Lesa's Book Critiques: Andrew Welsh-Huggins’ Favorites of 2024
Friday, February 28, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Secret of Hunter's Keep (1931) by James Ronald
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Secret of Hunter's Keep (1931) by James Ronald: James Ronald 's The Secret of Hunter's Keep (1931) is the second, somewhat shortish, novel in Stories of Crime & Detection, vol...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: SECRET LIVES OF BOOKSELLERS AND LIBRARIANS: TRUE STORIES OF THE MAGIC OF READING
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: SECRET LIVES OF BOOKSELLERS AND L...: Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, with Chris Moone...
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 91 Calls for Submissions in March 2025 - Paying markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 91 Calls for Submissions in March 2025 - Paying ma...: This March there are more than seven dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As alway...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Ar...: The Goodbye Cat is a Japanese book, written by Hiro Arikawa, and translated by Philip Gabriel. It consists of seven short stories, and e...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE MURDER AT THE DUCK CLUB
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE MURDER AT THE DUCK CLUB: "The Murder at the Duck Club" by Hesketh Prichard (from Pearson's Magazine , January 1913; reprinted in the collection Novem...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Black Cat Mystery Magazine: Issue One Edited by John Gregory Betancourt and Carla Coupe
From the massive archive….
Black Cat Mystery Magazine: Issue One
opens with a note from editors John Gregory Betancourt and Carla Coupe stating that
their magazine will focus on mystery short stories. In addition to publishing
the occasional classic piece from decades ago, they will publish quality
mystery stories regardless of the niche the story fits in the genre. In short,
this is a magazine designed to appeal to all mystery readers. That goal is
easily met in the first issue.
“Getting
away” by Alan Orloff starts the issue off. Eddie “Light Touch” Elkins needs a
new identity and he now has one thanks to his new passport. The forgery looks
perfect. Good thing the guy at Lloyd Birnbaum Travel knew who to hook him up
with so that he could make a clean getaway. For the guy at the travel agency,
having a side business is important, as the internet has pretty much killed the
travel industry. Why use a travel agent when you can make all the arrangements
yourself?
Back
in the day kids were respectful when they walked through the neighborhood.
Those days are long gone in “Fairy Tales” by Art Taylor. In the here and now,
William Washington is fed up and getting closer and closer to taking back his
neighborhood.
At
92 Uncle Eb tends to tell the same several stories over and over including the
one about he meet Aunt Flo. It is part of his routine at the Choctaw Nursing Home.
So too is the Wednesday visit with his nephew, the sheriff of Lamar County.
This Wednesday he is running a bit behind due to a murder. He has a tale for
his uncle and his Aunt in “Eb and Flo” by Josh Pachter.
Her
cat, Sammy, is missing as the “Crazy Cat lady” by Barb Goffman begins. The
horror and suspense author, Zephyr, is sure somebody has been in the house.
Zephyr is a bit spooked, but as she looks around she begins to think her worry
was for nothing as Sammy is fine though he does not seem pleased. He might have
a good reason.
She
is looking forward to seeing Benedict again. The rendezvous is set for thirty
minutes from now. Her only obstacle is how to get away from her husband so she
can do what she yearns to do in “A Pie To Die For” by Meg Opperman.
Albert
Poe loves introducing new attractions to visitors at the world famous wax
museum. The latest unveiling in 1888 goes spectacularly wrong in “Murder At Madame
Tussauds” by Dan Andriacco. The new figure was supposed to be a wax impression
of Ormond Struthers known to one and all as the “Grosvenor Square Ghoul” with
wax impressions of some of the heads he had severed. The latest addition looks
all too real because it is. Time to contact Scotland Yard. They will need help
and that is where the ‘Count of Conjuring” and his assistant will step in
whether they are wanted or not.
Katie
Harrison is in big trouble as “Rooster Creek” by John M. Floyd begins. As long
as she can balance on the chair with that rope around her neck and up into the
tree she will be okay. How she got to this position in the month since she
stepped of the stagecoach in Perdition is the focus of this highly entertaining
western tale.
Her
name is Marilyn Baker. She is a bank teller at First American Union. She is unforgettable
in “Don’t Bank On It” by Jack Halliday. Good thing he is a private
investigator.
Every
town has that notorious motel where business is done in hourly increments. In “Dixie Quickies” by Michael Bracken,
the Dixie Motel located on the outskirts of Chicken Junction is one such place.
The twelve rooms are the site of quite few romantic encounters. The most recent
encounter did not result in a happy ending for one guy as he is very much dead
in his room. His death and the repercussions of that are going to become a
bigger and bigger problem in this steadily expanding tale.
Kaye
George is up next with her tale, “Flight To The Flirty Flamingo.” In this case,
the main setting is not a motel, but a strip club known as “The Flirty Flamingo.”
Fin runs the place and treats the talent right and makes sure the customers do
too. Jodie Vive is in trouble and on the run for good reason. Whether Fin can
help with a problem that big is the real question.
“The
Italian Tile Mystery” by James Holliday was originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine in
September 1961 and is republished as the next story in this first issue of Black Cat Mystery Magazine. It is a drab
wintery day with the rain coming down in Positano. The dampness penetrates
everything in the village on the cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea. That
penetrating dampness invades the guests of Savoia Hotel. Several of the guests
are huddled in their sweaters before the fire while being intrigued by a
certain table and the tiles across its top. The table was created by Lemuel v.
Bishop. He was an American who lived in Italy most of his life. During those
last months as he battled illness he lived at the hotel and created the table. The
table holds a secret that several guests, including two mystery authors, are
determined to figure out.
“Beside
A Flowering Wall” by Fletcher Flora comes next. This short story was originally
published in April 1968 in Alfred
Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Ruth has a sterile stale life of regimen. She
lives this certain way in order to hold things together. That is until Pat
Brady calls and intrudes into her life once again.
“The
ABC’s Of Murder” by Josh Pachter winds up the first issue. Every letter of the
alphabet has its own special mystery related designation in this poem dedicated
to all things murder and crime related.
Black Cat Mystery Magazine: Issue One is a broad spectrum
mystery magazine filled with good stories. Built off of classic tales as well
as modern ones, the reads here all meet the editors stated intention of
ignoring niches and being open to all types of tales. This is a magazine
designed to appeal to a broad swath of mystery readers and does so with ease. Black
Cat Mystery Magazine: Issue One is also a good one.
Wildside Press http://wildsidepress.com/magazines/BCMM/
Amazon Associates Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4hYuQoI
Material was purchased to read and review back in December
2017 by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018, 2025
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 77 Free Writing Contests in March 2025 - No entry fees
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 77 Free Writing Contests in March 2025 - No entry ...: This March there are more than six dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range f...
SleuthSayers: They Have the Beat
SleuthSayers: They Have the Beat: In late December, an anthology I edited was published by Level Short. It's called Angel City Beat , and it includes fifteen stories by m...
Jerry's House of Everything: OVERLOOKED MYSTERY: PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN (1940)
Jerry's House of Everything: OVERLOOKED MYSTERY: PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN (1940): Oriental detective James Lee Wong was the creation of author Hugh Wiley, who wrote two dozen short stories about the character from 1934 un...
Publication Day Review: Battle Mountain: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box
Battle Mountain: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box is the latest in this long running series. While Joe Pickett is
certainly in it, this is more of a Nate Romanowski novel. For very good reason
as Nate is still on the hunt and his quest for revenge though the trail has
gone cold in more ways than one.
Nate is still looking for Axel Soledad. An evil man
who has done many horrible things. Nate is going to get him, no matter what.
Soledad killed Nate’s wife, Liv, and must die. He knows it won’t bring Liv
back. But, every day Soledad breathes is another day that he has lived far too
long.
The chase continues this early October as Nate is
lowly getting closer and closer to a showdown with Soledad. In a surprising
turn of events, Geronimo has found Nate high up in a mountain range as he contemplates
what to do. Geronimo also wants Soledad dead for going after his wife and
child. They survived. But, Geronimo thinks if he and Nate unite in the hunt,
they have a better chance of ending the evil man finally before he spills more
blood and hurts anyone else.
At the same time this is happening, Governo Rulon
wants Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett’s help. His son in law, Mark Eisele, has
gone missing as has the elk hunting guide, Joseph “Spike” Rankin. They were
preparing for elk hunting season in the vicinity of Battle Mountain in Southern
Wyoming. Spike was supposed to let the Governor know every day how his son in
law was doing as the man is an outdoor novice with no experience at all. Not
only is his daughter and wife starting to worry a little bit, Rulon does not want
the local sheriff involved as he is one of those Sovereign Nation idiots, and
does not want the media to get wind of anything. Rulon wants Pickett to go down
there and find the two men and do it as quietly and discreetly as possible.
One can’t say no to the Governor. Not only is a
force of nature, Pickett owes him several times over for past situations. Saying
no was never an option.
The result is a fast paced read as various forces
converge on Battle Mountain. While you now know the two primary storylines,
much more is going on in the read that will culminate in a battle on the mountain.
History tends to repeat itself.
As always, politics is present in this read, though
in this case it works better for the story and is not so heavy handed as some
of the recent reads in the series have been. More than anything, Battle
Mountain: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box is an action adventure read
with no character development as the primary characters were fleshed out long
ago. The read also serves as a great escape from the world madness that infects
our lives on a daily basis now.
Strongly recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/40T79H3
My digital ARC came by way of the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons, through NetGalley with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Monday, February 24, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 35 Magnificent Writing Conferences and Workshops in March 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 35 Magnificent Writing Conferences and Workshops i...: This March there are more than two dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most wil...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The House of Snow and the Six Tricks (2022) by Danro Kamosaki
Beneath the Stains of Time: The House of Snow and the Six Tricks (2022) by Dan...: Last year, the first round of nominations for the updated " Locked Room Library ," hosted by Alexander of The Detection Collection...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Eerie Legends: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Creepy Creatures, the Paranormal, and Folklore from Around the World by Ricardo Diseno
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Eerie Legends: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cre...: Reviewed by Jeanne Cryptids are hot! It seems that creatures and critters are showing up everywhere, not just in the deep woods. The...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Silent Parade: Keigo Higashino
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Silent Parade: Keigo Higashino: This is my third book read for the Japanese Literature Challenge 18 , hosted at Dolce Bellezza . Silent Parade is about two crimes, separ...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Banker: An Andy Roark Mystery by Peter Colt
The sixth
appearance of Boston private investigator Andy Roark finds him out of his depth
in an embezzlement case. He’s never investigated financial fraud before but he
needs the money and the case doesn’t sound that hard. Harry Brock, president of
Merrimack Community Bank in Amesbury, on the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border,
retains him to watch the three employees who have the access to remove $2
million from the bank’s accounts. Brock says he doesn’t see how the money was
taken and he wants Roark to find the one who is spending more money than he or
she should be.
After two
weeks of following three apparently blameless people leading quite ordinary
lives, Roark resigns out of sheer boredom. Brock urges him to stay on the job,
offers him more money but Roark is convinced he isn’t the right person to learn
where the money is and who took it. About a month later Roark learns that
Merrimack Community Bank was robbed the day before and one of the employees he
followed for two weeks was killed. While there was no obvious connection
between the embezzlement and the robbery, Roark was still uneasy about what
seemed to be a coincidence. He had just completed three cases and he had the
leisure to look around again in Amesbury so he returned to the small town where
he discovered enough to become convinced something odd was going on in the
bank.
I reviewed
the first title in the series five years ago and I noted then it would be
interesting to see how Colt dealt with the enormous technology revolution that
was soon to occur. Colt seems to want to keep Roark firmly in the 1980s. This
book is set in 1986 and there are mentions of computer printouts on green and
white striped paper but pay phones were still commonplace and the internet was
not yet available to the public. References to Vietnam and Roark’s tour of duty,
to the pop songs playing on the car radio, and to the various Boston sports
teams are the only obvious ways to establish the timeframe, although readers
more familiar with Boston can likely tell from mentions of construction
projects and restaurants.
Colt has got
the whole PI trope down pat. The story shifts gears seamlessly from a dull
stakeout assignment to something much more sinister. The shootout at the end is
slickly choreographed and executed, and the resolution is satisfying. This
series is reminiscent of Spenser, and readers who miss him and John Francis
Cuddy, or just private eyes in general, should look into these books.
·
Publisher: Severn House; Main edition
(March 4, 2025)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 240 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1448310717
·
ISBN-13: 978-1448310715
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3X7QgXS
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Little Big Crimes: The Eyes That Won't Die, by Michael Mallory
Little Big Crimes: The Eyes That Won't Die, by Michael Mallory: "The Eyes That Won't Die," by Michael Mallory, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025. This is th...
SleuthSayers: The Horror! The Horror?
SleuthSayers: The Horror! The Horror?: For the past few years, I've been maintaining a list of markets for short crime/mystery fiction for the members of the Short Mystery Fic...
Saturday, February 22, 2025
Review News 2/16- 2/22/25
With yet another medical appointment in
recent days, and trying to finish up a story and get it in before deadline
(which I did today), I didn’t get much done from a reading and reviewing
perspective. This past week on the blog review wise….
Today, Scott
reviewed Ultimates Vol 1: Fix the World by Deniz Camp and
Jonathan Hickman, Illustrator Juan
https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2025/02/scotts-take-ultimates-vol-1-fix-world.html
Wednesday, I
reviewed Angel City Beat: A Sisters in Crime Los Angeles Anthology
Editor Barb Goffman
https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2025/02/short-story-wednesday-review-angel-city.html
Monday brought the latest review by Aubrey Nye Hamilton as she reviewed, The Graveyard Bell by Andrew James Greig
https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2025/02/aubrey-nye-hamilton-reviews-graveyard.html
Stay up to date by following the blog and
get reviews, news, and other posts as they go live, by subscribing by way of
the Follow-It app over on the left side of this blog.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
KRL Update 2/22/2025
Up on KRL this week another mystery catch-up with reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozies-"The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime" A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery by Vicki Delany, "Schooled in Murder" by Victoria Gilbert, and "Irish Soda Bread Murder" by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, Liz Ireland https://kingsriverlife.com/02/22/end-of-february-2025-mystery-catchup/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Dolled Up for Murder" by Anna St. John, along with an interesting interview with Anna https://kingsriverlife.com/02/22/dolled-up-for-murder-by-anna-st-john/
And a review and giveaway of "Beast of the North Woods" by Annelise Ryan https://kingsriverlife.com/02/22/beast-of-the-north-woods-by-annelise-ryan/
For those who prefer to listen to Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast directly on KRL you can find the player here for the latest episode which features the first chapter of "Tragedy in Tahoe" by Rachele Baker read by local actor Ariel Linn https://kingsriverlife.com/02/22/new-mysteryrats-maze-podcast-featuring-tragedy-in-tahoe/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Death By Trauma" by Abigail Keam https://www.krlnews.com/2025/02/death-by-trauma-by-abigail-keam.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Medal For Murder" by Leslie Langtry https://www.krlnews.com/2025/02/medal-for-murder-by-leslie-langtry.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Snow Time To Die" by Annie McEwen- Author https://www.krlnews.com/2025/02/snow-time-to-die-by-annie-mcewen.html
Happy reading and listening,
Lorie
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Rock Painting for Beginners: A Complete Guide to Techniques and Supplies with 50 Original Designs to Inspire You by Christine Rechl A Complete Guide to ...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Rock Painting for Beginners: A Complete Guide to ...: Reviewed by Jeanne Remember when everyone was painting rocks and leaving them in public spaces for others to find? While the craze may...
Scott's Take: Ultimates Vol 1: Fix the World by Deniz Camp and Jonathan Hickman, Illustrator Juan Frigeri
Ultimates Vol 1: Fix the World
by Deniz Camp and Jonathan Hickman, illustrated by Juan Frigeri, is a new
series set in the new Ultimate Universe. I read this through Marvel Unlimited.
This book collects seven issues of the hit series. In this book, Tony Stark, Captain America,
Doom (Reed Richards), and Thor are building a resistance to the Maker’s Council
that secretly runs the world. The world is being run by supervillains and most
of the population have no idea. Their secret war takes them to the White House
and across the globe. The heroes have their work cut out for them.
Each issue for the most part has a simple mandate--
establish a new hero in the Ultimate Universe-- and that is done extremely
well. There is action, humor, plenty of beautiful art work, and great character
work. New heroes are introduced and existing heroes are redefined to make them
different in this universe. The creative team incorporates even less known
characters such as the 1st human torch (not to be confused with Johnny Storm of
the Fantastic Four who eclipsed him in popularity). The Maker’s Council is full
of dangerous individuals such as the Hulk and more.
Teen Tony Stark and Captain America have fresh spins put on these established heroes. Captain America struggles with the fact that America no longer exists as the Maker has split the world into territories which he has given to his people. Most people living in what was America do not even know that America exists since the council has wiped a lot of information from the world. Teen Stark is a more optimistic and sunnier version of Iron Man. There will be a second volume, but that does not have a title or a release date yet. I look forward to reading.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gW0nG9
As noted, I read this through the Marvel
Unlimited App. As always, nobody has any expectation of me reviewing
anything.
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
Friday, February 21, 2025
The Five-Two: Submissions Open
The Five-Two: Submissions Open: The Five-Two 's original twelve-year run ended because submissions dried up, perhaps because I left Twitter soon after Elon Musk bought ...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: ARE SNAKES NECESSARY?
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: ARE SNAKES NECESSARY?: Are Snakes Necessary? by Brian De Palma & Susan Lehman (2016) This book by film director Brian De Palma ( Carrie , Dressed to Kill , ...
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: Crossover at the Borders: C.M.B. vol. 19 & Q.E.D. vol. 41 by Motohiro Katou
Beneath the Stains of Time: Crossover at the Borders: C.M.B. vol. 19 & Q.E.D. ...: This took longer than planned, but after a year, or two, I finally arrived at the big crossover event between Motohiro Katou's two flags...
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "The Listerdale Mystery" by Agatha Christie
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "The Listerdale Mystery" by...: I have discovered the Agatha Christie Short Stories Read Along hosted by Fanda at Fanda Classiclit . It originally started in 2024, but I...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY-ISH WEDNESDAY: THE MAN WHO COULDN'T BE PHOTOGRAPHED
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY-ISH WEDNESDAY: THE MAN WHO COULDN'T B...: "The Man Who Couldn't Be Photographed" by John Dickson Carr (radio play first broadcast on Cabin B-13 , July 12, 1948; repea...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Angel City Beat: A Sisters in Crime Los Angeles Anthology Editor Barb Goffman
I’m not one to get excited about book covers. In my
opinion, book cover reveals, especially these days, are utterly meaningless.
But, when Angel City Beat: A Sisters in Crime Los Angeles Anthology
came out and I saw the cover, I was hooked. I thought it was a very cool cover
and would be a book of police procedural short stories. After all, with a
police badge prominently displayed on the cover, that was the visual impression
for this reader. So, I didn’t pay much attention to the synopsis when I picked
it up by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.
To be fair, Angel City Beat: A Sisters in
Crime Los Angeles Anthology, edited by Barb Goffman, does have a few
police procedurals in it. But, the vast majority of stories are not. As made
clear in the introduction written by Naomi Hirahara, the goal was to go beyond
police stories and include stories that were reporter based, screenwriter
based, musician based, and other folks that have a “beat” in what they do. Set
in various places across the county of Los Angeles, the resulting anthology of
fifteen short stories is an interesting and entertaining read.
“The Missing Mariachi” by Aime Kluck starts off the
stories with a missing person’s case. In Boyle Heights, a woman has been
abducted. She is part of a mariachi band playing at a quinceañera and was taken
from a banquet hall. The description of the abductor is lousy, but they do have
a photograph of the vehicle the suspect was driving. For Isabella “Izzy” Zavala,
Major Crimes Unit Detective, LAPD, it is a start and not nothing.
A fellow member of the writers’ room for the show, Murder
Unjustified, is now dead in “Murder Unjustified” by Daryl Wood Gerber. Her
best friend, Suzy, is dead and Angelica might have been the last person to see
her alive before she was killed. There had been a lot of tension in the writers’
room and a lot of personal drama. Angelica was in charge, but had no knowledge
of the many things that were going on behind her back. Being a suspect pushes
her to investigate everything and everyone.
It is after 9 in the morning and yet the fog is
still hanging in when reporter Charie Walter shows up on the scene. Detective
Galuppo gives her a few details off the record. A finger was found by a hiker walking
his dog. Detective Galuppo believes, based on the finger and other evidence,
that the body is of a USC student who went missing ten years ago. If it is him,
thanks to the internet, she now knows the names of some folks she should hunt
down and talk to in “Getting Warmer” by Kate Mooney.
It is 1998 in “What’s Really Unforgettable” by Ken
Funsten, CFA. Quentin Kieper runs a hedge fund, Acorn Financial, in Greenwich Connecticut.
Detective Hank Chinaski calls with questions as a beaten and unconscious man
was found at a parking structure near LAX. The victim had nothing on him except
Mr. Keiper’s business card. As they talk, Mr. Kieper realizes that the man
could be Wyatt Hu. The same Wyatt Hu who was about to take his company public in
a deal would be worth a lot of money. Keiper has a lot of reasons to help the
LAPD and that means he has to go to Los Angeles and get directly involved in
the case.
It could easily be argued that Lace and Lisa are in
the wrong place at the wrong time even though all they are doing is their jobs.
It is Christmas Eve and they are in De La Rosa’s fish market selecting items
for the dinner party they are to cater for a wealthy client. That is if they
make it out alive in “The Feast of the Seven Fishes” by Gail Alexander.
As one who went through a very hard hospice
situation with my late wife, the next story was really tough for me to read.
Not that the story is a bad one. It certainly isn’t. It just brought up a lot
of very painful stuff. The people who work hospice are very special folks and I
don’t know how they do it.
Ella is a hospice nurse who usually works the night
shift in “Death Beat” by Meredith Taylor. Of course, this is hospice care, so
folks are going to die and soon. But, she has noticed that some patients seem
to be dying too fast. She has her suspicions and investigates.
It is a few years into the future and water scarcity
has become a huge problem in California. So much so there are distribution
centers, severe water rationing, armed guards, and desperate people in
“Everything’s Relative” by Jenny Carless. Blanca and Gemma each want more out
of life in this science fiction tale and are intent on getting it for their
family.
Somebody is killing in ingenuous ways those who
would become the lead conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in
“Settling The Score” by Anne-Marie Cambell. The outgoing music director,
Octavio Herrera, has culled the list of qualified applicants to take over from
him to a final four. Each person will perform an audition of sorts in public
with the full orchestra. Assuming they each live long enough to perform.
It is a day in early May of 2024 and a female grad
student is relaxing with a book when the diver’s body washed up on the Santa
Monica beach. She was there and watched it happen. For reasons soon detailed,
her life just got a bit better in “A Thesis On Murder” by Paula Bernstein. Her
life also got more complicated.
The movie Paige watched on television that evening
was very familiar as ‘Underbelly” by Jaquie Wilvers begins. It sure should be
as she wrote the screenplay. The version on her tv is slightly different in a
couple of spots, but clearly it is her stolen work. Thanks to the credits at
the end, she knows the identity of the thief. The question is what to do about
it.
Ken Funsten, CFA, has a second story in the book. “A
Dead Hire” is focused on a young guy working in a boiler room. Not only is the
gig a better deal than what his parents wanted him to do over the summer, the
entire room is filled with fellow high school students and they are all female.
Each person has a list of names to cold call and work and Brent figures it will
be fun and easy. Will it?
Michaela Franklin found the body in the library. Now
she is waiting for the police to arrive in “Fatal Return” by Sybil Johnson. She
knew what to do, and more importantly, what not to do when she found Library
Director Janice Appleton very much dead that morning. She also knows Detective
Ben Dewey who has questions for her and others on staff.
Two interconnected parts drive “Crime Doesn’t Pay”
by Norman Klein. The NYPD Detective is on vacation with his family when his
boss called the Beverly Hills Police Chief to offer the vacationing detective’s
services. After all, he is in the area. The two bosses know each other and the
case is getting massive media attention. The unconscious man in the hospital
needs help. That case will play a role in the second case in this story.
Daisy Campbell is a professional pet psychic. She
has been brought in to work with the exceptional race horse, Frontier Justice. His
jockey, Rob Cushing, died just days earlier after falling off the stallion
during a workout and getting trampled by the horse. Daisy Campbell has been
brought in to assess the mental state of the horse in “Unbeatable” by Melinda
Loomis. The Santa Anita Handicap is just days away and the wealthy owners need
to know what the horse is thinking about it all.
In the final story of the anthology, Barbie Bivens
and Madison McKay are reporters at the LA Times. It is fitting with her
name and her dad’s connections, that Barbie covers entertainment. Madison McKay
has general assignments for the main news section of the paper. It is 1998 and
actress Mimi Howards, Oscar winner, has been arrested for the murder of her
husband, Steve Sloan. Witnesses and evidence indicate she did it in “Byline For
Murder” by Nancy Cole Silverman. Editor Harry Simms wants the two reporters to
work together, no matter how they feel about it and each other, and cover the
story. Easier said than done.
Angel City Beat: A Sisters in Crime Los
Angeles Anthology, edited by Barb Goffman, is an
entertaining read. The fifteen stories presented here are all complex tales
that bring their settings alive while also providing, in each case, a mystery
or a crime well worth your time and attention. Showcasing a variety of writing
styles and perspectives, there is sure to plenty here for you to read and enjoy.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3X0uR2M
As noted, my digital ready copy came by way of an Amazon
purchase as the Dallas Public Library System was not going to carry it. I used
funds in my Amazon Associate account.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey: Reviewed by Jeanne It started with cattle mutilations. Then the attacks began targeting people, often leaving bloody and shocking cr...
Monday, February 17, 2025
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Graveyard Bell by Andrew James Greig
The Graveyard
Bell
by Andrew James Greig (Storm Publishing, 2025) is the third book in Greig’s
series about private investigator Teàrlach Paterson. When former classmate Lucy
Jameson asks Paterson to look into the death of her husband, Paterson privately
agrees with the police that it was an accident. Lucy insists that photographs
published in a wildlife magazine weeks after her husband’s death and attributed
to a stranger are her husband’s. Paterson turns his digital whiz colleague Dee
loose on locating the original photos and the metadata that would show when
they were taken.
Returning to
Mull where Jameson fell from a cliff raises all sorts of uncomfortable memories
in Paterson. He grew up there with his aunt who took him in after his family
fell apart. His aunt died two years earlier as he was leaving the military. He
did not know she was ill, was not prepared to lose her, and realizes he had
never dealt with any part of the loss. The cottage had been closed since the
funeral and his aunt’s possessions remained as she left them, only now they
were covered with dust. Paterson knew his life was in Glasgow and decided he
could no longer put off the hard work of clearing the home and making it
available to someone else who needed it.
While
Paterson is on the island, Fraser Donald contacts Paterson’s office to ask for
help in locating his missing son Callum, working as a fisherman on Mull, giving
Paterson another job. When a second death occurs in the seaside vicinity of the
first, Paterson begins to wonder about potential connections among the two dead
men and the missing fisherman.
A complicated
plot involving three victims, their families, friends, and back stories as well
as Paterson’s difficult childhood and Dee’s search for her biological parents. Sorting
his aunt’s papers uncovers information new to Paterson and suggests where the
next book in the series might lead. Despite the complexity of multiple threads,
the narrative blends all of them seamlessly while the action propels the story forward
without the occasional lull that so often occurs in long books.
I enjoyed
reading this new investigation; any missing context provided by the first two
in the series was not noticeable. An unusual setting adds to its appeal. Readers
who like private investigator scenarios or small town mysteries or who are
looking for another series should consider this one.
The trade
paperback was released in January 2025 and the ebook will be released in late
February.
·
Publisher: Storm Publishing (January 30,
2025)
·
Language: English
·
Paperback: 352 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1805084844
· ISBN-13: 978-1805084846
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3EDzR7f
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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