Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hit List: Top 10 Works of Detective Fiction That Have Been Lost to History
SleuthSayers: BSF (Best Stories Forever) by Robert Lopresti
George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #160: DEADLY SINS
George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #160: DEADLY SINS
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Top Ten New-to-me Authors in 2023
SleuthSayers: Guest Post: The Short and the Long of It
Monday, January 29, 2024
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 72 Calls for Submissions in February 2024 - Paying Markets
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski
Duane Swierczynski writes crime fiction
and comic books and has also written several works of nonfiction. His Charlie
Hardie trilogy follows the former cop as he tries to recover from the death of
his former partner and the partner’s family while hiding in fear of meeting the
same fate. He decided moving around reduces the likelihood anyone can find him and
he’s fallen accidentally into a plush house-sitting job which lets him drink himself
senseless and watch movies all day while getting a free place to sleep with a
salary.
His last gig
in southern California ended when the wind changed direction with little notice
and swept a wildfire toward the home he was in, giving him minutes to gather
everything he could that he thought the writer owner of the house would value –
manuscripts, laptops, folders of research. He bolted as ash was pouring onto
his car. After that narrow escape, he worked on the East Coast for awhile.
The new
assignment in LA for a sound track composer traveling to Russia seemed
straightforward enough. He arrived at the house tucked away in the Hollywood
Hills however and found no key waiting for him. Instead he found a minor
actress hiding in the house, insisting that a group of people was trying to
kill her. He assumed she was whacked out on drugs or alcohol until the same
group made it plain that they had expanded their plans to include his demise.
Hardie’s
defense against the putative killers is great, it reminded me of the old
MacGyver show. Swierczynski’s expertise
in comic books and action heroes shows clearly, as Hardie resists every attempt
to subdue him. A stab in the chest with a microphone stand doesn’t stop him and
a taser merely stuns him for a minute or two. The hysterical babbling of the
actress about a murder
for hire outfit sounds outlandish at first but it becomes so realistic that the
story could easily trigger conspiracy-minded folks.
A fast-moving action-packed thriller with an original premise. Starred review from Publishers Weekly.
·
Publisher: Mulholland Books; 1st
edition (June 20, 2011)
·
Language: English
·
Paperback: 286 pages
·
ISBN-10: 0316133280
·
ISBN-13: 978-0316133289
The Amazon Associate Link: https://amzn.to/3OfqJI0
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Little Big Crimes: The Best Justice Money Can Buy, by C.C. Finlay
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Headless Lady (1940) by Clayton Rawson
Scott's Take: Scott's Take: DC Dark Knights of Steel Vol 2 by Tom Taylor
Dark Knights of Steel Volume 2 by Tom
Taylor is an action packed volume includes the last issues of this series
plus tie ins set in the past which spotlight the young trio of Bruce Wayne,
Zala (this universe’s Supergirl), and Kal-El. Like the first volume, this is an
elseworlds read and is set up like DC Universe meets Game of Thrones. Make sure
you read my review of the first book here
before reading the below.
In the first story, Kal-El meets a young
Jimmy Olsen and attempts to save him from being kidnapped. Bruce and Zala tag
along and eventually help out.
A young Bruce Wayne, long before he
is Batman, meets Bane in the second story.
In the third story, Harley Quinn
takes Kal-El and Bruce out on Halloween to attempt to give them some fun in their
life.
In the main part of the book, the
three kingdoms are now at war because of the manipulations by the White
Martians. Can our heroes prove that the war is based on lies and stop the
fighting in time to stop the White Martians from conquering all?
This is an action-packed graphic novel
featuring interesting versions of classic characters that while being similar
to their main earth counterparts are quite different. New versions of heroes
and villains are introduced here in the read. Because of the fact that this is
an elseworlds read, the tales here are more graphic and feature plenty of
violence, death, and loss.
This version of Harley Quinn remains
a delight while the main trio of heroes remain excellent. Bruce has to deal
with the truth from the first novel that he is only half human and part
Kryptonian. I love how quickly Kal-El accepts that Bruce is his biological
brother. In a lot of stories, this situation would be played for drama, but not
here as Kal-El just loves him and accepts him for who he is every day.
There is a vague teaser setting up
much more in this universe that I hope comes to pass as I very much would enjoy
reading the multiple ideas suggested.
My reading copy came by way of the
Hoopla App through the Dallas Public Library System. Unfortunately, the library
system caps patrons at 15 Hoopla items a month. I very much wish they would
raise it significantly or take the cap off altogether as I can do that easily
in graphic novels within a couple of days at the start of each new month.
Scott A. Tipple ©2023
Friday, January 26, 2024
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: NUMBER ONE PROXY BRIDE ACCORDING TO BOOK AUTHORITY
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 85 Writing Contests in February 2024 - No entry fees
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE TALL DELORES
Barry Ergang's FFB Review: THE CASE OF THE SLEEPWALKER’S NIECE (1936) by Erle Stanley Gardner
From the
massive archive….
Before I ever
read my first Perry Mason novel, I was familiar with the character from the TV
series and from advertisements for The Detective Book Club on the back covers
of some of the mystery magazines my father read.
There was a
neighborhood sundries store my father, brother and I would occasionally go to
after dinner a couple times a week if the weather were conducive, where we’d
buy ice cream and/or candy, and where my father would purchase a paperback or
two and I’d pick up some comic books. (I don’t recall what my brother bought.)
As I mentioned in my review of a modern Hardy Boys book, Secret of the Red
Arrow, I had begun at age 11 to read mystery fiction aimed at adults. So one
evening at the aforementioned store, at the age of 12, I noticed a paperback
copy of Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of the Vagabond Virgin and handed it to
my father to pay for. Thus began my Perry Mason obsession, which resulted in my
reading another dozen titles one after the other. It was a good lesson about
the pitfalls of binge-reading a particular author and series, because I became
so oversaturated with Gardner’s style and approach in the Mason novels that it
was years before I could read another one.
Eventually I
read quite a few more--spreading them out over time. When I recently came upon
an electronic copy of The Case of the Sleepwalker’s Niece, I realized that it
had been at least 20 years, probably more, since I’d read a Perry Mason
mystery, so I decided to reestablish my acquaintance.
The eighth
title in the series, it begins when Mason is hired by Edna Hammer to speed up
the divorce of her wealthy uncle, Peter Kent. His estranged wife Doris has
suddenly tried to demonstrate a kind of renewed affection for Kent, who wants
the divorce so he can marry Lucille Mays. Because Kent once picked up a butcher
knife while sleepwalking, Doris was certain he wanted to kill her.
Adding to the
story’s complications are the presences in the Kent mansion of, among others,
Kent’s shady business partner, Frank Maddox; Maddox’s pettifogging lawyer, John
Duncan; Philip Rease, Kent’s hypochondriacal half-brother; Gerald Harris,
Edna’s fiancé; and Helen Warrington, Kent’s secretary.
When sometime
around midnight--or was it later in the morning?--a figure is seen walking
across a patio toward another entrance to the house where people are sleeping,
and said figure appears to be holding a knife, and still later someone is found
dead in bed, having been stabbed to death, the most likely suspect, and the
party arrested, is Mason’s client. The questions confronting the lawyer: was
Kent actually sleepwalking, was he pretending somnambulism to commit a murder,
or was he framed by someone else? And if he was actually walking in his sleep,
how to prove it.
Anyone with
even a passing familiarity with Perry Mason knows the answer to some of those
questions. I’m not going to answer them lest I spoil some of the book’s
surprises, of which there are several. Having said so, I must also admit I
found this one to be among the weaker entries in this classic series. Erle
Stanley Gardner’s style in the Mason novels relies on lean narrative and an
extensive use of dialogue to move the story along. But in The Case of the
Sleepwalker’s Niece, there is too much talk and not enough action. It isn’t
until Mason finally gets into the courtroom that the pace quickens a bit.
If you’re a
Mason fan and have missed this one, you might want to read it for the sake of
completeness. If you aren’t a completist, pass on it in favor of better entries
in the series.
The Amazon Associate Link: https://amzn.to/3u5U7cM
Barry Ergang ©2018,
2024
Some of
Derringer Award winner Barry Ergang’s work can be found at Amazon and
Smashwords.
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Criminal Minds: The Secret Place Where Writers Find Their Ideas from James W. Ziskin
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Chin Yong-Yun Meets a Mongol" by S. J. Rozan
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: BECKWITH'S CASE
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Rita and Tonia
Short Story Wednesday Review: Mystery Magazine: January 2024
The short stories take readers across
countries and through time in Mystery Magazine: January 2024. The past
is the primary theme as is deceit in many different ways.
Arend Smith’s tale, “Jake Brown’s Anomalies,”
starts the issue off in a small town in Northwest Nebraska. In this tale
translated from the Dutch by Josh Pachter, Jake Brown is one of those neighbors
who spends his days watching comings and goings of others. He has a good
vantage point to see everyone ad everything they are doing. He keeps detailed
records. Those records and his observational skills will help to help clear him
of murder charges.
The idea was that he would know her
when you see her in “Spinning Monkey Thriller” by Martin Hill Ortiz. The
handler told him he would and not to worry about it. Three spoken words, and
her three-word response, will confirm that she is the right woman. Those three
words should also help him from getting caught.
Rein Werner is having a hard time
staying positive in “Something Like Happiness” by Joslyn Chase. His brother is
dead. His brother’s bar is falling apart. After his brother died, the police
force booted him from the payroll. Now all Rein does is run a slowly dying bar as
the fortunes of others are also declining. But, one night, a bar patron named
Dimas Klossner suggests a high risk business proposition that involves stealing
gold bars from Adolf Hitler.
Phobe and the narrator are locked in
a panic room in a house. The homeowner promised to come back in a few minutes
as “What The Boy Said” by Wynn Quon begins.
The cellmates are waiting for the down payment for a possible job. In the
meantime, things need to be said and clarified.
Lyle and Pooter Floyd had a plan. Go
around, steal stuff, and sell those items for big cash. They used that TV show,
Antiques Roadshow, as inspiration and research. It was a good plan as
far as it went in “Freezer Burn” by April Kelly.
He was her neighbor many years ago.
Now he thinks he has seen her in Berlin. Is it really her? Will she remember
him? Much is going on in “The Good Neighbor” by Martian Rosenstock.
The “You-Solve-It” mystery this month
is “Orange Cones and Alibis” by Kate Fellowes. Grace Chang and her friends are
reporting that several storage locker tubs that they won in m auction the day
before have been broken into and opened. Officer Klieforth is asking questions.
He also suspects one of the ladies. The answer will be revealed in the next
issue next month.
The issue closes with the solution to
the December 2023 “You-Solve-It” story, “Saved By The Belle” by John H. Dromey.
Mystery Magazine: January 2024 is another fun issue of mystery. The tales are complex, the characters interesting, and on occasion, the story ends in a positive note. A fact this reader much appreciated as he worked through these tales set in a variety of locations and time periods. The issue is a good one and continues the long history of this publication and their quality reads.
My Amazon Associate Link https://amzn.to/3UbuQIG
For quite some time now I have been
gifted a subscription by the publisher with no expectation at all of a
review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 15 Fabulous Writing Conferences and Workshops in in February 2024
Beneath the Stains of Time: Three Card Murder (2023) by J.L. Blackhurst
SleuthSayers: I Have First-Line Envy
Review: Harbor Lights: Stories by James Lee Burke
Harbor Lights: Stories by James Lee Burke opens with the title story. It was in 1942, the narrator and his father were out in the Gulf south of Louisiana, when they saw the bodies floating in their life vests. His dad called it in without identifying themselves or their boat. Despite Mr. Broussard’s attempt to not draw evil into their lives, it soon arrives anyway.
Nobody believes one could drive across the floor of a
lake, but he saw it happen in “Going Across Jordan.” He rode the trains with
Buddy Elgin and worked jobs hardly anyone else would do. Drifting the way they
did was a good life until they wound up in a place where things went sideways.
Communists are a societal concern, but they are more worried about a certain
bully and his connections.
“Big Midnight Special” comes next and takes readers from
the Northern Rockies to Summertime in the South. Prison Life to be specific and
one man trying to get through each day by keeping to himself. Inmate Jody
Prejean has other plans for our narrator, Arlen, and intends to get his way.
It was just a few days after Pearl Harbor in Yoakum,
Texas, as “Deportees” begins. Aaron and his mother have shown up at the deep
south Texas farm of his grandfather. A hard man on his family, he will go the
extra mile for those who show up on his land after having crossed the border. Giving
aid to those who crossed the nearby imaginary boundary for this nation puts him
crosswise with others who can use their position to bully.
Delbert Hatfield always keeps his head down and focuses
on his goal of getting tenure. Unfortunately, his daughter got herself into
trouble in “The Assault.” Her situation and his own start going downhill in
more ways than one.
He works the oil fields and likes to go to Hungry Gator
and drink when off. He isn’t looking for anything other than a steady flow of
booze. The Hungry Gator is where she met him in “The Wild Side Of Life..”
Loreen Walters is pretty, married, and trouble in a way all bored married women
are. Elmore is warned off as word got out about what went on in the bar though
all they had were drinks together. Elmore should have listened as her and his
past both come back to bite him.
He and his son are lost with a broke down car in “A Distant
War.” Fortunately, they broke down near some sort of nightclub or diner. For
Francis and his son, Morgan, the place is an oasis on this November evening. Or
is it really?
He tries to keep his loneliness and depression at bay in
“Strange Cargo.” He tries to keep his mind on the current state of things while
knowing his way of life and the beauty of the land is slowly rotting away. He
tries to live quiet and private, but Sheriff Jude Labiche won’t leave him
alone. He just wants what he wants, but the Sheriff won’t abide that.
Harbor Lights: Stories is a short story collection full of tales that don’t
rest easy on the reader. Each one is highly atmospheric, dark, and frequently
tells of bullies rejected and otherwise, using their power to make things
harder than they have to be for folks who just want to live in peace. The tales
here span the country and the decades and frequently are populated with
characters that can see the dead and hear their messages to the living. Escape is
not possible as every little thing digs one deeper into the dark pit of the evil
one will do to another human being. Nothing is straight forward in Habor
Lights: Stories other than that regardless of time and place, weak
people will always use whatever power they have to try and control others.
Resisting them will have rippling consequences.
Harbor Lights: Stories is not a cozy read or one that makes the reader feel good about others. This book is dark, often very grim, read of very good short stories. One that burns into your brain and linger on after the read is finished.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3vMC9fS
My reading copy came by way of NetGalley and the publisher, Grove
Atlantic, with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023
Monday, January 22, 2024
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Jenna and Nena
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Mayors of New York by S. J. Rozan
The Mayors of
New York
(Pegasus Crime, 2023) is the fifteenth title in the excellent Lydia Chin and
Bill Smith private investigator series by S. J. Rozan. Chin is a
first-generation American-born Chinese whose battle with her traditional
mother’s expectations runs through each book. Kentucky-born Smith is a
prototypical private eye, rumpled, cynical, world-weary. Their partnership is
unconventional and successful.
I was
delighted to win the character name that Rozan donated to a charity fundraiser
a couple of years ago and was especially pleased to see what a fat role she
gave my name in this book.
In this case
Smith is approached by a former girlfriend who works for the mayor of New York.
The mayor’s teenage son Mark has disappeared. He has run away before and his mother
believed that he would turn up after a day or two but he hasn’t this time.
Since the mayor is deep in negotiations for the new police union contract, she
does not want to ask the police to search for him. She fears she would appear
beholden to the group she is supposed to be standing firm with. She wants Smith
to quietly search for her son and bring him home. Smith doesn’t like Madam Mayor
and feels no compulsion to take the assignment and he really doesn’t like the
former girlfriend. He agrees to look for Mark because he was a teenage runaway
too.
Mark’s
parents are divorced and do not co-parent. They barely parent individually. Neither
of them really knows what Mark has been up to. His twin sister doesn’t know
much more as she’s deeply involved in her own life. The member of the mayor’s
household who does know Mark is the chef, with whom Mark spends time. He describes
Mark’s interests and activities and gives Chin and Smith far more insight than
his family did. It sends the pair across New York, where they meet neighborhood
leaders, unofficial mayors who watch out for their patch of the city. Each of
them proves helpful.
This series
is about New York as much as it is solving crime and this book showcases the
city more strongly than ever. It also delivers a great plot twist, revealing
unexpected sinister motivation for what seemed to be an innocuous minor
character. The final confrontation scene is spectacular.
Starred
reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. Highly recommended.
·
Publisher: Pegasus Crime (December
5, 2023)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 288 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1639365257
·
ISBN-13: 978-1639365258\
The Amazon Associate image system is not working, still, so please go to https://amzn.to/422O1GF to pick it up.
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on
Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Little Big Crimes: Hitman Walked Into A Romance, by Roberta Gibson
2023 Critter's Poll Results: Kevin's Corner wins "Best Review Site"
After finishing in first place for the last three
years, I made the decision last year not to enter Kevin’s Corner. As some knew
at the time, I was planning to shut down the blog within the next few weeks and
pretty much quietly go away. The reaction to my not entering the blog was
massive in public and private. People were very upset with me. I heard from
many folks who were most displeased with the fact that I was not entering the
blog in the annual poll.
I was very surprised. I have a hard time conceiving of
the idea that anything I do, especially with the blog, really impacts other
folks. Apparently, there is a huge impact even if I don’t really see it
happening.
So, after keeping the blog going through the year,
primarily with a lot of help from my friends and guests, I decided to enter
again this year, and roll the dice.
Sandi made me promise shortly before she passed that I
would write my own stuff and keep the blog going. She had far more faith in me
than I ever did in myself. Friday was her birthday and it was a very hard day.
I spent most of the day offline as I tried to lose myself in a book. It seemed like
some sort of sign Friday evening when I surfaced and checked my email and got
the news that the blog had won.
Kevin’s Corner finished FIRST.
This year, we were the only place reviewing mysteries
and crime fiction. We were also the only site that was not one of the big guns
with book giveaways, special events, and the like. I am honored and stunned how
things have turned out.
On behalf of myself, Scott, Barry, Aubrey, Jeanne of
the BPL, and numerous other folks who have been a part of things here for
another year, Thank You. If it was not for all the guests who contribute to
this blog every month, this award and the recognition, does not happen.
A massive and heartfelt thank you goes to you, the
readers, who come by here and read this blog. If it was not for your support
over these past months and years, especially after Sandi passed and my word crashed
in flames, this blog never would have continued or been around for this to
happen today. You have showed your support in public and in private, and by
voting this blog number one again.
Thank You. It truly means a lot.
Kevin
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Beneath the Stains of Time: Terrarium Nine: "Murder in the Urth Degree" (1989) by Edward Wellen
SleuthSayers: Doing Its Zone Thing by John Floyd
SleuthSayers: Managing Time
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Andrew & Jeanne's Non-Mysteries
Scott's Take: Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma by Preeti Chhibber
Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma by Preeti
Chhibber is the first book in a trilogy of books focused on Spider-Man as a teenager.
This read has multiple plotlines and includes one where Sandman is trying to
steal a lamp powered by alien matter. He is also balancing a school project
with MJ, his feelings for her, his other Spider-Man activities, working for The
Daily Bugle, and more.
The novel is told through multiple
perspectives so the reader is seeing story from multiple points of view. The read
features action, humor and plenty of character relationship building. I enjoyed
these versions of Spider-Man and Mary Jane. I really enjoyed the novel even if
it ends on cliff hanger for the next novel in the series. That book, Spider-Man's
Bad Connection, was released last September and is on my hold list at the
library.
My reading copy came from my branch,
Lochwood, of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple © 2024
Friday, January 19, 2024
Sandi's Birthday
Today is Sandi's 64rth birthday. One of the way harder
days of the year in the never ending grief sea. Nothing is getting any
easier. Maybe it isn't supposed to and
this is just the way it will always be as long as I am around.
I have explained this before, I am going to indulge myself again today, as this was and still is a very big deal. She had worked so very hard to get here and here we were..... the picture is from May 15, 2010, which was her
graduation day at TWU. She was back on her feet, had walked at graduation, and
doing pretty well after collapsing while student teaching about two months
prior to this day. She had been air ambulanced from the parking lot of a school
in Frisco down to Medical City Dallas Hospital where they determined she had
several small strokes as well as some sort of heart attack,. While they could
see damage on the MRI and the CT Scans, she never had the blood markers for
either, so they were sure she would be fine long term. We would learn over a
year and half later that not having the blood markers was meaningless because
you could be full of cancer and have no blood markers at all for it.
We would also learn that this event was probably a
warning sign of cancer that was never caught or diagnosed. All we knew this day
was that she had graduated and had to pass the state boards to finally be
cleared to teach. She had a classroom full of supplies and gear in storage and
was so thrilled to have graduated. Sandi was worried that she might not pass
the state boards as she knew she was not
the same person she was before this had happened. But, she was sure that given
enough time, things would work out.
On this day, we had no idea what was to come. We
thought the future was bright. The sun sure was as it kept busting through the
overhead cloud cover. It happened to punch through and nailed us as the picture
was taken all those years ago.
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Kristin
MAKE MINE MYSTERY: Back to the Grindstone
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: SOLD TO SATAN
Short Story Wednesday Review: Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries by Jeffrey Marks
From the massive archive...
Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an
interesting and very enjoyable collection of previously published stories
featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each story occurs during the Civil War and before
the time of the first US Grant Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name.
The stories portray Grant as a detective bringing his skills to bear on cases
where the Civil War is a backdrop.
The book opens with “Under Reconstruction.” Ulysses S. Grant likes to start his day with
as belt of whiskey. His wife, Julia, as well as many others expect him to be
President in about three years. In the meantime, he has to put up with nonsense
like the planned meeting this morning with Stanton who is Secretary of War.
Too bad there is a dead man in Stanton’s office.
In Grant’s opinion, it is a real shame that the dead man is not Stanton. Not
only does Grant need to find the Secretary of War, he needs to find out who
killed the dead man as quickly as possible to deal with the politics involved.
“Under Siege” follows and moves the action from
the White House to the war. Grant has a new regiment from Ohio and they are not
ready for battle. Not only are they not remotely ready, but in Grant’s
considered opinion, the new troops don’t even know which end of the gun to
point at the enemy. Contrary to Grant’s
opinion, apparently at least one did.
Because the shot Grant just heard over the
flapping of the tents was the shot that killed Private Walters. According to
Captain Turner, a man Grant respects even if he is soft on the recruits, it is
a suicide. Turner wants Grant to see for himself. The problem with that is that
once Grant takes a look he realizes this death was no suicide.
It’s late in 1863 and the various desserts
cooling in the kitchen in “Under Cooked” are creating an intoxicating smell.
What isn’t so pleasant is the sight of the dead woman bleeding into her own
dough. Vicksburg is behind him and the manor home on Lookout Mountain in East
Tennessee was supposed to have been a tranquil headquarters for Grant. Now
Jenny Rowe is dead and the assumption by everyone else is that she was killed
by a stray round fired during drills. If you aren’t hungry for desert when you
start reading this story you will be by the end as there is a recipe from 1862
for “Green Apple Pies.”
Shifting the perspective considerably is the
story “Under Hoof.” Written from the prospective of a horse, Cincinnati that
General Ulysses S. Grant rode during the war, it tells the tale of a
death. Since the humans all look so much
alike to the horses involved it is hard for Cincinnati and the other horses to
know which specific humans were involved. That fact and the fact Cincinnati is
going to have to somehow explain the real truth to the General are just two of the
complexities in the story.
General Ulysses S. Grant was supposed to be out
on one of the Federal boats, dry and comfortable. Instead, as “Under Water”
opens, Grant is standing over a corpse that lies in the muck next to the bank
somewhere along the Mississippi River. Somebody has caved in the man’s skull
and most likely it was a shovel. Shovels are everywhere as Grant plans to
divert the Mississippi to leave Vicksburg dry and vulnerable to attack. Who the
man was, what his purpose was, and who killed him are just a few of the
questions Grant needs answered as fast as possible.
Ulysses S. Grant has had men in his command, men
he trusted, commit murder and other acts dishonoring themselves and their
units. So, the fact that Private Jones says he didn’t do it in “Under
Suspicion” does not mean that much to Grant. Plans for the campaign after
Vicksburg are missing with the fate of the war hanging in the balance. Private
Jones was the last person known to be in the room with the documents. If he
didn’t take them, then who did?
Major General Abner Doubleday needs Grant’s help
in “Under Hand.” Doubleday has a
reputation that is not at all positive. What happened at Gettysburg and
Doubleday’s role in it no longer matters but it does to Doubleday. He claims to
now have proof for what he has said all along. He wants Grant to meet a witness
who is now finally coming forward more than a year later after the events in
question. Grant knows that the whole deal is suspect but has no idea how messed
up things will become before the deal is finished.
War takes a toll on all. Some die. Some live. Of
those that live a significant number will be forever broken. That reality is
true today just as it is true in “Under Sedation.” Grant is going to visit those broken men in
the hospital in Washington. It is his duty and his responsibility. The fact
that somebody killed a patient while Grant was at the hospital won’t be
tolerated. Before long, Grant is investigating to make sure the guilty party is
caught.
Cyrus Williams disappeared just after the Army of
Tennessee took Jackson, Mississippi. Captain Lee, no relation at all to the
southern general, has a picture from one of those new-fangled camera things
showing what might be Williams as a ghostly apparition in the picture. While
some believe Williams deserted, Captain Lee believes the ghostly figure in the
picture is Williams pointing out his killer. Then the body of Williams turns
out proving he wasn’t a deserter in “Under Developed.”
These ten stories are full of rich history and
scene details that all invoke a bye gone era. In story after story, General
Grant finds the truth with or without the help of man or beast. War is easier
than investigation and yet Ulysses S. Grant manages to be incredibly successful
at both while excellently entertaining the reader with his brand of truth,
honor and justice.
You can pick the read up here
at Amazon.
Material supplied quite some time ago by the
author in exchange for my objectivereview.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2016, 2024