The first issue of Jack Hardway’s Crime Magazine is
an intriguing mix of short stories, music, a video, and a novel. The novel is Black
Wings Has My Angel by Elliot Chase. I previously reviewed Jack’s
version and highly recommend it if you have not read it.
The audio recording is the 1945
broadcast of Sorry, Wrong Number as produced by Suspense! The video is of The Big Combo. Unfortunately, my
internet connection is a very shaky these days due to a number of factors
including incompetent painters who cannot paint worth a damn, but can very
easily damage the outside wiring of our apartment building. Therefore, I was
not able to pursue either item.
My main interest was the six crime
short stories. Those I was able to
access well enough at various times to eventually read them all.
Kaye George kicks things off with “Elk
Island.” Adele, married mother of twins, considers herself discerning while her
friends think of her as picky. While it can take her many months to make a decision
as she compares things, her husband Jem can quickly make a decision. Letting
her husband pick their vacation spot may have backfired for her as he wants to
go hike Rockies in Grand Teton National Park.
Devlin used to work with Elliot Ness
and there was action all the time. Sitting and watching two very boring crooks
is not how he would handle things. But, as his partner Billings has pointed out
before, watching is all the chief wanted them to do in “The Room Across The
Street” by Jack Bates. Manchester, New Hampshire is the location where Lonny
Evans and Eileen Washburn holed up. You just know something will soon end the agent’s
boredom.
Nick Sweeney takes readers to
Warsaw, Poland for his short story titled, “Man Seeks Dog.” While others in the
city are looking for a missing medallion linked to Pope John Paul II, Teodor
Krol just wants his beloved dog back. His history makes him a suspect ion many
things and those who talk to him don’t believe his story about being retired
and just looking for his missing dog.
Like the agents in “The Room Across
The Street” Molly Sullivan is on a stakeout.
In her case, not only is she an amateur sleuth she is also all alone in “Nifty
Shades of Gray” by John H. Dromey. Her surveillance target is a certain average
looking woman known to steal credit cards, empty bank accounts, and more.
Despite issues at home, when a client
calls and has a serious problem you have to go deal with it. Alyssa’s problem is
that she has a stalker in “They Stalk Because They Can” by Stephen D. Rogers.
It begins with a murder confession
in the final story titled “Handful of Stars’ by Jack Hardway. Chris just wanted
to check his tomato plants on the roof of the apartment building before he went
to work. Now some guy by the name of Deglin wants to tell him about how he
killed his wife as well as a few other things.
This debut issue of new market is a
good one featuring a very nice mix of works in a variety of formats featuring
crime and mystery of many different flavors. Issue One covering November and December
2014 is good stuff. The next edition is scheduled to go live on January 1,
2015. One hopes Jack Hardway’s Crime Magazine
will stick around as this first one was very good and well worth it.
Obligatory FTC Disclaimer:
Jack put his first issue up and I
read it because of my interest as a reader and a writer as well as for the
purposes of this review. At this time I have no work under consideration by him
for a future edition. That could change if I can stick to my plan of getting back
to focusing on my own work first and book reviews second.
The
information above is designed to comply with the nonsensical mandatory FTC reporting
requirement aimed at us dangerous book reviewers as well as to appease meth
heads, soccer Moms, and our coming simian overlords.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
1 comment:
As a football mum, I object to the words, 'very nice.' Hoping for a promotion to simian overlord in the New Year.
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