Smart Girls Read Romance: REVIEW OF OF JACQUIE ROGERS' SLEIGHT OF HEART

Smart Girls Read Romance: REVIEW OF OF JACQUIE ROGERS' SLEIGHT OF HEART: By Caroline Clemmons SLEIGHT OF HEART is the first of the High Stakes Heroes series by Jacquie Rogers. If you have read her Hearts of Ow...

Today in MYSTERY HISTORY: April 30, 1982. Kinsey Milhone files her first re...

Today in MYSTERY HISTORY: April 30, 1982. Kinsey Milhone files her first re...: April 30, 1982.  A is for Alibi was published today.  It was not Sue Grafton's first book, but it is the one that made her career.  K...

Review: "Hellbound" by Chester Campbell

The man known to others as Bryce Scott isn’t thrilled about taking the “Lovely Lane Sliver Shadows” bus trip to New Orleans. The possibility of a hurricane that is currently in the West Indies arriving at New Orleans isn’t what concerns him. Not only is he doing to be forced to spend time with other people from a local area church  and talk to them, he is going to be forced into dealing with the very real possibility his cover has been blown.

While it is October 1999 and years since he testified, the mob never forgets. The mob in this case is the Vicario crime family. Their capo, Boots Minelli, is in town. The only reason Bryce Scott has a chance to do anything is Boots Minelli has had a very public heart attack and is incapacitated. What he told the others is secondary to the very real major question Bryce faces---what does he do now to stay alive?

As a hurricane gains strength and leads towards New Orleans, Bryce Scott takes the bus trip and makes plans to deal with ending the chase once for all. It has been a long time since he faced the Germans in World War II, but he isn’t going down without a fight. How to do it without involving innocent passengers is just one of a growing list of problems he faces as the miles pass.

This is an interesting mystery thriller style read that contains a few surprises. While it has less humor in it than the Greg McKenzie Mysteries do, there are the occasional small bits of humor. All and all, Hellbound by Chester Campbell is a good read that keeps the reader turning the pages to see how Bryce will deal with the killers after him as well as some of his fellow bus passengers. Some of them just might be as bad as the killers.


Hellbound
Chester Campbell
Night Shadows Press
February 2015
ISBN# 978-0986162206
Print (e-book also available)
232 Pages
$15.00


E-book version supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Mystery Fanfare: EDGAR AWARDS 2015!

Mystery Fanfare: EDGAR AWARDS 2015!: Mystery Writers of America Winners - 2015 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television publis...

Cats and Crime: Hugo Awards and Puppygate

Cats and Crime: Hugo Awards and Puppygate: Get my paws out of the litter box. Today's post is late. When Panzer got home from the vet's today, he took a long nap. As soon ...

Review: "13 Shots Of Noir" by Paul D. Brazill

As noted in the subtitle of 13 Shots of Noir the e-book contains 13 short, sharp stories of booze, bullets and bodies. The read fully delivers on those aspects and plenty more. This collection of dark tales by Paul D. Brazill opens with “The Tut.” While comparisons to Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart are obvious, Oliver Robinson has his own particular version of the nightmare in his west London home. So much so he killed his wife, Gloria, just making things worse.

If you need “Anger Management” you could see a therapist. Or, you could channel it by joining up with “The Squad” which featured guys by the name of “Tubeway, Slammer” and Col. They go
beyond the idea of football hooliganism by adding mugging to the mix.  The four guys are so good at it they begin to get paid by Mr. Bettis who assigns them a specific job each month to accomplish.

Charlotte lives in East London in “The Friend Catcher.” The title of the story is also her name for a rather creepy neighbor who has tale of the past and a job for her.

When you are a serial killer sometimes you need an assistant. Even better if the assistant has a dog as made clear in “The Ballad Of The Kid.”

Though she came to the idea early, it took a long time for Carole Parker to actually plan to kill her husband in “The Man Behind The Curtain.” At least, that was her initial plan.

There are scores to settle at the party after the screening in “The Final Cut.” The public drama on film only hints at private situations.

Freddy in obsessed with a celebrity known as “M.” In the story by the same name Freddy is finally going to meet his obsession.

“Mr. Kiss and Tell: A Peter Ord Investigation” is one of the longer tales in the book. Told in five short parts, it follows the case of Billy Kirby, who wants to find his missing wife and son. They had good reason to flee all those years ago. Not that this private detective can’t be too choosy as he doesn’t have that many cases as it is.

Father Tim thought he was done hearing confessions at the end of one hot August day until Mad Mack showed up. Mad Mack has bloody feet, a busted lip, and other issues as well as quite the tale to tell. He wants to confess in “Sins of The Father.”

When you wake up after a night of heavy drinking with torn and bloody clothes and your bedroom is trashed you know things are not good. The fact that this sort of thing and more happens to one guy on a fairly regular basis is the point of the tale “Drunk on The Moon.”

Brendan Burke was well known for his regularity of a lifetime of habits. In “Everyday People” his regular schedule isn’t easy to maintain after being run down by a scooter. He is going to need some help once he gets home from the hospital.

Alison Day kept to herself and stayed out of things. That is until a stranger in the street collapsed at her feet in “Stamp Of A Vamp.”

“Thump” might mean somebody is in the pub in the ground floor. It might be her as she has not been around in a while. Or it might be something or someone else.

The 13 tales presented in 13 Shots Of Noir first appeared in 2009 and 2010 on a variety of websites. Some are mystery related, some are more super natural type tales, but all are good flash fiction or a little bit longer stories that are highly entertaining. At 63 pages this is a fast read and a good introduction to the work of Paul D. Brazill author of A Case Of Noir , Gumshoe and Guns Of Brixton among other works. Published by Untreed Reads this is a quality read well worth your time.


13 Shots Of Noir
Paul D. Brazill
Untreed Reads
November 2011
ASIN# B006AG3H6M
E-Book
63 Pages
$0.99


Material was recently picked up to read and review during one of the author’s free read promotions.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Chemo Cancelled

Round six of chemo was cancelled today and rescheduled for next week. Sandi's blood numbers are way too low, almost at mandatory transfusion level, so they want to wait a week and see if her body will be able to respond on its own.


Medical Update

Sandi is supposed to start her sixth round of chemo today after she has her blood drawn for testing and she sees the doctor. She has had a very hard time of things the last several days and is having a hard time of it. If you have a spare minute or two please think of her today. Thank you.
 
Just Before Chemo---Two Weeks Ago

Review: "The Alabaster-Skinned Mule: A Noah Milano Novelette" by Jochem Vandersteen

The young lady in security specialist Noah Milano’s office is very thin with blonde hair. In her early twenties and very pretty, Noah considers the fact that she could be an acrobat. The alabaster skinned beauty’s name is Wendy Schultz and she has a big problem that is far more down to earth.


Recently while in Mexico her car broke down. After it was fixed, which took some time, she headed back to the border to go home. Right before she got to the border she had a flat tire. She stopped and checked the tire and discovered to her horror that it was full of cocaine. In a panic she called a male friend who came down to help her. The two of them discovered cocaine everywhere in the car and in all of the tires. Her and her friend destroyed all of the drugs by flushing them down the toilet at a nearby truck stop. 


Eventually they got back across the border without any problems. Since they were now back in the United States they thought everything was over. Instead, some very scary guys have showed up at her apartment looking for their drugs. When she didn’t have them they trashed the place, put a gun to her head, and threatened her while they groped her. Wendy is clearly terrified and Noah is sure he can help.


After arranging protection for Wendy, Noah goes to work by contacting the garage where she had the work done. He wants to scare the guys off of Wendy and end the problem before it gets any worse. Maybe he should have body guarded the beautiful woman and sent the other guy to talk to the garage guys.


Another good read in the Noah Milano series of books, this mystery has plenty of action and quite a few twists and turns. Published in 2011 making it one of the earlier reads in the series, The Alabaster  Skinned Mule: A Noah Milano Novelette is a good one. 



The Alabaster Skinned Mule: A Noah Milano Novelette
Jochem Vandersteen
October 2011
ASIN# B005T0UC3G
E-Book
32 Pages
$0.99

Material was picked up to read and review via funds in my Amazon Associate account.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Monday With Kaye: "The Last Trade" by James Conway (Reviewed by Kaye George)

It is thriller time (way quieter than “Hammer Time”) as Kaye George reviews The Last Trade by James Conway. Make sure you check out her other “Monday With Kaye” segments while you are here as it is quite the reading list.


The Last Trade by James Conway

Strange as it may sound, this is a financial thriller. One might think finance couldn’t be all that thrilling, but one would have to think again. In Conway’s hands, it is.


The action starts in March of 2008 when a series of short trades starts an evil ball rolling. I’m not sure I understand what a short trade is, but that’s not necessary to appreciate what happens. If you do know what it is, I imagine your enjoyment will escalate as you read this account of what happens when a few greedy people manipulate a whole lot of rich investors. The mortgage crisis of 2008 wasn’t bad for everyone. A hedge fund called Rising Fund made a killing, thanks to Drew Havens.


Havens works as a “quant” for Rising Fund. That means he quantifies market numbers, but more than that, he predicts with startling accuracy what the market will do. He’s a different sort of person, low on interpersonal skills, and one who sees the world in black and white. He’s the Spock of the financial world, concentrating only on his job, which has cost him, to his deep regret, his marriage. Havens took on a young protégé named Danny Weiss, who wants to know what makes the world go round: love or money. Weiss and Havens may be the only two honest employees at Rising Fund. That gets them into a lot of trouble. Danny uncovers a horrific plot and, paranoid about what he’s found, starts texting cryptic messages to Havens who, at first, ignores them. Later, he finds he shouldn’t have.


The plot goes global as traders start ending up dead. In six action-packed days, Havens must decipher what’s going on—and stop it. There are other interesting characters from around the world who work to help Havens stop the growing menace to the world economy, and more.


For a book about money and trading, this was, I must say, a thriller of a page-turner!


Reviewed by Kaye George, Author of Smoke for Suspense Magazine

Sunday, April 26, 2015

RTE Update April 25 issue

The April 25 2015  issue of RTE is out and includes fifteen new reviews as well as a new interview:
http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com

Plus

TJ O'Connor in the 'Sixty seconds with . . .' interview hot seat:

http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/interviews.html?id=201

Reviews this week:

GATHERING PREY    John Sanford    Reviewed by Barbara Fister   
When Lucas Davenport's adopted daughter Letty befriends a traveler, she discovers that a killer is finding victims among the rootless community.

MEMORY MAN    David Baldacci    Reviewed by Anne Corey   
Former police detective Amos Decker has total recall of his life because of a football injury and now must use all of his powers to figure out who killed his family and who now may be targeting him and those around him.

DOUBLE VISION    Colby Marshall     Reviewed by Sharon Mensing
Dr. Jenna Ramey must determine who the Triple Shooter is, who is killing women with connections to the number three, as well as the identity of the manipulative psychopath who is pulling the killer's strings, before a young witness is killed

MIDNIGHT CROSSROAD    Charlaine Harris    Reviewed by PJ Coldren   
Psychic Manfred Bernardo settles in Midnight, Texas and finds out he's among friends; the question becomes, "What became of Aubrey?"

FALLOUT    Paul Thomas    Reviewed by Karen Chisholm       
Maori police sergeant Tito Ihaka must investigate the unsolved killing of a seventeen-year-old girl at an election night party while preoccupied with mysteries surrounding the death of his own father.

PLEASANTVILLE    Attica Locke    Reviewed by Christine Zibas   
The murder of a young girl in Houston can have political overtones when it disrupts the mayoral race in Houston.

TRUE BELIEVERS    Michael Blair        Reviewed by Meredith Frazier
Private Investigator Hack Loomis and his assistant Connie Noble investigate the disappearance of Connie's friend Belle Ryerson who goes missing after attending a meeting of UFO believers and soon find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving murder, kidnapping, and con artists.

TATTERED LEGACY    Shannon Baker  Reviewed by Sharon Mensing
Nora Abbot’s friend is killed in a suspicious fall in Moab, Utah, and Nora lands in the midst of a Mormon polygamist cult as she investigates.

FIREBREAK    Tricia Fields     Reviewed by Cathy Downs       
Josie Gray, the Artemis, Texas chief of police, is directing an evacuation during a wildfire when she finds a body in the home of the town's well-known country singer.

JIGSAW MAN        Elena Forbes    Reviewed by Yvonne Klein   
Two baffling mysteries confront Mark Tartaglia in the fourth in this series. One concerns the murder of a woman he knows, the second the presence of the body parts of four different people that have been stitched together to make up one corpse.

THE RESISTANCE MAN    Martin Walker        Reviewed by Jim Napier   
The chef de police of the small town of St. Denis, France is confronted by a series of burglaries and an intriguing secret of a recently-deceased member of the French Resistance dating back to the Second World War.

A DANGEROUS PLACE    Jacqueline Winspear    Reviewed by Ann Pearson
Psychologically unready to return to England from her sojourn in India, Maisie leaves the ship in Gibralter and quickly becomes involved in a murder investigation that ultimately leads her to Spain during the Civil War.

DARK CITY LIGHTS:New York Stories    Lawrence Block, ed. Reviewed by
Twenty-three short stories in a collection edited by Lawrence Block make up this fourth in the HAVE A NYC series

BUZZ KILL Beth Fantaskey        Reviewed by Ben Neal    0547393105      12
High School outcast Millie Ostermeyer tries to clear her father’s name when the high school football coach is found murdered.

We post more than 900 new reviews a year -- all of them are archived on the site -- as well as a new interview with a top author every issue.


Yvonne Klein
Editor: ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com

EuroCrime Update

Here are nine reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, four have appeared on the blog since my last review-roundup, and five are completely new.

Last weekend I made some updates to the bibliography pages: http://eurocrime.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/website-updates-april-2015.html

NB. You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/eurocrimewebsite).

New Reviews

Susan White reviews Hania Allen's 'Double Tap', the second book in the Von Valenti series [the first book, Jack in the Box is currently free for UK Kindle];

Terry Halligan reviews M J Arlidge's debut, 'Eeny Meeny' which introduces DI Helen Grace;

Craig Sisterson reviews Declan Burke's 'The Lost and the Blind';

Michelle Peckham reviews Sarah Hilary's 'No Other Darkness', the second book in the DI Marnie Rome series;

Guest reviewer Bob Cornwell reviews Jorn Lier Horst's 'The Caveman' tr. Anne Bruce;

Ewa Sherman reviews 'Camille' tr. Frank Wynne, the final part in Pierre Lemaitre's trilogy;

Geoff Jones reviews Howard Linskey's 'No Name Lane', set in County Durham in the '90s;

Lynn Harvey reviews Anthony Quinn's sequel to the well-regarded 'Disappeared', 'Border Angels'

and Amanda Gillies reviews Anna Smith's 'A Cold Killing', the latest in the Rosie Gilmour series.

http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/review_list.html or via the blog: http://eurocrime.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/new-reviews-allen-arlidge-burke-hilary.html.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive (http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/review_list.html)

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here (http://eurocrime.co.uk/future_releases.html) along with releases by year.

best wishes,
Karen M
@eurocrime

Saturday, April 25, 2015

KRL This Week Update

Up this morning in Kings River Life Magazine a review & giveaway of "Grave on Grand Avenue" by Naomi Hirahara http://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/grave-on-grand-avenue-by-naomi-hirahara/

Also up, reviews & giveaways of 3 more April Penguin mysteries-"Shadow of a Spout" by Amanda Cooper, "The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco": A Book Club Mystery by Laura DiSilverio, and "A Fright to the Death": A Family Fortune Mystery by Dawn Eastman http://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/more-april-penguins/

We also have the latest mystery Coming Attractions by Sunny Frazier​ with giveaways of books by Connie Archer​, Joyce Ann Brown​ & Margaret Grace aka Camille Minichino​  http://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/coming-attractions-mothers-day-edition/

And we have a review & giveaway of "With Vics You Get Eggroll" by Diane Vallere​ http://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/with-vics-you-get-eggroll-a-mad-for-mod-mystery-by-diane-vallere/

We also have Up reviews of 2 fun mysteries from Kensington-"Slayed on the Slopes" by Kate Dyer-Seeley​ and "Antiques Con" by Barbara Allan, and a giveaway of "Slayed on the Slopes" http://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/two-fun-kensington-mysteries/

And we have a fun mystery short story by Andrew MacRae​ http://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/the-case-of-the-murderous-mermaid-mystery-short-story/

And a review & giveaway of "As Patient as Death" by Karen Wiesner​ and Chris Spindler

And lastly, for those who also enjoy fantasy and vampires, a review & giveaway of "Dark Debt" by Chloe Neill​ http://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/dark-debt-by-chloe-neill/
Happy reading,
Lorie

--
KRL is now selling advertising & we have special discounts for
mystery authors & bookstores! Ask me about it!
Mystery section in Kings River Life http://KingsRiverLife.com
Check out my own blog at http://mysteryratscloset.blogspot.com/

Lesa's Latest Contest--Cozy Shop Mystery Giveaway

This week, I'm giving away cozy mysteries set in shops, Jenn McKinlay's At the Drop of a Hat and Fran Stewart's A Wee Murder in My Shop. Details on my blog, http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com. Entries from the U.S. only, please.


Lesa Holstine

Review: "The Lawyer: Stay of Execution" by Wayne D. Dundee

Originally seen in the short story, “The Lawyer” published in Protectors: Stories To Benefit Protect and in the Adventures Of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles he returns here in The Lawyer: Stay of Execution. While Edward A. Grainger penned the original story, author Wayne D. Dundee penned
this tale that takes the man known as “The Lawyer” on a new adventure.

As the work opens, the man known as “The Lawyer” aka J. D. Miller is in pursuit of Lou Crenshaw. Unlike what he used to do in the courtroom before a tragedy was unleased upon him and his family, these days the man known as “The Lawyer”  dispenses justice as he sees fit based on his own interpretation and definition of law. Often that is “justice by the gun.” Crenshaw may be one of the men that were involved in the slaughter of Miller’s family. Whether or not the nearby shots at the non-descript broken down farm were fired by Crenshaw is a question that has to be addressed.

What isn’t questionable is that, thanks to the lawyer’s spyglass, he is able to spot three dead horses in the coral at the farm below him. The horses have not been dead that long. More importantly, one of the now dead horses is the same one that Lou Crenshaw had been riding the last few days. The horses aren’t the only things that have been shot. A man and a woman are both down just outside the barn.
As he watches he realizes the woman is alive and very pregnant. She is also clearly trying to help her husband. If Lou Crenshaw was trying to slow down his pursuer he has succeeded wonderfully as the chase will have to wait because these folks urgently need help.

What follows is a typical Wayne D. Dundee western filled with interesting multi-dimensional characters, plenty of action and suspense, and a clear morality at work. This mighty good western is followed by the original short tale “The Lawyer” making the reading experience complete. Hopefully, this is the start of another great series much like the Cash Laramie/Gideon Miles series.



The Lawyer: Stay of Execution
Wayne D. Dundee
Beat To A Pulp
January 2015
ASIN# B00RY8PQQE
E-book
125 Pages
$0.99


Material supplied by Beat To A Pulp in exchange for my objective review.


Kevin R. Tipple (c) 2015

Friday, April 24, 2015

Friday Medical Update

Sandi's blood work was "okay" so no shot today. If things hold the next round of chemo will start Tuesday after they check her blood again and she sees the doc.

FFB Review: "Lake Charles" by Ed Lynskey

This week for Friday’s Forgotten Books I selected LAKE CHARLES by Ed Lynskey. This mighty good book was also subject to one of our “Double Take Book Reviews” a couple of years ago where Barry and I both reviewed the same book. Patti has a lot going on these days, but I think she will have the list later today. If she is not doing it, she will have the information on the designated link gatherer posted.


It is 1979 and Brendan Fishback isn’t doing too well in the game called life. Waking up next to a dead woman can cause huge problems. The fact that she, Ashleigh Sizemore, was the daughter of the wealthy and powerfully connected, Ralph Sizemore is a huge problem. Word is old Ralph is going to be a Senator. The fact that drugs were planted in the room is a huge issue. The fact that Brendan keeps having strange dreams and visions where the dead teenage girl talks to him about her murder is a huge problem.

Despite the odds and the nice frame job against him, Brendan Fishback gets out on bail.  Besides avoiding the shyster slime ball lawyer his mother, Mama Jo, hired for him Brendan plans to go fishing with his brother in law and good friend, Cobb Kuzawa. A quiet couple of days at Lake Charles, a local man-made lake created by the Tennessee Valley Authority, will be as good a break as he can get these days.

Like Brandan, the best days seem to have gone by the lake as it and the surrounding area is in bad shape. If trying to detox from all the pot he has done isn’t enough, the area flat out reeks and is depressing to look at. Back in the day, it used to be a happening place. Not only is nobody apparently around, but there is the stench of rot and decay at the marina area and large sections of the lake are fouled by algae scum. Not only do they have to get the bass boats through that, Brendon has to listen to his sister Edna and Cobb bicker.

Edna invited herself along and that had not been the plan. What been initially planned as a guy trip has mutated into a cranky family outing. Edna and Cobb fight constantly and both of them are driving him nuts. Clearly, Edna should have never married Cobb and certainly she should never have come on the trip. They are driving each other nuts too and before long Edna rockets away on her jet ski towards the dam area leaving the other two behind on the lake in their boats.

And she never comes back.

The search is soon on and leads Brendan and Cobb into a violent confrontation. The first of many confrontations proving that the lake area is not at all deserted like they thought. Brendan wants his sister back, alive and in one piece, and knows too well they can’t get help from the corrupt local police. The trail of the missing Edna leads back and forth across the Lake Charles area and the Tennessee Mountains while Brendan soldiers on getting the answers he seeks. Some of them won’t be pretty.

The front cover has a blurb quote from author Ed Gorman, "Lake Charles is going to scorch your soul . . . I loved it."  That pretty much sums up things very well for this very complicated book where everyone has a dark backstory that gradually comes out. A dark and twisted noir tale that starts with a bang and goes in many different ways by use of dreams and flashbacks and forward literary narrative before bringing the whole thing to a surprising conclusion. 

Simply put, Lake Charles by Ed Lynskey is a mighty good book and one well worth your time.



Lake Charles
Ed Lynskey
Wildside Press LLC
June 2011
ISBN# 978-1-4344-3046-5
Paperback
192 Pages (includes one page of reference sources)
$12.99



Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.



Kevin R. Tipple ©2011, 2013, 2015

The Non-Gamer's Gamer's Blog: Atari: Game Over

The Non-Gamer's Gamer's Blog: Atari: Game Over: On the surface, this documentary directed by Zak Penn seemed to be about the urban legend of Atari dumping thousands of E.T. The Extra-Te...

Review: "Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State" by Terry Thompson-Anderson with Photography by Sandy Wilson

Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State does exactly what the title suggests in every way possible. Part of that is in the text by Terry Thompson-Anderson. Part of that is by way of the gorgeous photography by Sandy Wilson. The combination works incredibly well from start to finish.

A cookbook that easily doubles as a coffee table book, this massive tome at more than 450 pages features a ton of recipes to take you through every meal every day of the year. Every meal, holiday or otherwise is covered as are snacks and appetizers of all types. The pictures often paired with the detailed recipes tell the tale of the people and the land. Like a lot of cookbook this one does not have anything on fat/salt counts in the recipes or how to adjust any of the recipes based on dietary need.

But, if you are going to eat “Bison Enchiladas with Green Chile Crema, Pickled Red Onion Slaw, and Serrano Pico De Gallo” (pages 282-284) or nearly anything other delectable thing in this cookbook you probably are not really worried about fat or salt intake. You can always finish things up with “San Sabu Texas Pecan Pie” (437-438)  or “Bananas Foster Cream Pie” (page 436-438).

A four page index as well as an eight page recipe index brings this visually stunning book to a close.

Even if you don’t cook or intend to use Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State as a cookbook you will want this one for the photographs and history contained within this excellent book. Published by the University of Texas Press at $45 it pretty much works out to a buck a page. It is well worth it.


Texas On The Table: People, Places, and Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of the Lone Star State
Terry Thompson-Anderson
Photography by Sandy Wilson
University of Texas Press
October  2014
Hardback
464 Pages
$45.00


Material was picked up to read and review via the good folks of the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Review: "A Deadly Affair At Bobtail Ridge: A Samuel Cradock Mystery" by Terry Shames

As A Deadly Affair At Bobtail Ridge opens Samuel Craddock is awakened by a pounding at his door. His neighbor, Jenny Sandstone is on his porch and very upset.  Her mom, Vera Sandstone, apparently has had a stroke and has been rushed to a hospital in nearby Bobtail, Texas. Jenny needs to get to the hospital and wants Samuel to call Truly Bennett to take care of her horses. Despite his aversion to horses, Samuel takes care of them himself and before long he is at the hospital.

Once there he comes upon an obvious confrontation of some sort in the hallway near Vera’s room between Jenny and some guy who has gone so far as grab her arm. Chief of Police Sheriff Samuel Craddock inserts himself in the situation and learns the man is named Wilson Landreau. He is a public defender and Jenny refers to the whole incident as politics. Jenny makes it clear that not only is there nothing to talk about, she does not want Samuel Craddock involved in any way. One wonders how she would characterize Vera’s cryptic warning to Samuel Craddock just a few minutes later about Jenny being in danger.

Good thing he also knows a thing of two about police work while living in this South Texas rural area located in the middle of the triangle formed by Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. He has been Chief of Police for Jarret Creek before and while he did not really want the job again he is very good at it. It does not take long for Craddock to come to the conclusion that Vera may have been right in her warning. Jenny is clearly in a world of trouble on multiple fronts and refusing any and all offers of help. Who is messing with her and why are just two questions that need to be answered as things escalate. How current events link back to an unspoken horror from more than a decade ago drive the majority of this book. 

That is not to say that the various secondary storylines present in earlier books do not continue here. They do which is why this excellent series should absolutely be read in order. Like any real good series, characters grow and evolve, relationship dynamics change, and people age as the books move forward in time. Of course, you could read this fourth installment in the series first, but you really need to go back to the beginning with the award nominated A Killing At Cotton Hill.  



A Deadly Affair At Bobtail Ridge: A Samuel Cradock Mystery
Terry Shames
Seventh Street Books
April 2015
ISBN# 978-1-63388-046-7
Paperback
250 Pages
$15.95


Material requested and received for my use in an objective review via the Amazon Vine program.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Medical Update

Back home and Sandi is doing "okay." Blood work came back relatively stable so they gave her the white blood cell boosting shot. Evaluated a couple of other things that have been bugging her and it would appear progress is being made. In short, it was a mainly positive today.... at least for the short term.

We do it all again Friday.

Assuming she remains relatively stable they are going to try and do another chemo round next week.

Rough Edges: Fugitive Trail - Wayne D. Dundee

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Review: "Garlic, An Edible Biography: The History, Politics, and Mythology behind the World’s Most Pungent Food with over 100 Recipes" by Robin Cherry

If you ever wanted to know more about garlic the book Garlic, An Edible Biography might be the book for you. As the subtitle makes clear the book is about The History, Politics, and Mythology behind the World’s Most Pungent Food with over 100 Recipes. Written by Robin Cherry, travel writer and historian, the book is split into two sections regarding history and recipes.  

After an introduction from author Robin Cherry on how important and meaningful garlic has been to her, it is on to “Part One: The Story Of Garlic.” The four chapters in this section of over 100 pages explain the history of garlic in food, health, and literature, modern uses, and how to grow your own. Also included in this section are short bios of all the various garlic types which number far more than what you will ever find in your local store or produce market.

“Part Two: Recipes” begins on page 117 with a 4 page recipe list of all the recipes and their corresponding page numbers. That is followed by three pages on how to properly handle garlic before one moves on to “Dips, Sauces and Condiments” on page 125-130.  All of that prepares you for “Bread, Pizza, and Pasta” (pages 141-146), “Beef” (pages 197-202), “Side Dishes” (pages 227-232) and more. Each recipe has an intro that often features a cooking tip or other advice that might include another history lesson, a list of ingredients needed, and instructions that include information on number of servings.

An acknowledgement page, a two page bibliography, an 11 page index, and a one page short author bio bring this 265 page book to a close.

While Garlic, An Edible Biography is interesting it suffers from two significant drawbacks. Surprising it does not contain any pictures of the various garlic types the book covers nor does it contain any pictures of the finished dishes. In addition to the lack of pictures that would have helped break up the bland and very dry text, there is zero nutritional information regarding fat/salt content or other possible dietary restrictions or needs.

Garlic, An Edible Biography is quite the garlic resource. With the noted forgoing limitations, if you want to know quite a lot more about garlic and how to use it, this is a book worthy of your consideration.


Garlic, An Edible Biography: The History, Politics, and Mythology behind the World’s Most Pungent Food with over 100 Recipes
Robin Cherry
Roost Books (Imprint of Shambhala publications, Inc.)
2014
ISBN #978-1-61180-160-6
Paperback (also available in e-book form)
$16.95

Material was picked up to read and review via the good folks of the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015