With Jay Hartman’s post below on
Facebook last week, I thought I would run again my review of this volume. By
the way, my short story, Chocked on Love, appears in the new volume coming
soon.
“With so many federal employees going
without paychecks and the number of people losing SNAP benefits, I thought it
would be a good time to remind people about our anthology THE PERP WORE
PUMPKIN, where 100% of the net proceeds from both the ebook and paperback go to
Second Harvest Food Bank and Feeding America. Buying from our website
or DriveThruFiction
allows us to donate those funds immediately. Any other reseller we have to wait
three months until the funds are paid to us. The second volume is arriving
shortly!”
Edited
by J. Alan Hartman, the recently released Misti Media anthology, The
Perp Wore Pumpkin: A Humorous Crime Anthology to Benefit Second Harvest Food
Bank, is a highly entertaining read. This is especially true if you
like puns and slap stick humor. The book also includes four Thanksgiving
related recipes offered by Jay’s sister, Lisa Lynn.
After
a short introduction by Jay explaining why he did a charity anthology, and how
it will help give back in many locations, it is on to the stories.
“The
Thanksgiving Parade” by Sandra Murphy begins where two people are working
undercover in a holiday parade. Both are very much undercover as one is
costumed as a baked potato with fixings and the other as jellied cranberry
sauce. They are not the only ones dressed as food items. They also may not be
the only ones Arlo in a certain bank, the First Federal Bank of Orlo.
The
Finley Family Thanksgivings are a notorious deal going back many years. It is
happening again in “The Vic Wore Yams” by Heidi Hunter. The kitchen fire had
caused a delay in meal prep. Then the narrator’s dad lacerated the heck out of
a finger as he tried to carve the turkey. The dog got the meat the blood hit.
But, the death at the table, and the resulting family commotion really brought
things to a halt.
Janet
saw the stumbling man from her third-floor window as “A Regular Harvest Moon
Blowout” by Daniel Sohn begins. It is only as he gets closer to her apartment
building in Columbia, Missouri, she realizes he is bleeding. She goes to help
and he has been stabbed. Stanley Tiller appreciates the help. He also just
wants to get back to his hotel room where he is supposed to be hosting the
annual holiday dinner. She agrees to give him a ride and things get even more
interesting.
“A
Diverse Thanksgiving” by Debra H. Goldstein comes next where Warden Oscar P.
Weiner is just trying to make it through his final two weeks to retirement
without any problems. That includes never having to deal with inmate Joshua
Randall ever again. While on paper he is an absolute model prisoner, Randall is
always stealing from his office as he negotiates on behalf of his fellow
inmates. This year, the annual thanksgiving dinner is not enough as he wants
more than the usual fare. The latest round of negotiations is soon underway
with Warden Weiner doing his best to control the damage and the outcome.
The
rich tradition of hobos riding the rails is the background of “Hobo Hannah and
the Great Pumpkin Heist” by Lesley A. Diehl. Hanna, her friend, Lily, and their
Maine coon cat, T-rex, gave up the hobo life to go to home to where Hannah came
from all those years ago. They did. Soon after, Hannah was elected sheriff and
replaced the high school bully and sheriff, Hiram Noggins. The guy is still a
bully and did not take losing well. He has made threats to expose her for being
incompetent. Now pumpkins are vanishing from fields right before harvest and
pumpkin products are being stolen from stores. The loss of everything pumpkin
related could ruin Thanksgiving for everyone miles around.
The
first two stories that specifically reference Texas author Earl Staggs come
next with and begin with Barry’s Ergang’s groaner filled tale, “Buffet, the
Umpire Slayer.” Normally, Hardy Boyle stays home on Thanksgiving eating tacos,
drinking beer, and watching football. But, he was recently involved in the hunt
for and rescue of the daughters of the managing partners of the talent agency,
Binthair-Dunthat. Second rate actor, Macdonald Adamia, took them in misguided
attempt to get acting jobs. Hardy Boyle solved the case and got the daughters
rescued and back home. Now, one of the partners, Lucas Binthair, is having a
holiday meal and celebration at a closed public restaurant and Hardy Boyle is
in attendance. Good thing as when death strikes, Boyle’s friend, Detective
Lieutenant Paul Ohnius handles the case at the Belladonna. An entertaining
mystery that is packed full of groaners which is why Earl frequently referred
to the author as the “Guru of Groaners.”
Bennet
is less than thrilled to be in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He isn’t surprised his new
son-in-law has screwed up and there is no turkey in “The Last Turkey in Tulsa”
by Jim Fusilli. His daughter, Cammy, is quite upset. With her being married to
a man that never even asked for her hand in marriage, Bennet thinks her new
husband, Owen, should deal with it. Bennet’s wife, Charlene, thinks Daddy
(Bennet) should help. So, like many a smarty married man before him, after some
grumbling, Bennett sets out trying to help by trying to find a turkey for the
holiday dinner. Far easier said than done at this late hour.
Dinner
at Ann Marie’s is clearly going to be problematic and not just because the
sister-in-law is not at all hygienic in “The Chile Pumpkin Pie Rebellion” by
Linda Kay Hardie. Though that is now going to help our narrator deal with her
verbally abusive husband, Jamie. How she goes about it, and all that she has to
deal with to make things happen, is the crux of this short story that also
references the late Texas author, Earl Staggs.
Every
year Aunt Sadie makes pumpkin whoopie pies. The things are horrible because she
substitutes ingredients at random giving them a horrible taste. In “Making
Woopie” by Shari Held, it is that time of year again. The newest member of the
family, Trevor, is about to experience the annual nightmare Hopefully this year
great-great Aunt Sadie has not decided to substitute pickle chunks for pecans
again or use salt instead of sugar. Something is coming and once again
everybody assembled will just have to deal with it.
The
final story is “Pie à la Poison: A Vermont Radio Mystery” by Nikki Knight and
one with a far more serious tone and subtle humor. Jaye Jordan is divorced, a
single mom, and back home in Vermont at the radio station, WSV. She first
started out there just after college, and when everything went so wrong in NYC,
she came back home and bought the station. With her daughter with her dad and
his family on this Thanksgiving night, she is alone in the station and handling
everything including the request line. The same phone line where an elderly
woman has confessed to setting up a double murder. The question is whether Jaye
Jordan can get authorities involved in enough time to stop it in this very good
mystery tale.
One
final recipe and the often extensively detailed bios of the authors brings this
entertaining holiday anthology to a close. If you read the previous holiday
anthologies edited by Jay Hartman and you liked them, you will definitely like
this one. Many of the same authors are involved as are the usual elements of
puns and slapstick humor. As always, the recipes are a nice touch for those
cooking at home.
The Perp Wore Pumpkin: A Humorous Crime Anthology to
Benefit Second Harvest Food Bank is a fun and entertaining quick read. It features
plenty of humor, action, and mystery, and thus leaves the reader well fed at
the end.
Amazon
Associates Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/48eP4Gq
My
review copy came from the publisher, Misti Media, with no expectation of a
review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023, 2024, 2025
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