Thursday, April 03, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Hit List: Top 10 Locked Room Mystery Novels That Need to Be Reprinted
Jerry's House of Everything: DRAGNET: ERIC KELBY -- BODY BURIED IN NURSERY (SEPTEMBER 3, 1949)
Sweet Freedom: Wednesday's Short Stories: FANTASY MAGAZINE, March...
Review: The Big Empty: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais
The
Big Empty: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais is one of those books
that slaps you upside your head. A very good read, but it is a tale full of
pain, heartbreak, and rage, that changed so many lives then and now.
For Private Investigator
Elvis Cole, the case starts when Tracie Beller hires him. Her mom, her uncle
Phil, and her various other advisors wish her not to do it. But, her dad, Tommy
Beller, disappeared ten years ago. Everybody believes he just walked away from
his family. Tracie never believed that.
All these years
later, she is a social media phenomenon as she bakes her way to stardom and
riches. She has millions of followers and there are investors considering
becoming part of her rapidly growing brand. While all of that does matter to
her, what is far more important is finding out what happed to her father. She
has the money to hire a private detective and she wants Elvis Cole.
He agrees to
look into things. That means heading out of Los Angeles to the nearby community
of Rancha where Mr. Beller was last seen working as he serviced various
clients. He and Uncle Phil owned and ran a heating and air company. He was out
there, in a company van, doing service calls when he vanished. So too did the
repair van. The clients of that day are important, especially the last clients
he saw which were Sadie Given and her daughter, Anya.
His presence and
activities bring him to the attention of others who are determined to stop him,
one way or another. As if anything short of being murdered would stop “The
World’s Greatest Detective” and his running buddy, Joe Pike.
I am reminded yet
again that we all need a Joe Pike in our lives.
I am also
reminded that Robert Crais can seriously write. The Big Empty: An Elvis
Cole and Joe Pike Novel is a complex multi layered read that hits you
hard in the guts and then smacks you right between the eyes. The details of what
happened and why are horrific and can’t be shared without blowing up the read.
There is a reason why the jacket copy is so sparse and worded the way it is on
the book.
Strongly
Recommended.
Make sure you
read Aubrey’s review
from early January.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3XHlTb6
My reading copy
came from the White Rock Hills Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Bryant and May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Two Books of Horror and Strange Stories
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: BLACK STUFF
Short Story Wednesday Review: Black Cat Mystery Magazine #15
It has been
quite some time since I have been able to pick up an issue of Black Cat
Mystery Magazine as the recent issues have been print only. But, the most
recent issue, Black Cat MysteryMagazine #15, is available in print and digital formats so I was able
to get the eBook version. Not only is that better for my shrinking finances as
I pick up things via my Amazon Associate account, but I can adjust the typeface
so that I can actually read it.
As always,
Editor Michael Bracken leads things off with his piece, “From The Cat’s Perch.”
The theme for this issue is praise for the Short Mystery Fiction Society.
Like this reviewer, Mr. Bracken previously served terms as Vice President and
President of the SMFS. A number of the authors featured in this issue are
current SMFS list members as well.
Stacy Woodson’s
short story, “Armadillo By Morning,” leads things off where Roy is looking
forward to retirement. He has enjoyed being an Animal Control Officer for many
decades, but his hip is telling him that enough is enough. So too is Millie
Wendell who has constant complaints from her place just inside their rural
jurisdiction. This time she is mad about an armadillo that keeps coming back
and tearing up her garden.
The guy is dead
in “After Their Convictions, Six Murders Reflect On How Killing Mr. Boddy
Changed Their Lives” by Tara Laskowski and Art Taylor. The husband and wife,
who each individually, have quite an authorship record, collaborate here with a
complicated and amusing tale based of the legendary boardgame, CLUE. I’m
certainly not going to ruin this short story by telling you more.
Author, and in
this case, translator, Josh Pachter is up next with his translation of “Promises
To Keep” by Gert-Jan van den Bemd. In a gut-wrenching story that hit way too
close to home for this reader, Mrs. van Tilt is at the door wanting to make a
certain purchase. The item in question that she wishes to buy from the elderly
couple will change everything for all involved.
Prolific author
John M. Floyd is up next with “A Cold Day In Helena.” The brothers, Ray and
Will Hardy, are up against it. Their only option seems to be to rob the local
bank. The First National Bank is a relatively easy target as far as banks go
and they have a good plan. They just need the nerve to execute the job.
The large barrels
arrive on the occasional truck at the isolated and derelict station in Arizona.
The cartel has stuff that needs disposing of in those barrels and that is why
he has the job. At least job he has the for now in “Human Waste” by Davin
Ireland. The always taciturn Jorge is back with his truck on this Sunday and he
is not happy. His presence, and his attitude, is not good news in many ways.
Life on the
island was a bit limited and routine. Then, a week before his Peace Corps gig
was supposed to be over, Janine’s body was found in a ravine nearby. In “Hiva-Oa”
by J. W. Wood, Michael is naturally a suspect in the death of the married
woman. Especially after several and very public events that led to rumors and
gossip by nearly everyone on the island.
R. T. Lawton is
next and takes readers to NYC in his tale titled, “Most Important Meal Of The
Day.” Our narrator very much likes his free breakfast that Sarah, the cashier,
gives him each day. Times are tough, he is unemployed, and winter is coming.
Breakfast is important and often his only meal. He needs the free food and does
not want to lose it. Leonard and Jules are probably going to ruin things.
She knows he is
watching her in the bar. He thinks he is going to get lucky. He most definitely
is, but not the way he thought in “Luxury Goods” by R. M. Lowery.
Talia Houghton barely survived the murders of her family. Our narrator, the public defender that had to defend the accused, Danny Houghton, remains haunted by her eyes and the horror of her case in “The Child” by Elizabeth Elwood. All these years later though there have been court actions, a prison sentence, and more, the case is not over.
Marcelle Dubé’s short
story, “Getting Back Into Heaven” comes next and takes readers to the Yukon.
Growing up, Jonas’ mom always told him he was a special boy and that God had a special
place for him right by his side waiting for him. He knew that space, and heaven
itself, would never happen after he served in Afghanistan. These days, Jonas
Bellechasse, is working with a group of geologists. His job is to keep them
safe and the main threat has been wild bears. Jonas likes his job and finds the
rugged forest peaceful and pleasant. A wildfire threatens everyone involved in
this increasingly tense tale.
She was having
fun playing at being a spy in ‘An Imp In Spy’s Clothing” by Robert Jeschonek.
Then things got very serious. Now she is wearing what seems to be a suicide
vest and she may not live long enough to enjoy her beloved Lisbon, Portugal,
again.
Evelyn Wheatley
and James Vaughn don’t agree on much of anything in “Let’s Settle This” by Jack
Ritchie. At least, that is what they publicly say. Jimmy’s dad, owner of the
law firm, thinks they should get married. The fact that her current guy, Eddie
Conley, a classmate of Jimmy’s from law school and an adversary in the current
legal case, makes things far more complicated in this story that ends the
issue.
As always, this
publication showcases a variety of mysteries in the spectrum with a variety of
writing styles, locations, and more. Black Cat Mystery Magazine #15,
not to be confused with the also very good Black Cat Weekly, is another solidly
good edition and well worth your time.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4j8rIXl
My reading copy
came by way of an Amazon Associate purchase using funds in my account.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: March News from the Short Mystery Fiction Society
Criminal Minds: Not Where, but How
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: SMFS Official Announcement: 2025 Derringer Award Finalists
Publication Day Review: Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley
Have you ever woken
up and not had a clue what happened? I don’t mean a few minutes of disassociation,
but full on many minutes of having no clue what in the heck happened or why you
are in the shape you are in? I’ve done it several times thanks to concussions.
The first, and
probably the most traumatic and the probable source of some of my health and cognitive
issues these days, was back in elementary school many years ago. My parents had
always said that I should not play in the pickup football games before school.
That I would get hurt. I did not listen. One morning, the last memory I have is
running to intercept a bigger kid and make the tackle. I’m told that I got him
and his buddy, in anger, drop kicked my head afterwards as I laid on the
ground.
I lost over an
hour and a half where I have no memory of what went on. It is incredibly scary
to have no idea what in the heck happened.
Former hockey
player Jimmy Baker finds himself in that situation as Bitterfrost
by Bryan Gruley begins. He awakens to a pinging noise in his head and the smell
of blood. He is on his kitchen floor just before four in the morning, missing a
shoe, with torn up knuckles, and a host of other issues. He is still wearing
his IceKings jacket, now with a very bloody sleeve. He knows he wore that
jacket the night before, had it on when he left the arena, and while he had his
one drink at the Lost Loon Tavern. He knows he spent some time there as it is
his nightly ritual, after he puts the Zamboni away, to lock up the place and
hang out at the Lost Loon Tavern. He has one drink and goes home after a while.
But, something
clearly happened. Not only is he wearing evidence that something happened,
there is even more evidence outside his home, and in his truck. Something
really bad happened. He has no clue at all what. With his record, that makes
everything so much worse.
Meanwhile, the
state police get a call that there is an abandoned pickup truck nearby. Upon
arrival, they find that somebody failed at trying to burn the truck. The same
truck that has a lot of blood in it. The same truck that is dumped in close
range of Jimmy Baker’s house.
The truck is
just inside the jurisdictional boundary of city of Bitterfrost, Michigan, and
that means Detective Garth Klimmek is on the case. A case that gains urgency as
the son of a wealthy man has gone missing. Politics, media attention, and the
finding of a body means the pressure is on to solve the case fast.
What follows is
a highly entertaining read that this review only scratches the surface.
Multiple storylines, personal agendas, family secrets going back decades, and more
is at work in this read that one hopes is the start of a new series from this
very talented author. If you have read Bryan Gruley before (Starvation
Lake, Bleak
Harbor, and others), you know that the complicated mystery will
include a lot of references to hockey, wealthy families and their power, and
old murder cases, are always the backbone of his books. Such is the case here as
is a lot more besides. Much of which should not be discussed so as to not ruin
the read.
In short, make
sure you read Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley. The read is very much
worth your time and is strongly recommended.
Amazon Associates
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3RsDU9s
My reading copy came through NetGalley from the publisher, Severn House, with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
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