Sunday, August 31, 2025
Mystery Fanfare: NGAIO MARSH AWARDS FINALISTS
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SleuthSayers: There's Always A Catch
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Sweet Freedom: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: the links to the reviews and more, 29 August 2025
Sweet Freedom: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: the links to the revie...: Patti Abbott: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell Brad Bigelow: The Great Day by Georgette Carneal Ben Boulden: Front Sight: Three Swagger Nove...
Review: Splintered Justice: A Linder and Donatelli Mystery by Kim Hays
Splintered Justice: A Linder and Donatelli Mystery by Kim Hays is the latest read
in this complicated police procedural series that began with Pesticide.
Set in Bern, Switzerland, social issues have always been a part of the series
as they impact the crimes in the books in one way or another. That happens here
as the events in Croatia in the 90s has a significant impact on one of the two primary
storyline police cases. So too does a long-ago case that may or may not have
led to a wrong conclusion.
The
church known as the Bern Münster Cathedral of St.
Vincent is a historic and special place. Many years ago, a death happened there
that may or may not have been a suicide. The incident was not deeply
investigated and most folks accepted the ruling of suicide and have moved on.
In
the here and now, Detective Renzo Donatelli has had a rough afternoon at the
dentist. Finally free from the chair and feeling the aftereffects of work in
his mouth, he is walking adjacent to the Bern Münster Cathedral in Bern, Switzerland,
and headed back to work. He’s thinking about having a coffee as well as case
that Detective Giuliana Linder has and that he is assisting on, when a young
boy crashes into him. The sight of Renzo’s service weapon makes the kid panic
and he scrambles to his feet and flees.
Detective
Renzo gives chase and soon loses him in the traffic and pedestrians. Thinking about
how much the sight of his weapon terrified the kid, he checks in with dispatch to
see if there are any reports of a crime that has been committed in the nearby
vicinity. While dispatch does not have any reports of a crime, they do have a
report that somebody shook the scaffolding at the nearby Bern Münster Cathedral
of St. Vincent and a worker was hurt in the incident.
He
returns to church and goes inside to find another officer as well as Denis
Kellenberger who has been injured. He is an apprentice glassmaker and was high
up in the church working on a window that is hundreds of years old. Hew says
somebody started shaking the scaffolding and screaming that he was a murderer.
He fell off the scaffolding and now has a broken wrist and other injuries.
Some
of the other people in the church at the time he fell have a lot of harsh
things to say about the victim. Then there are their accounts of what happened
to consider. Clearly, this was not a prank with unintended consequences. The
person that shook the scaffold did it with malicious intent and is lucky the
apprentice glassmaker is not dead.
Detective
Renzo Donatelli has a lot of reasons to investigate this case as a serious
crime and does. His doing so means that he has far less time to assist with a
case that Detective Giuliana Linder had drop in her lap a few days earlier when
the detective handling it had to suddenly take a leave.
Tamara
Hofstetter is sure that her father was murdered and her step mother did it. Her
brother, Sebestian Allemann, does not seem to be as sure and is just going along
with his sister who is clearly on a warpath. For Detective Giuliana Linder,
this new case that has been thrust upon her is the death of their stepfather a
few months earlier. The adult children believe that their stepmother, Ruth Seiler,
murdered their father, Werner Allemann.
The
man had been suffering dementia for some time and had gotten much worse in the
months preceding his death this past February. Sometime in the fall, they
realized that their dad was very sick and urgently needed help. They are very
upset that they were not told earlier and that his illness was hid from them. As
soon as they found out how bad things truly were, they wanted him admitted to a
specialized nursing home. Such a place would have been incredibly expensive. That
financial cost and the impact to their savings was why their stepmother did not
want it to happen.
But,
it was finally going to happen over her objections. Then he suddenly died.
It
is the daughter’s belief that their stepmother deliberately poisoned their 82-year-old
father with insulin in the short time before he was to be admitted in order to
keep her half of the inheritance. The stepmother, Ruth, has already admitted to
giving him the insulin and has been arrested and charged.
As
the case proceeds in the legal system, it is now Detective Guilianna Linder’s
job to go over the previous detective’s work, and the case as a whole, verify
everything, add context and background, and stand ready to assist the
prosecution in court. Tamara wants everyone involved, his doctor and others, as
well as her stepmother fully prosecuted and in jail. The case is complicated
and troubling which is part of the reason Detective Renzo Donatelli is
involved.
Those
two cases drive the police procedural side of the book. As always, the family
lives of Linder and Donatelli are their own major storylines. Their evolving family
life stories arc through the series and this read. Change is coming and not
always in the way either one would like it to happen. Things there, as well as
in the cases, develop slowly, and the very complicated read gradually works
towards a conclusion that works completely.
A
series that should be read in order, Splintered Justice: A Linder and
Donatelli Mystery from Seventh Street Books is another solidly good
read. Author Kim Hays continues to craft books that are highly entertaining and
educational and are very much worth your time.
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fV0tyU
My
reading copy came in digital format through the Hoopla App and the Dallas
Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Saturday, August 30, 2025
KRL Update 8/30/2025
Up on KRL this morning reviews and giveaways of 3 tummy food cozies for your end of summer/beginning of fall reading-"Icing on the Murder" by Valerie Burns, “Tea with Jam and Dread" A Tea by the Sea Mystery by Vicki Delany, and “Sour Crime Donuts" by Ginger Bolton https://kingsriverlife.com/08/30/yummy-food-mysteries-for-your-end-of-summer-feast/
And a review and giveaway of "Murder at the Wham Bam Club" by Carolyn Wilkins along with an interesting interview with Carolyn https://kingsriverlife.com/08/30/murder-at-the-wham-bam-club-by-carolyn-wilkins/
And a review and giveaway of "Last Stop Union Station" by Sarah James https://kingsriverlife.com/08/30/last-stop-union-station-by-sarah-james/
We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/08/30/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-september-2025/
And a new spooky local story from Sarah Peterson-Camacho https://kingsriverlife.com/08/30/resident-evil-gnome/
Up during the week, we posted another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Dan Buzzetta about his determination to become a writer, and his new thriller "The Manipulator" https://kingsriverlife.com/08/27/determination-and-perseverance/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of the cozy fantasy novel "A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping" by Sangu Mandanna https://www.krlnews.com/2025/08/a-witchs-guide-to-magical-innkeeping-by.html
And a review and giveaway of the middle grade fantasy novel "Cerberus the Tiger" by Ezra Edmond https://www.krlnews.com/2025/08/cerberus-tiger-by-ezra-edmond.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
SleuthSayers: Oldies but Goodies
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Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Rick Steves Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces: Art for the Traveler by Rick Steves & Gene Openshaw
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Jerry's House of Everything: WOMEN OUTLAWS (SEPTEMBER 1949)
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Scott's Take: G.O.D.S. by Jonthan Hickman and Valerio Schiti (Illustrator)
G.O.D.S. by Jonthan
Hickman and Valerio Schiti (Illustrator) and others collects the eight-issue
miniseries which ends on a cliffhanger. There is no word on if or when this
series will continue. So, it is a hard volume to review since the story feels
unfinished. This book is supposed to shake up the cosmic hierarchy of the gods
in the Marvel Universe and there are a lot of big ideas thrown around in the
book. The read mostly features new characters even though there are cameos by
multiple heroes. The only familiar face that sticks around for long is Dr.
Strange and he has a line that is said which does not fit him.
So, there are two main factions that
basically control the universe and keep it running. They don’t get along. There
is the magical side led THE-POWERS-THAT-BE which has one main guy named Wyn.
The other side, THE-NATURAL-ORDER-OF-THINGS, has several hundred science types with
the main one that is focused on being Wyn’s ex-wife, Aiko. Then there are several
secondary factions that want to tear everything down and start over. There is
also the rogue entity, behold to no group or person, named Cubik Core who is
committing sabotage and murder to destabilize the cold détente. He is the main
reason that things escalate.
Each issue is widely different. New big
ideas are thrown out without a lot of time being done to finish setting up. The
final issue is a time skip issue where time travel is used and things get
potentially very messy.
Wyn is our cynical romantic while Aiko
is our logic-based character who regrets her actions. Of course, they have
sidekicks, and there is a lot of new characters introduced. There is supposed
to be a tie into the One World Under Doom project, but that is
not collected here.
I read all eight issues through the Marvel Unlimited App through
the basic way. There is another version supposed to be formatted specially for
electronic devices, but I don’t like the way those are displayed, so I did not
do that version. The art is great and it is an interesting read. I just wish it
was longer. I can’t say enough good things about the art.
The ending is abrupt and, as noted stops
on a cliffhanger. There is no return date planned at this time because Hickman’s
Ultimate Universe is a major hit and this did not sell as well. Hickman
is also busy writing Imperial which is a Marvel event that is
shaking up the galactic seating of all the alien factions out in the cosmos.
Readers might just be stuck in limbo
forever. I still think its worth reading if you can accept that fact that there
might be no resolution anytime soon if ever.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3UozPEH
As noted, I read this through the Marvel Unlimited App.
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
Friday, August 29, 2025
Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Throwing Shadows by Claire Booth
Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Throwing Shadows by Claire Booth
Mystery Fanfare: LABOR DAY AND LABOR UNION CRIME FICTION for the Labor Day Weekend!
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Bitter Tea and Mystery: Spell the Month in Books — August 2025
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The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: SMFS Members at Bouchercon 2025
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In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: One Night's Mystery
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Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: NOTHING BUT A DRIFTER
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FFB Review: Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel
With my review of the latest book in the
series, Splintered Justice, appearing here on the blog this Sunday, it
seemed like a good time to dip into the massive archive and remind you how it
all began. This is a series that builds as it goes and should be read in order.
Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel by Kim Hayes is the first book in the series. Billed
as the opening book in the Linder and Donatelli Mysteries, the
read takes readers to Bern, Switzerland. It is summer and the street party the
night before went out of control and resulted in at least one death.
Detective Giuliana Linder
is assigned to the case by her boss, Rolf Straub. A young man is dead on the
plaza where the rave was being held and descended into chaos. It appears
initially that he died because he was hit over the head with a police baton wielded
by Officer Jonas Pauli. Detective Linder knows the young officer and the idea
that he bashed in the head of anyone and killed the man is unthinkable to her.
He swears he only hit him once and not that hard.
The fact that her daughter
was out in that same violent and out of control crowd before she later was
arrested, does not escape her attention. A lot is going on with her and she
could have been killed or injured in the chaos. It doesn’t help that her husband,
Ueli, is not seeing her job as she does or everything else she does. Police
brutality is an issue in the book and Ueli has significant concerns about what
the police are doing on a daily basis. While his wife, Giuliana, is not part of
the problem of abusive police, she works in a group that is, as he sees the
world. Coupled with a disagreement regarding parenting styles and the fact that
he has to step in when the job takes her away, as it does frequently, and the
family dynamic is going through some things.
As if things are not
complicated enough, soon it become clear that her case and a case being run by
Investigator Renzo Donatelli have clear links. A farmer, François Schwab, was
killed and his body was hosed down with pesticide. A fervent organic farmer, he
had his enemies as well as numerous friends who thought he was a bit eccentric
and overly supportive of organics, but generally liked him. Was he killed over
his desire to protect his land and keep things organic? Or was it something
else?
Before long, the two cases
come together with the identity of the Linder’s victim becoming clear, they
discover that both victims knew each other. The fact that they died just hours
apart may actually mean something and not random chance as things first appeared.
As Linder and Donatelli and their investigative teams join forces, it becomes
clear to all involved that the killings are not over. Not even the police are
safe.
Part police procedural,
part possible romance as Linder and Donatelli have unexpressed feelings for
each other, and entirely a rich and complex multilayered mystery, a tremendous
amount is going on in this atmospheric and detailed read. The cases are complicated
as are the personal lives of Detective Linder, Investigator Donatelli, and
others. Much like real life, chaos at home and work to varying levels, is
always present. As in real life, at times, the mind imagines a lot of
worst-case scenarios with loved ones are involved.
A complicated read and one
that holds your attention while also dispensing a lot of education regarding
history and culture, Pesticide: A Polizi Bern Novel by
Kim Hayes is a very good read well worth your time. Very much recommend.
Make sure you check out
Aubrey’s review from March 2023.
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4muAocZ
Publicist Wiley Saichek
sent me a copy of the book, with no expectation of a review, after Aubrey’s
review ran on the blog.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023, 2025
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 77 Calls for Submissions in September 2025 - Paying Markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 77 Calls for Submissions in September 2025 - Payin...: This September there are more than six dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As alw...
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In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange 8/28/2025
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Beneath the Stains of Time: The Will o' the Wisp Mystery (2024) by Edward D. Hoch
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Review: Bump and Run: A Wade Durham Novel by Richard Helms
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 has just finished a race
and is settled in to eat his victory steak when the boss calls with a case.
Choctaw,
North Carolina, is dying small town. The population is dwindling and so is the
local economy. It is the same story that is playing out across the country. The
place will be gone in a couple of years unless something is done to save it.
Industry isn’t the answer so the town leadership and other parties are all in
on the tourism angle. The multimillion-dollar plan is to make a major area of
the local mountain a ski resort in order to save the place.
Not
everybody is onboard with the idea. Leading the charge against the project is home
town hero and to some, villain, Winlock Savage. An aging former NFL QB who
spent far more years in the broadcast booth after his playing days were over, has
used his wealth to file a lawsuit to stop the project. Just as surely as he
puts it to various women in his bed, he means to put it to those who are supporting
the project.
It
would be best for many people if he, at the very least, withdrew the lawsuit. He
could go away and that would even be better. Especially if he quietly went away
permanent like.
That
has now happened.
Either
he was killed or he committed suicide by hanging himself like a hog in the
legendary local smokehouse. Either way, he has been smoked.
It
probably wasn’t a suicide.
State
Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Malik Mourning, wants Wade “The
Blade” Durham in Choctaw pronto and working a case that is going to gain
national attention. The local police are not equipped to handle such a case and
need the help. The local police chief, Navarro, has only been on the job about
a year and is more than willing to have the SBI send somebody to work this kind
of high-profile case. Or any high-profile case, for that matter, as they have
not had a murder in forty years and the pandemic killed the last detective. The
position remains unfilled.
Durham
hits town, visits the smokehouse scene, talks to the locals, annoys some and
amuses others, and basically starts poking under all the rocks. Those rocks lead
to a case from 1977 and a ton of folks doing all sorts of shady stuff. The list
of potential suspects is long. Winlock Savage was a large former NFL athlete
and kept himself in shape. He did not commit suicide and then hang himself on a
meat hook to get smoked. The man was murdered. Putting a man of his size on the
hook in the smokehouse to hang like a butchered hog probably took more than one
person.
What
follows is a highly entertaining novel. Very reminiscent of the Virgil
Flowers series by John Sandford, you have the same sort of main
character here, albeit with less colorful language. Same attitude about fools
that get in the way and a willingness to push authority aside to get the job
done. Like Virgil Flowers, Wade Durham gets sent in to clean up messes. Unorthodox,
he also might be their best agent. He gets in, finds the responsible parties,
and moves on to the next messy situation the boss sends his way.
This
is going to be one heck of a series.
Bump and Run: A Wade Durham Novel is a fast-moving novel that has
a few laughs and a lot of action. Strongly Recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41XK72L
My
digital reading copy came directly from the author with no expectation of a
review. But, truth be told, as soon as Mr. Helms mentioned that he was doing
his version of a Virgil Flowers novel, he had me hooked like a fat
bass on the line.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
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Little Big Crimes: Dirty Deeds, by Donna Andrews
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Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: FLOWERING SEASON
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Sweet Freedom: SSW: from Summer 1953: "The Understanding Secretary" by Kingsley Tufts (THE SATURDAY EVENING POST, 4 July 1953); from FANTASTIC, May 1953: "The Man Who Liked Dickens" by Evelyn Waugh (reprinted from COSMOPOLITAN, September 1933); "The Dark Room" by Theodore Sturgeon & "The Altar" by Robert Sheckley
Sweet Freedom: SSW: from Summer 1953: "The Understanding Secretar...: "The Understanding Secretary" is an interestingly not-quite-complex "middlebrow" story about an upper-level executive ...
Short Story Wednesday Review: The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense-- Editor Judy Penz Sheluk
From
the massive archive…
Reviewing
an anthology takes far more skill and finesse than reviewing a novel if one
wants to make sure that one does not ruin the read for a reader. Short stories
are, obviously, far shorter than novels and that means there is far less wiggle
room for the reviewer. If one explains too much of the setup of the story, one
can mess things up for the reader. Too little and the potential reader is left
confused and unsure what he story and ultimately the book is about. Therefore,
the goal is to give a brief explanation of each tale without giving away too
many specific details that would impact the read.
After an
introduction to The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories Of Mystery & Suspense,
KM Rockwood starts the book off with “Frozen Daiquiris.” Penelope Regenwold intends to be part of the
social elite in her new community though the locals have not exactly welcomed
her with open arms. As part of her plan, she will host the annual gala for the
Ladies’ Society in her new house. She has publicly promised that she and her
husband, Mathew, will pick up all expenses. In private she has promised her
husband that she will be as frugal as possible. As the time for the party
inches ever closer, that part of her plans seems to have backfired a bit.
It is
October, 1964 in Toronto, Canada as “Spirit River Dam” by Susan Daly begins. In
a few minutes, a certain painting will be auctioned making Imogen Pemberton and
Bryan Grace a tidy sum. Much has happened in the last six weeks to get to this
point.
Gavoti
has to wait until dark to get out of the car and stretch. Planning is
everything and Gavoti is not about to screw up now when he is so close to the
end. In “Oubliette” by Edward Lodi, his target lives on a very quiet street.
After three weeks of surveillance, tonight is the night to go into the home and
check it out.
Judge Lu
has had a long day of travel and the inn keeper just keeps talking. In
“Gambling Against Fate (From Judge Lu’s Ming Dynasty Case Files)” by P. A. De
Voe, the travel south down along the Gan River in search of the robbers has
been tiresome. The Emperor wants the crimes stopped and Lu has no idea where
they are or whom among the locals he can trust. At least he knows he can fully
trust the three men in his entourage traveling with him. A good night of sleep
for all is desperately needed.
A birthday party for his niece, Florence, is a
bit awkward for everyone in “The True Cost Of Liberty” by Chris Wheatley. It
was that way before his estranged wife’s new guy, Isaac, starts talking about
some old coins he had found buried under some stuff up in the attic. He knows
the narrator is a collector of sorts and wants his opinion on one of the coins.
That coin could be worth millions and would be just compensation for all he has
been put through in recent months.
Killing
somebody while doing food prep at a nursing home was not the original plan in
“Deadly Dinner” by LD Masterson. The pay isn’t that great, but there are some
fringe benefits including the fact that the place is nicer than his apartment.
He also can figure out a way to make some real money.
Miranda
is doing her best to hang onto her marketing job, but her ways are not what her
young boss is looking for at all. In “Fire Drill” by Lisa De Nikolits, she does
her best to stay under the radar and cope even when the fire alarms are
sounding and her boss should end the meeting and evacuate.
The
brothers, Seth and Aaron, have a plan to get out of Diamond, West Virginia.
They want to escape a bleak future of working in the coal mines. In “Heirloom”
by Tom Barlow they play it cool and refine the plan. The time will come to act.
Big
sister Marnie was the family golden child and momma always loved her more. In
“The Cookie Crumbles” by Peggy Rothschild, a plan is baked and put into place.
It will be delicious on so many levels.
Edith
Maxwell’s “The Stonecutter” comes up next where Fernando Andrade has caught the
eye of the reference librarian. He is the stone cutter, originally from
Portugal, and married to a wife who is ill. His presence brings Eleanor alive
and she begins to consider many possibilities.
The
murder at the legendary Callingdon Mountain Ski Resort has ignited a media
firestorm. Celebrity skier Donegal Cain was stabbed while riding in an enclosed
gondola tram from the base of the mountain to the peak. He was the sole
occupant and the tram car was watched throughout its ascent more than a dozen
witness. A true locked room mystery that must be solved in “Callingdon
Mountain” by Peter DiChellis. The police
are stumped so the administrator of the resort brings in a private detective to
solve the case.
Hailey
Fields had thought that author Charles Attlee would be interesting. As his
chaperone for the literary event, she had thought he would be a valuable
contact and that he would be to provide some guidance for her own literary
career. Instead, the legendary author has treated her like his personal slave
while being a boor in “Festival Finale” by Mary Dutta.
The plan
hadn’t been to lose his job, have no savings, and be forced to live in a
trailer in a scrub palmetto field forty miles from the coast while working a
roofing job in August. Myra, his wife, isn’t much help or support either as she
has taken everything that has happened in recent months pretty hard. In “Lunch
Break” by Lesley A. Diehl, Ben can at least talk to Ralph about how things are
falling apart.
In the
aftermath of Hurricane Alex, the Del Ray Police Department is called out to
investigate a death at the assisted living community known as “Sunshine
Rest.” Three patients at the facility
died during the storm and an investigator from the Department of Children and
Families thinks one of the cases is a possible homicide. In “Who They Are Now”
by Vicki Weisfeld, Detectives go out to the damaged property to investigate.
It is
8:42 am according to the computer screens Marsha is monitoring as “Thank You
For Your Cooperation” by Johanna Beate Stumpf begins. The subway stations she
has watch on by way of her monitors seem quiet as the morning rush is over and
the tourists are not out and about just yet. Like clockwork her regular
traveler arrives minutes later and then he does something new.
Timothy
manipulated them so they died as he wished in “Last Thoughts” by William
Kamowski. Timothy, at 22, has skills and is quite the computer programmer and
hacker. He also likes getting even and proving his point. He isn’t the only
one.
Rocco
Sakarian did not think too much about the call or the job in Oklahoma. After
all, he was in Buffalo where another snow storm was about to hit. A job was a
job in “A Sure Thing” by C.C. Guthrie. The prospect of spending time somewhere
sunny, clear, and 6o degrees beckoned and he was Oklahoma bound.
It has
been three years since Trudy Sullivan’s husband passed away suddenly. After a
long period of grief, she has a new look about her in “The Sweetheart Scamster”
by Rosemary McCracken. Her financial advisor, Pat Tierney, has serious
concerns.
Swallowing
a bottle of hair dye is a hard way to go out. Mimi Courvoisier chose that path
after deciding she could not live with her hair color. A wig was not an option
in “Better Dead Then Redhead” by Lisa Lieberman. The fact that she was a model
at the ongoing New England annual hair show will ensure that her death will be
blamed on the stylist.
Zach
always has ideas and they are always a sure thing. They never work out as
planned and Freddy often winds up on the short end of the deal. Freddy has
known him since they were kids and he knows what that look in Zach’s eye means
in “Sucker Punch” by V. S. Kemanis.
Editor
Judy Penz Sheluk closes the anthology with a story of her own titled, “Plan D.”
Jenny has a plan and is about to implement it. After all, sometimes the wife
has to really push to get her husband to change things for the better.
The
Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense is an entertaining collection of
tales that deliver in all aspects. Some plans are destined to fail, some are
destined to succeed in unexpected ways, and all are ways of dealing with an
issue in ways that should solve everything once and for all. Much like buying a lottery ticket, these
characters are dreaming up ways to permanently solve problems.
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41YYrbp
Editor
Judy Penz Sheluk sent me a digital ARC of the book earlier this year for my use
to read and review. Though I was aware of her market call and had planned to
submit something, I was unable to get my act together at the time of her call
and did not submit anything to the project. If I had submitted something, I
would not have reviewed the book.
Kevin R.
Tipple ©2019, 2025
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Jerry's House of Everything: OUT OF THIS WORLD: LITTLE LOST ROBOT (JULY 7, 1962)
Jerry's House of Everything: OUT OF THIS WORLD: LITTLE LOST ROBOT (JULY 7, 1962): Out of This World was a short-lived British anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff. Of the fourteen episodes, apparently only this one...
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Gravetapping: Review: "BAE-I" and "Room E-36" by Douglas Corleone
Gravetapping: Review: "BAE-I" and "Room E-36" by Douglas Corleone: Ghost Signal: Dark Frequencies BAE-I and Room E-36 by Douglas Corleone Ghost Signal Press, 2025 One...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 41 Writing Contests in September 2025 - No entry fees
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 41 Writing Contests in September 2025 - No entry fees: This September there are more than three dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes r...
Publication Day Review: A Lonesome Place for Murder: An Ethan Brand Mystery by Nolan Chase
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. You could read this one first, if you wanted, but why do that as the series is a good one and should be read in order like all good series.
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. They might not be the ones even out there now except for the
fact that Chief of Police Brand is thinking about buying the horse. He had an
appointment to see the horse and brought Deputy Brenda Lee Page with him, on
her day off, as support as she knows animals. Not that she knows much about
horses.
Brand’s ex and
the kids live in Boston now and the most recent visitation did not go as well
as he would have hoped. Both of his sons during the summer visitation were too
immersed in their electronic devices when they were not actively doing
something. That is except for one afternoon when they were able to interact
with a horse in its trailer. The Christmas visitation is coming up and Brand is
thinking that maybe a horse would help things. He wants his young sons to be present
in the world and understand that there are things that matter far more than
chatting online and playing videogames. He is feeling a growing gap between his
sons and himself and is having a hard time with the dawning realization that his
ex and his sons aren’t going to come back home.
The muddy and
wet pasture they are slogging through has a slope to it as it sits parallel to
the Canadian border. It is where they were sent by the owner’s wife to go check
on him as he is overdue for getting back to the house. The slope and the wet ground
are working Brand’s surgically repaired left foot and causing him increasing pain
as he climbs steadily higher up the slope. The man they are looking for is Mac
Steranko. Once they finally the crest and can look down the other side, towards
the border, they can see him sitting on the ground near a patch of disturbed
ground.
The elderly Mr.
Steranko is a tough man and lucky to be alive. He is a bit banged up as is the
horse, Trim Reckoning. It is favoring a leg and is a bit spooked by the hole in
the ground. Mr. Steranko explains that the horse stumbled hard because a patch
of ground suddenly gave way under it.
Even more ground
gives way when Brenda Lee starts poking around and accidentally causes a bigger
collapse. One that dumps her several feet down into a hole that is now several
feet long. In fact, this is not a hole, but a partial tunnel collapse.
Back a few years
earlier, Brand was in the military. One of his duties in the Helmand Province
of Afghanistan was clearing tunnels. The last thing he wants to do is go down
in that tunnel. But, when Brenda Lee finds a body in there that has been there
for quite some time, he doesn’t have a choice.
A body that soon
means quite a lot to Ethan Brand in more ways than one.
What follows is
another highly entertaining and complicated read in this great series. Not only
do they have a murder to solve, local politics is heating up, his ex has plans
that don’t involve him, and history is rearing its ugly head. Much is going on professionally
and personally and Ethan Brand is a bit like the dogged prize fighter that
takes body blow and head shot, one after another, with barely any time to
breathe as he leans against the ropes. Backed in a corner every which way, all
he can do is keep his head down, and keep dodging that fatal blow. Or that head
shot as the case may be.
A Lonesome Place
for Murder: An Ethan Brand Mystery by Nolan Chase is a mighty good read.
Very much strongly recommended as it is well worth your time.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4iVOHo1
My digital ARC
reading copy came from the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, through NetGalley,
with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Monday, August 25, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 33 Spectacular Conferences and Workshops in September 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 33 Spectacular Conferences and Workshops in Septem...: This September there are more than two dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Deepest Cut: A Monkeewrench Novel by P. J. Tracy
I was delighted to see another
entry in the Monkeewrench series from P. J. Tracy in the NetGalley queue. P. J.
Tracy was the pseudonym of mother and daughter writing duo P. J. and Traci
Lambrecht. They created the Monkeewrench team, a group of crack cyber and
software professionals in the Twin Cities. The first book in the series, Monkeewrench
(Putnam, 2003), won the 2004 Anthony and 2004 Barry awards for best first
novel. They wrote seven more books about the Monkeewrench gang and their
growing involvement with the Minneapolis police before P. J.'s passing in
December 2016. The series has won Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book
awards. I feared the 10th title about the avant garde detectives,
published in 2019, was the last. Since then Traci launched a new series set in
Los Angles with LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan. But here we are and a new Monkeewrench
adventure called The Deepest Cut (Crooked Lane Books, 2025) is set to be
released in early September.
This latest title pulls in
characters from #10, Ice
Cold Heart (Crooked Lane Books, 2019), including Wolfgang Mauer, the
adopted son of Rado, the psychopathic artist who was at the center of #10. Not
surprisingly, Mauer has sizable issues of his own and has been sentenced to a
maximum security mental hospital for multiple murders. He plots revenge against
the law enforcement officers and the investigators who put him there and arranges
to escape to execute his plans. The Monkeewrench squad and their Minnesota law
enforcement friends are among his targets. He kidnaps a 10-year-old boy along his
exit route, increasing the need to locate Mauer quickly. The Monkeewrench crew
use their expertise to uncover the hidden stash of crypto funds that Mauer planned
to fund his comfortable life in a country without a US extradition treaty.
Followers of the series will
have no trouble sliding back into the Monkeewrench world with their
over-the-top personalities and the complicated crimes they help investigate.
This is not the place for new readers to start; fortunately the earlier books
in the series are readily available. Recommended.
·
Publisher:
Crooked Lane Books
·
Publication
date: September 9, 2025
·
Language:
English
·
Print
length: 288 pages
·
ISBN-10:
1639108777
· ISBN-13: 978-1639108770
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fT6IUf
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.