Wednesday, December 31, 2025
SleuthSayers: The Resolution Will Not Be Televised
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Christmas Stalkings, ed. Charlotte MacLeod
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE SEVEN-LOCKED ROOM
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Found Recipes: Beloved Vintage Recipes Worth Sharing by Betty Crocker
Favorite Books: July through December 2025
Back in June, I gave you my favorite books of the year so far. I had 12 for you on my list. I give you today, my favorite books of the back half of the year that was 2025. There are 13 more favorite reads below. This means, between the two lists, you now have 25 of my favorite reads for the year.
In a few days, I will, somehow, whittle both lists down and give you my favorite reads of the year. That is going to be brutally hard. As always, making either list, is no guarantee of making the final list.
The books below are ranked in order of appearance
from July to now.
The Blue Horse: A Porter Beck Mystery
by Bruce Borgos begins in September 2020. Covid is coming. But, the in the here
and now of this beautiful September morning, Sheriff Beck and Chief Deputy
Tuffy Scruggs are on horses are chatting and watching as wild mustangs are
being herded for capture. Things are about to go really bad. (Rest of my review.)
Throwing Shadows: A Sheriff Hank Worth
Mystery by Claire Booth is the
latest read in a great series that began with The Branson Beauty. This is a series
that must be read in order as events happen, create consequential ripple
effects just like in real life, and people change. This picks up just a few weeks
after the events of Home Fires and there are repercussions
for all. We also have a surge in catalytic converter thefts across Branson
County, Missouri, treasure seekers, murder, and more. (Rest of my review.)
A serial killer is active in At What Cost: A
Detective Penley Mystery by James L’Etoile. Not just your average
run of the mill serial killer either as West Sacramento Police Detective John
Penley and his partner, Detective Paula Newberry, have discovered. They already
knew a killer was dumping bodies and those bodies were found missing organs. Why
the organs are gone and what is planned is one very creep aspect of this first
book in a police procedural series. (Rest of my review.)
A Lonesome Place for Murder: An Ethan Brand Mystery by Nolan Chase is the sequel
to A Lonesome Place for Dying. It, like
that first book, is a really good read. As this book begins, Chief of Police
Ethan Brand and Deputy Brenda Lee Page are slogging it out as they hike through
a pasture. The mission is to find an old man and a certain horse. Both work for
the small town of Blaine, Washington, near the border with Canada. The horse
and the old man are fine. The body they also find isn’t. (Rest of my review.)
Bump and Run: A Wade Durham Novel
by Richard Helms is the first book in a new series. Wade “The Blade” Durham,
part time stock car driver, is also a full-time agent for the State Bureau of
Investigation (SBI). He gets sent to Choctaw, North Carolina, to solve a high-profile
murder. murder. Think Virgil Flowers with less colorful language. (Rest of my review.)
The Dentist: A DS George Cross Mystery is a very good read. Built around a main character that is pretty much brilliant and eccentric, the author has assembled an interesting cast of secondary characters. As the read begins, DS George Cross is at the outdoor scene of a deceased male. It is not the simple random "homeless on homeless" crime that others believe it to be. DS Cross has an incredible attention to detail. Too bad others don't. (Rest of my review.)
Death on a Scottish Train: A Scottish Isle
Mystery by
Lucy Connelly is the fourth book in this solidly good cozy mystery series that
began with An American in Scotland. It has been
about a year since Dr. Emilia McRoy left it all behind in Seattle and moved to
Sea Isle, Scotland. The past year has been a lot, but she is happy. Other than
the cold, she loves the place and the people and has made a number of friends.
Life is pretty good and she feels more and more at home. Scotland, a historical
train, a murder mystery and more. (Rest of my review.)
Murder in Mykonos: A
Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger is the first book in the series originally
published by the Poisoned Pen Press. Now published by Severn House, the book
begins a series of at least fourteen police procedurals set in Greece. In this
case, specifically, the Greek island of Mykonos. Murder, local politics,
and a heck of a lot more is going on in this first book of the series. Sadly,
the Dallas Public Library System has gone and pulled the entire series, except
for audio versions, from the system due to the publisher change and their own
stupidity. (Rest of my review.)
Innocence Road by Laura Griffin takes readers to far Southwest Texas in the Big
Bend region and the small town of Madrone in Chisos County. This read reminded
me a lot of the Josie Gray Mystery series by Tricia
Fields. Innocence Road is also a very good police
procedural in its own right. Leanne Everhart is back home in Madrone,
Texas, and dealing with bodies, a boss that does not want to hear it, the
legacy of her father’s career in local law enforcement, and a lot more. (Rest
of my review.)
I have long been a fan of police procedurals by Bruce Robert Coffin. His latest, Crimson Thaw: A Detective Justice Novel, takes readers to Maine where Detective Justice is going through some things because he stood up for what was right. He also is working a case where a dead man was found still with his snowmobile. It helped him stay with it since he was handcuffed to it when it went into a local body of water. (Rest of my review.)
In a world gone increasingly mad, it was a good reading year to this point. There were other reads that I did not include here for various reasons and yet were good reads. Hopefully, you can find some reads in my lists that will entertain you.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Monday, December 29, 2025
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
Mystery Fanfare: Mysteries set at the New Year: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!
Little Big Crimes: Level Up, by Shawn Reilly Simmons
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 2026 New Year's Writing Resolution: Listen
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in September and October 2025
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Fire Must Burn by Allison Montclair
My Christmas
Eve read was an early copy of Fire Must Burn, the eighth book in the
Sparks and Bainbridge series by Allison Montclair, which I was fortunate enough
to be given the opportunity to read via NetGalley. The latest in this excellent
historical mystery series is due to be released on 6 January 2026 by Severn
House. Severn House has been a reliable source of good mysteries and thrillers
for more than 40 years. I was concerned when I saw that the firm had been
acquired recently by Joffe Books, since consolidation of publishing houses
often means authors lose their contracts and readers lose favorite series.
However, Joffe also has a considerable interest in crime fiction, I know
because I subscribe to their newsletter, and my fingers are crossed that the
author list at Severn House remains unchanged. Or expands. Expansion would be
good, too.
Iris Sparks
and Gwen Bainbridge continue on their quest to match the lovelorn members of
the post-war London populace via their marriage bureau, The Right Sort. On the
personal front, Gwen is settled into her own house away from her demanding
in-laws and enjoying her flourishing relationship with Iris’s Cambridge friend
Salvatore Danielli, or Sally, as everyone calls him. It is lovely to see her
relaxed and enjoying life. Iris on the other hand is still grieving the loss of
her fiancé and is drinking far more than she should.
Her life is
further complicated when her manager from her wartime British Intelligence
service contacts her and tells her that one of her Cambridge friends is
suspected of being a Russian agent. The Brigadier wants Iris to find a way to
coax her friend, recently returned from China, into subscribing to the services
of The Right Sort and to match him with a British agent who can dig more
deeply.
Neither Iris
nor Gwen appreciate having their service exploited in this way but see no way
of avoiding it. Iris has not seen Tony Danforth for nearly 10 years but she remembers
him with affection and can’t believe that he would betray his country. She
manages to visit a bookstore at the same time he does, he loves books too, and
her assignment proceeds as expected. Until Tony’s apartment is bombed and he is
severely burned. The questions of why and how become the next investigation of
the intrepid Sparks and Bainbridge.
Flashbacks to
the mid-1930s and Iris’s days at Cambridge describe her history with Danforth,
which help explain her feelings about Danforth now. There are some informative
bits about the status of women at Cambridge. Despite allowing women to study at
the university, Cambridge did not award full degrees to women until 1948, about
the time of this story.
As usual,
Gwen and Iris combine their disparate skills and jointly work through the criminal
problem as well as answer a couple of questions that arise along the way. Their
developing friendship is a highlight of these books.
The societal
inequities to which women were subjected during the first half of the 20th
century (and sometimes still are) is an ongoing theme for Montclair. Unfortunately
she has no shortage of material. This title highlights some of those injustices
while spinning a very good mystery with some fine plot twists. Starred review
from Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly calls the book “a treat.” Recommended!
·
Publisher: Severn House
·
Publication date: January 6, 2026
·
Edition: Main
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 256 pages
·
ISBN-10: 144831593X
·
ISBN-13: 978-1448315932
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4pVGpRe
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, December 28, 2025
SleuthSayers: 2025: Let's Not Do That Again
Beneath the Stains of Time: People vs. Withers and Malone (1963) by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice
Guest Post: Bringing “Amanda Ross” to the Page by Tom Milani
Please
welcome back author Tom Milani to the blog today as he shares the backstory of
his short story, Amanda Ross, that appears today in the latest issue of Black Cat Weekly.
Bringing “Amanda Ross” to the Page
by Tom Milani
“Amanda Ross” had a difficult
birth. Originally titled “The Missing Person” and part of a dual-timeline
story, the Amanda Ross portion was the PI origin story for Erin Ferrigno, my
protagonist. The other portion, which became “Riley Walker,” was about Erin’s
first case as a PI. Too complicated by half, “The Missing Person” didn’t work.
I decided to separate the stories
and submitted a revised version of the Amanda story to my writers group. The
discussion was … lively and the ensuing criticism remarkably constructive.
Several people with IT experience pointed out flaws in Erin’s approach to
hacking into her client’s husband’s computer to access his day-trading account.
Other people pointed out that Erin solved her client’s problem without facing
any obstacles.
It was a lot to take in, and I put
the story aside for a while to work on “Riley Walker,” a missing-persons case
that, in many ways, was more straightforward to write. When I finally got back
to “Amanda Ross,” I knew I needed to add some obstacles, and I needed to know
more about day-trading. One of my neighbors has been day trading for years, and
over dinner he filled me in on the personalities of day traders, the computer
setups they used, and how margin accounts work. When our discussion strayed to
powers of attorney, my neighbor, who’d been a lawyer in the military, explained
the difference between a specific and a general power of attorney. That
difference became an unexpected key to the story.
One final piece remained. After I
pitched the story to Michael Bracken, he asked me to revise the ending,
pointing out where it fell short. One small revision later, and it was done.
I hope you enjoy meeting Erin
Ferrigno. Thanks to my writers group for their critiques, my neighbor for sharing
his knowledge and expertise, and Michael Bracken for seeing a flaw I had
missed.
“Amanda Ross” appears in Black Cat Weekly #226.
Tom Milani ©2025
Tom
Milani’s (www.tommilani.com) short
fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in several anthologies. “Barracuda
Backfire,” his novella, Book 4 of Michael Bracken’s Chop Shop series,
was nominated for a Derringer award. “Barstow,” which appeared in Mickey
Finn: 21st Century Noir vol. 5, was an “Other Distinguished Mystery and
Suspense of 2024” selection for The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025.
Places That Are Gone, his debut novel, was released on May 13, 2025.
Saturday, December 27, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 72 Calls for Submissions in January 2026 - Paying Markets
Scott's Take: Godzilla vs the Marvel Universe by Ryan North, Gerry Duggan Gerry Duggan, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator), and Leinil Yu (Cover Art)
Godzilla vs the Marvel Universe by Ryan North,
Gerry Duggan, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator), Giuseppe Camuncoli
(Illustrator), and Leinil Yu (Cover Art), collects a series of one shots (one
shots for those who don’t know are single issue stories that are supposed to be
self-contained). I read these through the Marvel Unlimited app. In these one shots, Godzilla crossovers and battles
various heroes in various times throughout the history of Marvel. So, you have the 90s X-men vs Godzilla, 80s
Spider-man vs Godzilla, Modern Thor vs Godzilla and more. This is just a fun
crossover with various heroes dealing with Godzilla.
They don’t seem to connect at all and
there are no shared creative teams or story. Most of the reads have good art
except for the John Romita Jr for the Fantastic Four. I think his art is
blocky. Most of these stories are action packed with humor. Some of which is
forced, such as Nick Lowe’s editorial jokes in the Spider-Man story. I think he
negatively impacted the story overall, but I also have a negative opinion of
him based on his public comments about Spider-Man fans. The only story I really
did not like was the Hulk vs Godzilla which goes downhill once he introduces some
vague villain from the Godzilla Universe. I’d never heard of the character and
the story made no sense.
Overall, I think this is a fun
collection that leans heavy into the Marvel Universe and not as much in the
Godzilla Universe.
By the way, there is another Godzilla
series that seems completely separate. Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe
has two issues so far at Marvel
Unlimited as that is all they have put up. The collected volume is supposed
to be released in March 2026. It seems to be completely separate and has all
the heroes teaming up to stop him.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4iHvXdn
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
Friday, December 26, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 64 Writing Contests in January 2026 - No entry fees
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange - Christmas Edition
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures by Sarah Clegg
Mystery Fanfare: BOXING DAY MYSTERIES
In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Red Christmas
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: RUNNING WITH THE BARONS
Thursday, December 25, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder in Retrospect: The Best and Worst of 2025
Mystery Fanfare: CHRISTMAS MYSTERY ROUND-UP!
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Defending The Crown-- 28th Annual Critters Readers Poll Opened -- Best Review Site
It has been quite a year. Somehow, despite the way
worse financial situation and my own worsening health, I am still here. The blog
is still here too. Despite the fact that I am way slower reading and reviewing
wise, the blog continues to soar and add thousands of page views each month. I am
sure that the majority of that is due to the fact that the blog remains popular
with guests who contribute the lion’s share of content these days. I again
thank them for their posts.
I very much thank you, the reader, for your support.
If not for you coming and reading the blog, it would not exist.
I have never understood why anyone would value what
I do here. People tell me I impact the mystery and crime fiction community. I
don't see how. Yet, folks keep telling me I have an impact, as they have again
in recent days. Maybe it was the way I was raised. The idea that something I do
has value, that I matter, is such a bizarre concept to me.
The 28th Annual Critters Readers' Poll has opened
and I put Kevin’s Corner in the running in the Review site category. If you think the blog is worthy, please vote
at https://critters.org/predpoll/reviewsite.shtml
After you vote, make sure you respond to the
confirmation email and register your vote so that it is counted.
While currently we are the only review site listed,
I expect that we will once again be going up against a number of review sites
that have teams of reviewers and are active in many genres across multiple
forms of media. Most of them host book giveaways and other events as well. This
site remains an underdog as always because we do not have all the bells and
whistles that other sites have to drive traffic to them.
If you think we are worthy of your vote, please go cast your vote today. Remember, you must respond to the confirmation email for your vote to count.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Kaye George and Gerald Elias read ’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Misti Media)
Jay Hartman of Misti Media has announced that he has posted video
readings of ’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS from Misti Media authors Kaye
George and Gerald Elias. As Jay points out, you can think of them as a Santa
Claus vs. Mrs. Claus kind of thing.
The videos are available on the Misti Media YouTube channel
at: https://www.youtube.com/@mistimediallc/videos
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
SleuthSayers: 2025 Year in Review: Editing
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 12 (Warm) Writing Conferences and Workshops in January 2026
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Staff Christmas Picks
Monday, December 22, 2025
Mystery Fanfare: Christmas Specials: Death in Paradise and Return to Paradise Air Dates
Beneath the Stains of Time: Inspector De Klerck and the Dead Philanthropist (2025) by P. Dieudonné
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
Little Big Crimes: The God You Save May Be Your Own, by Michael Thomas Ford
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: A Case of Mice and Murder: The Trials of Gabriel Ward by Sally Smith
.
Of Mice
and Murder (Raven Books, June 2025) has been getting raves from readers of
historical mysteries since it was released. Now it is popping up on favorites
of the year lists and I was determined to see what the buzz was about.
It is, as
everyone says, a wonderful story. Set in May 1901, the quirky Sir Gabriel Ward
KC, an outstanding addition to the pantheon of amateur sleuths, literally
stumbles across the body of Lord Norman Dunning, Lord Chief Justice of England,
as Ward was attempting to enter his legal office in the Inner Temple. Dunning was
in popular opinion amazingly average and the last person to be murdered. But
here he was, expired and not of natural causes.
By law the
Temple is not part of the City of London and London police are not allowed to
enter without invitation. The author goes into some detail about the history of
the Temple and provides a helpful map. To keep the police at bay for a few
days, Ward was given the task of investigating the death accompanied by a
police constable to take notes. Ward was on the verge of an important piece of
litigation that needed his full attention and he did not welcome this new and
strange assignment. Indeed, he did not welcome anything that disrupted his
long-established routine. His outstanding intellect was recognized by his
colleagues however and it was felt if anyone could find an answer to this
peculiar event, it would be Sir Gabriel.
The second
plot thread is just as perplexing. Years ago, legal publisher Herbert Moore
found a manuscript for a children’s book with no letter or explanation on his
doorstep. He examined it briefly and discarded it in the nearest bin, from
which his young daughter retrieved it and read it, enthralled. Moore decided to
publish it as a Christmas one-off and found himself with a runaway bestseller.
He had made some inquiries as to the author that came up empty and despite some
reservations continued to publish the book. Now a young woman has come forward
claiming authorship of the book and Moore hasn’t a legal leg to stand on. In
desperation he has turned to Ward for help.
Sally Smith
spent all her working life as a barrister and later King's Counsel in the Inner
Temple. Her deep knowledge of the history of the Temple and understanding of
its operations give the story a commanding sense of authenticity. The
references to new-fangled forensic tools such as fingerprints and the mentions
of the limitations placed on women’s lives sets the context equally well. Those
same limitations offer clues to the resolution. The dual mystery itself is nicely
constructed, and Sir Gabriel is a vivid personality with whom I can easily
identify.
Fortunately for
us all, there is no need to wait for the second book in the series; it is
available for purchase now. Library Journal starred review. Highly
recommended.
·
Publisher: Raven Books
·
Publication date: June 17, 2025
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 336 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1639736921
·
ISBN-13: 978-1639736928
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3MIybxm
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Gravetapping: My Favorite Books Published in 2025
Mystery Fanfare: WINTER SOLSTICE MYSTERIES
Beneath the Stains of Time: There Came Both Mist and Snow (1940) by Michael Innes
The Rap Sheet: Revue of Reviewers: 12-20-25
Note: In absolutely stunning news, I made the review roundup list TWICE today. First for my review hee on my blog of The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes by Terry Shames. Second for my guest post review at Lesa's Book Critiques (Lesa Holstine) of Crimson Thaw by Bruce Robert Coffin. Very cool!
Saturday, December 20, 2025
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Oh William!: Elizabeth Strout
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: SMFS Spotlight: Bruce Robert Coffin
KRL Update 12/20/2025
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of some food and magic cozy mysteries for your holiday reading-"Murder by the Millions" by Daryl Wood Gerber, "At Death’s Dough" A Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley, "Death and Dinuguan" A Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery by Mia P. Manansala, and "Witch and Tell" A Witch Way Librarian Mystery by Angela M. Sanders https://kingsriverlife.com/12/20/food-magic-mysteries-for-your-holiday-reading/
And a review and giveaway of "The Black Wolf" by Louise Penny https://kingsriverlife.com/12/20/the-black-wolf-by-louise-penny/
And the latest Queer Mysteries Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/12/20/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-a-new-year-of-reading-bravely/
And a Christmas mystery short story called "Brandt's Secret" written by J.R. Lindermuth https://kingsriverlife.com/12/20/christmas-mystery-short-story-brandts-secret/
For those who prefer to listen to Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast directly on KRL, here are the players for both of our Christmas episodes this year-the one featuring the Christmas mystery short story "Peppermint Barking" written by Jane Limprecht, read by local actors Sean Hopper and Cymone Sandoval-Hopper. And the one featuring the Christmas mystery short story "All is Bright" by Merrilee Robson, read by local actor Larry Mattox https://kingsriverlife.com/12/20/a-pair-of-christmas-mysteries-on-mysteryrats-maze-podcast/
We also have a fun short story by Elaine Faber that involves golf, a certain little wild animal, and a touch of a mystery https://kingsriverlife.com/12/20/mystery-short-story-the-slobaviakinsky-golf-course/
Happy Holidays!
Lorie
Black Beacon Books: Submissions
Mystery Fanfare: CHRISTMAS MYSTERY SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGIES AND NOVELLAS
SleuthSayers: December Stories
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Short and Seasonal!
Scott's Take: Marvel Tales by J. Michael Straczynski, Will Robson (Illustrator), Bernard Chang (Illustrator), Elena Casagrande (Illustrator), and Leinil Yu (Cover Art)
Marvel Tales by J. Michael Straczynski (usually referred to as JMS), Will Robson (Illustrator), Bernard Chang (Illustrator), Elena Casagrande (Illustrator), and Leinil Yu (Cover Art), is a series of one shots (stand-alone single issue stories) collected here that I read through Marvel Unlimited. Most of these are team ups or vs between two characters except for Spider-Man vs the Sinister Sixteen. Rocket Raccoon and Dr Doom team up, Captain America and Volstagg (Thor’s friend) team up, while there is Ghost Rider vs Galactus, Nick Fury takes on Fing Fang Foom (Space Dragon), and other interesting tales.
These are fun interesting stories. Some
of which are funny. I enjoyed all of them. My favorite was Rocket and Doom’s
team up but The Volstagg, Nick Fury ones made me see the characters in a new
light. The Spider-Man was the funniest. The plot in the Spider-man has various
heroes like Thor, Strange, more trying to share a nice dinner while villains
are eating in the same French Restaurant.
Each team up or vs are fun reads that
shake things up by putting characters together who usually don’t get to team up
except for Hulk and Strange. They team up a lot. I think this is a read worth
reading.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3XFHGzv
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
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