Tuesday, October 31, 2023
SleuthSayers: What is Real Courage?
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly
Monday, October 30, 2023
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 75 Calls for Submissions in November 2023 - Paying Markets
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: She Talks to Angels by James D. F. Hannah
James D. F.
Hannah is the author of six books in the Henry Malone series and two other
novels, as well as a number of pieces of short fiction. Henry Malone is a
retired state trooper and recovering alcoholic eking out an existence in the
beautiful but impoverished state of West Virginia. He joins Rush McKenzie, Tom
Bethany, Frank Quinn, Matt Scudder, and others in a long line of fictional unofficial
and unlicensed private investigators.
In the third
Henry Malone, She Talks to Angels (Down & Out Books, 2021) Malone is
approached by local resident Katie Dolan, who wants Malone to re-investigate a
murder that her brother Eddie confessed to years earlier but now from his jail
cell says he didn’t commit. The victim was Meadow Charles, the popular daughter
of the wealthiest man in Parker County. She was also a heroin addict; she and
Eddie shared a drug habit. Prosecution postulated that Eddie killed Meadow in a
drug-induced haze and that he was a danger to society. Eddie’s lawyer convinced
him to plead guilty to escape a death sentence.
Malone’s queries
don’t get much encouragement from anyone and before long, Meadow’s father calls
him in and offers him a large sum of money to drop the probe. Malone needs the
money badly enough that he intends to back away but then Meadow’s sister offers
Malone more money to investigate. So he continued turning over rocks and asking
objectionable questions, discovering a number of unsavory facts about the
Charles family and about Parker County politics and arousing the ire of local luminaries
along the way.
It’s
impossible to talk about West Virginia these days and not talk about the opioid
problem there. The issue is pressing and ongoing, and Hannah does not sugarcoat
it or the grinding deprivation of the residents who live in one of the most
beautiful states in the Union. He draws a sharp contrast between the two.
Malone’s AA
sponsor Woody does double duty as Malone’s sidekick on the more active parts of
his investigation. Their dialog is the wittiest I have seen in months and give
me a reason to look for the rest of the series. Woody and Henry make a fine
substitute for Spenser and Hawk. Readers who miss the incomparable Boston duo
will want to add this series to their reading lists. A very fine piece of
Southern noir. Recommended.
·
Publisher: Down & Out Books
(May 30, 2021)
·
Language: English
·
Paperback: 282 pages
·
ISBN-10: 164396173X
· ISBN-13: 978-1643961736
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Little Big Crimes: Scariest. Story. Ever, by Richard Van Camp
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hit List: Top 10 Favorite Cases from Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. vol. 1-25
SleuthSayers: Going to Bouchercon
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Generation Loss: Elizabeth Hand
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Scott's Take: Batman/Superman: World's Finest Vol. 2: Strange Visitor by Mark Waid
Batman/Superman: World's Finest Vol. 2: Strange Visitor by Mark Waid is a read where the duo team up to rescue Robin in a time travel adventure. Then a child from another Earth lands on the prime DC Earth and the child has strange powers. Superman decides to take the child in. The Key and Joker team up to cause chaos in Gotham. This action packed second volume also guest stars Supergirl and the original Teen Titans team and follows Batman/Superman: World's Finest Vol. 1: The Devil Nezha.
It’s always
nice to see a villain like The Key return as it has been years since I have
read anything including him. Joker is terrifying and Supergirl as well as the Teen
Titans are proper heroes. This is a fun read with great art. Some of the covers
are some of the best I have seen all year.
Readers are also warned that there is a lengthy torture scene involving
the Joker.
There is a
twist at the end that many new readers will not understand why this is so
important. I did not see this coming. This volume sets up the third volume
which is currently untitled and a separate series about the original Teen
Titans which includes the same creative team.
My reading copy
came by way of the Hoopla App via The Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple
©2023
Friday, October 27, 2023
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: DIXIE CITY JAM
Barry Ergang's FFB Review: Secret Of The Red Arrow (2013) by Franklin W. Dixon
From the massive archive…
I’m pretty but not one hundred percent sure that I stopped reading juvenile fiction at around age eleven, because I am certain I read The Hound of the Baskervilles at that age, after which I moved on to the likes of Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner. I mention this for the benefit of those who might not recognize the name of the author of the book under consideration here—someone who, if his weren’t a “house” name, would be well into his second century.
That’s right, America: at a few weeks shy of 71 years-old as of January 2018, yours truly, unapologetic curmudgeonly old fart that I am, decided to read a new Hardy Boys mystery.
And new is the operative word, particularly with regard to its approach. The books I originally read, thanks to my mother having given me the first two in the series, The Tower Treasure and The House on the Cliff, when I was seven or eight, as well as those I acquired during the several years that followed, were published before I was born. They were written in an older style, and narrated in the third person. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, which also published the Nancy Drew, Tom Swift (junior and senior), Bobbsey Twins, and other series aimed at young and young adult readers, many of the original Hardy Boys titles were subsequently “updated" to appeal to readers born in the late Fifties and early Sixties. (This probably happened with the Nancy Drew series as well.) Some of this is explained at The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page, as is the fact that a court battle gave Simon & Schuster the rights to publish new Hardy Boys series. Secret of the Red Arrow is the first in the “Adventures” series.
There are some significant differences between the original and this new series. Instead of a third-person narrative, we now have alternating chapters by Frank and Joe Hardy told in the first-person, and in a very contemporary style which includes, among others, references to Quentin Tarantino, David Letterman, the war in Afghanistan, and the movie Halloween. Their father, Fenton Hardy, has retired as a private detective and now “writes books on the history of law enforcement.” In the original books, the boys lived with their father and their Aunt Gertrude. Mom’s absence was never explained, as far as I can recall, but I always suspected that she had died rather than divorced Fenton and moved on. In this series, Mom is alive and well, selling real estate and living with her husband. Aunt Trudy also lives with them.
As far as the local authorities in the town of Bayport are concerned, teenagers Frank and Joe have become subject to what’s known as “the Deal”: “Growing up, Joe and I would help him [Fenton Hardy] on his cases. We were proud of our successes. But after one too many close calls, things started to get a little out of hand, for reasons having to do with private investigators’ licenses (we didn’t have any), insurance (none of that, either), and the threat of being sued by every hoodlum we ever put under a citizen’s arrest….So with a few phone calls, including references from our principal and assurances to the police chief and state attorney general, we ‘retired.’” But as Frank later admits: “That cozy arrangement…lasted about a month before Joe and I started going crazy. Maybe being a detective is something in your blood….Since then, we’ve started taking the occasional case for a good cause or to help a friend, but we try to keep it confidential.” The potential consequence for violating the Deal is being shipped off to a behavior modification facility. Suffice it to say that the local police inevitably clash with them throughout the course of their “non-Deal” investigations.
Secret of the Red Arrow starts out with Frank being one of the many victims of a bank robbery which turns out to be a frightening but elaborate prank, courtesy of amateur film-maker and fellow student Seth Diller. It revs into high gear when Sharelle Bunyan implores the brothers to help them with what seems some kind of impossible crime: someone somehow breaking into the Bunyan family home to make a video recording of the boys’ schoolmate, Neal (star linebacker known as “Neanderthal”), while he’s sound asleep and after he’s begun receiving strange e-mails. Subsequently, two masked figures break in and assault him, and leave a red arrow painted above the bedroom door frame.
What is Red Arrow, a mysterious individual or a sinister criminal organization? As the boys investigate, putting themselves in danger of violating the Deal as well as in physical peril, they learn that Red Arrow has tentacles which extend to merchants and others in the town of Bayport.
I have to admit
that I thoroughly enjoyed this visit with fictional characters from my boyhood.
It moves swiftly—I read it in just a few hours—and nicely mingles mystery,
suspense, and humor. My only disappointment was that the “impossibilities” were
never explained. In spite of that omission, deliberate or otherwise, I can
recommend Secret of the Red Arrow to adults who are feeling
nostalgic, and who might be curious about a modern take on a classic series.
Barry Ergang © 2018, 2023
Derringer Award winner Barry Ergang’s own
fiction can be found at Amazon and Smashwords.
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Beneath the Stains of Time: Death on Bastille Day (1981) by Pierre Siniac
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 47 Writing Contests in November 2023 - No entry fees
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Frugal Wizard, Tumbling Girl, Episode Thirteen
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY (HALLOWEEN EDITION): GREAT GHOST STORIES: 101 TERRIFYING TALES
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Tales of Terror
Short Story Wednesday Review: Hoosier Noir: One
From the massive archive …
Hoosier Noir: One
is a crime fiction magazine aimed at Indiana. Published by First City Books,
the read came on the market in recent weeks and looked interesting, so I picked
up a copy. Available in print and eBook versions, I went with the digital file
and bought this by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account. I knew going in
that this was going to be crime fiction and expected tales with hard edges.
That is exactly what I got and more.
The issue opens with “Dunn and Dunn” by J. Travis
Grundon. Dakota Fisher saw the Dunn boys while he was out in the woods doing
his own less than legal thing. Rodney and Wayne saw him and that is a disaster.
The only chance he has to live is to run as far and as fast as he can through
the woods. If they catch him, he is dead. No doubt about it.
That story is followed by an interview titled
“Interrogating Rex Weiner.” His new project in his Skull Snyder detective
series, the planned new Ford Fairlane adventure, Noir at the Bar, various
publications that have his short stories, and more are discussed here in the
wide-ranging interview.
“Author Spotlight: Alec Cizak” comes next and
focuses on “Last Exit before Toll” by him. A night of partying is ending for
two young ladies. At least it is for Jessica who is calling it quits. Emily
plans to keep going as the DJ seems to be very interested and she may finally
succeed in getting him.
There are people rolling through social media on a
daily basis trying to set off judgmental firestorms on others. We have all seen
it if we have not been arty to it in one way or another. That concept familiar
to us all if the point of the next story. Brian Klein in “Destroyers” by Alec
Cizak is one of those people who lives to rain judgmental social media fire
down on others. What he does is the focus of this tale that says a lot about
the state of the world today.
Preston Lang is up next with “Descent.” Mr. Kent’s
report of his missing husband is not being taken seriously by Police Chief
Lohta. Maybe he does not care for homosexuals. Maybe Chief Lohta and his police
force are incompetent. Hal is missing and, at this point, nobody seems to care.
Sometimes you must shoot somebody twice. One so they
understand the reason why. The second to end them. He did it in “The Iceman” by
Les Edgerton. For good reason too.
Rebecca is in a justifiably bad mood “The Haunted
Crave Knowing” by J. Rohr begins. The woman on the porch is looking for Doug
Conover as she needs help. Too bad he is dead. Rebecca is her only option now.
The cleanup after a killing is the hardest part.
That is, if you do not want to get caught. Bleach is very important in “It All
Comes Out In The Wash” by N. B. Turner.
The first killing was sort of an accident. A
thrilling accident. Travis figured out he liked it in “The Selfie Killer” by N.
E. Riggs. The trick is to keep it going.
Bobby Conrad is one of those guys that names his own
male anatomy. He brags a lot about that and other things in his small town of
green apples, Indiana. A current murder case involving Jim and Molly Wagner
might prove him wrong on some stuff. “Dick Pic” by Don Stoll concludes the
issue.
Along with the crime fiction and the interview,
there five illustrations and photographs to provide breaks in the reading. Also
present are a few scattered ads for books and other short story publications.
All of those present nicely in the eBook version and no doubt appear even
better in the print version.
Hoosier Noir: One is an entertaining and well put
together read. The stories are all crime fiction so things are graphic
especially in terms of language. These tales are noir and that means they are
dark. If you are looking for sweetness and light, this is not the read for you.
Along with the quality fiction showcased in this first issue of what hopefully
will be a series, the photographs and artwork are a nice added touch and fit
well in context. Hoosier Noir: One is
very much your time and money. Simply put, this is good stuff.
I picked up my copy back in February using funds in
my Amazon Associate account.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2020, 2023
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 16 Notable Writing Workshops and Conferences in November 2023
Monday, October 23, 2023
Mystery Fanfare: MACAVITY AWARD WINNERS 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Haunted Road Atlas: Sinister Stops, Dangerous Destinations, and True Crime Tales by Christine Schiefer and Em Schulz
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Golden Box (1942) by Frances Crane
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Deadly Tides by Mary Keliikoa
Mary Keliikoa
writes two mystery series, one about private investigator Kelly Pruett and one
about Sheriff Jax Turner in a small Oregon town called Misty Pines. Her Kelly
Pruett books have been nominated for the Shamus, Lefty, Agatha, and Anthony awards.
The first book in the Misty Pines series was a finalist for the Killer
Nashville Silver Falchion and won the Ippy Silver Award. The second book in the
Misty Pines series, Deadly Tides, is scheduled for release by Level Best
Books on 24 October 2023.
Deadly Tides opens with
FBI agent Abby Kanekoa searching frantically for her mother who has wandered
away from the assisted living facility again. The facility staff weren’t quite sure
when she had slipped out but everyone was confident she wasn’t dressed for the
January temperatures in Oregon.
From this
promising beginning a complicated story develops, including two missing men, a
dead homeless man, lost designs for custom surfboards, two teenagers whose stories
keep changing, and a host of suspects. Underlying the multiple investigations
is Turner’s slow recovery from the death of his daughter and misery over his
subsequent divorce from Abby. Strong psychological suspense begins to build
midway as possible motives for murder start to unfold. Fans of character-driven
mysteries and psychological thrillers will like this one.
·
Publisher: Level Best Books
(October 24, 2023)
·
Language: English
·
Paperback: 302 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1685122795
·
ISBN-13: 978-1685122799
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Plan Ahead
As always, remember to lift and throw with your legs and not your back. Make sure that you throw for distance and not height so that the short person has a softer impact. Helmets are suggested, but not required. Don't drink and throw!
Little Big Crimes: White Hills, by Rebecca Roanhorse
Bitter Tea and Mystery: The Eighth Detective: Alex Pavesi
Saturday, October 21, 2023
KRL This Week Update for 10/21/2023
Up on KRL this morning a review and giveaway of "The Raging Storm" by Ann Cleeves along with a fun mini interview with Ann https://kingsriverlife.com/10/21/the-raging-storm-by-ann-cleeves/
And a review and giveaway of "Home at Night" by Paula Munier along with a Halloween guest post by Paula https://kingsriverlife.com/10/21/home-at-night-by-paula-munier/
And a review and giveaway of "Murder in the Fourth Position" by Lori Robbins https://kingsriverlife.com/10/21/murder-in-fourth-position-by-lori-robbins/
We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/10/21/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-november-2023/
Up during the week we posted another special midweek guest post, this one from mystery author ME Proctor about some great writing advice from Ray Bradbury, and their new book "Family and Other Ailments" https://kingsriverlife.com/10/18/the-eternal-wisdom-and-solid-common-sense-of-ray-bradbury/
Up on KRL News and Review this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "Bake, Batter, and Roll" by Catherine Bruns https://www.krlnews.com/2023/10/bake-batter-and-roll-by-catherine-bruns.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of another fun Halloween mystery, "Monster Mash Murder" by Leslie Langtry https://www.krlnews.com/2023/10/monster-mash-murder-by-leslie-langtry.html
SleuthSayers: Happiness is a Beatles Anthology
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
Scott's Take: Superman: Kal-El Returns by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, Sina Grace, and Alex Segura
Superman: Kal-El Returns by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, Sina Grace, and Alex Segura collects the ends of both the Son of Superman (Jon) series and the end of Clark’s title. It also sets up the new series that will be collected later at some point later.
Clark has finally returned back to Earth, but he is
not alone. Along with his team, he has accompanying him all the refuges of
Warworld. Superman showing up with thousands of aliens, of course, causes
problems. Then in the Jon series, Superman’s son is dealing with a new nemesis,
coming out as bi to his dad, and helping rebuild the Kent home.
This is a read that does a lot and has a lot going
on with ending series and starting new ones. The involved artists are all good
and have their own styles creating a lot of variety in imagery. Various plot
points are setup for the next series. The authors do a great job of making sure
Clark and Jon sections are really different and written to highlight their
differences well. The villains are causing problems and setting up new ones for
the heroes to deal with later. It is a good read even if the story is collected
here is supposed to be in order, but is a little time skippy.
The new series will be collected later with Clark getting new writer, Joshua Willamson, and Tom Taylor continuing the Jon story in a new title.
My reading copy came by way of the Hoopla App and
the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2023
Friday, October 20, 2023
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: DANNY DUNN AND THE HEAT RAY
Bitter Tea and Mystery: #1962Club: Something Wholesale by Eric Newby
FFB Review: Treachery in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries by J.D. Robb
Treachery in Death
by J.D. Robb opens with the murder of a shop owner before delving into a
complicated case of police corruption. After winding up a case, Detective Peabody
is alone in a little used bathroom at police headquarters when two people barge
in. She is naked, having just had a shower, and far from her weapon as two
officers come in and have a heated argument. Peabody realizes as she listens
that the officers are corrupt and that is in deadly danger if they find her.
Eventually they leave, and Peabody is able to get dressed
and get McNab, a fellow officer with whom she is living with, and they go to
Dallas’s house to tell her what happened. Even though she is badly shaken, Peabody
knows the best course of action is to tell Dallas and she does. With what
Peabody learned, it isn’t too hard to identify the two officers and a possible
murder scene.
Dallas and Roarke go checkout the possible murder
scene and they find a body. A known junkie is very much dead. The scene is set
up to be setup to be perceived as an overdose. Dallas would probably have
caught it being fake anyway, if she had caught the case, but with Peabody
telling her how the two she overheard were involved in the murder, Dallas knows
that they have rot in the department.
You don’t tarnish the badge. You especially don’t
when you come from a family that is legendary in the NYSPD. One of the officers
did just that and Dallas plans on taking that person and everyone else involved
down hard.
What follows is a complicated and fast-moving tale
with Dallas determined to take down the two corrupt officers she knows about,
thanks to Peabody, as well as the rest of the criminals involved. The rot
extends to various departments. Once all are caught, the ramifications to the
rest of the department and the legal system will be huge.
Another good one in the series that pulls you into
the world of 2060 and reminds the reader that greed kills.
My reading copy came by way of the Libby App and the
Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Caves of Steel (1953/54) by Isaac Asimov
Jungle Red Writers: Terry Shames--Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
MAKE MINE MYSTERY: The End Is Nigh
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Dragon Teeth, Small Town Sins, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
SleuthSayers: My First Century
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "The Choc-Ice Woman" by Mary Costello
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: "CANNON IN FRONT OF THEM"
Short Story Wednesday Review: Daughters by Nathan Walpow
From the massive archive...
Sometimes you know that your foe of the moment has no
future. That he is too far down the wrong road so you put him down because you
have to end his misery. That and you can rescue the three young girls held in
the back of the van. It is just part of the job.
The woman in his living room also has a job in mind. A
far more personal job for the man who used to be Special Forces and now is a
vigilante killer working out of Los Angeles. A job that is complicated and also
very much needs doing in the short story Daughters by Nathan Walpow.
Told in the first person, this is a hard edged fast
moving short story featuring a nameless and very interesting main character.
Borderline sociopath with a touch of humor, our antihero is very much of the
opinion that the world is a place that needs cleaning up after on a fairly
frequent basis. One can’t reveal much about the short story without giving away
too much, beyond what has been said above, but there are a couple of twists in
this tale that help create a mighty good read.
I picked up this free read to read and review thanks to the author mentioning it on Facebook.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2023
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
SleuthSayers: Daddy, Where Do Anthologies Come From?
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Bitter Tea and Mystery: #1962Club: Gambit by Rex Stout
Would You Like To Be A Guest?
As the blog rapidly closes in on three
million page views, and since I have not mentioned this in some time, I thought
I would remind you that I welcome guest posts here.
Guests are more than welcome. Unlike some
folks and their places, I don’t have a lot of forms to fill out or hoops to
jump through so I have made the process as easy as possible. Most questions you
may have are already answered below so please read the post before reaching
out.
The open days are currently Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Sundays. I usually run excerpts from published or about to be
published works on Sundays as they seem to work best on those days.
Topic--pretty much anything goes. While my
blog is mainly aimed towards items of interest for readers and writers of
mystery and crime fiction, I am open to pretty much anything. I do ask that
folks avoid the topics of religion and politics unless either or both directly
relate to the work being discussed or promoted. I also am not going to run
anything that advocates big pharma is hiding the cure for cancer. Folks that
come up with that stuff deserve a special place in hell.
Before contacting me, please have an
actual idea in mind. I absolutely do not assign topics. That means I am NOT
going to tell you what to write about. This is your opportunity to write what
you want to write about. You know your books, your expertise in topics, etc. I
do not. Your idea does not have to be set in stone. It does need to have some
detail. Have at least a couple of things that you know you want to have in your
piece and tell me that in your pitch.
Word Count: Totally up to you. I do not
set a maximum or a minimum word count.
When your piece is ready, you send it to
me by email and include a 100 word or fewer bio. Also send any pics that you
think should be included in the piece. While some guest posts are super heavy
in pictures, I think it works best to have two or so. While I can and do lift
author photos and book covers from Amazon and author websites, it is easier if
you just send it from the start as well as any other pics you believe should be
included.
This is, as always, a nonpaying
opportunity. Yes, I absolutely value your work. I also have no income other
than SSD (and that is just a few hundred each month) and am supporting myself,
my adult son, and this old house on what little I inherited when my Mom passed.
The bank account is steadily shrinking and I am doing the best I can to hang in
here as inflation and other issues are making it even harder.
While I have no funds to pay you, I can
promise to promote the heck out of your appearance. You will be seen. I can’t
promise a certain number of sales, but most guests do see a spike in their
sales. Guests who are on the blog on a semi regular basis do far better than
one off appearances, but everyone does see an impact.
Questions/ pitches should be sent to me at
Kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net
I hope you choose to be a part of things here. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2023
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