Sunday, December 31, 2023
Beneath the Stains of Time: Q.E.D. X-MAS/NEW YEAR SPECIAL: "Christmas Eve Eve" (vol. 24) and "The Drama Murder Case" (One-Shot Special)
Beneath the Stains of Time: Q.E.D. X-MAS/NEW YEAR SPECIAL: "Christmas Eve Eve"...: Back in March, I reviewed Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. vol. 24 and springtime was either too late or too early to fully enjoy the seasonall...
Saturday, December 30, 2023
SleuthSayers: 2023 in Review
SleuthSayers: 2023 in Review: Another year's almost done, and I'm posting an easy-to-write column today: a look back at the stories I've published in the p...
Scott's Take: Power Girl Returns by Leah Williams
Power Girl Returns by Leah
Williams has the difficult assignment of being the first new book staring the
character in years. Power Girl along with the JSA has been relegated to the
bench for several years. They had no place in the main DC universe until
recently.
This book comes out of the events of Lazarus
Planet where a lot of stuff happened, but the only relevant part for
this book is that magic rain poured down on the world and caused changes in
people. One of those changed people is Power Girl as she now, for some reason, has
telepathic powers. With these new powers, she has agreed to be a psychologist
for the superhero community. She has also agreed to help Omen (formerly a
member of Teen Titan) also be a psychologist for the superhero community. Together
they will treat patients and their first patient is Beast Boy who has recently
survived a gunshot to the head.
Thanks to the head trauma caused by the
bullet, he now seems to be stuck in the form of a calf and unable to speak. Because
of his ability to shape shift, the injury was healed and there is now nothing
physically wrong with him. That means the problem is mostly likely in his head
and could be PTSD related or something like that. This first case leads to more as they attempt
to figure out why other heroes in the Superman family are now also suddenly having
strange issues as well.
Also included in this read is a second graphic
novel storyline that collects the Knight Terror tie in issues. In
this part, a bad guy has managed to bring every person’s nightmares to life. The
entire human race is experiencing their worst dreams. If you are a person like
Power girl who has survived the death of two worlds, you are going to have
serious issues. What happens when your nightmares become real?
The sections have different artists with
their own look and style. They are both great, but very differentin style and
tone. There is plenty of humor and action. There is a lot of character
exploration. There are changes made to classic elements of Power Girl as a
character that I am not sure how I feel about them. But, they are trying to
find a way forward for the character since she has been benched for so
long.
One thing that I wish would have been
explored, would have been the fact that Nightwing brings Beast Boy in and they
both have suffered being shot in the head in the last few years. A talented
author could have drawn parallels to the different consequences they
experienced suffering the same type of injury.
The stories in Power Girl Returns are a little short since they were originally backups for the main Superman title. Backups for people who don’t know is like little short stories included after a main book has finished. But they are released in parts together.
This series is being relaunched as a
main book by the same author. It is only just started, but the plot is that a
Kryptonian virus is killing normal human beings. It seems to have some tie to
Power Girl’s Krypton. If Power Girl can’t figure out what is happening, more
humans will die and the Superman family of this Earth will take the blame.
My reading copy came by way of the
Hoopla App and the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2023
Friday, December 29, 2023
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: A Bride for Gideon: The Proxy Brides Book 16 by Caroline Clemmons
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: A Bride for Gideon: The Proxy Brides Book 16 by C...: A Bride for Gideon: The Proxy Brides Book 16 by Caroline Clemmons Amazon Buy Link Book Blurb: Keira desperately wants to belong somewhere G...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens by Hazel Dickens and Bill C. Malone
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SleuthSayers: Let Them Want More
SleuthSayers: Let Them Want More: Got an email from a reader who said my book GILDED TIME left her in tears. She re-read the ending three times and it brought tears to her ...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: TOM SWIFT AND HIS OCEAN AIRPORT
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: TOM SWIFT AND HIS OCEAN AIRPORT: Tom Swift and His Odean Airport; or, Foiling the Haargolanders by "Victor Appleton" (Harriet Adams) (1934) A mainstay of juven...
FFB Review: Delusion in Death: In Death Series by J.D. Robb
Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYPSD has seen a lot
of bad things, but nothing at all like this as Delusion in Death
by J.D. Robb begins. The scene in the bar, On the Rocks, in Manhattan Lower West Side is a bloodbath.
Literally.
There is blood everywhere and dead bodies, scattered
everywhere with some top of others, as some sort of frenzied deal went on with
very few survivors. In a matter of minutes, over 80 people died as they fought
hand to hand and did everything they could to kill each other. Friends turned
on friends, coworkers turned on each other, and the results are a nightmare for
Dallas, Detective Peabody, and others that have to go inside the destroyed
place and work a massive case of savage carnage.
Of course, Roarke owns the place, and that means
he is involved. Was this aimed at Roarke? Was it terrorism aimed at the City?
Was it something else?
With Roarke involved that also means that
eventually Roarke’s butler, and everything, Summerset is involved. As longtime
readers know, Dallas and Summerset, are like oil and water. They don’t mix well
and have a grudging tolerance of each other with Roarke as their focus. But, in
this case and as has happened before a couple of times, Summerset is a huge
help because he has seen quite a few things in his many years.
Summerset has had a long and checkered life
including experiences during the “Urban Wars.” A period where there was
incredible strife, civil unrest, and terrorism as mankind did to each other as
it always does-- kill on a large scale. Summerset knows of two very similar
sounding incidents during that period. One was in South Kensington, an area of
London. That was followed by another event in Rome a few weeks later.
The military and the politicians covered it all
up and nobody knows who or what was behind it all. She asks Summerset to reach
out to his old contacts and see if anybody, all these years later, might have
an idea what is going on now. While Eve Dallas wonders if somebody is trying to
resurrect the old terrorist group, Red Horse, or something else is happening,
it isn’t long before the federal agency, Homeland, is involved. The race is on as
Dallas and others chase an elusive suspect who won’t stop with just one
demonstration.
A fast moving read, Delusion in Death, unspools a
gripping read. All the usual caveats apply with the head hopping and such, but
those quickly fall away as the author once again pulls the reader deep into a
police procedural set in the future where people still kill for all the usual
reasons. The tools of cops and killers are different, but humanity does what it
does.
I also still want an auto-chef, Roarke’s library,
and maybe my own Summerset.
My reading copy came by way of the Libby/OverDrive App and the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Coming Soon
Coming soon and featuring tales that first appeared elsewhere and are published again here. Crimeucopia - Say It Again includes my strange tale, "Visions of Reality."
https://www.amazon.com/Crimeucopia-Say-Again-Various-Authors/dp/1909498548Jerry's House of Everything: THE SHADOW: DEATH HOUSE RESCUE (SEPTEMBER 9. 1937)
Jerry's House of Everything: THE SHADOW: DEATH HOUSE RESCUE (SEPTEMBER 9. 1937): Orson Welles plays the shadowy presence who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. Young family man Paul Gordon, with a very ill daugh...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: 2024 Radio Bristol Book Club
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: 2024 Radio Bristol Book Club: Have you caught the Radio Bristol Book Club ? Each month the Birthplace of Country Music and the Bristol Public Library come togethe...
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Jungle Red Writers: Bring it, 2024 -- And by "it" I mean BOOKS!
Jungle Red Writers: Bring it, 2024 -- And by "it" I mean BOOKS!: JENN MCKINLAY : It’s that time again, Reds, to tabulate the total of our bookstore gift cards received during the holiday season (woo hoo!...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 86 Calls for Submissions in January 2024 - Paying Markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 86 Calls for Submissions in January 2024 - Paying ...: This January there are more than seven dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As alw...
Beneath the Stains of Time: At the Sign of the Clove and Hoof (1937) by Zoë Johnson
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Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: More Christmas Stories
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: More Christmas Stories: I have now read 17 of the 26 stories in Murder for Christmas , edited by Thomas Godfrey. I did not read all of those this month; some of the...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Guns Of Brixton by Paul D. Brazill
From the massive archive…
Getting good help is always a problem
whether in the real world at the store or repair shop, or in the fictional
world. Kenny Rogan and Big Jim Lawson were supposed to go get a brief case
from a man known as Half Pint Harry Hebb. Now, his name could be changed to
Brainless Half-Pint Harry Hebb as Big Jim just used a sawed-off shotgun to
permanently change the man’s cognitive skills in a highly negative way. While
Big Jim considers the matter “a little accident” Kenny vehemently disagrees and
understands the catastrophe that has befallen the duo.
Half-Pint Harry Hebb was a key player
with the local underworld. Considering the fact that Mad Tony Cook sent them to
get the now slightly damaged stainless-steel briefcase he is not going to be
pleased at all that a man of Half-Pint Harry Hebb’s stature is now
dead. Once they turn over the briefcase their fates are pretty much
sealed. Of course, if Kenny and Big Jim can get rid of the body on their own
and make it all go away with no one the wiser, then they should be good. And
they can get rid of the body as part of a trip they have planned to do an
independent job of their own.
Anyone who pays attention at any level
to the world of politics, religion, crime, and other humans’ endeavors should
be well aware that the cover up is always a worse disaster than the original
crime. Such is the case here in Guns of Brixton when
the effects of a few minutes in a Landon garage ripple far afield from Kenny,
Big Jim, and the departed Half-Pint Harry Hebb. For all involved it is going to
be an odd and often violent start to the New Year.
Like a lot of the Paul D. Brazill’s
excellent stories there are a large number of cultural references at work in
this twisting crime yarn. Many become clear in time via the context of the
story through one does get the feeling one is missing a point or joke here and
there. What is clear regardless of your personal familiarity with the cultural
references is that humor is prevalent in this read as is plenty of serious
violence and action in a noir style tale that gets bigger and bigger as the
novella works toward the conclusion.
Much like his very
good A Case of Noir much is at work
in Guns of Brixton making the read well worth your time
and money.
Material supplied by the
author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2023
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 43 Writing Contests in January 2024 - No entry fees
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 43 Writing Contests in January 2024 - No entry fees: This January there are more than three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes ran...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Christmas All Through the South
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Christmas All Through the South: Reviewed by Jeanne Christmas All Through the South: Joyful Memories, Timeless Moments, Enduring Traditions is a gorgeous coffee table t...
Monday, December 25, 2023
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder in Retrospect: The Best and Worst of 2023
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder in Retrospect: The Best and Worst of 2023: Since 2020, these years roundups acquired a depressing undertone and I'm afraid this year is no exception as Rupert Heath, of Dean S...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Winter Solstice: Rosamunde Pilcher
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Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Hardcastle’s Actress by Graham Ison
Graham Ison
spent 30 years in the Special Branch at Scotland Yard and then four years at 10
Downing Street as Protection Officer to two Prime Ministers. Thus equipped with
a uniquely specialized background, he began writing crime fiction. His Brock
and Poole, Tommy Fox, and Gaffney and Tipper series are all contemporary. His
Hardcastle series is set during World War I. One article about Ison says he
turned to historical crime fiction when his contemporary police procedurals
could not keep up with the changes in real-life policing, thus rendering his
books inaccurate before they were published. See the article in Shots, http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/feature_view.aspx?FEATURE_ID=232
Hardcastle’s
Actress
(Severn House, 2007) is the fifth book featuring Ernest Hardcastle, Division
Detective Inspector in charge of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Whitehall
Division of the London Metropolitan Police. The Hardcastle family is happily
preparing to sit down to its 1914 Christmas Day goose when a messenger from
Scotland Yard arrives with an urgent summons from the detective chief inspector
of the CID. Mrs. Hardcastle is considerably put out but Hardcastle leaves
promptly to learn he’s to go to Windsor to investigate the murder of a young
woman whose body was found in the Great Park that morning. Hardcastle ruins
Detective Sergeant Charles Marriott’s Christmas by requesting his assistance.
The dead
woman was an actress who had been part of a troupe appearing at a local
theatre. She was the star performer and supported the war effort by encouraging
members of the audience to step up and enlist after the show. In addition to
the military men hanging around the stage door, hoping to take her to dinner,
she’d also been getting anonymous letters, some proposing marriage. Hardcastle
felt he would not have far to look for her killer.
The story is
rich with period detail. Set in the early days of the war, the English people
were just starting to realize what they were in for. Casualties were pouring in
and the impact of loss was beginning to be felt. Ison does a great job in
portraying how little ordinary folk cared about international politics. The
police procedures of the time are well documented as well. Automobiles were
still a rarity then, and the police had to conduct a stakeout with a
horse-drawn carriage.
Hardcastle is
an admirable series lead. He is a curmudgeon while thoroughly professional.
Marriott is a good foil, knowing when to argue with Hardcastle and when to be
silent. The frequent use of Cockney rhyming slang, while no doubt an accurate
reflection of the usage of the time, sent me to an online dictionary
repeatedly.
A fine piece
of historical crime fiction. Recommended especially for fans of World War I
mysteries.
·
Publisher: Severn House (August 1,
2007)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 216 pages
·
ISBN-10: 0727865153
·
ISBN-13: 978-0727865151
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Little Big Crimes: A Right Jolly Old Elf, by Joseph S. Walker
Little Big Crimes: A Right Jolly Old Elf, by Joseph S. Walker: "A Right Jolly Old Elf," by Joseph S. Walker, Black Cat Weekly , #120, 2023. This is the eleventh story by my friend to grace ...
Jerry's House of Everything: A CHRISTMAS EVE GHOST STORY: THE STALLS OF BARCHESTER CATHEDRAL
Jerry's House of Everything: A CHRISTMAS EVE GHOST STORY: THE STALLS OF BARCHE...: One of the most noted authors of the classic British ghost story was scholar and antiquinarian Montague Rhodes James, who would often read h...
26th Annual Critters Readers Poll Opened -- Best Review Site
After claiming the title of “Best Review Site” three years running, I decided to not submit Kevin’s Corner or run last year in the Annual Critters Readers’ Poll. I then regretted that decision for the next few weeks as so many commented on my blog, on various social media platforms, and by email that I should have run again.
I was also repeatedly and vehemently
told not to shut down the blog and that it provides a major service to mystery
readers as well as readers in general. That support that was expressed then, as well as several other times over this past year, is the only reason why I have kept the blog going.
So, with the 26th Annual Critters Readers' Poll now
open, I have placed Kevin’s Corner in the running in the Review site
category. If you think the blog is
worthy, please vote at https://critters.org/predpoll/reviewsite.shtml
After you vote, make sure you respond to the
confirmation email and registers your vote so that it is counted.
As always, we will be going up against a number
of review sites have teams of reviewers and are active in many genres across
multiple forms of media. Most of them host book giveaways and other events as
well. This site remains an underdog as always because we do not have all the
bells and whistles that other sites have to drive traffic to them.
If you think we are worthy of your vote, please
go cast your vote today. Remember, you have to respond to the confirmation
email for your vote to count.
On behalf of Aubrey Hamilton, Barry Ergang,
Jeanne of the BPL, Scott, and the numerous guests that have visited the blog
during 2023, and myself, thank you for your support.
Kevin
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Scott's Take: Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths by Joshua Williamson
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
by Joshua Williamson (Author), Daniel Sampere (Illustrator) collects the main
titles for this event. The tie ins which are referenced throughout the book in
little dialog boxes saying go to this boor or that to continue the plot thread
are not collected here.
In this event, the most of the members of Justice
League are murdered. With every villain on the planet knowing the Justice
League is dead, the bad guys have declared open season on every remaining hero.
Deathstroke is leading an army of villains with one simple mission--- kill
every hero. It’s up to the sidekicks and legacy heroes to save the world. Led
by Nightwing and Superman’s son, can the remaining heroes protect the planet?
Featuring heroes like Supergirl, Black Adam, Damian
Wayne, Hal Jordan (one of the few big
name justice league members who survived as he was not part of the current
team), and others, the spotlight is on the
lower profile heroes than the usual main heroes of the DC Universe. The art is
epic and really showcased in the massive number of great fights. Early on
readers are treated to Nightwing going hand to hand with Deathstorke as well as
Jon Kent having to face off with Cyborg Superman. Those are just two of the
early fights that are featured in this book.
There are also some really emotional moments like
Nightwing leading a candle light vigil for the fallen heroes while Supergirl
holds Lois Lane up. Or when Hal Jordan learns that all of his friends are dead after
returning from outer space and looking for his former teammates. The return of
another superhero team that has not been used in a long time is handled
incredibly well.
The plot is rushed a bit in this stand alone read. The tie ins are where they really let the events breath better. Overall, this is a pretty cool event book if you like the lower profile heroes with cool cameos with various smaller heroes like Frankstein (yes, that Frankstein) and more.
My reading copy came from the Central or Downtown
Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2023
Friday, December 22, 2023
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: Angel for Christmas by Caroline Clemmons
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: Angel for Christmas by Caroline Clemmons: Angel for Christmas by Caroline Clemmons Amazon buy link Since it is the holidays, I chose to spotlight one of my lesser-known Christmas boo...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus
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Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: HER DESERT LOVER: A LOVE STORY
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FFB Review: Spirit Of Steamboat: A Walt Longmire Story by Craig Johnson
With Christmas coming Monday, it seemed a good time to remind you of this very good seasonally appropriate read.
The Tuesday
before Christmas brings snow, relative quiet, and no real plans for Sheriff
Walt Longmire other than his annual rereading of A Christmas Carol. That is
until the quiet dark-haired woman toting a garment bag walked into his office.
Eventually it becomes clear that she wants to see the former Sheriff, Lucian
Connally. The woman claims to have something that she would like to return to
him.
Lucian is
living at the “Durant Home for Assisted Living” and could probably use a visit
from somebody besides Sheriff Walt Longmire and Dog. Not only is the home’s
television another victim of Lucian’s legendary temper having died by gunshot,
the man is not in the best of moods because it is Christmas and he has been
drinking quite a bit. He has no idea who the mystery woman is either until she
says “Steamboat.”
What follows
is an incredibly suspenseful flashback tale of a flight to save a child’s life
against the odds---medical and environmental. On Christmas Eve in 1988 an aging
WWII plane and a cast of locals including the recently retired Lucian and first
year Sheriff Walt Longmire pulled off a Christmas miracle. Though readers can
surmise from nearly the start that the dark-haired woman was that child, there
is plenty of suspense in how the flight happened and why she is back now.
While Spirit
of Steamboat: A Walt Longmire Story is a short book as it is a novella,
it is a powerful and deeply moving book. Craig Johnson brings alive the storm,
the people, and the history of a legendary aircraft in a way that few novelists
could do. The resulting 160-page book might simply be the best thing the man
has ever written.
You can, and should, also read Lesa Holstine's 2020 take on the book here.
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R.
Tipple ©2013, 2017, 2021, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 11 (Warm) Writing Conferences and Workshops in January 2024
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Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE SPECTRE-BARBER
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Short Story Wednesday Review: The Empty Manger by Bill Crider
As we roll towards Christmas 2023, I thought for this Short Story Wednesday I would offer you a seasonal repeat. It seemed fitting.
Back a number of years ago, I first heard about
The Empty Manager by Bill Crider when Ben Boulden mentioned his 2008 review of
the same over on his Gravetapping Blog. It wasn’t available via eBook or at my
local library so Bill Crider sent me a copy from his own personal library. I
reviewed it here on the blog late December 2014. I mentioned in here again in
December 2016 and again in 2019. I had planned to read the other novellas in
the book and still have not managed to do that. Life tended to laugh and interfere
with my plans on this and quite a number of other things. So it goes. Though I
have not managed to get the job done, my advice remains the same as it was
then—if you can get your hands on the book, do so.
Sheriff Dan Rhodes can’t remember it ever snowing
in Blacklin County on Christmas. It certainly didn’t look like it would happen
this year with daytime temperatures in the upper 60’s and low 40’s at night.
Typical weather for the area residents of the county located in East Texas, but
not conducive to the postcard winter wonderland so many long for at this time
of year.
Like a lot of small Texan towns-- and elsewhere
for that matter-- the downtown area of Clearview has a number of vacant
buildings in various states of disrepair. Some of the vacant buildings are in
very bad shape. Shoppers were drawn away to the nearby Wal-Mart or one of the
big new grocery stores and local businesses closed leaving the buildings to
decay and rot. City council member Jerri Laxton had been pushing plans to
restore the grandeur of the downtown area.
One of her ideas was to get some of the local
high school students to paint a mural on one of the walls of a downtown
building. Some of the local religious leaders convinced all that in the spirit
of the season the mural should be of a manger with a brilliant star hanging
over it. Somebody else came up with the plan to have members of the local
Baptist congregation play the parts of Joseph, Mary, wise men, and the
shepherds with a doll standing in for the baby Jesus. After all, the risk with
a real baby as part of the outside scene would be too high.
It was a very good thing that a doll was used
because, according to Francis Blair, somebody stole baby Jesus. She is very
upset that somebody would do that. She might be more upset if she knew there
was a dead body in the alley behind the building.
While Rhodes never drinks a Dr Pepper----though he does talk about it---- and he never eats any crackers, he does actively work the cases. Any Rhodes story is a good one and this one is no exception. The novella, The Empty Manger by Bill Crider is well worth the effort to get your hands on the book, Murder, Mayhem, And Mistletoe. Crider’s story is one of four novellas in the book that also contains works from Terence Faherty, Aileen Schumacher, and Wendi Lee.
Material supplied by the author so that I could
read and review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014, 2016, 2019, 2023
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Beneath the Stains of Time: Not a Ghost to Be Found: "The Name on the Window" (1951) by Edmund Crispin
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SleuthSayers: The Best Private Eye Stories of the Year
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Review: Blood Relations: A DS Ryan McBride Novel by J. Woollcott
It is several months after events in A Nice Place to
Die as Blood Relations: A DS Ryan McBride Novel by J. Woollcott begins
and the scene is bad. Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride and others have come this
April day to Hungry Hall, a rundown country house near Antrium. It was the home
of Patrick Mullen. Now he has been found very much dead in his bedroom in a
scene that has shaken a number of officers.
Mullen was a retired Chief Inspector and a legend- for good
and bad reasons. Ryan’s new boss, Inspector Whelan, believes that the killing
has to be the work of somebody connected to one of Mullen’s old cases. McBride
isn’t so sure as the intensity of the crime scene means he thinks it is
personal and wants to focus on family and friends. Whelan says no and tells him
to look at past cases. This will become an ongoing issue as Whelan does
everything to micromanage his case, including putting him on the clock. Of course, some of her need to control is
being the new boss and trying to get credit to move up the ladder, but some of
it no doubt goes back to when both first joined the police and became rivals to
a certain extent. As his old boss discovered, it is best to let McBride do his
thing and get out of the way as he closes cases.
What follows is a complicated read. Several secondary
storylines introduced in the first book continue as characters continue to
evolve and relationships change. The case also generates additional new and
very interesting subplots. Those situations play a comfortable background
medley to a complicated murder case and other crimes.
Much is going on in Blood Relations: A DS Ryan McBride
Novel and the result is a complicated multi-dimensional read that works
in all aspects. A book and a series that I never would have heard about if not
for Aubrey’s recent review.
This is a series that builds on the previous book, A
Nice Place To Die. Highly recommended.
My reading copy came by way of the publisher, Level Best
Books, and NetGalley.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023
Monday, December 18, 2023
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Looker by Laura Sims
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Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Twilight Queen by Jeri Westerson
Jeri
Westerson wrote fifteen mysteries about Crispin Guest, the social pariah and
former English knight who in 1383 strikes out on a new career as a private
investigator. Now she has given her attention to the court of Henry VIII, which
one might think has been thoroughly explored. However, Westerson has turned the
slight historical references to
Will Somers, the court jester, into a real person and the center of a new
mystery series.
In the second book
The Twilight Queen, to be released in January by Severn House, some time
has lapsed since Will’s debut. The court is in a quiet uproar, as Henry is
losing interest in Anne Boleyn, the woman he defied the Catholic Church to
marry. Anne has failed to produce a son, and Henry is starting to look around
the court for her replacement, a scant three years after their marriage. Some
are pleased, as Anne made enemies on her way up and they are eager to engineer
her downfall. Others, like Will Somers, are appalled at Henry’s treatment of
his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and now fear a similar fate, or worse, is
waiting for Anne.
Within this hot
bed of political treachery, Anne issues an urgent summons to Will. He finds her
in her chambers, where she shows him a dead man near her bed. She doesn’t know
him and believes the body has been placed in her room to discredit her with the
king. She begs Will to take him away and find out who is trying to damage her reputation.
Thus Will embarks on his second investigation.
Will is a
fascinating character with an innate sense of fairness and decency. He tries to
persuade Henry not to abandon Anne so readily, drawing the wrath of some of
Anne’s enemies who are working to remove her. Westerson has drawn a vivid and
frightening portrait of a court ruled by an unstable egomaniac, where anyone
within the king’s sphere could be knighted or beheaded with equal ease and with
as little cause.
Will has a far
more adventurous love life than a respectably married man should have. The book
is as much about his romances as it is about his budding career as a detective.
His long-suffering wife holds her own in their marriage, as well as any woman
could at that time. How their relationship evolves will be interesting to watch
as the series unfolds.
For fans of well-written and well-researched
historical mysteries. Recommended.
·
Publisher: Severn House; Main edition (January 2,
2024)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 224 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1448310903
· ISBN-13: 978-1448310906
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.