Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Sweet Freedom: Databases of some horror and fantasy literary awar...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 32 Calls for Submissions in October 2020 - Paying ...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Jonasson, Center, Patchett, Larson, Go...
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
The New Deck
From a money standpoint with the medical issues I now I have going on and probably have going on as I await my double barrel scoping and confirmation on October 9, this was not a smart decision. But, I did this anyway for the mental health side of things as sitting outside is one of the few things left that keeps me sane. The grief remains tremendously strong and as we work our way deeper into the fall, I am reminded multiple times a day that this was when we started losing Sandi. Trying to go on without here is brutal and a daily struggle.
Those who have seen the pics from the backyard in weeks and months past, may have realized we were sitting in the grass. That tends to be messy when it rains and often very buggy regardless of the weather. So, I splurged and had a deck built by handyman Curtis Freeman and his team.
Monday, September 28, 2020
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of ...
Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Murder in Mykonos by Jeffrey Siger
Murder in Mykonos by
Jeffrey Siger (Poisoned Pen Press, 2008) is the first book in the Chief
Inspector Andreas Kaldis police procedural series. Kaldis has run afoul of his
superiors in the homicide department in Athens and is banished to the island of
Mykonos to serve as chief of the small police force there. He is trying hard to
fly under the radar in what he considers a backwater until he can work his way
back to Athens. Mykonos is an international resort with round-the-clock drinking
and partying and an affluent tourist trade that provides the backbone of the
island’s economy. Not much serious crime there to interest a homicide
professional.
When a body is discovered in an abandoned church, the
town authorities are only concerned about the effect on tourism, until another
one turns up and then another. It appears that a serial killer has been
operating under their collective noses for years, and blonde female tourists
seem to be his target. Kaldis is required by protocol to report the crime to
the Central Police Headquarters on another island. Their lead homicide
investigator named Tassos and Kaldis team up to identify the killer while
fending off the interference of the self-serving local administration. Since
the murders display familiarity with the area, they are forced to look at
island residents, another reason the mayor is unhappy. Mykonos is home to
several eccentrics, some of whom can’t be accounted for during crucial times.
Kaldis and Tassos investigate each one, knowing that the killer could be
someone else entirely.
The island life is vividly depicted, showing the
hedonistic present against the spiritual past. Siger lives part-time in Mykonos
and his first-hand knowledge of the land and its people shows throughout. The
setting is one of the best parts of the book. The two main characters were
great, walking a fine line between commitment to their work and the need to
appease a local bureaucracy full of nepotism. The culprit isn’t identified
until the very end of the book, maintaining a consistent level of suspense. Siger
released 10 more books in this popular series after this one with the twelfth
due in 2021.\
·
Hardcover : 288 pages
·
ISBN-10 : 159058581X
·
ISBN-13 : 978-1590585818
·
Publisher : Poisoned Pen Press; First Edition (December 2,
2008)
·
Language: English
Aubrey Hamilton ©2020
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Beneath the Stains of Time: Exit for a Dame (1951) by Richard Ellington
Saturday, September 26, 2020
KRL This Week Update for 9/26/2020
Up in KRL this morning a review and giveaway of "Cat Me If You Can" by Miranda James along with an interesting interview with Miranda aka Dean
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/cat-me-if-you-can-by-miranda-james/
And a review and
giveaway of "Checked Out for Murder" by Allison Brook aka Marilyn Levinson
along with an interesting guest post by Marilyn about the ghosts in her
books--perfect for the upcoming Halloween season
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/checked-out-for-murder-by-allison-brook/
We also have
reviews and giveaways of 5 more mysteries for your fallreading-"Booked for
Death": A Booklover’s B&B Mystery by Victoria Gilbert, "The Falcon
Always Wings Twice": A Meg Langslow Mystery by Donna Andrews, "Killer
Kung Pao": A Noodle Shop Mystery by Vivien Chien, "Paw and
Order": A Dog Club Mystery by VM Burns (giveaway for this one is ebook),
and "Little Bookshop of Murder": A Beach Reads Mystery by Maggie
Blackburn aka Mollie Cox Bryan
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/fall-mystery-catch-up-2/
And the latest
mystery Coming Attractions from Sunny Frazier
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/october-coming-attractions-thrills-chills-and-spooktacular-reads/
For those who
prefer to listen to Mysteryrat's Maze directly on KRL you can find the player
here for the new one featuring the first chapter of "Revenge On Route
66" by Kris Neri read by local actor Jasmine Swalef
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/26/mysteryrats-maze-podcast-featuring-revenge-on-route-66/
Last weekend I
totally missed sharing this one--a look at the last 3 Spenser books by Ace
Atkins
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/19/the-three-latest-spensers-from-ace-atkins/
Up during the week
mystery author Edith Maxwell shared her Top 5 Mysteries Read During the
Pandemic. You can also enter for a chance to win a signed copy of her latest
book "Candy Slain Murder."
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/23/dark-light-and-in-between-top-5-mysteries-read-during-the-pandemic/
Also, up during
the week another Top 5 Mysteries I Read During the Pandemic, this one by
mystery author Connie Berry
https://kingsriverlife.com/09/23/reading-in-the-time-of-the-plague/
Up on KRL News and
Reviews this week we have a review an ebook giveaway of "Halloween
Moon" by Kathi Daley. Our first Halloween book of the season!
https://www.krlnews.com/2020/09/halloween-moon-cottage-at-gooseberry.html
And a review and
ebook giveaway of "Penned In" by Lynn Cahoon
https://www.krlnews.com/2020/09/penned-in-farm-to-fork-mystery-by-lynn.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Sweet Freedom: FRIDAY'S "FORGOTTEN" BOOKS AND MORE: the links to ...
Scott's Take: Shotgun Arcana by R. S. Belcher
Shotgun Arcana by R. S. Belcher is the sequel to the
first book in the series, The
Six-Gun Tarot. Mutt, Jim, Sheriff Highfather, and company are back in this
wild west fantasy tale. In this read, the Deputies and the Sheriff face off
against a rogue angel and his army of serial killing cannibal cultists who are searching
for a magical skull. If they can get the skull it means the end of all life on
Earth as well as every other word. If
the heroes of Golgotha-- the Deputies and the Sheriff along with a few others--
fail to stop the cult, no one will survive.
The
tale is told slightly different as each chapter from the perspective of the
hero is followed by a backstory chapter focused on one of the thirty-two cultists.
Each of the flashback chapter is used to explain the backstory of the cultist
and why this horrible person needs to be killed. This book also includes
several flashbacks from Golgotha local angel who now goes by the name Bick. Each
one of those flashbacks is its own chapter as well. Somewhere more than a third
of the book is therefore a flashback of one type pr another.
Shotgun Arcana is set a year after the events in The Six-Gun Tarot.
This means those events and what has happened these past twelve months have further
changed these characters. For example, Jim has gained confidence and has fully
embraced his inheritance of the magical eye and is seeking to become the master
of it. Another example is the fact that Bick no longer has faith in the
goodness of men and seeks to control the citizens of Golgotha. There are many other
changes which should be saved for readers and not revealed here.
The
banter is as great as ever as they discuss and reference events that happened outside
of this book. One example is where folks had to be evacuated after giant
spiders came up the drains into bathtubs in tremendous numbers. When an event
happens in this book that results in many people being forced to leave a
building, one of the people starts screaming about hoping it is not giant spiders
again.
Everything
that I loved about the first book is included once again in this series that
absolutely must be read in order. Shotgun
Arcana is good, but there are a lot of plot points that are obviously
included only to create the next book in the series. They serve no purpose in
this book. That was a bit annoying as much of this book is used to create that third
book titled, The Queen of Swords.
Shotgun Arcana
R. S. Belcher
https://www.tor.com/author/r-s-belcher/
Tom Doherty Associates (Tor)
https://www.tor.com/2014/09/03/the-shotgun-arcana-excerpt-r-s-belcher/
September 2014
ISBN# 978-0-7653-7458-5
Hardback (also available in digital and paperback formats)
400 Pages
My
reading copy came from the Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott
A. Tipple © 2020
Friday, September 25, 2020
Blogger SUCKS!!!!
As Lesa Holstine pointed out earlier this week, the new version of Blogger has issues. She was polite about it. The fact of the matter is that it very much sucks. Among other issues, it is not allowing me to add labels to the posts that went up today as I supposedly have past the blog total label limit of 15K labels.
I have no idea when the limit started. This place has been around nearly 15 years plus, so maybe I did. But deleting some very old posts and their labels earlier this afternoon in a desperation move, did nothing at all to fix the issue. And, of course, there is no point to linking or posting stuff if I can not use labels for the search engines to find.
Not sure what to do as they have really ruined things. Maybe this really is a sign to shut down the blog and stop reviewing.
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charli...
FFB Review: The Religious Body: The Calleshire Chronicles Book One by Catherine Aird
Readers familiar with Aubrey Nye Hamilton’s reviews each Monday are aware that Aubrey is a fan of this series. Back in September 2017 she reviewed A Dead Liberty which is the twelfth book in the series. She reminded you of this series when she reviewed the twenty-second book in the series, Past Tense. After two reminders, it seemed like a god idea not to wait for a third. So, I went to the beginning with The Religious Body.
After you read the reviews, make sure you
head over to Patti
Abbott’s blog as well as Aubrey Nye Hamilton’s Happiness Is A Warm Book blog
and see what they suggest today. Todd Mason is back collecting links so you
will have even more suggestions om his Sweet Freedom blog later.
The Religious Body by Catherine
Aird is the first book in The Calleshire Chronicles and is a good
one. What initially presents as a locked room mystery set in a nunnery is far
more complex than the initial set up would have the reader believe.
It is early November and before dawn at
the Convent of St. Anselm as the book begins. Sister Mary St. Gertrude arises,
and is her role each morning, goes about her morning duties. It is her duty
this month and she moves through the building following the prescribed order of
awakening all inside those walls. It takes a while with more than fifty people
to awaken so that each may go about their day. As a result, it takes a while
for the bloody thumbprint to gain attention and for the realization that Sister
Anne can’t be found.
So, several hours have passed before
Inspector C. D. Sloan and Detective-Constable William Crosby, a young officer
and new to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Berebury Division of
the Calleshire Constabulary, are dispatched to the covenant located a few miles
away in Cullingoak village. Upon arrival, it takes additional time for them to
be allowed into the inner rooms of the Covent and eventually to the body. Sister
Anne is at the bottom of the cellar stairs and clearly died due to some sort of
blow to her head that reshaped her skull. It is also clear, at least to C. D.
Sloan, she did not die as a result of falling down the stairs.
To catch a killer, they have to work a
case where normal witness behavior goes totally against the rules of the Convent
and the faith and practice of the nuns. It is a good thing C. D. Sloan has the
patience of a saint coupled with a touch of subtle humor and a knowledge of
history. Not just helpful with the nuns,
his skills also help him manage his boss.
A complex mystery full of clues and
misdirection The Religious Body by Catherine Aird is a solidly
good read. It moves fast despite the subtle observations about life and other
things expressed by Inspector C. D. Sloan that are mixed in throughout the read.
A solidly good foundation is laid here in the first book and I very much
enjoyed it.
As my local library does not have this
read in print, I was forced to go with the digital version via the library. While
my copy from Open Road Media indicates the book is 210 pages, it was actually
far less than that as there were ads for other reads as well as a long excerpt
from the start of the next book in the series, Henrietta Who?
That book is available in large print and is now on my holds list at the Dallas
library.
The Religious
Body: The Calleshire Chronicles Book One
Catherine Aird
Open Road Media
https://openroadmedia.com/search/the%20religious%20body
May 2015
ASIN: B00USNENO8
eBook
210 Pages
Material came by way of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2020
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Jeanne Reviews: Murder on Cape Cod by Maddie Day
Mackenzie Almeida runs Mac’s Bikes in the small seaside village of Westham, MA where she is kept busy with bicycle repairs and rentals. She usually has help from her half-brother Derrick and a couple of other people, but they are suddenly proving unreliable. Things only get worse when the local handyman meets with an accident, if once can call being stabbed to death with a fishing knife an accident. The local police certainly don’t, and they find Mac a suspicious character because she argued with Jake not long before. Mac doesn’t really have any fears they’ll try to pin the murder on her. . . but that fishing knife looks very much like one owned by her brother Derrick.
And Derrick has disappeared.
This is the
first in the Cozy Capers Book Group
Mystery series. As with a lot of
“first in series” books, a lot of ink is spent introducing characters, the
layout of the town, Mac’s pet parrot, her baker boyfriend, etc. Also as is the case with many cozy mysteries,
a colorful cast is required so Mac’s father is a minister from Cape Verde, her
mother is an astrologer, and the police detective is half Wampanoag. Brother
Derrick is a recovering alcoholic with a young daughter and Mac’s beau is a
hunky baker. As the subtitle suggests,
Mac is a member of a book group and they decide they will solve the mystery.
Day writes
well and her characters are enjoyable. The plot—well, while the murder
investigation goes on, the plot is more concerned with introducing characters
and their problems. The solution is
interesting but comes via info drops tucked in at the end rather that sprinkled
throughout the story. As my tastes run
more to the “fair play” mysteries where the reader has enough clues to solve
it, I was disappointed. Those looking
primarily for a nice visit with likeable characters will find this book to be a
treat.
The second
book in the series, Murder at the Taffy Shop is due out in March
2021. Day also writes the “Country Store
Mystery Series” set in Indiana. (The last piece of information is relevant
because I have a friend from Indiana who was interested to see there was a cozy
mystery set there.)
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Beneath the Stains of Time: A Wreath for the Bride (1957) by Maria Lang
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Kendi, Thibodeau, Troost, Murakami, Han...
Review: Badge Heavy: A Charlie 316 Novel by Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway
Badge
Heavy is the third book in the Charlie
316 series and picks up shortly after Never The Crime ended.
The Anti-Crime Team is up and running and working the streets of Spokane hard.
Officer Gary Stone is on ACT along with Tyler Garrett as well as well with rookie
Jun Yang and veteran officer Ray Zielinski. While the four officers are on the
team and, in theory, working together, they are fragmented and have settled
into a Stone/Garett and Yang/Zielinski pairing. Despite their internal issues,
they are generating results in their pursuit of HPOs--High Profile Offenders.
It
has been nearly two years since Garrett got away with murder and more. Captain
Tom Farrell knows Garrett is dirty. Farrell just can’t prove it. The Anti-Crime
Team was supposed to be a trap for Garrett, but it isn’t working out that way
at all. If anything, it has allowed Garrett to further entrench himself in the
Department and improve his status. Trying to catch Garrett and prove his criminal
activities is slowly becoming an insurmountable problem. Farrell does have a
couple of ideas though they could just as easily backfire. As readers familiar
with the series already know, Farrell is not the only police officer on the
hunt sure Garrett is dirty.
Badge
Heavy by Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway is
another rock-solid installment in this highly entertaining police procedural
series. Politics and police work are heavily intertwined in real life and they
certainly are in the series. The authors have managed to keep ratcheting the
tension in each installment and then they rally blow the doors off with the end
of Badge Heavy. This is a series that concludes with the November
release of Code Four.
While
it is always important to read any series in order, that absolutely is a must
here. Relationships evolve and change over time and there are many changes,
personally and professionally, for these characters as time passes. The crime
problem and the pollical landscape play major character roles in this series
and those issues change as a reaction to events and other factors. That ongoing
aspect is a key part of this complicated series.
Badge Heavy: A Charlie 316 Novel is highly recommended.
Badge Heavy: A Charlie 316 Novel
Frank Zafiro
Colin Conway
Down & Out Books
September 2020
ASIN: B08CVRYL6G
eBook (available in print format)
385 Pages
I
received a digital ARC of this read from author Frank Zafiro weeks ago with no
expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2020
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Crime Review Update
We feature new 20 reviews in each issue of Crime Review (www.crimereview.co.uk), together with a top industry interview. This time it’s author DA Mishani in the Countdown hot seat: http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/8795
We’re on Twitter at:
Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK
Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer
Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia
This week’s reviews are:
STORMBREAKER by Anthony Horowitz, reviewed by Linda
Wilson
Reluctant 14-year-old spy Alex Rider is sent to
Cornwall to investigate rich philanthropist Herod Sayle and his plan to install
a new generation of computer in every school in the UK. Alex soon realises that
there’s a lot more to the Stormbreakers than Sayle is letting on, and with that
knowledge comes extreme danger.
MAIGRET AND MONSIEUR CHARLES by Georges Simenon,
reviewed by Chris Roberts
In his last appearance, Maigret investigates the
disappearance of Monsieur Charles, a wealthy lawyer well-known in Paris
nightclubs.
POINT BLANC by Anthony Horowitz, reviewed by Linda
Wilson
Reluctant teenage spy Alex Rider is sent undercover in
an exclusive school for the rebellious offspring of some of the world’s richest
people to find out what links two unexplained deaths to Point Blanc academy in
the Alps.
THE MAN IN THE WOODS by Ilaria Tuti, reviewed by Viv
Beeby
There is a creepy man in the woods; a bad man with the
face of a skull. And if you don't watch out he's coming to get you …
THE CABIN by Jørn Lier Horst, reviewed by Ewa Sherman
Chief Inspector William Wisting is assigned to lead a
top-secret investigation into the life of a recently deceased controversial politician.
When he finds boxes full of foreign currency in his cabin, he also manages to
unearth possible links to two 15-year-old cold cases, one of them of a missing
young man.
HITLER’S PEACE by Philip Kerr, reviewer by Chris
Roberts
In autumn 1943 the tide of war has turned and Germany
is putting out peace feelers. But the response of the allies will be settled in
Tehran.
THE STRANGER by Simon Conway, review by John Cleal
MI6 agent Jude Lyon must deal with past events which
threaten the credibility of his agency – and a terrifying new threat to the
whole of the British establishment.
FORGET ME by Andrew Ewart, reviewed by Kati
Barr-Taylor
Hannah wants to know the secret her husband can’t
remember, whatever the cost.
THE NIGHT OF SHOOTING STARS by Ben Pastor, reviewed by
Chris Roberts
Lieutenant-Colonel Martin von Bora is in Berlin in
July 1944, directed to investigate the murder of a prominent clairvoyant, but
the rumours of political conspiracy suggest that Bora himself is at risk.
KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM CRY by Mary Higgins
Clark, reviewed by John
Cleal
Investigative journalist Gina Kane receives an email
describing the abuse of a woman by a well-known figure at a television news
network that’s on the verge of a multi-billion dollar stock market flotation.
FAIR WARNING by Michael Connelly reviewed by Linda
Wilson
When journalist Jack McEvoy finds himself a person of
interest in the murder of a woman he dated once, he’s determined to clear his
own name, as the police don’t seem to be making any moves in that direction.
WILD DOG by Serge Joncour, reviewed by John Cleal
Retired actress Lise persuades her producer husband to
holiday in the wild hills of the Causse de Limogne. He must come to terms with
his fear of nature and rediscover the basic instincts common to both man and
animal.
THE STRANGER GAME by Peter Gadol, reviewed by Kati
Barr-Taylor
Rebecca’s boyfriend is missing. But she is unsure if
he is licking his wounds, or if has he become another victim of an increasingly
dangerous game sweeping Los Angeles and beyond.
HAMMER TO FALL by John Lawton, reviewed by Chris
Roberts
Joe Wilderness spies for Britain in 1960s Finland and
Prague and runs into several people with whom he shares a history.
BONE CHINA by Laura Purcell, reviewed by John Cleal
Nurse-companion Hester Why flees London for a position
at the lonely Morvoren House on a desolate Cornish clifftop where she finds
herself faced with a dark and dangerous situation linked to events of 40 years
before.
THE LAST WIFE by Karen Hamilton, reviewed by Linda
Wilson
After Nina’s death, her best friend Marie steps in to
help her grieving husband with two children and a large house, gradually taking
over more and more of her friend’s former life. But not everyone thinks that’s
a good thing.
THE AOSAWA MURDERS by Riku Onda, reviewed by Chris
Roberts
The poisoning of celebrants at a Japanese family
birthday party is a mystery, even when the culprit admits responsibility. The
true story takes years to emerge.
HAVEN’T THEY GROWN by Sophie Hannah, reviewed by
Sylvia Maughan
Beth Leeson sees an old friend whom she has not seen
for 12 years. Her friend has aged appropriately, but her children appear not to
have aged at all. Is Beth mistaken about what she saw?
LAKE CHILD by Isabel Ashdown, reviewed by John
Barnbrook
Eva Olsen cannot remember much about the last year of
her life and is horrified that her parents are keeping her locked in an attic
room with no contact with her old friends. And her parents are behaving oddly.
CORRUPT BODIES by Peter Everett, reviewed by John
Cleal
When the author becomes superintendent of Southwark
mortuary, he walks into a corrupt world of sales of body parts, theft, bribery
and kickbacks.
Best wishes
Sharon and Linda
www.crimereview.co.uk
Monday, September 21, 2020
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Outsider: A Novel of Suspense by Linda Castillo
Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Vulnerable by Mary Burton
Vulnerable
by Mary Burton (Pinnacle, 2016) is the fourth book in her series about the
Morgans of Nashville, Tennessee. Georgia Morgan is the youngest of the family
with three older brothers, all working in law enforcement agencies. She is a
forensic technician in the Nashville Police Department, freshly assigned to a
cold case. Five years ago, three teenagers went into a local park that covers
2600 acres and didn’t come home. Two days later one of them was found
unconscious with a head injury and broken bones. She had no recall of the day,
consistent with the severity of the concussion, and the other two teenagers
were never located. Police thought the two had perhaps run away together but
the wealthy father of one missing teen denied the possibility. He recently
renewed his pressure on the police department to find his son, hence the
assignment of the case to Georgia and homicide detective Jake Bishop.
The discovery of a murdered college student leads
to a hidden cave in the park where the remains of the two missing teenagers
were found. The likelihood that more than one murderer knew about the remote
cave seems unlikely to the police, so they begin searching for links between
the high school seniors and the college student and ways to identify someone
they fear is a serial killer. They revisit the people who were around the
missing teenagers in the last months before their disappearance and find that
the passing of time has jarred some secrets loose.
On one level this story is a good police procedural with a lot of forensics. On another, it’s a predictable romance, which ordinarily would be enough for me to put a book down. In this case the investigation and the mystery kept me reading. Georgia’s side gig of singing in a bar adds a nice Nashville touch. The author is described on Amazon as specializing in romantic suspense, which doesn’t really apply to a story so heavy on law enforcement process and forensics. This seems to be another of those books that does not clearly fall into any one category. Recommended for readers who enjoy a romance along with their mystery.
·
File Size: 430 KB
·
Publication Date: March 29, 2016
·
Print Length: 305 pages
·
Publisher: Pinnacle Books (March 29, 2016)
·
Language: English
·
ASIN: B010ZZXWRW
Aubrey Hamilton ©2020
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.