Thursday, August 31, 2023
Jungle Red Writers: Home Is Where the Book Is by Holly West
Review: Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg
While I told you about this book before back in February, tomorrow is publication day, so I am running my review again. Make sure you read Lesa Holstine's review here.
If you have read Lost
Hills by Lee Goldberg, you know that a part of that book involves a
wildfire on the rampage through the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu. That book,
part of the Eve Ronin series, is from the perspective of law
enforcement. Malibu Burning is that same fire from the
perspective of arson investigator, Walter Sharpe, and his new partner, Andrew
Walker.
Walker is a former United States Marshal
who has taken what he thinks will be a quieter job as an arson investigator
tied into the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Mentally he is having a hard
time with it as he left the service and changed jobs to ally his wife’s fears
as she is pregnant and had a lot of concern over his safety and the way he did
the job. Bad knees and other issues means he can’t be as physical as he would
like and has to slow it down a little bit. He prefers to work alone, as does
his new partner, Walter Sharpe.
The fact that both are loners by nature means
nothing to the powers that be who have chosen to put them together. From the
start, they do not exactly mesh well, but Walker needs Sharpe to teach him what
he does not know about fire investigation. And Walker can teach him a few
things about man hunting as they have arsonists to chase.
One of which is somebody known to Walker.
A former prisoner by the name of Danny Cole. He is a superb con man and a very
good thief. He should have gotten away on the last job, but made a choice to
help someone. That choice cost him his freedom. Now he is out and looking for a
big payday and to settle a score. He is planning to do it with a team pf highly
motivated folks, some of whom he has worked with before, and a wildfire.
Not that Walker and Sharpe knows this
from the start. The reader knows far more than the investigators do as numerous
flashbacks are sprinkled liberally through the read all the way up to present
day. That is intermixed with Sharpe teaching Walker, and by extension the
reader, basics surrounding fire and the dynamics of a wildfire through a couple
of other cases and the early stages of this fire.
The first of what clearly is intended to be a series, Malibu Burning, is an enjoyable read. While it comes across as a vehicle for a tv series more than anything, there is enough complexity and action to hold the reader’s interest. This reader much prefers the Eve Ronin series. However, this was a good book in its own right and I will be looking for the next one.
My reading copy was an ARC by way of NetGalley.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Nearly Normal Family, Homecoming, Quarry Girls, Mad Honey
Beneath the Stains of Time: Alien Autopsy: "The Walking Corpse" (1950) by Clayre and Michel Lipman
SleuthSayers: The Picture on Pratchett's Wall
Short Story Wednesday Review: Eight Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Bill Crider
From the massive
archive…
The eight short
stories in the Eight Adventures of Sherlock Holmes appeared
before in various anthologies over the years from 1987 as recently as 2009.
Collected in one book and published by Gordian Knott, an imprint of Crossroad
Press, these tales quickly pull the reader in to the world originally created
by Arthur Conan Doyle. Mr. Bill Crider’s work so closely resembles the original
author it is very easy to forget who wrote these eight tales. Many folks try to
imitate the original and miss. M. Crider does so with ease in tales that easily
could be part of the Sherlock canon.
“The Adventure
of the Young British Solider” opens the book with a tale where Watson, many
years later, writes about a previously untold story that happened during 1884.
A highly personal that begins on a very cold night in early December. Watson is
thinking of what happened to him in Afghanistan after those memories are
triggered by a certain poem. A certain fellow soldier, an orderly, saved
Watson’s life that day. His name was Edward Murray and Watson totally lost
touch with him after the incident. Only days later his wife will appear on
their doorstep seeking their help.
It is the spring
of 1887 and upon their return to London Holmes has become bored and depressed.
Such a mood is very dangerous for an addict and Watson is very worried as “The
Case of the Vanished Vampire” begins. Sherlock Holmes thinks the whole idea of vampires
is utter and complete nonsense, but his visitors, Bram Stoker and Dr. Abraham
Van Helsing, seek to convince him otherwise. They claim to have killed one here
in London. They are not sure they killed it correctly in the pressure of the
moment. According to them, it escaped and is probably out there in London
converting others to its gory cause. They want to find the creature this night,
before it feeds again, and they want the help of Watson and Holmes.
The supernatural
is also a major part of the next story titled “The Adventure of the St.
Marylebone Ghoul.” According to the newspaper, a creature of some sort is at
the St. Marylebone cemetery causing unspeakable horrors. They are discussing
the situation when the night caretaker at the cemetery, Benjamin Swaraj,
arrives seeking their help.
Holmes is not a
fan of Christmas and the carolers in the streets outside 22B Baker Street are
not going to change his mind. He’s bored and Watson is well aware what that can
mean. Fortunately, a client appears this night two nights before Christmas in
the form of a Mr. Oscar Wilde. Mr. Wilde needs Holmes help as he believes
someone is trying to kill him and he thinks he knows the suspects.
Years later, as
Watson nears the end of his life, he thinks about the many events involving
Sherlock that he recorded over the years for posterity. He also considers the
events that before now he did not have the strength to detail. One such case is
“The Adventure of the Venomous Lizard.” On a cold and sometimes treacherous
winter night, Holmes has spotted a man he perceives to be desperate headed
their way. Upon his arrival, they hear his name and his reason for his
desperation.
While Holmes did
not like to clean, he especially liked to cook breakfast, which was his
favorite meal. Over a morning repast, he slowly pulls out of Watson what is
bothering him in “The Case of the Vampire’s Mark.” Once Watson confesses all
and they have dealt with that, they are ready for their visitor Abraham Stoker
when he arrives. He brings news of a child that bears the neck bite marks of
vampire and requests their help.
Sharing the name
of Holmes with the man going by the moniker H. H. Holmes, known for hideous
crimes, was bad enough, but having been in close proximity to him with no
knowledge of what he was doing bothers Sherlock a lot more. Buffalo Bills’ Wild
West Show was in Chicago at the time they were there and they were able to
spend time with Colonel Cody himself. That was a good thing as he needed their
help. What happened is detailed in the tale, “The Adventure in the White City.”
It is Dec. 22nd
as “The Adventure of the Christmas Ghosts” begins. Franklin Scrooge, great
nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge, is in quite a state when he arrives at 221B Baker
Street. A ghost, a family legacy, and more are at stake and Franklin Scrooge
needs their help.
A bonus story,
“Death Did Not Become Him” by Patricia Lee Macomber and David Niall Wilson
brings the book to a close. In this one, Watson goes to 221B Baker Street late
one night desperately seeking his help. Watson has had his own visitors earlier
this night and was greatly disturbed by them in this Lovecraft style tale.
While Sherlockian in style, this short story is jarring when compared to the
tales of Mr Crider featured in the book. It strikes a totally different style
and tone and does not compare at all well to the previous stories.
Eight Adventures
of Sherlock Holmes by Bill Crider is a very good read. Mysteries,
often more than one, are present in each short story where a rational
explanation of events is always the outcome. Each tale quickly pulls the reader
into the world of Conan Arthur Doyle as Mr. Crider spins a web indiscernible
from the original creator. Eight Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by
Bill Crider is a very good read and highly recommended.
I picked this up to read and review back in June using monies in my Amazon Associate account.
Kevin R. Tipple
© 2017, 2021, 2023
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 73 Calls for Submissions in September 2023 - Paying markets
Monday, August 28, 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Murder Between the Covers: A Dead End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 45 Writing Contests in September 2023 - No entry fees
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Operation Mincemeat: Ben Macintyre
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Secret Lives by Mark de Castrique
Mystery writer Mark de Castrique is a
veteran of the broadcast and film production business. In Washington DC, he
directed news and public affairs programs and received an Emmy Award for his
documentary film work.
He’s written a number of thrillers
and mysteries including the Blackman Agency Investigations series, the Buryin’
Barry series, and some stand-alone novels. In Secret Lives (Poisoned Pen
Press, 2022) he introduces Ethel Fiona Crestwater, a seventy-five-year-old
retired FBI agent who now rents rooms in her Arlington, Virginia, house to active
FBI and Secret Service agents and who runs circles around her boarders,
literally and figuratively.
Ethel has just rented a room to her only
relative Jesse, a double first cousin twice removed, while he attends a local
university. A running joke in the story is the way she always introduces him
with his full relationship to her, not just cousin but double first cousin
twice removed.
Jesse is up at 4:30 in the morning
FaceTiming with his girlfriend who is attending university in London, when he
hears gunshots outside his window. He sees one figure on the ground and two
running away. He dashes to the scene where Ethel joins him after calling the
police and an ambulance. They both recognize the victim as another of Ethel’s
boarders, who lives in Richmond but stays with Ethel when he has temporary duty
in the National Capitol Region.
Thus begins a complicated tale of
murder, theft, and deceit involving millions of dollars in counterfeit money
and cryptocurrency. Along the way the reader is treated to a thorough
explanation of how cryptocurrency works and why it is such a dubious commodity.
Law enforcement jurisdiction over the
murder gets a lot of play. It took place in Arlington County but the victim was
a Secret Service agent who had worked a joint operation with the FBI. All three
groups agree to work together but naturally pursue private Agency interests. I
had trouble keeping all of the factions separate. Ethel had long-running
associations with all three and she tailors what she tells each one carefully while
she runs her own investigation.
Anyone who has lived in the
Washington, DC, region will recognize the many local landmarks cited in the
book.
Ethel is a fine addition to the ranks
of Mrs. Pollifax, Sister Jane Arnold, Victoria Trumbull, and
the many other senior sleuths who remind mystery readers that age does not
limit detective skills.
The next book in the series, Dangerous
Women, is scheduled for publication in October 2023.
Highly recommended.
·
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
(October 11, 2022)
·
Language: English
·
Paperback: 288 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1728258308
·
ISBN-13: 978-1728258300
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on
Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Little Big Crimes: Your 10th Bond Is Free!, by Wendall Thomas
SleuthSayers: KDP Paperback Change in Pricing
Saturday, August 26, 2023
KRL This Week Update for 8/26/2023
Up on KRL this morning reviews and giveaways of 2 mysteries set in England-"Murder at a London Finishing School" by Jessica Ellicott & "A Deadly Dedication" by Margaret Louden https://kingsriverlife.com/08/26/take-a-trip-to-england-with-this-pair-of-mysteries/
And a review and giveaway of "The Dark Edge of the Night" by Mark Pryor https://kingsriverlife.com/08/26/the-dark-edge-of-night-by-mark-pryor/
While Sunny Frazier it out on medical leave, Shawn Stevens has graciously offered to fill in with her own version of Mystery Coming Attractions up this week on KRL! You can also enter for a chance to win a copy of "How The Murder Crumbles" by Debra Sennefelder https://kingsriverlife.com/08/26/mystery-coming-attractions-september-2023/
We also have another mystery manga review, this one of "Lost Lad in London" Vol 1 published by Yen Press https://kingsriverlife.com/08/26/lost-lad-in-london-vol-1-by-shima-shinya/
For those who prefer to listen to Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast directly on KRL here is the player for the latest episode which features the mystery short story "Harvey and the Redhead" written my Debra H. Goldstein and read by local actors Ariel Linn and Sean Hopper https://kingsriverlife.com/08/26/mysteryrats-maze-podcast-featuring-harvey-and-the-redhead/
And we have Part 2 of a true crime story in Sanger, CA https://kingsriverlife.com/08/26/slain-on-lovers-lane-part-2/
Up during the week we posted another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author and podcast host TG Wolff about settings and her latest book "Psycho Therapy"
https://www.krlnews.com/2023/08/settings-and-changing-plans.html
And another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Erin Flanagan about toxic friendships and her latest book "Come With Me" https://kingsriverlife.com/08/23/the-upside-to-a-toxic-friendship/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "A Crafty Collage of Crime" by Lois Winston https://www.krlnews.com/2023/08/a-crafty-collage-of-crime-by-lois.html
And a review of "The Bath Bombed Zombie" by R. A. Muth along with a giveaway of the first book in the series "The Squeaky Clean Skeleton" https://www.krlnews.com/2023/08/the-bath-bombed-zombie-by-ra-muth.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Case of the Little Green Men (1951) by Mack Reynolds
Scott's Take: Kang the Conqueror: Only Myself Left to Conquer by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing
Kang the
Conqueror: Only Myself Left to Conquer by Collin Kelly and Jackson
Lanzing is an interesting and good read. In this time travel story, Kang has
traveled back into time to mentor his younger self and hopefully alter the path
of his life. Kang is stuck in a cycle of failure and thinks he can break it.
I have never found
Kang that interesting. A villain from the future that can time travel who faces
people who can’t, always has seemed to me that you would have to be a pretty
crappy villain to have so many advantages and still lose. He has so many things
to his advantage. Kang has a giant battleship shaped like a sword, his own army
of warriors, advanced tech as well as an arsenal of weapons from the future,
the knowledge of the future, a genius IQ, is incredibly fit, a time travel machine,
an arsenal of weapons, and still loses. It’s hard to understand why he loses imagine
why he loses, except for the simple reason he is really bad at his job.
When he does lose,
it is allegedly all part of his plan. For the first time, at least for me, Kang
was actually interesting. The authors were able to strike a really good balance
between the teenager he was before he became Kang and the man who he became who
now calls himself Kang. Kang is not Kang’s birth name. He was at one point just
a smart teenager called Nathaniel Richards who was just a kid that did not fit
in a stagnated society.
The writing and
the art is excellent and the various versions of Kang are present. This is a
good story for people unfamiliar with Kang. Kang is complicated. It is also a
good way to prepare for the new Avengers title by Jed MacKay since Kang and the
Avengers are working together. Kang is trading information from the future that
the Avengers could use to save lives in exchange for protection and the
Avengers help.
My reading copy
came by way of Hoopla and the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2023
Friday, August 25, 2023
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 31 Spectacular Writing Conferences and Workshops in September 2023
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: NIGHTMARE JOURNEY
FFB Review: The Tithing Herd by J. R. Lindermuth
From the
massively magnificent archive….
The boy, Tom
Baskin, is helpless as the rider approaches one evening near dusk. The boy is
hanging by a rope tied to his heels and slung over a branch. Upside down and
left to twist on the rope, he was put in that position for a reason.
His rescuer,
Luther Donnelly, knows the people that the headstrong boy says did it to him
and for good reason. They are companions to a man he is hunting to settle a
score. It isn’t long before Tom Baskin and Luther Donnelly are working
together, not to settle their respective scores, but to move a herd of cattle
to market so that the local Mormons can pay their title to the church. Once
that is done for people that Luther Donnelly cares a lot about and are in real
need, they then can go about their business. Vengeance is just going to have to
wait.
The Tithing Herd
by J. R. Lindermuth is a compelling western read regarding faith and
perseverance. What begins as a simple vengeance story turns into a multi
layered desperate quest to save the life of a loved one featuring a number of
complicated and nuanced characters. The read is s a compelling western tale
where good triumphs over evil in small and big ways.
Kevin R. Tipple
©2016, 2017, 2023
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: The Last Lecture, The Last Bookshop in London, Ladies of Liberty, Wrong Place Wrong Time
Beneath the Stains of Time: Monster Hunter: Case Closed, vol. 86 by Gosho Aoyama
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Crime Hits Home
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: DR. POLNITZSKI
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: We Love to Entertain by Sarah Strohmeyer
Monday, August 21, 2023
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Silent Suspect by Nell Pattison
After studying
English at university, Nell Pattison became a teacher and specialized in
education of the hearing impaired. She has been teaching in the deaf community
in both England and Scotland, working with students who use British Sign Language, for more than 10 years. Pattison appeared at Hull Noir a
couple of years back, one of the online conferences during the COVID lockdown,
and I have wanted to read one of her books ever since. They receive high
ratings on Amazon and Goodreads.
Pattison’s series character is Paige Lockwood, a professional British Sign Language
interpreter who translates for conferences and works for social services
agencies that support hearing impaired clients. One way or another the non-hearing,
non-speaking clients come to the attention of the authorities and Lockwood becomes
essential to communication between the two. In The Silent Suspect (Avon,
2021) Lockwood is under contract to a deaf social worker whose clients are also
hearing impaired. While Lockwood isn’t needed for the social worker to interact
with her clients, she’s needed any time someone who does not know sign language
comes into the discussions.
Lucas Nowak texts her that his house
is on fire. Lockwood knows the social worker is out of town and goes to the
house to find it engulfed with flames. Nowak is nowhere in sight. His wife
Nadia is found dead inside. When the autopsy shows she was strangled and the
house was deliberately set afire, the police assume Nowak is the culprit
without much consideration of other options. Lockwood feels confident Nowak did
not murder his wife and sets off on her own investigation.
The premise is unusual and
informative. How the non-hearing function in the world is seamlessly worked
into the story without feeling like a data dump. The mystery storyline is
nicely complicated with a reasonable mix of villainy and stupidity leading to
several crimes. Lockwood on the other hand oversteps her role so often I am
amazed she isn't arrested herself. Her love life takes up a great deal of her
time and far too much space on the page. I liked this one enough to want to
look at the others in the series. For fans of amateur sleuths and for crime
fiction buffs looking for something different.
·
Publisher: Avon (September 7, 2021)
·
Language: English
·
Paperback: 384 pages
·
ISBN-10: 0008418543
· ISBN-13: 978-0008418540
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on
Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Little Big Crimes: The Regular, by James Thorpe
Saturday, August 19, 2023
KRL This Week Update for 8/19/2023
Up on KRL this morning a review and giveaway of "Misfortune Cookie" by Vivien Chien https://kingsriverlife.com/08/19/misfortune-cookie-by-vivien-chien/
And a review and giveaway of "Murder is a Piece of Cake" by VM Burns along with a delicious summer recipe from VM https://kingsriverlife.com/08/19/murder-is-a-piece-of-cake-by-v-m-burns/
And a review and giveaway of "The Flying Z" by Leo W. Banks along with an interesting interview with Leo https://kingsriverlife.com/08/19/the-flying-z-by-leo-w-banks/
We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/08/19/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-september-2023/
This week we continue our reviews of mystery manga published by Yen Press! This week we have "Coffee Moon" Vol 1 and "Love of Kill" Vol 1 https://kingsriverlife.com/08/19/coffee-moon-vol-1-love-of-kill-vol-1/
Up during the week we posted another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Brooke Beyfuss about found family and her new book "Before You Found Me" https://kingsriverlife.com/08/16/lost-and-found-exploring-the-found-family/
And another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Karen Phillips. It is one from the point of view of her main character's sister in her new book "A Deadly Combo" and it's a lot of fun! https://kingsriverlife.com/08/16/a-deadly-combo/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of an ebook copy of "The Courtesan's Secret" by Nina Wachsman https://www.krlnews.com/2023/08/the-courtesans-secret-by-nina-wachsman.html
And a review and giveaway of "The Case of the Uninvited Undertaker" by Cathy Ace https://www.krlnews.com/2023/08/the-case-of-uninvited-undertaker-by.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Beneath the Stains of Time: The English Garden Mystery (2022) by Dan Andriacco
Scott's Take: Captain America: Symbol of Truth Vol. 2: Pax Mohannda by Tochi Onyebuchi
Captain America:
Symbol of Truth Vol. 2: Pax Mohannda is the final volume of this run. In this
volume, Sam Wilson has to counter the White Wolf’s plan as he deals with the
fallout from Wakanda. Mohannda an impoverished nation neighboring Wakanda and
the people have elected a new Prime Minster who is trying to build a more
racially equal society. A racist like the White Wolf is not going let that
happen. With the Falcon (Sam’s current partner) injured, it is up to Nomad
(Steve Roger’s adopted son) to help. Long presumed dead by both Sam and Steve,
he has just been working for the government off the grid for reasons not very
well explained in this volume.
This volume is
pretty good as Sam is well written and there is plenty of action. The Nomad
part though leaves clear plot holes. There is a return of a former foe of Sam
Wilson that leads to the best scene in the book. Sam shouting that she turned
me into a Werewolf is still funny to this reader.
I just hate that they are ending this run already and basically leaving a lot of plot threads dangling for the crossover. The actually ending of this series is picked up in the cross over title, Captain America: Cold War. Post Cold War Sam does not have a solo title, no new writer, nothing. If you want to read him you can only get him in the main Avengers title now.
My reading copy
came by way of Hoopla and the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2023
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