Writer Beware: The Latest Impersonation Scams
Friday, June 21, 2024
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Little Encyclopedia of Fairies by Ojo Opanike
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Little Encyclopedia of Fairies by Ojo Opanike: Reviewed by Jeanne While setting up our cryptid display, I was a bit sidetracked looking at other creatures in folklore. This small ...
SleuthSayers: Mr. Swartwood’s Marvelous Box of BOGO Swag
SleuthSayers: Mr. Swartwood’s Marvelous Box of BOGO Swag: My wife runs a monthly authors-in-conversation series at a local watering hole. She started it just before Covid hit, went virtual during t...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: ATLANTIS ENDGAME
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: ATLANTIS ENDGAME: Atlantis Endgame by Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith (2002) Last week I reviewed Key Out of Time , the fourth and supposedly final book i...
Thursday, June 20, 2024
FFB Review: Secrets in Death: In Death Series by J. D. Robb
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is not one to go to clubs and meet for a drink. But, she is going to do it as Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb begins. They have to work together and are doing it, but things could be better. DeWinter is trying to get to know her better and Dallas is trying to let her into her life a little bit. You do what you have to do and Dr. Garnet DeWinter isn’t going to let her slide. So, she walks into the place and notices that the club is one of the kinds of annoys her from the start.
In looking
around for DeWinter, she sees Larinda Mars. Fortunately, the woman who bills
herself as a “social information reporter” does not see her. Mars does gossip
for channel 75. The same place that Nadine Furst works. But, unlike Furst who
does actual journalism and strives to have the facts always correct, Mars is
the polar opposite. The last thing Dallas wants is Mars talking about her on
the air. She seems focused on her male companion, whomever he is, and Dallas is
glad her focus is on him.
She has her
drink, an appetizer, and is sort of clearing the air with DeWinter when all
heck breaks loose. Mars is suddenly in the middle of the floor between tables,
staggering from obvious blood loss, and is barely on her feet. Dallas jumps up,
gets to her, and eases her to the floor as she passes out. Despite the efforts
of DeWinter, another doctor in the club, and others, Mars dies right there in
front of them on the floor.
That makes Du
Vin a crime scene with lots of potential witnesses. Since Dallas caught the
case, literally, that makes the murder of Larinda Mars her case.
Mars trafficked
in gossip. She also, as Dallas, Peabody and others soon discover, had a very
rewarding secondary income stream via blackmail. That sort of thing tends to
push folks to end the blackmail at some point. The list of suspects is long and
the files that Mars had on Dallas, Roarke, and many others might provide clues
to her killer.
Good thing that
no matter how despicable the person was in their life, Dallas, Peabody, and
others, always stand for them in a quest for justice.
Secrets in Death is another good
one. Complicated in many ways, J.D. Robb spins an engaging tale of murder and
deceit in the read. Part police procedural, part romance, the read rolls
forward at a steady pace. Like others in the series, it is also well worth your
time.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3TZvlFm
My reading copy,
in large print hardback as the eBook was not available, came from the Central/Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 26 Glorious Writing Conferences and Workshops in July 2024
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 26 Glorious Writing Conferences and Workshops in J...: This July there are more than two dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most will...
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Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: American Spirits, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, The Warmth of Other Suns
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: American Spirits, Tom Stoppard's Arcad...: Reported by Rita American Spirits by Russell Banks Three interlocking tales about the locals in a rural New York town, inclu...
Beneath the Stains of Time: Water from a Stone: "The Sweating Statue" (1985) by Edward D. Hoch
Beneath the Stains of Time: Water from a Stone: "The Sweating Statue" (1985) b...: Edward D. Hoch 's "The Sweating Statue" is the third short story to feature his modern-day Father Brown character, Father Davi...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: IN THE HEART OF FIRE
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: IN THE HEART OF FIRE: In the Heart of Fire by Dean Koontz (an Amazon Original Stories ebook. 2019) This story (actually a novelette, or perhaps a novella) is th...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Mystery Magazine: June 2024
Mystery Magazine: June 2024
opens with the featured cover story, “Sky Pirate Of The Golden Age” by Eric Cline.
In 1972, there were a lot of skyjackings. Braniff Flight #1225 from Kanas City,
Missouri, to Los Angeles, is going to be one of those flights interrupted by a
skyjacking. For a ten-year-old boy, what he knows, will be impactful for
everyone on that plane for decades to come.
The ladies gather to drink and evaluate others in
“Friends” by David Bart. Two guys they all know are now widowers. That makes
them fair game to talk about. But the ladies don’t know as much, as they think
they do.
Andrew Welsh-Huggins short story, “They Always Took Longer,”
is up next. Carter transports people long distance for a fee. He is moving
people on the run or otherwise who can’t use planes, buses, etc. They need to
get from one place to another without being tracked. His latest client, Heiser,
is more than a bit difficult, he will be glad to be done with him once they
make Denver.
“Death And Deception At The Codwall Inn” by Denise Johnson proves that booking a stay based on the write up in a bridal magazine
may not have been the best idea. They came to attend a wedding. Ellie isn’t
about to leave early even if they can’t lock the door to their room. Being
unable to lock their room door is the first of many oddities.
“The Gate Of Hades” by Robert Lopresti takes readers
to Greece and tourists on holiday. Our narrator and his wife, Melissa, are part
of an American tourist group seeing the sights and learning the history around
Cape Matapan in the southernmost point of main land Greece. Specifically, the Mani Peninsula which has a
notorious reputation. It is also where Hades is thought to have dragged Cerberus
and other things in Greek Mythology occurred. No wonder things begin to turn
for various members of the tour group.
Gordon Stack is looking around for a new wife in
“Swimming With Sharks” by Bond Elam. The current wife, Gwen, is now into her mid-30s,
and Gordon, 15 years older, is ready for a replacement. But, she has not
violated her prenuptial agreement. He isn’t about to give up any of his
millions in order to move on. So, something else must be done.
The “You-Solve-It” short story this month is from
John M. Floyd and titled, “A Shock To The System.” Frances Valentine is on a
ride along with deputy Earl Malone on patrol. They respond to call to Zeke
Mooney’s house where Zeke is soon on his way to the hospital. Something went
wrong during a poker game and Malone and Valentine have a case to work.
The issue concludes with the solution to the May 2024
“You-Solve-It” short story, “A Failure To Communicate,” by John H. Dromey.
As always, the short stories here are diverse in
terms of writing style and other factors. This is not a niche publication, but
one that prides itself on diversity under the mystery umbrella. As always, the situations
are interesting and the tales are good ones. Mystery Magazine: June 2024
is another issue well worthy of your attention.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4cs5c8D
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, June 18, 2024
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: SMFS Members Published in Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: SMFS Members Published in Larceny & Last Chances: ...: Today is publication day for the new anthology, Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense . Published by Superior Sho...
Robert Lopresti's Author News: Robert Lopresti, Authorfella, Spring Newsletter
Robert Lopresti's Author News: Robert Lopresti, Authorfella, Spring Newsletter: Okay, don't nag. It's still spring until June 22, right? Summer solstice and all that. Here's the news! I think this is the ...
SleuthSayers: Compiling a Multi-Author Collection by Judy Penz Sheluk
SleuthSayers: Compiling a Multi-Author Collection: I am glad to welcome guest author Judy Penz Sheluk today, who is talking about anthologies. Take it away, Judy! — Barb Goffman Compiling a ...
Monday, June 17, 2024
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: British TV Mysteries
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: British TV Mysteries: For those of us who still enjoy watching things on DVD, the library has a good selection of British mysteries. While all of these may have...
Little Big Crimes: And Now, an Inspiring Story of Tragedy Overcome, by Joseph S. Walker
Little Big Crimes: And Now, an Inspiring Story of Tragedy Overcome, b...: "And Now, an Inspiring Story of Tragedy Overcome," by Joseph S. Walker, i n Three Strikes -- You're Dead!, edited by Donna ...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair
Again I am
here to extol the virtues of the next book in the Sparks and Bainbridge
historical mystery series written by Alan Gordon under the name Allison
Montclair. Alan
Gordon is a recently retired lawyer, author, lyricist, and librettist, who is
no stranger to the demands of writing a convincing historical mystery series.
Between 1999 and 2010 he wrote eight well-reviewed books in the Fool’s Guild
mysteries, set in early 13th century
Europe.
Gordon chose a completely different
time and place for his current series, but a fascinating one as well: post-war
London. The country is in social and economic upheaval, service personnel are
returning from overseas to find no jobs and sometimes bombed-out homes, and
shortages of all kinds are still wreaking havoc with the simple act of existing
day to day. He created two compelling, very different characters: Miss Iris
Sparks, formerly of an intelligence unit, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, widow
of an Air Force pilot from an aristocrat family. Both of them are looking for a
fresh start when they meet and decide to form an agency to facilitate marriage
among the lonely and unattached members of the London populace. The series
debut earned starred
reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus and selection as the
best mystery of 2020 by the American Library Association’s Reading List.
Six books into the series and the
duo are pleased with their success. They are making enough money to hire a
secretary and they moved into a larger office. In Murder at the White Palace
(Minotaur, release date July 30, 2024) Gwen suggests throwing a New Year’s Eve
party for their clients as a sort of large-scale effort to match them up. The
biggest roadblock was a venue that they could afford. Archie Spelling, Iris’s
admirer, offered one of his buildings under renovation. He expedited the
clean-up, during which a body was discovered. The initial assumption was that
another victim of the Blitz had been discovered until further examination
showed otherwise.
Since Spelling’s business ventures
were often somewhat dubious, the police believed the victim was one of
Spelling’s erstwhile competitors. Iris of course could not have Spelling
wrongfully accused so she and Gwen went to work once again as investigators.
They are also addressing changes in their personal lives. Gwen is now
in the possession of her inheritance. She is quietly searching for a home away
from her controlling in-laws where she can raise her son. Iris is steeling
herself to introduce her wrong-side-of-the-tracks boyfriend to her Member of
Parliament mother and then to meet his family at the wedding of his
nephew.
The characters of Iris
and Gwen continue to grow here. Gwen gathers strength and self-confidence as
she navigates the world without the husband she thought she needed. Iris is
shedding the loner lifestyle she had adopted as she moves toward deeper
involvement with Archie and his large family.
A major plot twist
suggests even greater changes in the not distant future. Followers of the
series will be waiting with bated breath for the seventh book.
Highly recommended,
especially for fans of historical mysteries and of mysteries with strong female
leads.
·
Publisher: Minotaur Books (July 30,
2024)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 320 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1250854210
·
ISBN-13: 978-1250854216
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3z1a3PH
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, June 16, 2024
Happy Father's Day!
Hope you had a great Father's Day!
And, if you are not a father yet, there is still time to fix that situation. As they say in basketball, you just got to take it to the hole and slam it home. Score! 😁
Short Story Excerpt: The Hospital Boomerang by Kevin R. Tipple
This Tuesday is Publication Day for the new anthology,
Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense.
Published by Superior Shores Press, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, the read is available
in both print and digital formats at Amazon
and other vendors. It also contains my short story, “The Hospital Boomerang.”
My short story is a crime fiction tale set in small town Texas. Our narrator is a bit bitter and has gone through some things over the years. He also has a bit of a sarcastic streak as he narrates the story.
Below is a small excerpt from the beginning of
the tale. I hope you will want to see more and pick up the book.
The Hospital Boomerang by Kevin R. Tipple
It was the damn beeping that woke me up. I opened my
eyes, only to see the same crappy tile overhead that I had seen once before. A
heart monitor and an IV drip machine beeped. I looked down my bed. Neither wrist was handcuffed to the rail of the
bed. An improvement over my last visit.
The
pain in my stomach was not an improvement. Neither was the pain that ripped
through me when I moved my legs.
“Damn.”
I am also going to have a guest post on Art Taylor’s The First Two Pages where I go into a bit more depth about the tale and what I tried to accomplish in it. Will let you know when that piece goes live. It should be up soon.
Hope you check out the read. I am still amazed to be in the book.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Our Anniversary
39 years ago today Sandi and I were married in the same church her parents had been married in many years earlier. She was, and always will be, my everything. One would think after going through seven of these deals, I could handle it better. I'm not. Some days are just brutal. This is one of those days.
SleuthSayers: Go Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well
SleuthSayers: Go Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well: For those who are wondering what kind of instruction that might be, my title today is a quote by the goofy character Hedley Lamarr, in the g...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Secret Appalachian Highlands: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure by Robert Sorrell
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Secret Appalachian Highlands: A Guide to the Weird...: Reviewed by Jeanne Did you know that Kingsport claims to be the birthplace of Long Island Iced Tea? Or that Kingsport claims Sensaba...
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Nettle & Bone, Kamogawa Food Detectives, Greenlights
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Nettle & Bone, Kamogawa Food Detective...: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher To save her sister and topple a throne, Marra is offered the tools she needs if she ...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Clue in the Air (1917) by Isabel Ostrander
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Clue in the Air (1917) by Isabel Ostrander: Isabel Ostrander was an American socialite from a well-to-do New York family, of Dutch descent, who traveled and lived all over the world a...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Crime Hits Home, Part 2
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Crime Hits Home, Part 2: Crime Hits Home is an anthology from Mystery Writers of America, edited by S. J. Rozan. The book was published in April 2022 and all of t...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: YOU WERE PERFECTLY FINE
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: YOU WERE PERFECTLY FINE: "You Were Perfectly Fine" by Dorothy Parker (first published in The New Yorker , February 23, 1929; reprinted twice in The Even...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Moon Shot: Murder And Mayhem On The Edge Of Space Editor J. Alan Hartman
While I have read something that I thought I would have reviewed today, I did not get the review done with the book signing events over the weekend and the toll it took on me. So, I decided that if I was going to offer a repeat for Short Story Wednesday, I would offer you my most popular review ever. Also rather fitting as the astronauts aboard the space station are doing space walks this week while a Chinese lander is on the way back to Earth after retrieving samples from the far side of the moon. While the book is no longer listed on the Untreed Reads website due to the change in ownership, Amazon still has it listed in digital format. I have the link for this great book at the bottom of the review.
As long as humans are involved in space exploration,
crime is a distinct possibility. It is a common occurrence in this anthology of
14 short stories. Recently released by Untreed Reads, Moon Shot: Murder And
Mayhem On The Edge Of Space proves that in space they may not hear you
scream, but thanks to surveillance cameras and other technology they often see
you kill.
According to editor Jay Hartman, the inspiration for
the anthology was a story submitted by Suzanne Berube Rorhus several months
ago. That story set abroad the International Space Station titled “A Murder Far
From Home” starts off the anthology.
Chrissie Isaac is very much dead thanks to the slit in her carotid
artery. With Atlantis docked to the station there are nine possible suspects on
board and not one of them is a homicide detective. The beautiful Chrissie had
been possibly borderline at her job, but she definitely was far better at
creating drama and sexual tension. The ISS doctor has to determine who did the
deed in a case where almost everyone had plenty of motive.
Beauregard wasn’t supposed to die. But, he did after
what would have been routine surgery on Earth. Surgery at the Lunar Base is a
far different thing in “Virtual Crimes, Real Consequences” by Elizabeth
Hossang. An investigation is launched and Commander Ortiz is going to have to
make some tough decisions.
Jack Bates is up next with “Rocket Garden” set at
the NASA complex in Florida. It is night and the visitor center is closed. That
is part of Jacob’s plan to deal with problem and the easiest part. Everything
else is kind of up in the air including the large moon that illuminates all.
Mars make the first appearance in the anthology in
“Where Egos Collide” by Laird Long. Dr.
Lazar wants to surrender to the warden of the “Martian Territory Correctional
Facility.” He claims to be the same Dr. Lazar that is, according to reports,
the one who has threatened to move the Earth from its orbit unless the United
States pays him ten billion dollars. This Dr. Lazar wants protective custody.
Unfortunately for him, they already have in protective custody another Dr.
Lazar who seems to know everything.
Homicide Detectives as well as cops in general are
nearly obsolete thanks to advances in technology and computers. Those few
homicide detectives left are referred to as “Fedoras.” In this story of the same name by Jeremy K.
Tyler Detective Stone is human with a few cybernetic enhancements. Something
bad had happened onboard The Caledonia that has resulted in four fatalities.
What happened is just one of the things Detective Stone has to figure out.
“Mayhem on Mars” by E. Lynn Hooghiemstra features a crew that is slipping over the edge. Things are going wrong with critical systems and Saskia hasn’t been able to fix the problems on a permanent basis. The personnel involved are also failing at important times and despite all their training are having emotional crises. If Saskia can’t figure out what is happening everyone will be dead –-one way or another.
Michael has a serious problem in “At the Corner of
Night and Nowhere” by Toby Speed. His wealthy wife wants out of the marriage
and to return to Earth. Mary Beth has it all planned out and makes it very
clear she is done with the marriage as well as life on Mars. Now, Michael has
to figure out what to do as the clock ticks down to her departure.
Pickpocketing is just one of the things at work in
“On Gossamer Wings” by Wenda Morrone.
Little J knows how to move things through Penn Station and bypass the
cops. The guy wearing the Star Trek pin would do well to listen. An upcoming
moon shot could be at stake in this alternative history story.
It is supposed to be a relaxing evening at home. A
little wine, a little music, and off to bed in “Crime of Passion” by Suzanne
Derham Cifarelli. That was until the intercom buzzed and ruined things for
Amelia McGhee. At least she is still alive. According to detectives from the
settlement police, Mr. Henry Watkins, colleague at the high school, has been
murdered. Just like on Earth, on Mars,
the cops want you down to the station immediately and answer questions.
Being the great grandson of the wealthy founder of
the Moon colony has its privileges. The very privileged Henry Compton, Junior,
has a problem and would like Mr. Tybalt Kenyon to help him in “The Case of
Frankenstein and Spanish Nun” by Andrew MacRae.
The family put Henry Compton in charge of the only library on the moon
and, despite their attempt to put Junior somewhere he would do no harm, a book
has gone missing. Not just missing, but stolen for ransom. With over twenty
thousand people at the base, finding the suspect or suspects and retrieving the
book without paying the ransom first may be impossible.
Detective Ba has a strange case in “Downhill Slide”
by Jeff Howe. Six weeks out from an automatic promotion a return to Earth, the
detective has a murder mystery to solve at the deep space mining operation
known as Ceres Station One. The beautiful Eliso Espinosa has killed her husband
according to the records and her confession. But, she didn’t.
For the past eight years a special day for killing
has been designated in this tale from Percy Spurlark Parker. “Death Day” is
about to happen again and private investigator Max Pomeroy doesn’t have a
target in mind. That is until Roget Byoyack walks in and wants to hire Pomeroy
to keep him alive. It’s going to be a challenge and one the first vice
president of finance for the Mars Mineral Mines Corporation can well afford.
It is a huge discovery in “Goodbye Moon” by Mary
McCarroll White and Jay Taylor made it.
While Jay’s personal life is a mess this space scientist knows what is
happening on the moon. An object that
has fascinated him for years and one with that he is going to share one final
link.
Sneezing can be a problem in space when one is in
the suit. It should not be a problem when one is working inside the moon base.
In “Moon Dust” a simple sneeze has proven fatal for Robert Egan who has been
ejected out an air lock. Parker Morgan and Cassidy Diaz have to figure out what
went wrong and put a stop to it in this story by Lance Zarimba. After all, “In
Space, no one can hear you sneeze.”
The book closes with brief biographies of each of
the authors.
The fourteen stories in this anthology are all good
ones and showcase a lot of variety in the book. Some are harder edged mystery
reads than others while some lean heavily on technology as compared to other
ones. Moon Shot: Murder And Mayhem On The Edge Of Space makes it
clear that wherever humans go, murder and mayhem will follow. It is only a
question of time---and opportunity.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ejOycL
Material supplied by the Editor in exchange for my
objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2024
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Writers Who Kill: The Case of the Short Story Spreadsheet by Judy Penz Sheluk
Writers Who Kill: The Case of the Short Story Spreadsheet by Judy Pe...: Something you might not know about me is that I worked in the corporate world for several years, initially specializing in credit and coll...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Cryptids in Fiction
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Cryptids in Fiction: Round up by Jeanne Sometimes in fiction, you just want to have a different monster, something other than a vampire or werewolf or ghosts...
Clete: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke
Clete:
A Dave Robicheaux Novel
by James Lee Burke takes readers back to the late 90s and events that Clete Purcell
and Dave Robicheaux experienced. Told primarily from the point of view of
Clete, the read features all the classic elements of a Dave Robicheaux novel.
Southern Louisiana setting and vivid descriptions, references to faith and
societal decay, and apparitions that are symbolic of history and the great
wrongs that have happened before and will happen again.
Both Clete
and Dave served in Vietnam, had horrible experiences, and came back home. Coping
with their military service has been a struggle for both of them. While Dave is
still a cop, Clete no longer is thanks to some of the things he did. He is now
a private investigator and is struggle to hang on in every way possible. He
drives a 1959 El Dorado and loves that car.
He entrusts
it to Eddy Durbin, owner and operator of the car wash, Eddy’s Car Wash, over in
Algiers. Eddy did all his time in Angola and has made a name for himself in the
years since. Clete was late in picking up the car as he was in New Orleans for
a bondsman chasing down a dancer. He got back, got the car, and takes it back home
to where he lives in the Garden District.
Couple of
days later one morning, he hears noises, and discovers three guys pulling the
leather off the seats and pulling damn near everything else out of the car. The
three guys are sure there was something of theirs in the car. If not there,
maybe it made its way into the house. When confronted about what they are doing
to his car in his driveway, they get the idea in their heads that they want to
come inside and check. Clete wasn’t going to have that.
Clete was
holding his own until one of the three hit him in the head with a crowbar. Down
and out, the guys got away, and New Orleans police were of no help. That means
Clete is going to have to hunt these guys on his own,.
Obviously,
the first stop is the carwash. Eddy Durbin sees him coming and jumps into an
available car. He takes off with Clete chasing him. He finally stops and
explains that there was another El Dorado and that his little brother is
involved. The stuff, whatever it was, was supposed to go into that car and got put
in Clete’s car by mistake. He has no idea where his brother, is but thinks the
Dixie Mafia is involved. He also thinks that the stuff was probably fentanyl.
The same
horrible drug that recently killed Clete’s grandniece. That makes it double
personally for Clete. One way or another, Clete is going to see everyone
involved dead or locked up in cage for forever. He would be fine with killing
them all.
What follows
is a highly atmospheric story as Clete explains what happened in the case long
ago as well as shares observations on faith, morality, politics, environmental
issues, and the slow destruction of Eden (Louisiana). Many of the observations
fit the time period of decades ago as well as are accurately reflect the times
we are in today. There have always been those among us that seek to profit off
of others and just don’t care how they do it.
As often
happens in Dave Robicheaux series, knowing that a person is evil and doing
crimes, is one thing. Proving it for a court of law takes a lot of work with
numerous detours.
Such as the
case here in Clete: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke. A
book where the evil one sees is just the tip of a rotten iceberg that could
destroy everything.
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3XdgusU
My reading copy
came from the publisher, Atlantic Monthly Press, by way of Net Galley.
Kevin R.
Tipple ©2024
Monday, June 10, 2024
Little Big Crimes: A Matter of Trust, by Barb Goffman
Little Big Crimes: A Matter of Trust, by Barb Goffman: "A Matter of Trust, by Barb Goffman, in Three Strikes -- You're Dead!, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley,...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: A Rip Through Time: Kelley Armstrong
Bitter Tea and Mystery: A Rip Through Time: Kelley Armstrong: This is the first book in a time travel trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. The main character in this book is a female police detective, Mallory...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef by Tom Straw
In the June 2, 2024,
issue of the Washington Post, librarian and reviewer Karen
MacPherson named The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef
by Tom Straw one of five new mysteries to read this summer. Published on 14
May, just in time for the long Memorial Day weekend, this clever book melds the
knowledge of a long-time television insider, which Straw certainly is, with the
conventions of the standard spy novel, yielding a fun and absorbing read with
series potential.
Tom Straw is a
television screenwriter working on comedies such as Night Court, then
serving as head writer for Whoopi, Nurse Jackie, Dave’s World
and Grace under Fire. When the television series Castle came
along, with its lead character crime fiction author Richard Castle, Straw
ghost-wrote seven detective novels under Castle’s name. In his latest book he’s
taken a composite of the tantrum-throwing, globe-trotting superstar chef and
turned him and his television show into a front for a CIA undercover operation.
Sebastian Pike is in
Paris, filming another episode in his travelling culinary show. He is aghast to
see an unknown and unplanned interview as part of his new producer’s schedule
for the next day. He has no background on Victor Fabron, no knowledge of why he
should be interested in Fabron. Pike largely ad libs an interview that is
disrupted by the noise of the cop show being filmed nearby. When Fabron
crumples to the ground, the bullet wounds in his back demonstrate the fire from
someone’s gun had been live.
A few hours later
Pike is pulled into a chat with a member of the CIA who tells him his new
producer is a plant from the agency and she had been on site to receive intelligence
from Fabron who was an agent. The news revealed that a highly placed mole in
Russia was in danger and needed to be extracted right away. The CIA
representative twists Pike’s arm into providing cover for the agency to bring
their undercover man to safety.
The story goes into full-blown espionage mode at this point. Every secret agent convention, every bit of tradecraft, I don’t think Straw missed many of the spy traditions. He’s created a fast-moving cohesive story with an entertaining set of characters, leaving the door open for a potential sequel. Immensely readable. Recommended.
·
ASIN: B0CPL158T2
·
Publisher: Regalo Press (May 14,
2024)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 296 pages
·
ISBN-13: 979-8888452950
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4aONOcJ
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, June 09, 2024
Reading/Book Signing Tonight at THE WILD DETECTIVES
If you missed us yesterday, there is another chance tonight
at 6:30 at The Wild Detectives in Dallas. Come on out as we read excerpts from
our stories and sign books. All the details are on the Sisters in Crime North
Dallas homepage at https://www.sistersincrimenorthdallas.com/
Saturday, June 08, 2024
Scott's Take: Wolverine: Black, White, & Blood by Gerry Duggan, artist Adam Kubert,
Wolverine: Black, White, & Blood
by Gerry Duggan, artist Adam Kubert, and others is a collection of issues
featuring short stories where Wolverine is in various time periods and places.
There are other books with the black, white, blood format out there. This particular
trade version is oversized and way bigger than most graphic novel collection.
Like the others, these stories limit the artists to
using only black, white, and red as colors to depict the action in the stories.
These tales are interesting and feature Wolverine facing foes such as the
Wendigo, Arcade, the Reavers, Sabertooth, and many more. Some minor cameos by X-Men
like Kitty Pryde and Magik are used, but these are mainly Wolverine solo
stories. For the most part Wolverine is alone enacting bloody violence and
death across.
This is a good standalone anthology of Wolverine
stories as long as you like Wolverine covered in blood and ripping his enemies
apart.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3RfycYK
My reading copy came from the Pleasant Grove Branch
of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2024
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