Lesa's Book Critiques: Orris and Timble: Lost and Found by Kate DiCamillo
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
SleuthSayers: Tillie, Gertrude, and Molly
SleuthSayers: Tillie, Gertrude, and Molly: This piece has nothing to do with crime, but it certainly is related to writing. Or one specific writer. Back in March came Purim and so my...
Beneath the Stains of Time: Give Me Death (1934) by Isabel Briggs Myers
Beneath the Stains of Time: Give Me Death (1934) by Isabel Briggs Myers: Last year, Chosho Publishing reprinted Murder Yet to Come (1929/30) and Give Me Death (1934) by the co-creator of the Myers-Briggs Type In...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Philomel Cottage" by Agatha Christie,
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Philomel Cottage" by Agath...: For my Short Story Wednesday post this week, I have reviewed a story for the Agatha Christie Short Stories Read Along hosted by Fanda at F...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: REACHING FOR THE MOON
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: REACHING FOR THE MOON: "Reaching for the Moon: by S. A. Lombino ( Science Fiction Quarterly , November 1951; reprinted in American Science Fiction #12.1953; ...
Little Big Crimes: The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea, by David Spencer
Little Big Crimes: The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Se...: "The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea, " by David Spencer, in Every Day A Little Death: Crime Fiction Inspired by...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Dark Yonder: Issue 1
From the archive…
Dark Yonder:
Issue 1
opens with two introductions. The first is by editor Eryk Pruitt in which he
pays homage to Thuglit. The second is by editor Katy Munger where she
expresses her love for short stories, the of “idea neo noir,” and how it
relates to what they are going to publish. Then, after a drink recipe, it is on
to the stories.
Mike McHone
starts things off with “Perforation Of A Moment.” Birch Run, Michigan, is not a
favorite place for Josh Howard. He went back there to either finish his novel
or commit suicide. Which it will be is a tossup. It is late October and the 49-year-old
man is going through some things. He has not seen nothing yet.
In “The Twenty-One
Foot Rule” by Mick Mamatas, one is reminded that bringing a gun to a knife
fight is an interesting choice. Tracy and Robin are twins. They are in a
constant battle for supremacy, one way or another.
“Dorothy” by
Anna Elin Kristiansen is a tale of what happens after the slap. Her husband
never should have slapped her. He did. Things had not been that great lately,
but even he knows he should not have done that. Now he wants it all to blow
over and to be easily forgotten.
Beni is being
forced to be a child soldier in “Beni” by Greg Williard. His fate is grim, even
if he survives the training. That same training might give the skills he needs
to deal with those who killed his parents and changed his live forever.
Todd Pierce is
working the bar as “Verna Maxwell” by Dana King begins. She came into the bar,
started a tab, and likes Vodka Collins. Her walking into his bar is going to
start a string of events that will ultimately lead to violence. The only
question is what will happen and how bad it will be.
Reni knew
somebody was in the house, but Teddy refused to get up and look. She used to be
a cop, still has her K9 partner though he is up in years, and has the 1911 cold
Teddy’s father used in WWII. She also has home field advantage in “Home Game”
by Craig Faustus Buck.
After a string
of short stories firmly grounded in noir style crime fiction, the next several
stories are more science fiction or fantasy general tales. While enjoyable reads,
they may not fit how you see the noir word, neo or otherwise.
“The Worst Game
Of Baseball Ever Played” by Adam Breckenridge features a world gone mad. The
unrest starts in the stands of a baseball stadium and soon spills over into the
surrounding neighborhood. Extreme violence with no sign of law enforcement. Is
our hero going mad? Is the world ending? Neither? Both? The answer is in the
mind of the reader as this one is very much open to interpretation.
An incident at
school means he is suspended and going home. Mom’s a bit worried about why he
did what he did in “A Harvest Of Malice” by Matt McHugh. The story within the
story is an ancient and powerful message-- if he listens.
It is 1965 and
King Booker has a plan in “The Entitled Life And Untimely Death Of King Booker”
by P. M. Raymond. New Orleans. Voodoo. Need I say more?
The final story
returns the reader to a more crime fiction noir style bent and without the
paranormal in Johnny Shaw’s “Or Not To Be.” A poker game in a bar goes wrong.
At least it did for the guy who got invited to the game, won big, and now has
one heck of a problem staying alive and keeping his winnings.
Dark Yonder:
Issue 1
is an interesting mixture of stories. All the tales are solidly good. Some are
more clearly crime fiction rooted noir type tales than others. Science fiction
and fantasy elements are present in three tales. More than anything or any
label, these are dark tales and not ones that make you feel very good about
anyone involved. As was the legendary Thuglit, this is not a read that
makes you feel all warm and gooey about humanity. The overall result here is an
interesting and enjoyable read as well as a new market to keep an eye on going
forward.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4lOsPxt
My eBook reading
copy was a gift from a friend.
Kevin R. Tipple
©2023, 2025
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Jungle Red Writers: Kim Hays--Life in a Tower
Jungle Red Writers: Kim Hays--Life in a Tower: DEBORAH CROMBIE : There is nothing I love more than a good police procedural, especially one with an appealing detective duo. Add a fascinat...
SleuthSayers: Quotes and other memories from Malice Domestic
SleuthSayers: Quotes and other memories from Malice Domestic: I just returned from this year's Malice Domestic convention, where I had a lovely time celebrating my friends Marcia Talley, Donna Andre...
Monday, April 28, 2025
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: God of the Woods by Liz Moore: Reviewed by Jeanne For decades, campers have come to Camp Emerson, located on the Van Laar Preserve. They’re children of well-to-do ...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in February and March 2025
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in February and March 2025: I read a lot of good books in February and March, in a variety of genres and different settings. Fiction The Goodbye Cat (2021) by Hiro ...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Devil's Draper by Donna Moore
Beatrice realizes that Arrol’s
Department Store has asked her for a drapery department clerk every month for
at least six months and she wants to know why. The young girls she places there
stay less than a week and many refuse to talk to her about their experience.
Those that do tell a disturbing story about the predatory Mr. Arrol. The law at
the time stated that no assault case could be brought unless a third party
witnessed the crime, despite the number of girls affected, which stops them
from filing charges, but Beatrice is determined to put an end to the problem.
Arrol’s is on the regular
rotation of the shoplifting ring. The woman who runs the group made sure no one
girl was seen in any one place often and no one store was robbed frequently
enough to establish a pattern. She would have been a fine CEO. Johnnie is
worried because two of the younger members of the gang were found dead in the
river soon after a trip to Arrol’s.
Mabel meets Johnnie when
Johnnie comes to the police station to identify one of the victims. Beatrice
has already consulted Mabel to report the attacks on her employees. They join
forces to stop the rapacious Arrols men and make life a little easier for their
employees.
The supporting cast is just as
good. Mabel’s adoptive mother does as she pleases because she is wealthy and
unmarried. Mabel’s biological grandmother was institutionalized by her husband
so that he could steal her money. Winnie, the public restroom attendant, may be
my favorite. She’s being pressured to retire but she steadfastly refuses. In
addition to her usual duties, she cooks all day for the visiting regulars and
provides advice and counsel to anyone who seems to need it.
While the lawbreaker seems
apparent early, a well-constructed plot twist or two add unexpected layers to
the story. Recommended, especially for historical mystery readers and for those
interested in gender studies.
·
Publisher:
Fly on the Wall Press (May 1,
2025)
·
Language:
English
·
Paperback:
278 pages
·
ISBN-10:
1915789400
· ISBN-13: 978-1915789402
Amazon Associate Purchase
Link: https://amzn.to/42xtLPq
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, April 27, 2025
SleuthSayers: Joe's Jukebox
SleuthSayers: Joe's Jukebox: Fans of contemporary short mystery fiction know that, over the last decade or so, there have been literally dozens of anthologies collecting...
Mystery Fanfare: AGATHA AWARD WINNERS 2025: Malice Domestic
Mystery Fanfare: AGATHA AWARD WINNERS 2025: Malice Domestic: The Agatha Awards were presented last night at Malice Domestic . Congratulations to all. Best Contemporary Novel: Gigi Pandian for A Midnig...
Guest Post: Excerpt from A Stone-Cold Murder: The Reluctant Psychic Mystery series by Kris Bock
Please welcome talented author Kris Bock back to the blog today. Her new
series, The Reluctant Psychic Mystery series, launches on 4/28 with A Stone-Cold Murder. Published by Thule
Publishing, the read is available in digital format at Amazon.
Petra Cloch has the psychic
ability of psychometry – she can glimpse the history of an
object by touching it. If Petra touches a watch or ring someone has worn for
years, she can sense the wearer’s personality and what they care about most. If
she touches an object used as a murder weapon, she might sense the emotions of
the killer and the killed – but that doesn’t mean she can identify them.
To save her sanity, Petra avoids close relationships except with her many pets. She studied geology, because rocks rarely speak to her. Her new job is supposed to focus on the rocks and minerals wing of a peculiar private museum in a small southwestern town. But she can’t avoid the echoes of violence all around her. If she doesn’t want murderers to go free, she’ll have to find evidence beyond her psychic senses.
A Stone-Cold Murder
Everyone says her predecessor died in a car
crash, but when Petra picks up a jagged crystal in her new office, flashes of
rage, fear and death hit hard. What if Reggie Heap was actually murdered? Under
normal circumstances, Petra would never become involved, but if the previous
curator died because of something he did on the job, she could be next. Can she
trust her chatty colleagues who invite her to lunch and to join a book club?
And what about the far too watchful Sheriff who keeps showing up unexpectedly…
A Stone-Cold Murder excerpt:
It’s no fun sorting through the
belongings of a dead man. I assume that’s true for most people, except maybe
antique dealers or historians. But I think it’s worse for me.
That’s not because I’m a
narcissist. (As far as I know. I admit I’ve never been tested.) It’s because of
my psychometry. It might sound cool to pick up vibrations left behind on
objects, giving me glimpses of the items’ histories.
But I didn’t want to know more
about the man who’d had my job before me. Everything so far suggested Reggie
Heap was an ordinary man who had more chest pains and heart palpitations than
he let on. I might have warned him to get that checked out, if he hadn’t
already died of a massive heart attack that killed him even before his car ran
off a mountain road.
It was my office now, and I needed
to scrub away all traces of the former occupant. Does that sound harsh? Think
about it like this: It might sound cool to have telepathy, if you assume you
could choose when and where to use it. But imagine if you had to hear every
thought of every person nearby.
Yeah, you’d probably just stay
home.
I was about as far from a people
person as one could be, so I needed a job that paid well enough that I could
live alone, just me and my pets (ten at the current count). Ideally, the job
wouldn’t bring me into contact with a lot of other people or their stuff. I
hoped I had that job now, working in a small museum in a tiny town in a state
with something like twenty people per square mile.
…
I looked around the office.
Besides the desk and file cabinets, it had wooden shelves along one wall. They
held some rather nice geologic samples, though presumably not quite nice enough
to make the main collection. I picked up a piece of smoky quartz. A prism,
longer than my hand, thrust up like an obelisk from a cluster of smaller
crystals at the base. A little label on the bottom confirmed my identification,
while a clean spot on the shelf showed how much dust had piled up around the
samples.
I might as well clean the shelf
and its displays. My boss had given me boxes for packing up Reggie Heap’s
stuff. I grabbed an empty one and started loading rocks and minerals into it.
I’d definitely keep the frothy, seafoam-green Smithsonite. Maybe not the
stringy bit of copper, which was interesting but not all that pretty.
A sample as big as two fists
together was made up of cubic crystals in a lovely shade of lilac. Some marks
showed where small pieces had broken off, which might be why it was in the
office instead of on display. Fluorite, with some impurities to give it the
purple shade? Tests could confirm that, but I wouldn’t need them if it was
properly labeled.
I picked it up with both hands.
Rage. The desire to hurt.
Fear. An explosion of pain. Panic
dissolving into darkness.
I staggered and dropped the
mineral. When my vision cleared, I was leaning against the desk with both hands
pressing down on it. Fortunately, I’d dropped the crystal cluster on the desk
and not my foot. It would have been hard to explain breaking my foot in that
manner.
But not as difficult as explaining
why I thought these crystals had been used as a weapon.
Kris Bock ©2025
Kris Bock writes adult mystery, suspense, and romance
novels, many with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes as well as other
books. Learn more at www.krisbock.com.
Saturday, April 26, 2025
KRL Update 4/26/2025
Up on KRL this week we have a review and giveaway of "Essence of Foul Play" by Daryl Wood Gerber along with a fun guest post by Daryl on pampering yourself https://kingsriverlife.com/04/26/essence-of-foul-play-by-daryl-wood-gerber/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Hound of the Bonnevilles" by Nikki Knight https://kingsriverlife.com/04/26/hound-of-the-bonnevilles-by-nikki-knight/
And a review and giveaway of "The Four Queens of Crime" by Rosanne Limoncelli along with an interesting interview Rosanne https://kingsriverlife.com/04/26/the-four-queens-of-crime-by-rosanne-limoncelli/
We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/04/26/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-may-2025/
And another local true crime story from Sarah Peterson-Camacho https://kingsriverlife.com/04/26/the-shellshock-murders-part-2/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Murder Runs in the Family" by Tamara Berry https://www.krlnews.com/2025/04/murder-runs-in-family-by-tamara-berry.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Serpent's Fang" by Matthew Booth https://www.krlnews.com/2025/04/the-serpents-fang-by-matthew-booth.html
And a review and giveaway of "Dying Eyes Don't Lie" by Keith Mosley https://www.krlnews.com/2025/04/dying-eyes-dont-lie-by-keith-mosley.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Scott's Take: Immortal Thor Volume 3: End of All Songs by Al Ewing
Immortal Thor Volume 3: End of
All Songs
by Al Ewing collects issues 11- 15 plus a bonus page from G.O.D.S.. This volume
starts off pretty randomly. One gets the feeling that you have missed a volume
between, but no it just starts off that way.
So, for some reason Thor has decided it
is time to rescue his brother Tyr. Why now? Why does he care now? Who Knows,
but that is what he has decided to do. Thor gathers all of Odin’s children for
the rescue. This includes several folks that even though I have read a lot of
Thor comics, I have no idea who they are. Outside of Loki, most people going in
probably are not aware of Thor’s six plus other siblings. I feel like this
volume could have been helped by a volume between with Thor teaming up with his
other siblings. Odin really got around….. I guess eyepatches are sexy….
Remember, don’t hate the player. Hate
the game.
So, you have all this happen, then the
next part of the volume is not connected to any of that. Thor, Hercules, and Loki team up to fight Zeus
and Nyx, who were dead has now been resurrected by the Wheel. Apparently, the
Wheel seems to be sometime of evil cycle of change that is going on. This
concept still has a lot of questions about why this all is happening. Things go
bad when the heroes are surprised when Loki turns on them even though they all
were warned that they are not in control of themselves. As a god, Loki is not
fully in control of themselves, and they must play their part in the story even
though they do not want to.
Then after all this, a tired Thor
returns to Asgard to go to sleep, but Amora is waiting for him and she wants to
talk about her feelings and why she betrayed him in the previous volume. Also a
few pages setting up volume 4 which is called Son of Thor.
There are consequences in this tale that
don’t work for this reader because I did not really know the character that
suffered, so it did not work for me. Also, they make a big deal that Odin is in
Valhalla and he is dead and gone except Thor has visited Valhalla and is
friends with the Valkyries. If he wanted to talk to his dad all he would have
to do is give a letter to one of the Valkyries and ask them to return Odin’s
response. It would not be that difficult.
Also, the single issue called Giant
Thor 2024 ties into this volume but is not collected here. I would
recommend reading the Tyr stuff, then going to Giant Thor, and then reading the
rest of this volume. This volume is
heavy on the exposition since Ewing is referencing a lot and I don’t think he
does a good job of explaining things to people who have not read the other
stuff. I enjoyed this volume but to call this read “scattered” would be
accurate. It does not feel like it belongs together. I am not saying this is a
bad read, but Ewing in this run is not doing a very good job of connecting his
arcs. As a result, it reads as if there is a book missing in-between this
volume and the preceding one.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/423VhUp
I read this through Marvel Unlimited app.
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
Friday, April 25, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 74 Calls for Submissions in May 2025 - Paying markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 74 Calls for Submissions in May 2025 - Paying markets: This May there are more than six dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, e...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Solitary Island in the Distant Sea and the Seven Tricks (2022) by Danro Kamosaki
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Solitary Island in the Distant Sea and the Sev...: So I was perusing the blog-posts and reviews from the previous two, three months when I noticed it had been about that long since I came acr...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: GOOD BEHAVIOR
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: GOOD BEHAVIOR: Good Behavior by Blake Couch (2016) This is a collection of three novelettes detailing the published exploits of Letty Dobesh, an alcoh...
FFB Review: Bleak Harbor: A Novel by Bryan Gruley
After telling you how good Bitterfrost
was earlier this month, it seemed a good time to remind you of the first book of
another great series, Bleak Harbor. From the archive…
It has been several years since his
excellent series billed as The Starvation Lake Trilogy, but
finally author Bryan Gruley is back with a new book. Bleak Harbor more than
lives up to the hype surrounding it.
Daniel
Peters, who only goes by Danny, is about to be sixteen. Son of Carey and
Andrew, he isn’t that fond of Bleak Harbor. It is a Thursday as the book
opens and Danny is spending his time, as he often does, out on the dock
watching the dragonflies.
Dragonflies
are a major part of his life as an autistic young teen. They are also the
reason for the upcoming annual “Southwestern Michigan Dragonfly Festival” that starts
tomorrow which also happens to be his birthday. This will be 28th such festival
in a city known more for the legacy of the Bleak family. Daniel Peters is a part
of the Bleak family and that legacy even if his incredibly wealthy grandmother,
Serenity, refuses to acknowledge his presence or existence. She has the town
and her family firmly under her control and their failure to cooperate has
economic consequences for anyone and everyone.
That
includes Danny’s parents as his mother is Carey Bleak Peters, daughter of
Serenity. She has many regrets and they include moving to Bleak Harbor. She did
it to help her husband start his already failing medical marijuana business as
well as get help for Danny from her family. As that has all failed, she has
made a last ditch gamble. Now that she has proof of several different things, she
can take down her boss and his company. She has told him she won’t pull that
trigger---if her wealthy and powerful boss pays her ten million dollars for her
silence. Not only can he afford it, she really wants to take Danny away with
her so that they can start a new life. Daddy, who is working his own agenda,
won’t be part of that new life.
Before
she can make good on their escape, Danny goes missing and has obviously been
kidnapped.
As the hours pass, things escalate out of control in this thriller. Author Bryan Gruley follows the standard thriller formula these days of keeping the chapters short and the point of view constantly changing as he ratchets up the tension. He also does a superb job of misdirection that surprised this reader. Bleak Harbor is engrossing and intense read from start to finish and very much worth your time. Sadly, the second book in the series, Purgatory Bay, is not currently scheduled to come out until January 2020.)
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4jv3KGk
ARC
supplied by Sarah Burningham of Little Bird Publicity with no expectation of a
review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2018, 2025
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 64 Writing Contests in May 2025 - No entry fees
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 64 Writing Contests in May 2025 - No entry fees: This May there are more than five dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes range fr...
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 37 Marvelous Writing Conferences and Workshops in May 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 37 Marvelous Writing Conferences and Workshops in ...: This May there are more than three dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most wil...
Beneath the Stains of Time: Inspector De Klerck and the Silent Hope (2024) by P. Dieudonné
Beneath the Stains of Time: Inspector De Klerck and the Silent Hope (2024) by ...: Recently, the small independent Dutch publisher E-Pulp released the twelfth novel in P. Dieudonné 's Rotterdam police series, Recherche...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Foster, Better Bones Better Body, Better Bones Better Body, Grimm Curiosities
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Foster, Better Bones Better Body, Grim...: Reported by Rita Foster by Claire Keegan A small girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland without kno...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: More Stories by Peter Lovesey
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Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE THUNDER-STRUCK and THE BOXER
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Short Story Wednesday: The Bloomin' Onion: Not Too Late This Summer by Larry W. Chavis
Take the time to go read Larry's short story. Fiction that takes the reader back to 1931 with a message that applies just as much today. Good stuff and worth your time.
Short Story Wednesday: The Bloomin' Onion: Not Too Late This Summer by Larry W. Chavis
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar: Reviewed by Kristin The Hawthorn family live in the town of Thistleford on the edge of a mystical land called Faerie. For many generat...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: My Name is Michael Sibley by John Bingham – #1952CLUB
Bitter Tea and Mystery: My Name is Michael Sibley by John Bingham – #1952CLUB: I read My Name is Michael Sibley for the 1952 Book Club hosted by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings . ...
Publication Day Review: Hidden in Smoke by Lee Goldberg
Hidden in Smoke by Lee Goldberg
is the latest in the very enjoyable Sharpe & Walker series that
began in Malibu
Burning. If you have not read that book, you really need to as a
major character from that book is resurrected here. In fact, as the author note
at the start of this read explains, the ending of that book is addressed here
on page one.
Danny Cole is alive and well in Japan,
though he might be a tad bored. After several surgeries, he has a different
face and has various names to go by as he moves about. The 35-year-old thief
and grifter is retired and is, per doctor’s orders, trying to find inner peace
and tranquility as he sits in the bathhouse. Any hope of that is gone when Los
Angeles County Sheriff Department Arson Investigator Andrew Walker lumbers into
the water next to him.
Walker isn’t there to arrest him. In
fact, Walker wants Danny Cole to finish the job he started. If he does and gets
even for what happened, he will help Walker as a certain drug price will come
way down. A drug that Walker’s young son desperately needs to control his
seizures.
For Danny, it is a chance to once again,
experience the thrill of his old life. It will take months to pull off this
heist. Doing so is one of the two main storylines in the book.
The other is dealing with the aftermath
of a string of fires across Los Angeles. A number of fires has been set and
caused damage at car ports in West Hollywood. The car ports had apartment
buildings above them which provided fuel for the car port fire. Fire after fire
happened and Walker and Waller and Sharpe are working the case when a
catastrophic freeway fire pulls them onto another case.
A portion of I-10 in downtown Los Angeles
burns and the freeway is severely damaged. Various materials were stored under
the multilane overpass as the area was subleased to a business which also
leased the area out to others. That resulted in folks running their small
businesses under it. There was also a homeless encampment nearby and underneath
the bridge.
With such a mix of fuels, it isn’t
surprising a horrific multi alarm fire erupted. It burned so hot that the
freeway in that section is severely damaged and will have to be repaired to the
cost of millions and considerable time.
It has resulted in massive gridlock and
a city wide and beyond traffic nightmare for residents. LA County Sheriff
Richard Lansing reassigns Walker and Sharpe to the case as he sees a chance to
score points with the public after they are tasked with determining what
happened. He wants the fire investigated fast and, as he wants to be Mayor, is using,
Walker and Sharpe to restore his scandal filled reputation. It’s complicated
and Sharpe is sure that no matter what they find and do, they are going to get
burned.
Not to mention, they have a case already
that they have put a lot of legwork in on and have identified the suspect. Not
that it matters as Lansing wants the best on the case, and Walker and Sharpe
are the best. Seeing that other case to the finish line is not an option, so they
get to work on the freeway fire, and find far more than expected.
Hidden in Smoke is another
complicated and fast moving solidly good read. There are many moving parts here
and they slowly come together as Danny works on his heist and Walker and Sharpe
work their cases.
Not only is the book an enjoyable read,
it makes you think as you drive under the overpasses in your city what could,
potentially, happen. That fact alone is more than enough to creep you out.
For another perspective on the book, be sure to read Lesa's review at Lesa's Book Critiques.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link:
My reading copy came from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, by way of NetGalley, with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Monday, April 21, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Curse of the Reckaviles (1927) by Walter S. Masterman
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Curse of the Reckaviles (1927) by Walter S. Ma...: Walter S. Masterman was among the early British pulp writers who diligently worked on keeping the shelves of the lending libraries stocked w...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: With Love, Marjorie Ann by Marcia Talley
Marcia Talley has written 20
books about cancer survivor Hannah Ives. The first book, Sing It to Her
Bones (Dell, 1999), won the Malice Domestic grant for Best Unpublished
Novel. The second book, Unbreathed Memories (Dell, 2000), won the
Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Contemporary Mystery. The
third, Occasion of Revenge (Dell, 2001), was a Top Ten Pick by Poisoned
Pen Bookstore.
While turning out book after
book Talley also served as the national president of Sisters in Crime in
2009-2010 and served on the national board of Mystery Writers of America. She
also found time to write two serial novels and short stories for many
anthologies. With Love, Marjorie Ann (2025) is a collection of 18 short
stories by Talley published between 1999 and 2024 into a single volume. They
include Agatha award winners (Too Many Cooks, Driven to Distraction) and
Agatha and Anthony award nominees. The anthology was compiled, edited, and
published by Crippen & Landru (C&L) in time for the 2025 Malice
Domestic Conference, at which Talley is Guest of Honor.
In addition to the title
story, the much-married Marjorie Ann appears in three more short stories in the
volume. There’s a homeowner who would rather renovate his house than sell it, a
grandfather who foils a murder with a malfunctioning baby monitor, a rewrite of
the ending of a Dickens novel, and a critically injured older woman who manages
to identify her attacker. My favorite is the retelling of the Scottish play
from the perspective of the witches.
C&L offers a unique and valuable
service in that it produces single-author short story collections, both by
contemporary crime fiction authors and by mystery writers of the past. While
many authors publish short fiction in periodicals, they now also contribute to
anthologies of all kinds. These anthologies are seldom indexed in any
meaningful way and a compilation of this sort protects short stories that might
otherwise be considered lost. C&L preserves these stories for generations
to come and for readers interested in an author’s entire output.
·
Publisher:
Crippen & Landru
Publishers (March 18, 2025)
·
Language:
English
·
Paperback:
198 pages
·
ISBN-10:
1932009795
·
ISBN-13:
978-1932009798
Amazon Associate Purchase
Link: https://amzn.to/3YEI7e6
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, April 20, 2025
Little Big Crimes: The Former Detective, by Jamil Jan Kochai
Little Big Crimes: The Former Detective, by Jamil Jan Kochai: "The Former Detective," by Jamil Jan Kochai, in Sacramento Noir, edited by John Freeman, Akashic Press, 2025. The publisher sen...
Saturday, April 19, 2025
KRL Update 4/19/2025
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 2 more cozy mysteries-"Bridal Shower Murder" by Leslie Meier and "Written in Stone" by Paige Shelton https://kingsriverlife.com/04/19/bridal-shower-murder-by-leslie-meier-written-in-stone-by-paige-shelton/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Risky Pursuit" by Nancy G. West https://kingsriverlife.com/04/19/risky-pursuit-by-nancy-west/
And the latest Crime Writers of Color Coming Attractions https://kingsriverlife.com/04/19/crime-writers-of-color-coming-attractions-february-may-2025/
With Earth Day nearly here, it seemed like the perfect time for a mystery short story involving gardens! "With A Little Help From Her Friends" by Margaret Hamilton https://kingsriverlife.com/04/19/mystery-short-story-with-a-little-help-from-her-friends/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review of "Villain in the Vineyard" by Judy L Murray Author, along with a giveaway of winner's choice of one of her books https://www.krlnews.com/2025/03/villain-in-vineyard-by-judy-l-murray.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Stuff of Mayhem" by Kathleen Marple Kalb https://www.krlnews.com/2025/04/the-stuff-of-mayhem-by-kathleen-marple.html
And a review and giveaway of "The Library Game" by Gigi Pandian https://www.krlnews.com/2025/04/the-library-game-by-gigi-pandian.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
SleuthSayers: Plotting 101
SleuthSayers: Plotting 101: I've said before, at this blog, that the two things I enjoy most about writing short stories are plotting and dialogue. I think most of ...
Scott's Take: Immortal Thor Vol 2: All Trials Are One by Al Ewing
Immortal Thor Vol 2: All Trials
Are One
by Al Ewing collects issues 6-10 plus the Roxxon Presents issue.
This is a more scattered volume than Immortal Thor Vol. 1: All Weather
Turns To Storm. There are a couple issues set in the past setting up
future events which I am not fully sure of how important they actually are. Thor
and Loki face the Trials of Utgard and Thor confronts his Mother Gaea about why
she let the Utgard out. The final issues deal with Thor going after Roxxon (the
evil oil company) but he is walking into a trap set by the Enchantress and
Skurge.
So, this volume is all about Thor being constantly manipulated and messed with by people with their own agendas. Several of these people claim to be helping him. The trap set for Thor is pretty clever and unique. This volume feels less connected than the previous volume. Ewing likes his complex tales, but sometimes there are too many spinning plates at once, in my opinion. The art works well for these tales. I enjoyed this volume, but not as much as the first volume. I read this through Marvel Unlimited in the app. Volume 3 is called the End of All Songs and is out now.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ciU1A1
I read this through the Marvel Unlimited app.
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
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