between the two of them from the moment they lay eyes on each other. As they search for the nun kidnappers as well as the folks cutting off heads, they become closer.  And that’s the plot-- can their connection survive each other’s secrets?

 

If you like the first book, this is a lot like it, but with different main characters. Ishtvan here and Stephen from the first book share a lot in common since they were picked by the same God. Their main driving emotions are duty and guilt. Clara is more of an action hero character, than a typical Kingfisher female lead, because of her own secrets. I enjoyed this book, but it has the same flaws as the first book. The fact that the god being dead does not matter and that the read is very predictable as it follows the usual template.

 

The third act has some horror elements that were unexpected. They also did not fit the tone of the book. They were a surprise and did not seem to be a natural outgrowth of the story.

 

The third book in the series is Paladin’s Hope. According to the plot synopsis, Piper is a “lich doctor” (basically a fantasy version of a coroner). He teams up with Galen (the same Galen from this book), to investigate a grisly series of murders. Galen, who suffers from violent night terrors, is supposed to protect Piper while he works. Of course, Galen wants to do more than just protect him or the read would not be a romance fantasy book. But, can Galen control himself?  They are assisted in their investigation by a Gnole. What is a Gnole you ask? Think dog/monkey/goat hybrid thing and far more helpful than the man/bear/pig on Southpark. Yes, Gnoles are also weird.

 



Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fbKEE5

 

 

 

My reading copy came through Hoopla and the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026 

Friday, August 14, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Chapel of Bones by Kate Ellis

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Chapel of Bones by Kate Ellis

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie:   Reviewed by Jeanne Famed detective Hercule Poirot is troubled when he receives a note questioning his skills and threatening crimes to c...

Writer Beware: Guest Post: A Narrow Escape From an Impersonation Scam

 Writer Beware: Guest Post: A Narrow Escape From an Impersonation Scam

Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Mouse Who Wouldn’t Play Ball by Anthony Gilbert

 Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Mouse Who Wouldn’t Play Ball by Anthony Gilbert

Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE COLLECTED WILL EISNER'S JOHN LAW

Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE COLLECTED WILL EISNER'S JOHN LAW: The Collected Will Eisner's John Law  by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner (a Hard Case Crime Graphic Novel, 20254)  Will Eisner (1917-2005)...

Patricia Abbott: FFB: KARNAK CAFE, Naguib Mahfouz

 Patricia Abbott: FFB: KARNAK CAFE, Naguib Mahfouz  

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange

In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: The National Bouchercon Board has selected author and Sisters in Crime Executive Director Julie Hennrikus as recipient of the 2026 David Th...

Don't Need A Diagram: Lily Brooks-Dalton, “The Light Pirate”

 Don't Need A Diagram: Lily Brooks-Dalton, “The Light Pirate”

Thursday Treats: 8/13/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 


SMFS list member Scott McKinnon announced that his tale, The Proposition, went up earlier this month at The Yard: Crime Blog. You can read it for free here.

 





The latest issue of Starlight Pulp Review is now out. Starlight Pulp Review #8 features 13 short stories, including one by SMFS list member Mark Coggins (Liverjack). Available at the publisher website as well as at Amazon.

 


Speaking of SMFS, President Joseph S. Walker has compiled the latest publishing news post of the membership. Lots of news regarding short stories, books, and more can be found here on the SMFS blog.

.


Black Cat Weekly #258 is out and includes the cover short story by SMFS list member N.M. Cedeño (The Case of the Cabochon Ring) and more. You can pick up the latest issue here.

 

A reminder that that my short story, A Plan Comes Together, is in issue 254. Folks seem to have really enjoyed it too. If you have not read it yet, go here, and grab a copy.

 



As I said before, I have long been a fan of Larry D. Sweazy. He has announced on Facebook that the Literary Garage is publishing his short story, A Knock at the Door, on August 13th. So, today! And go get his books. Great reads.

 


I have also long been a fan of the Sheriff Hank Worth Mysteries series by Claire Booth. I knew the new one was coming and have been eagerly awaiting its arrival on NetGalley. That finally happened last week. Hidden Currents: A Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery is now up for preorder at Amazon. It comes out in September 1st and will also be part of their Kindle Unlimited program. Published by Severn House, it is also available on other platforms.

 

By the way, the Kindle Unlimited program is a great deal. The downside is that one is limited to twenty titles out at a time. When you share the account, as I do with Scott, that is limiting. At the same time, that could be for the best as we both tend to see a book, --oh, shiny--- and add it to the pile. Which is why I have 100 titles here that are checked out from the Dallas Library. He has 90.

 

 

The Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: September/October 2026 issue is now out and includes short stories by SMFS list members. Nick Guthrie  (The Silent Partner) and Floyd E. Sullivan (The Wedding Photographer) are in the issue as is past SMFS President Robert Lopresti (Was That So Hard?). I have long been a fan of the work of Dallas area author Harry Hunsicker. His short story, The Basement Girl, also appears in the issue. Mr. Hunsicker also has a new book, Mother May I, coming out in October from Oceanview Publishing. The book is up for preorder at Amazon.

 

 

The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: September/October 2026 issue is also now out. It includes short stories by SMFS list members Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (Sabotage Can’t Stop de Shower), Richard Helms  (The Million Dollar Legs Matter),  Anna Scotti (When Bright Angels Beckon) and Dave Zeltserman (Julius Katz’s Ex Returns). Joseph Goodrich, Josh Pachter, and Anna Scotti have essays in the  85th anniversary issue. Mr. Pachter also has another short story, Farewell to Baytown, in collaboration with the late William Bankier.

 


Last week, after my previous column was set up, I got an email alert from the publisher that Four on the Floor: A Shane Cleary Mystery by Gabriel Valjan was available. Published in late July by Level Best Books, the mystery read is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 


Edited by SMFS list member Michael Bracken, Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun: Private Eyes in the Material World, is again in print. The new publisher is Crimson Gate Books.  Also in the read are SMFS list members, John M. Floyd (Redwood Creek), Debra H. Goldstein (Who Shot J.R.?), Kathleen Marple Kalb (Diana and the Princess), and SMFS President Joseph S. Walker (The Right Size of Favor). The read is available at Amazon.

 

I find out about stuff on Facebook because friends on there share the news. Such as the news Kevin Burton Smith (The Thrilling Detective) shared about the upcoming new anthology, Capital Crime Writers Presents: A Capital Mystery (Volume 2). Edited by Bernadette Cox and Mike Martin, these short stories take readers back to Ottawa, Canda, and follows the first book, A Capital Mystery. Available at Amazon now for preorder, it will also be on Kindle Unlimited when it releases on August 31st.

 



Also, later this month, The Tipping Floor, comes out. This is the latest in the 509 Crime Stories series by Colin Conway. Published by High Speed Creative, LLC., the read is available for preorder on Amazon.

 

 

Until next time….

 


Kevin R. Tipple ©2026