Wednesday, April 02, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Memory Library by Kate Storey

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Memory Library by Kate Storey

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Bryant and May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Bryant and May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler:   We do not have a Nevermore report for today, so we're digging into the archives for some old posts you may not have seen.  This one is...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Two Books of Horror and Strange Stories

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Two Books of Horror and St...:    Today I am sharing two of my husband's short story books, which lean toward the strange and the weird. Normally these are not the sor...

George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #218: SPACE DREADOUGHTS Edited by David Drake with Charles G. Waugh and Martin Harry Greenberg

George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #218: SPACE DREADOUGHTS Edited by David Drake with Charles G. Waugh and Martin Harry Greenberg

Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: BLACK STUFF

Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: BLACK STUFF:  "Black Stuff" by Ken Bruen (from Bruen's anthology Dublin Noir , 2006) We lost one of the truly greats this last Saturday wit...

Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday, THE WIND IN THE ROSEBUSH, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

 Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday, THE WIND IN THE ROSEBUSH, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

Short Story Wednesday Review: Black Cat Mystery Magazine #15

 

It has been quite some time since I have been able to pick up an issue of Black Cat Mystery Magazine as the recent issues have been print only. But, the most recent issue, Black Cat MysteryMagazine #15, is available in print and digital formats so I was able to get the eBook version. Not only is that better for my shrinking finances as I pick up things via my Amazon Associate account, but I can adjust the typeface so that I can actually read it.

 

As always, Editor Michael Bracken leads things off with his piece, “From The Cat’s Perch.” The theme for this issue is praise for the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Like this reviewer, Mr. Bracken previously served terms as Vice President and President of the SMFS. A number of the authors featured in this issue are current SMFS list members as well.

 

Stacy Woodson’s short story, “Armadillo By Morning,” leads things off where Roy is looking forward to retirement. He has enjoyed being an Animal Control Officer for many decades, but his hip is telling him that enough is enough. So too is Millie Wendell who has constant complaints from her place just inside their rural jurisdiction. This time she is mad about an armadillo that keeps coming back and tearing up her garden.

 

The guy is dead in “After Their Convictions, Six Murders Reflect On How Killing Mr. Boddy Changed Their Lives” by Tara Laskowski and Art Taylor. The husband and wife, who each individually, have quite an authorship record, collaborate here with a complicated and amusing tale based of the legendary boardgame, CLUE. I’m certainly not going to ruin this short story by telling you more.

 

Author, and in this case, translator, Josh Pachter is up next with his translation of “Promises To Keep” by Gert-Jan van den Bemd. In a gut-wrenching story that hit way too close to home for this reader, Mrs. van Tilt is at the door wanting to make a certain purchase. The item in question that she wishes to buy from the elderly couple will change everything for all involved.

 

Prolific author John M. Floyd is up next with “A Cold Day In Helena.” The brothers, Ray and Will Hardy, are up against it. Their only option seems to be to rob the local bank. The First National Bank is a relatively easy target as far as banks go and they have a good plan. They just need the nerve to execute the job.

 

The large barrels arrive on the occasional truck at the isolated and derelict station in Arizona. The cartel has stuff that needs disposing of in those barrels and that is why he has the job. At least job he has the for now in “Human Waste” by Davin Ireland. The always taciturn Jorge is back with his truck on this Sunday and he is not happy. His presence, and his attitude, is not good news in many ways.

 

Life on the island was a bit limited and routine. Then, a week before his Peace Corps gig was supposed to be over, Janine’s body was found in a ravine nearby. In “Hiva-Oa” by J. W. Wood, Michael is naturally a suspect in the death of the married woman. Especially after several and very public events that led to rumors and gossip by nearly everyone on the island.

 

R. T. Lawton is next and takes readers to NYC in his tale titled, “Most Important Meal Of The Day.” Our narrator very much likes his free breakfast that Sarah, the cashier, gives him each day. Times are tough, he is unemployed, and winter is coming. Breakfast is important and often his only meal. He needs the free food and does not want to lose it. Leonard and Jules are probably going to ruin things.

 

She knows he is watching her in the bar. He thinks he is going to get lucky. He most definitely is, but not the way he thought in “Luxury Goods” by R. M. Lowery.

 


Talia Houghton barely survived the murders of her family. Our narrator, the public defender that had to defend the accused, Danny Houghton, remains haunted by her eyes and the horror of her case in “The Child” by Elizabeth Elwood. All these years later though there have been court actions, a prison sentence, and more, the case is not over. 

 

Marcelle Dubé’s short story, “Getting Back Into Heaven” comes next and takes readers to the Yukon. Growing up, Jonas’ mom always told him he was a special boy and that God had a special place for him right by his side waiting for him. He knew that space, and heaven itself, would never happen after he served in Afghanistan. These days, Jonas Bellechasse, is working with a group of geologists. His job is to keep them safe and the main threat has been wild bears. Jonas likes his job and finds the rugged forest peaceful and pleasant. A wildfire threatens everyone involved in this increasingly tense tale.

 

She was having fun playing at being a spy in ‘An Imp In Spy’s Clothing” by Robert Jeschonek. Then things got very serious. Now she is wearing what seems to be a suicide vest and she may not live long enough to enjoy her beloved Lisbon, Portugal, again.

 

Evelyn Wheatley and James Vaughn don’t agree on much of anything in “Let’s Settle This” by Jack Ritchie. At least, that is what they publicly say. Jimmy’s dad, owner of the law firm, thinks they should get married. The fact that her current guy, Eddie Conley, a classmate of Jimmy’s from law school and an adversary in the current legal case, makes things far more complicated in this story that ends the issue.

 

As always, this publication showcases a variety of mysteries in the spectrum with a variety of writing styles, locations, and more. Black Cat Mystery Magazine #15, not to be confused with the also very good Black Cat Weekly, is another solidly good edition and well worth your time.

 


 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4j8rIXl

 

My reading copy came by way of an Amazon Associate purchase using funds in my account.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: May Treasures in My Closet

 Lesa's Book Critiques: May Treasures in My Closet

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: March News from the Short Mystery Fiction Society

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: March News from the Short Mystery Fiction Society:  March of 2025 was another exciting and productive month for the writers belonging to the Short Mystery Fiction Society!  Readers looking fo...

Criminal Minds: Not Where, but How

Criminal Minds: Not Where, but How:   Terry here with our question of the week: Not “where do you get your ideas, but HOW? Do they come to you as images? Memories? Overheard co...

The First Two Pages: “Not A Day Goes By” by J.A. Hennrikus

 The First Two Pages: “Not A Day Goes By” by J.A. Hennrikus

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: SMFS Official Announcement: 2025 Derringer Award Finalists

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: SMFS Official Announcement: 2025 Derringer Award F...: S ince 1998, the Short Mystery Fiction Society has awarded the annual Derringers—named after the popular pocket pistol—to outstanding publis...

Publication Day Review: Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley

 

Have you ever woken up and not had a clue what happened? I don’t mean a few minutes of disassociation, but full on many minutes of having no clue what in the heck happened or why you are in the shape you are in? I’ve done it several times thanks to concussions.

 

The first, and probably the most traumatic and the probable source of some of my health and cognitive issues these days, was back in elementary school many years ago. My parents had always said that I should not play in the pickup football games before school. That I would get hurt. I did not listen. One morning, the last memory I have is running to intercept a bigger kid and make the tackle. I’m told that I got him and his buddy, in anger, drop kicked my head afterwards as I laid on the ground.

 

I lost over an hour and a half where I have no memory of what went on. It is incredibly scary to have no idea what in the heck happened.

 

Former hockey player Jimmy Baker finds himself in that situation as Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley begins. He awakens to a pinging noise in his head and the smell of blood. He is on his kitchen floor just before four in the morning, missing a shoe, with torn up knuckles, and a host of other issues. He is still wearing his IceKings jacket, now with a very bloody sleeve. He knows he wore that jacket the night before, had it on when he left the arena, and while he had his one drink at the Lost Loon Tavern. He knows he spent some time there as it is his nightly ritual, after he puts the Zamboni away, to lock up the place and hang out at the Lost Loon Tavern. He has one drink and goes home after a while.

 

But, something clearly happened. Not only is he wearing evidence that something happened, there is even more evidence outside his home, and in his truck. Something really bad happened. He has no clue at all what. With his record, that makes everything so much worse.

 

Meanwhile, the state police get a call that there is an abandoned pickup truck nearby. Upon arrival, they find that somebody failed at trying to burn the truck. The same truck that has a lot of blood in it. The same truck that is dumped in close range of Jimmy Baker’s house.

 

The truck is just inside the jurisdictional boundary of city of Bitterfrost, Michigan, and that means Detective Garth Klimmek is on the case. A case that gains urgency as the son of a wealthy man has gone missing. Politics, media attention, and the finding of a body means the pressure is on to solve the case fast.

 

What follows is a highly entertaining read that this review only scratches the surface. Multiple storylines, personal agendas, family secrets going back decades, and more is at work in this read that one hopes is the start of a new series from this very talented author. If you have read Bryan Gruley before (Starvation Lake, Bleak Harbor, and others), you know that the complicated mystery will include a lot of references to hockey, wealthy families and their power, and old murder cases, are always the backbone of his books. Such is the case here as is a lot more besides. Much of which should not be discussed so as to not ruin the read.

 

In short, make sure you read Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley. The read is very much worth your time and is strongly recommended.

 

Amazon Associates Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3RsDU9s

 

My reading copy came through NetGalley from the publisher, Severn House, with no expectation of a review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Monday, March 31, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Not Dead Yet by Jeffrey Siger

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Not Dead Yet by Jeffrey Siger

The Rap Sheet: Revue of Reviewers: 3-31-25

 The Rap Sheet: Revue of Reviewers: 3-31-25

BookLover's Bench: Fifth Monday Guest Author Judy Penz Sheluk

 BookLover's Bench: Fifth Monday Guest Author Judy Penz Sheluk

In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday 3/31/2025

 In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday 3/31/2025

Beneath the Stains of Time: Logic Games: Q.E.D. vol. 42-43 by Motohiro Katou

Beneath the Stains of Time: Logic Games: Q.E.D. vol. 42-43 by Motohiro Katou: The first story from Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. vol. 42, "Escher Hotel," brings Sou Touma and Kana Mizuhara to the titular hotel...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New Fiction In April!

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New Fiction In April!: Arceneaux, Danielle Glory Daze (Glory Broussard)  Baldacci, David Strangers in Time: A World War II Novel  Barnes, S.A. Cold Eternity   B...

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Heartwood by Amity Paige


Heartwood by Amity Paige (Simon & Schuster, 1 April 2025) is about the search for Valerie Gillis, a fortyish nurse who decides to hike the Appalachian Trail and disappears near the end in Maine, the most rugged part of the trail. Lieutenant Beverly Miller is the Maine game warden organizing the search and rescue teams, including volunteers and K-9s.

Told from multiple points of view, the story is hard to follow sometimes, as the connection between some of the narrators is not clear. While waiting to be found, Valerie writes a journal about her experience, directing her notes to her mother and reflecting upon their relationship. Beverly has the greater part of the narration as she describes the daily search plans and the attempts to gain more information about Valerie to try to understand where and how she might have gotten off the trail. Then a 76-year-old wheelchair-bound nature enthusiast named Lena Kucharski in an assisted living facility in Connecticut writes about her failed relationship with her daughter and her uneasiness living among so many people. Her online friendship with a survivalist is her primary distraction, which turns out to be unexpectedly helpful. She has no apparent link to either Beverly or Valerie.

The hiker who walked with Valerie most of the way, Ruben Serrano, gets almost as much space as Lena does, and transcripts of interviews with family and friends form chapters. Notes from other hikers who met Valerie along the trail and from the public saying the caller knows where Valerie is or that they saw her yesterday, no doubt similar to those received during a real-life search, break up the longer sections.

I cannot easily categorize this book. It shows up on NetGalley in the Mystery and Thriller section. I suppose it can be called a low-key thriller, perhaps suspense is a better term. It can also be categorized as women’s fiction, since the three main characters are women at turning points in their lives.

The gradual increase in tension in the action is restrained but noticeable. I found the book propulsive, despite its disorderly flow, and insightful in its examination of individual relationships with people and with nature and how well an individual balances those needs with their own needs.

Readers who like nature-focused mysteries or search and rescue stories or find the Appalachian Trail fascinating should consider this book. In some ways it reminds me of The Left-Handed Twin by Thomas Perry, in which its protagonist is pursued through the wilderness of Maine.

Starred review from Booklist.



·         Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 1, 2025)

·         Language: English

·         Hardcover: 320 pages

·         ISBN-10: 1668063603

·         ISBN-13: 978-1668063606

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4hTmg9N

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Kathleen Marple Kalb's Blog: So You Wrote the Book, Now What?: New for Spring

 Kathleen Marple Kalb's Blog: So You Wrote the Book, Now What?: New for Spring 

Lesa's Book Critiques: Easeful Death by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Easeful Death by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Little Big Crimes: The Luncheon, by Christopher Fowler

Little Big Crimes: The Luncheon, by Christopher Fowler:   "The Luncheon," by Christopher Fowler, in Playing Dead, edited by Martin Edwards, Severn House, 2025. Something the English do ...

Paula Messina Reviews: Our Jubilee is Death: A Carolus Deane Mystery by Leo Bruce

  

Please welcome back Paula Messina to the blog today…

 

 

Our Jubilee Is Death 

By Paula Messina

 


            When a woman revels in her nastiness, her death is a jubilee for everyone in her world.

There are myriad reasons for the characters in Leo Bruce’s Our Jubilee Is Death to contemplate shortening mystery writer Lillianne Bomberger’s time on earth. It’s the reader’s delight that Bruce decided to  kill off Bromberger in this hilarious book.

Leo Bruce is Rupert Croft-Cooke’s pseudonym. A prolific English writer who died in 1979, Croft-Cooke wrote numerous non-fiction books as well as plays, literary novels, and short stories. He is most remembered for his two mystery series, the amateur sleuth Carolus Deene and the decidedly unconventional Sergeant Beef. Bruce reveled in sending up his fellow mystery writers and making his readers laugh out loud. At least this reader could not suppress her laughter while reading Jubilee.

Carolus is not your typical private eye. He’s not a misanthropic Nero Wolfe nor a superior know-it-all Sherlock Holmes. A history master at Queen’s School, Carolus is standoffish and blunt. The closest thing Carolus has to an Archie Goodwin or Dr. Watson is one of his students, the annoying Rupert Priggley, who insinuates himself into the investigation.

It’s conveniently the end of term when Carolus receives a letter from his cousin Fay, who had a frightful experience with the detestable Bromberger. Fay stumbled over Bomberger’s head in the sand at Blessington-on-Sea. What else would a master facing a boring vacation do? His cousin needs him. Carolus heads straight for Blessington to investigate Bomberger’s demise.

When asked by a police officer if she touched the body, Fay says, “Touch her? I always said I wouldn’t touch Lillianne Bomberger with a barge-pole when she was alive. I certainly don’t want to touch her dead. Not even my dogs wanted that. A sniff was quite enough for them.”

Bomberger was a hack who bullied her way into publication and to the top of the best seller lists. She constantly berated her nieces who lived with her, made unreasonable demands on her nephew and his wife, belittled her secretary, and habitually battled with her publisher. In short, there wasn’t a single person in her life spared her venom.

Her publisher said about her. “She was a bitch, Mr. Deene. The bitch of all times, if you want it straight. An egotist on a scale you can scarcely believe. Folie de grandeur, and with a morbid selfishness and pettiness which were quite terrifying to see. The only surprising thing about her murder is that it did not happen years ago.

Given Bomberger’s personality, it’s no wonder Carolus doesn’t lack for suspects. Everyone’s got a crackerjack reason for wanting her dead. Carolus’s investigation is stymied because there are more lies than motives. As all mystery readers know, the police and private eyes expect lies. Usually one person is telling the truth. Not in Jubilee. Everyone lies. Everyone tells the same lies.

Bruce enjoys poking fun at his fellow mystery writers. Bomberger “wrote the same book over and over again to the end,” her publisher says. “We’ve had her for twenty-three years, and it’s been like a prison sentence. She was the most insufferable human being of this century. Or any other,…”

By the end of the book, Carolus Deene knows who the murderer is, but he has no proof. He tells everyone he is leaving Blessington-on-Sea. The police will have to solve the case without him.

Of course, departing won’t do. Carolus is talked into telling what he knows. A meeting is arranged. After all, that’s how most mysteries end, even ones not written by hacks. The revelation is a surprise. Bruce plays fair with his readers. The clues were there all along.

It’s fun to dip into the works of authors who are largely forgotten. There’s no explaining why some writers have longevity and others fade into the background. Leo Bruce should be in the first category. 


Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41XIqmJ


Paula Messina ©2025

Paula Messina is a native New Englander who writes contemporary, historical, and humorous fiction as well as essays. Her work has appeared in such publications as Black Cat Weekly, Devil’s Snare, Wolfsbane, Ovunque Siamo, and THEMA. She does not own a cat.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: To Catch a Thief by David Dodge

 Lesa's Book Critiques: To Catch a Thief by David Dodge

Dru's Book Musings New Releases ~ Week of March 30, 2025

 Dru's Book Musings New Releases ~ Week of March 30, 2025

KRL Update 3/29/2025

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozy mysteries-"Killing Me Souffle" by Ellie Alexander, "Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder" by Jessica Fletcher & Barbara Early, and "A Cold Dose of Murder" A Cannabis Café Mystery by Emily George https://kingsriverlife.com/03/29/end-of-march-mystery-fun/

We also have an article from mystery author Robyn Gigl about Transgender Day of Visibility which is on Monday, and about her books https://kingsriverlife.com/03/29/transgender-day-of-visibility/

 

And a review and ebook giveaway of "No. 10 Doyers Street" by Radha Vatsal, along with an interesting interview with Radha https://kingsriverlife.com/03/29/no-10-doyers-street-by-radha-vatsal/

 

A wonderful group of crime writers have gotten together to put on an auction to benefit the Transgender Law Center in this time of great need and just in time for Trans Day of Visibility. Learn more in this KRL article and please consider taking part. Not only will you be helping, but there are some awesome things to bid on. The auction continues through April 1 https://kingsriverlife.com/03/25/crime-writers-for-trans-rights-auction/

 

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "The Coral Conspiracy" by Rosalie Spielman https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/the-coral-conspiracy-by-rosalie.html

 

And a review and giveaway of "Invisible Helix" by Keigo Higashino https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/invisible-helix-by-keigo-higashino.html

 

And a review of the Korean fantasy novel "The Rainfall Market" by You Yeong-Gwang https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/the-rainfall-market-by-you-yeong-gwang.html

 
Happy reading,
Lorie

Don't Need A Diagram: David Freed, “Deep Fury”

 Don't Need A Diagram: David Freed, “Deep Fury”

SleuthSayers: Inspired by Barry and Stephen

SleuthSayers: Inspired by Barry and Stephen:   We've talked before about the fact that more short-story anthologies seem to be published these days than in the past. Especially shor...

Scott's Take: The Boy Wonder by Juni Ba

 

The Boy Wonder by Juni Ba is an Elseworld’s tale with a unique art style focused on the youngest Robin Damian Wayne as he once again deals with his family issues. Told as part fairytale and part real time story with the two story halves being described on the same page, this is a complex read. There is a demon abducting people across the city of Gotham. Damian Wayne attempts to stop it. Along the way interacts with various members of his family and tries to work on his issues.

 

I read this through the DC Infinite app as each of the five issues were released on the app. The art is very different than I am used to. I liked it for the most part, but I could see why someone would not. It is a good tale despite the fact that a lot of this was retreading stuff covered by other writers. It could have been more original. Overall, I recommend it for fans of Robin.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4iGB10s

 

As noted, my reading copy through the DC Infinite App.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2025

Friday, March 28, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Paranoia by James Patterson & James O. Born

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Paranoia by James Patterson & James O. Born

Writer Beware: A New Scam to Watch For: “Pre-Paid” Agent Commissions

 Writer Beware: A New Scam to Watch For: “Pre-Paid” Agent Commissions

Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 67 Calls for Submissions in April 2025 - Paying markets

Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 67 Calls for Submissions in April 2025 - Paying ma...: This April there are more than five dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always...

A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: GREAT NEW SERIES -- GUNS FOR HIRE

A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: GREAT NEW SERIES -- GUNS FOR HIRE:  By Caroline Clemmons Great news – a new sweet western historical series has launched called Guns For Hire. The heroes in this series are ea...

The Rap Sheet: A Leiter Shade of Bond

 The Rap Sheet: A Leiter Shade of Bond

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Death Writes: An Inishowen Mystery by Andrea Carter

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Death Writes: An Inishowen Mystery by Andrea Carter:   Death Writes:   An Inishowen Mystery by Andrea Carter Reviewed by Jeanne Benedicta O’Keeffe, better known as Ben, is a solicitor in Gl...

Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: Now I Lay Me Down to Die by Elizabeth Tebbetts-Taylor

 Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: Now I Lay Me Down to Die by Elizabeth Tebbetts-Taylor

Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: DRUG OF CHOICE

Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: DRUG OF CHOICE:   Drug of Choice  by Michael Crichton writing as "John Lange"  (1970) While studying at Harvard Medical School, Crichton began wri...

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange 3/27/2025

 In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange 3/27/2025

Beneath the Stains of Time: Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone (2022) by Benjamin Stevenson

Beneath the Stains of Time: Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone (2022) by...: The traditional, Golden Age-style detective story has seen a tremendous resurgence over the past ten years spurred on by the fortunate concu...

The Rap Sheet: A Fitting Literary Tribute

 The Rap Sheet: A Fitting Literary Tribute

Things Are Not Good


As we all know, the cost of living is going up each week. I am rapidly running out of what little I inherited as a dollar just does not stretch much at all. Scott is actively looking for a job and not having any luck whatsoever. He can't even get an interview. He has also noticed that places like LinkedIn, Indeed, etc., have far fewer listings now than a month ago. Which ties into the hiring signs no longer in store front windows around us here in NE Dallas. Companies are definitely pulling back as things evolve.

So, if you know of something job related, please pass it on. He has a Masters in Criminology, and is looking primarily for some sort of customer service oriented job. Though, he is pretty much open to anything and everything. He just wants to work. 

After Sandi passed, I never thought I would still be here now. I figured I had a year or two, tops, between the grief and my own health and that would be it. I fully expected my own cancer diagnosis, as not only does cancer run hard in my family, but I saw many spouses go through the death of their loved one only to fight their own terminal cancer diagnosis. So, I fully expected to be dead long before facing the possibility of being homeless.

Surprise!

Seven plus years later, I'm not there yet, but I can see it from my porch. So, if you want to help out, and can afford to do so, please use the PayPal widget over on the left side of the blog. 

Any amount truly helps.

Thank you. 

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Lethal Prey by John Sandford

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Lethal Prey by John Sandford

Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 62 Writing Contests in April 2025 - No entry fees

Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 62 Writing Contests in April 2025 - No entry fees: This April there are more than five dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range ...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Three Witnesses by Rex Stout

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Three Witnesses by Rex Stout:   In January I read "Die Like a Dog," a novella featuring Nero Wolfe. It was published in Three Witnesses in 1956. This month I ...

Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A MAN CALLED HORSE

Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A MAN CALLED HORSE:  "A Man Called Horse" by Dorothy M. Johnson  (first published in Colliers , January 7, 1950; reprinted in John Bull , May 6, 1950;...

George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #217: SIXGUN VIXENS OF THE TERROR TRAIL: A WEIRD WESTERN By Fred Blosser

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Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday, From THE NEW YORKER, "Frenzy" Joyce Carol Oates

 Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday, From THE NEW YORKER, "Frenzy" Joyce Carol Oates

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

 Lesa's Book Critiques: When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

The First Two Pages: “Sunday in the Park with George” by Fleur Bradley

 The First Two Pages: “Sunday in the Park with George” by Fleur Bradley

Mystery Fanfare: THE CHELSEA DETECTIVE, SEASON 3

Mystery Fanfare: THE CHELSEA DETECTIVE, SEASON 3: The Chelsea Detective, Season 3 , s tarring Adrian Scarborough as DI Max Arnold and Vanessa Emme as DS Layla Walsh, premieres Monday, April...

SleuthSayers: Literary Relationships

SleuthSayers: Literary Relationships: When we first have enough confidence in our writing—whether justified or not—to begin submitting our short stories, our goal is to find one ...

The Rap Sheet: Brighter Days Bring Bounteous Diversions

 The Rap Sheet: Brighter Days Bring Bounteous Diversions

Publication Day Review: Lethal Prey: A Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers Novel by John Sandford

 

Back in 2003, Doris Grandfelt was brutally murdered and her body was dumped in a park. Law enforcement did what they could, but were unable to solve the case. That included the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension based in St. Paul and two young investigators, new to the organization, Jenkins and Shrake. Because they were new and the body was a young white woman, they were regulated to the periphery and not really able to work the case. They had some ideas on investigative leads that were not taken seriously by their bosses and slowly the case fizzled to a halt.

 

In the here and now of Lethal Prey: A Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers Novel set more than two decades later, Lucas Davenport is seeing 60 coming at him fast and is a bit depressed and bored. It has been a few months since the events in Toxic Prey and he misses having a smart killer or killers worth chasing. Both Letty and Weather think he needs a hobby. What he needs is a case worth doing as his current assignment, which has been marginally interesting, is about to be over in a few hours.

 

Soon he gets a call from Senator Elmer Henderson. While Davenport is a US Marshall, Henderson is pretty much his boss and likes to put him on projects that are very important and need results. At roughly the same time Davenport got his call, BCA Agent Virgil Flowers got his phone call from his boss telling him that he was assigned to work with Lucas and to attend a meeting with Lucas and numerous other folks the next day.

 

Davenport and Flowers go to the meeting at the house of Laura Grandfelt along with Senator Henderson and several other power brokers. Grandfelt has money and pollical connections and is tired of waiting for the wheels of justice to get her sister’s killer. It has been over twenty years and she wants the killer caught and dealt with by the justice system. She wants Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers to lead the new investigation as they had no role at all in the original investigation. She is also aware that they both have a reputation of getting killers. She is putting up a five-million-dollar reward for information that identifies the killer or killers and will go public with the offer later in the day.

 

She knows that announcing her offer on numerous True Crime websites will cause a huge media interest and bring out the crazies. She doesn’t care and won’t take no for an answer. Neither will their bosses who are present to pressure Flowers and Davenport to take the case. Not that any pressure is really needed as they are interested. They both realize that a storm is about to be unleashed and the best they can do is ride it out and work the case.

 

What follows is a complicated and fast-moving read. As often happens in this series now, readers know from the opening pages the identity of the killer. What is left is the chase and it is a good one.

 

Lethal Prey: A Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers Novel by John Sandford is another good read. Much of the backstory of Davenport and Flowers is repeated here so readers new to the series can jump in here. Us old hands at this series are reminded how much has gone on over all these years. A mighty good read and one that is well worth your time.

 

Strongly Recommended.


Amazon Associate Purchase link: https://amzn.to/42EBuM2

 

My digital reading copy was an ARC from the publisher, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, by way of NetGalley with no expectation of a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Monday, March 24, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleeves

 Lesa's Book Critiques: A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleeves

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A.K.A. Lucy: The Dynamic and Determined Life of Lucille Ball by Sarah Royal

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A.K.A. Lucy: The Dynamic and Determined Life of Lu...:   Reviewed by Christy             Thanks to Nick at Nite, I’ve been a lifelong I Love Lucy fan. But, for whatever reason, it wasn’t unt...

In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday 3/25/2025

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Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Best Enemy by Sergio Olguin

 

Sergio Olguin is an Argentine journalist and fiction writer. His work has been translated into German, French, and Italian. His books about investigative journalist Veronica Rosenthal are his first pieces to be translated into English. The fourth book in the series The Best Enemy was translated by Miranda France. It was originally published in Spanish as La Mejor Enemiga by Alfaguara (Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Argentina) in 2021. The English translation is being released in March 2025 by Bitter Lemon Press in the UK. For an informative interview with Olguin, see the Crime Fiction Lover article here: https://crimefictionlover.com/2025/02/interview-sergio-olguin/

Veronica works for Nuestro Tiempo, a news magazine, and lives with her long-time lover Federico Cordova, who is a senior manager at the law firm owned by Veronica’s father. Veronica is feeling a bit bored with life as the book opens. Then she learns she is pregnant and that respected journalist freelancer Andres Goicochea has been killed and his partner Patricia Beltrán injured.

The authorities categorize the shootings as a robbery attempt but Veronica and her journalist friends are suspicious. They learn that Goicochea had been looking into questionable business dealings by the owners of a wealthy media empire. Apparently quite dubious because the journalists became the target of thugs trying to retrieve whatever information the journalists had acquired. Kidnapping, shooting, blackmail, and stabbing ensued.

Interspersed with the gangs chasing the journalists are multiple subplots: Veronica analyzes her feelings about her pregnancy and Federico. Rosenthal Law’s part in a contentious divorce is surprisingly complicated. There are long flashbacks about Veronica’s childhood and family, especially her grandfather, which incorporate a sweeping review of Argentine socio-politics.

The readability of a foreign book depends on the quality of the translation; Miranda France did outstanding work with this novel. An author herself as well as a journalist, foreign correspondent, and Spanish literature teacher, the narrative reads as if it were originally written in English. Really well done.

So little South American crime fiction is available in translation that devoted followers of the genre owe it to themselves to look up this series just to get a sense of the style. While there is substantial text extraneous to the crime story, I found the extensive background useful to my understanding of the history of the nation and its society. This book is not a quick read, though, and the cast of characters can be hard to track.

Review from Kirkus:  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sergio-olguin/the-best-enemy/

Review from Crime Fiction Lover: https://crimefictionlover.com/2025/02/the-best-enemy-by-sergio-olguin/

Review from Shots Crime & Thriller Ezine: http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/book_reviews_view.aspx?BOOK_REVIEW_ID=2874

 

·         Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press (March 25, 2025)

·         Language: English

·         Paperback: 352 pages

·         ISBN-10: 1916725090

·         ISBN-13: 978-1916725096


Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4kKfoy9

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Little Big Crimes: Come Forth and Be Glad in the Sun, by Mat Coward

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Kathleen Marple Kalb's Blog: So You Wrote the Book, Now What?: No Shame

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Lesa's Book Critiques: Cat Got Your Killer by Sofie Ryan

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Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder at the Open Air Museum (1954) by Ine van Etten

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Guest Post: TIMES TWO: When the Publishing Gods Smile – and Slap by Kathleen Marple Kalb

 

Please welcome Kathleen back to the blog today. She is in a bit of an odd position as she has not just one, but two books coming out this Tuesday. Two reads in two series.

 

 

 

 

TIMES TWO:

When the Publishing Gods Smile – and Slap

 

It’s either every writer’s dream – or nightmare: having two traditionally published books released in one day. And it’s my March 25th.

You can either lead the parade or let it run over you.

And I’ve never been a fan of getting run over.

So here we go.


First, neither I, nor anyone else involved in this hot mess planned it.


Two years ago, March 25th was just another day on my calendar. Originally, the Nikki Knight book, Hound of the Bonnevilles, the second Grace the Hit Mom mystery, was due last July. Shortly after I turned in the manuscript, though, the original publisher, a small and very good startup, Charade Media, was bought by Turner Publishing. The sale ended up being great news for everyone – Turner’s Keylight Books imprint has done very well by me. But the pub date had to slide. Not really a surprise.


As for the book under my own name, The Stuff of Mayhem, the second Old Stuff Mystery, was supposed to come out in November from Level Best Books. Some production glitches and delays – neither my fault nor theirs – delayed it six months.


Welcome to March 25th.


Two books, two publishers, two pen names…one day.

Two-Fer Day.


Where I can, I’ve been promoting them together. Where I can’t – I’ve tried to be strategic. Careful not to be too greedy with friends who blurb and give me guest post spaces.

And honestly, sometimes just sitting here staring at my computer reminding myself that this is the best kind of problem to have. A once-in-a-career moment –and I’d better enjoy it!


The books? Nikki Knight’s Hound of the Bonnevilles stars Grace the Hit Mom is a part-time lawyer, full-time parent…and secret assassin. This time, she’s defending a woman accused of killing her second husband, Nicky the Used Car Czar, and Grace is pretty sure she killed Nicky because Grace killed husband #1. Of course, with that title, there’s a hound, and a Bonneville, plus plenty of holiday-season craziness.


In The Stuff of Mayhem, historian Christian Shaw uses her knowledge of old things to catch the killer after her town’s Independence Day cannon firing ends in a fatal explosion. Christian, her “two dads,” and her young son, who has a photographic memory and Type-1 Diabetes – not to mention hot Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Poli – end up uncovering a nefarious plot that unravels at a 90-something lady’s bat mitzvah.


Both available March 25th, otherwise known as Two-Fer Day, wherever you get your books!

 

 

 

                                       Excerpts from both books…..

 

 

The Stuff ofMayhem: 3/25/25, Level Best Books

The 90-something Bat Mitzvah girl catches a killer:

 


Our suspect poured champagne into the four glasses on the tray and started by taking a quick sip from one.

Clever. She would know how to do a good misdirect.

Ed, Garrett, and Joe exchanged glances. They got it too.

I kept moving, now near the open French door as I worked closer.

Henry, with all the seriousness of an eight-year-old who suddenly understands his photographic memory matters, studied the glasses.

Our suspect had no idea what she was up against.

She carefully handed a flute to Amy, who took it with a sunshiny elderly-lady smile that would have fooled almost anyone.

Henry studied the glass. I had to stare for a moment to realize it was slightly different in color and not as bubbly as the other champagne flutes. Not Henry. He recognized the difference immediately and nodded to me.

I met Amy’s gaze.

She raised the glass to the killer. Smiled. “GOTCHA!”

 

 


Hound of the Bonnevilles: 3/25/25, Keylight Books/Turner Publishing

Defense attorney and secret assassin Grace Adair has a problem with her new client:

 


“You can handle it better than I can.”

Always a dangerous comment from your partner. But it doesn’t usually mean you’re about to be dragged into a murder case, and it certainly doesn’t mean your own life could be on the line.

Since my husband, Michael Adair, is the lawyer you call when you’re really in trouble in New Haven County, Connecticut, and I recently offered to second-chair (or guest-star) when he needed me, the murder case wasn’t such a big surprise.

The issue was the defendant and what she might have done—or had done—before the charges brought her to Michael…

…the problem wasn’t Sherri’s second husband.

It was her first.

I was reasonably certain she’d had him killed.

Because I’d killed him.

 

 

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2025


Kathleen Marple Kalb, aka Nikki Knight, describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including A Fatal Reception and the Old Stuff series, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and others, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She’s currently the Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and a co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat. Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/