Thursday, January 29, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: Mark Billingham is the 2026 recipient of the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Diamond Dagger, sponsored by Karen Baugh Menuhin. The award r...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Stars Spell Murder: "Handbook for Homicide" (1943) by Fredric Brown
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Stars Spell Murder: "Handbook for Homicide" (1...: Fredric Brown 's "Handbook for Homicide," originally published in the March, 1943, issue of Detective Tales , can be described...
Jerry's House of Everything: THE CISCO KID: DISAPPEARING BULLET (JULY 22, 1952)
Jerry's House of Everything: THE CISCO KID: DISAPPEARING BULLET (JULY 22, 1952): The Cisco Kid and his sidekick Pancho rose into weekly adventure over the airwaves, courtesy of the mutual Radio Network, beginning on Octob...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Old Filth: Jane Gardam
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Old Filth: Jane Gardam: Description from the paperback edition I read... Filth, in his heyday, was an international lawyer with a practice in the Far East. Now, o...
Thursday Treats
Welcome back to “Thursday Treats.” The first column last week proved to be incredibly popular. More than I had thought possible. Thank you to those who commented here and elsewhere, shared the post, and made it clear that it was a hit. Thank you. The bar has been set high so I hope I can keep meeting it.
Cameron Trost recently
announced on Facebook that Dead on the Dolmen, the first Oscar
Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable novel, will be released
on the 30th of January. https://mybook.to/deadonthedolmen. I took
advantage of the pre order deal and used funds in my Amazon Associate account
to snag the eBook copy.
Authors Barb Goffman, Dave Zeltserman,
and many others appear in Black Cat Weekly
#230.
BCW is a weekly publication featuring short stories and novellas in multiple
genres. You can buy individual issues or one of the far better subscription
deals at blackcatweekly.com.
Craig Johnson announced on Facebook that The Brothers McKay: A Longmire Mystery is coming out in late May. Amazon has the listing for it. Based on the synopsis there, it seems like Walt is closer to home this time. Been a big fan of this series, so I am hoping I get a shot at it on NetGalley or through the Dallas Library System. NetGalley has added it, so I put in my request. Viking is the publisher. I do not have a good track record with them in being granted the approval to read stuff.
Michael Connelly also announced
on Facebook that Ironwood is coming out in mid-May. Amazon has
the listing for it. This is
the second book in the police procedural series that started with Nightshade. I very much
enjoyed that book so I am very much looking forward to this. No sign of it,
yet, at either NetGalley or the Dallas Public Library System.
I am a big fan of the works of Steven F.
Havill. His Posadas County Mystery series has gone on for many years,
and it is mighty good. I told you about the most recent one, If It Isn’t One
Thing… A Posadas County Mystery, last March. Knowing he does very
little social media, I have been checking Amazon for the new one. They now have
it listed. Reverse: A
Posadas County Mystery comes out in May. NetGalley got it listed yesterday and I grabbed it. I got it right away as it is with Severn House who has me
preapproved on NetGalley for everything they do.
By the way, if you don’t already know,
Lesa Holstine does a blog post every Thursday where folks, including yours
truly, share what we are reading. Make sure you check it out at Lesa’s Book Critiques. It will,
guaranteed, make your TBR pile grow.
Which in one way is not helpful at all
as my long standing order for the READ FASTER, DAMN IT! brain implant is still
on backorder at Amazon. Apparently, there are supply chain issues. 😉
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 58 Calls for Submissions in February 2026 - Paying Markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 58 Calls for Submissions in February 2026 - Paying...: This February there are more than four dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As alw...
SleuthSayers: The Best is My Guest
SleuthSayers: The Best is My Guest: This is my seventeenth review of the best short mysteries of the year. If you mention this list, and I hope you do, please refer to it a...
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Mystery Fanfare: THE PUZZLE LADY: Masterpiece, PBS
Mystery Fanfare: THE PUZZLE LADY: Masterpiece, PBS: Finally news about The Puzzle Lady, a new series based on P arnell Hall's Puzzle Lady mystery series. Parnell wrote 20 in his series ...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Cat’s Eye Charm: A Witch Cats of Cambridge Mystery by Clea Simon
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Cat’s Eye Charm: A Witch Cats of Cambridge Mys...: Reviewed by Jeanne Becca’s life seems a bit fraught right now. Business has been slow at Charm and Cherish the magic shop where sh...
Monday, January 26, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday: It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news: THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES Pitch Perfe...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 87 Writing Contests in February 2026 - No entry fees
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 87 Writing Contests in February 2026 - No entry fees: This February there are more than seven dozen free writing contests for short fiction, novels, poetry, CNF, nonfiction, and plays. Prizes ra...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Dead Money: A Novel by Jakob Kerr
Jakob Kerr’s impressive debut Dead Money
(Bantam, 2025) received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers
Weekly. Washington Post, Amazon Editors, and CrimeReads
named it one of their Best Books of the Year. And the New York Times
called it one of the best thrillers of 2025. My name finally came to the top of
the hold list at the library and I had the opportunity to see what generated
all of these accolades.
In the first place, Kerr has created an impressively
accurate depiction of the Silicon Valley tech world and the people who work in
it. The mountain-sized egos, the juvenile mindset, the relentless pursuit of
the next technology break-through, the meaningless jargon, and the insatiable
drive for more money, it’s all there.
Then, Kerr’s protagonist Mackenzie Clyde is a likeable,
hard-working woman who had to start from the ground up in her career. A law
school graduate, she doesn’t practice law at Hammersmith Venture Capital, she
solves problems when they arise at the companies where her boss Roger
Hammersmith has invested. Her role places her outside but adjacent to the tech
world, giving her a clear perspective on it and its denizens. She’s had to
learn to deal with their immaturity and self-centeredness to do her job and she’s
become quite proficient.
The narrative seems to be a straight-forward story
about the murder of Trevor Canon, the CEO of Journy, another start-up that’s
become a household name overnight, one that is poised to yield millions when it
goes public. In addition to the shock of his murder, Canon’s will had a
surprising clause that said in the event of Canon’s murder, all of his assets
were to be frozen until his murderer was convicted. At first everyone is asking
why he thought he might be killed, then the large issue became the locked-down
money. Because Canon was the chief shareholder, this asset suspension meant the
company was in limbo until the criminal justice process was complete, hence the
term “dead money.”
The San Francisco Police had been unable to identify
the killer. Canon’s shares were left to the executive managers of Journy, which
would make each of them instant multi-millionaires, so they all had motives, making
them obvious suspects, but they all had alibis too. The FBI stepped in after
SFPD floundered and Roger Hammersmith pulled strings to have Mackenzie added to
the investigative team to explain the tech world to the agents. In reality, he
wanted to know what was going on.
And here is where the straight-forward part ends. Kerr
incorporates more unexpected turns and hairpin curves than a mountain road into
the story, with one surprise after another, resulting in a startling but
satisfying resolution. Highly recommended.
·
Publisher: Bantam
·
Publication
date: January 28, 2025
·
Language: English
·
Print length:
416 pages
·
ISBN-10: 0593726707
·
ISBN-13: 978-0593726709
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4aaN9Fr
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Unicorn Murders (1935) by Carter Dickson
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Unicorn Murders (1935) by Carter Dickson: In May, the British Library Crime Classics series of reprints is releasing a brand new, long overdue edition of John Dickson Carr 's fou...
SleuthSayers: From the Wall O' Inspiration
SleuthSayers: From the Wall O' Inspiration: I do most of my writing– and most of my work– since my day job is teaching online classes--sitting at a computer in my home office. I do hav...
Saturday, January 24, 2026
Weather Update
After face planting in the front yard a few days ago when the cane and I got tangled up, I made a point not to get beyond the dry porch late today when Scott took stuff out to the bins. It was incredibly cold.
Currently, as of 8 PM, we are at 19 at DFW Airport and they say we bottom out at 12. Even though the faucets are on interior walls, I have them open and dribbling so I can hear the money going right down the sinks. As Scott keeps pointing out, it beats a flood and a plumber.
We have power and are very glad about that. Everything is ice covered due to all the sleet. Guessing at this point, we have at least two inches of ice due to all the sleet. Could easily be more. Lot more sleet is inbound tonight.
No pics as I was focused on not falling on the porch. Maybe pics tomorrow.
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week a review and giveaway of "All My Bones" BY P.J. Nelson https://kingsriverlife.com/01/24/all-my-bones-by-p-j-nelson/
And a review and giveaway of "The Seven Gates of Guinee" by Martha Reed, along with an interesting guest post by Martha https://kingsriverlife.com/01/24/the-seven-gates-of-guinee-by-martha-reed/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Trapped and Tested" by Sharon Marchisello https://kingsriverlife.com/01/24/trapped-and-tested-by-sharon-marchisello/
We also have the latest Crime Writers of Color Coming Attractions https://kingsriverlife.com/01/24/crime-writers-of-color-coming-attractions-january-march-2026/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "One Small Squeal" by DonnaRae Menard https://www.krlnews.com/2026/01/one-small-squeal-by-donnarae-mennard.html
And for those who also enjoy fantasy with a touch of mystery, a review and giveaway of "An Arcane Inheritance" by Kamilah Cole https://www.krlnews.com/2026/01/an-arcane-inheritance-by-kamilah-cole.html
Happy Reading,
Lorie
Jerry's House of Everything: RUSTY, BOY DETECTIVE #1 (MARCH-APRIL 1955)
Jerry's House of Everything: RUSTY, BOY DETECTIVE #1 (MARCH-APRIL 1955): "Introducing the three new musketeers of crime detection -- the three most dauntless hawkshaws who ever put a sneakered foot into a mur...
Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom with Luciano Vecchio (Illustrator, Cover Art) and, Jim Towe (Illustrator)
Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse by authors Kyle
Higgins and Mat Groom with Luciano Vecchio (Illustrator, Cover Art)
and, Jim Towe (Illustrator), is a miniseries where the Spider-Man of various
universes go to war against the Venoms of various universes. The trade, which
will come out in January, will collect the Web of Spider-Verse, Web
of Venomverse prequels, and the main series. I read this through the Marvel Unlimited App.
The entities that individually control each
groups have suddenly decided that the other entity and their group must die.
So, each entity selects a team of heroes from each group and forces those
selected to fight to the death to save their group.
The Spider-Verse team is led by the main
Spider-Man (Peter Parker of Earth 616), and includes Spider-Ham (a cartoon pig that
was bitten by a radioactive Spider), a super solider, and others. They must go
against the symbiote team. A team that is led by an Eddie Brock Venom that
murdered the Peter Parker of its universe and now tries to be a hero.
The prequels are not very relevant to
the main series and just are used for backstory for some characters who show
up. For example, based on the prequel, one would think that a vampire Spider-Man
was going to play a big role in this series. Instead, despite getting a lot of
pages in a prequel, it just shows up for the big fight at the end. This happens
quite a lot with a number of such characters that just show up in the big fight
at the end. A lot of the prequel characters only exists to fill big fight at
the end.
The art, across the board, is just okay
at best. This is an action-adventure style deal that tries to take itself
seriously, but as a reader, one knows they are not going to wipe out a whole
group of heroes. The ending is pretty predictable so the read is just a fun
time where one gets to see these two groups fight. So, if you are a fan of
either group you might enjoy this title as long as you just treat as a not a
serious read.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4aun9FK
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
Friday, January 23, 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 18 Fabulous Writing Conferences and Workshops in February 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 18 Fabulous Writing Conferences and Workshops in F...: This February there are more than a dozen writing conferences and workshops. Some conferences and workshops will be held online, but most wi...
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: The Westport Library in Westport, CT, is presenting a crime writing panel discussion about weaving real life crime into storytelling. Schedu...
In Reference to Murder: Friday's Forgotten Books: The Best American Mystery Stories, 1997, ed. Robert B. Parker
In Reference to Murder: Friday's Forgotten Books: The Best American Myster...: The history of the "best of" American mystery short story anthology probably dates back to 1931 and The Best American Mystery Stor...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: MISS KELLY
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: MISS KELLY: Miss Kelly by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1947) Miss Kelly is a cat, the sort of cat who would make an admirable person. She is also proba...
Friday's Forgotten Book: Bury the Past: A Detective Penley Mystery by James L’Etoile
It has roughly been a year since the
events of At What Cost: A Detective Penley Mystery by James
L’Etoile occurred as Bury the Past: A Detective Penley Mystery
begins. The repercussions of those events have rocked Detective Penley,
professionally and personally, but the work is keeping him going. The ongoing
work of solving cases is also keeping Detective Newberry going as well though
the fact that she used to work in Internal Affairs is still an issue for many
that work with her. They like to play petty harassment games and did so again
this morning as her and Penley were dispatched to a murder scene.
Larry Burger never made it home from his
night shift job at a local truck stop. His car suddenly broke down on an isolated
and dark road as he made his way home. A person or persons unknown had then
attacked him. From the clues at the scene, it appears that he was beaten to
death.
A few years ago, Larry Burger was a cop.
He turned informant in a case that Paula Newberry handled in her role of
working in Internal Affairs. A case that she thought she was done with and over.
It isn’t. That case is now back and back
in a really bad way for Detective Puala Newberry and the Sacramento Police
Department.
This second book in the very good police
procedural series builds on the first. Storylines begun there continue here as
does the further evolution of several characters. Thus, it is best, as it
always is with quality series, to read the previous book first.
Strongly recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4jL805m
My hardback reading copy was provided by
the author with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Thursday, January 22, 2026
Criminal Minds: Sow What You Reap from James W. Ziskin
Criminal Minds: Sow What You Reap from James W. Ziskin: In person conferences are great for socialization and building a community and increasing motivation. But if you're not in the position ...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Sentry-Box Murder (1935) by Newton Gayle
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Sentry-Box Murder (1935) by Newton Gayle: " Newton Gayle ," a pseudonym, was a partnership of strange bedfellows between Muna Lee and Maurice Guinness, a human rights activ...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember,...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember,...: Nevermore: Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember, Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife Nevermore 12-9-25 Reported by Rita The Girls in ...
Jerry's House of Everything: THE BIG BOW MYSTERY (MARCH 20, 2006)
Jerry's House of Everything: THE BIG BOW MYSTERY (MARCH 20, 2006): Israel Zangwell (1864-1926) was a British author closely affiliated with the Zionist movement. He was called "the Dickens of the Ghett...
Thursday Treats
Welcome to what will be, I hope, the first of many weekly columns highlighting cool stuff to check out. Publishing news of books, short stories, interviews, and more, that I have seen and think might be of interest to you. So, you will see a lot of publishing news related items as, more than anything else, I am a reader. A reader who reads both eBooks and print.
I’m not a true crime kind of guy. Many of you are,
and so I mention that authors Judy Penz Sheluk and Amanda Capper are writing a
book on the Helen Grier murder case. Judy explains the background and their
plans in her post earlier this month on The Stiletto
Gang. Even though I am not a true crime guy, the post is intriguing. Her post
is well worth the read.
Ed Ridgley’s short story “The Blue Lincoln” is up at
the Guilty
Crime Magazine website. A flash tale and a free read. And, if you missed
it, the latest issue of the magazine, Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 015
- Summer 2025 is available over on Amazon.
I have my copy in the TBR pile along with several other issues. Just way behind
in my reading.
As Lesa Holstine announced on Lesa’s
Book Critiques back in November 2024, Bill Crider’s books are being
republished by his daughter, Angela, and her husband, Tom. In recent days, Jan
Grape wrote about her love for Bill, the Dan Rhodes series, and more in a post
that includes an interview with Angela. Check out her SluethSayers
post. By the way, if you have not read the mystery series set in East Texas
with the good sheriff, you should do so. Begin with Too Late To Die and
read in order. I have reviews of the books here on the blog as well if you want
to know more. Been a big fan for decades.
The new issue, Starlight
Pulp Review #7, is out. Features short stories by numerous folks
including SMFS list members, Robert J. Binney with “Gifts of Providence,” Ron
Clyburn with “Send in the Killers,” Martin Hill Ortiz with “Not Enough Corpses,”
and Jennifeer Slee with “The Apex.”
Mystery Writers of America put out their monthly
roundup of publishing news from their members. New
Books by MWA Members – January 2026 also lists short stories. This month,
all the stories are found in the pages of AHMM or EQMM. SMFS list members are
featured in the books as well as the short story categories.
Speaking of SMFS, the latest publishing
news post as compiled and issued by SMFS President Joseph S. Walker came
out last week. With winter weather making things dangerous outside coming for
most of the nation, including my part of NE Dallas where we are being threatened
with a crippling ice storm this weekend (God, no), this is a good time to stock
up on reading materials.
Also, get your submissions in to the Derringers. All
the details are up on the SMFS
blog. Deadline is 1/30/2026.
Finally, as Lorie Ham of Kings River Life Magazine has shared on
Facebook and elsewhere, “We've had some big unexpected expenses come up lately,
so I'm running another big ad special for KRL. So if you are interested in
knowing more reach out via email at kingsriverlife@gmail.com.”
Until next time...
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A BIT OF A BANSHEE
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A BIT OF A BANSHEE: "A Bit of a Banshee" by Tod Robbins (first published in The Forum , December 1924; reprinted in Current Opinion , February 1925;...
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Monday, January 19, 2026
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Southern Mirror: Stories and Reflections on Life in the South by Brenda Gantt
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Southern Mirror: Stories and Reflections on L...: Brenda Gantt has made quite a name for herself on social media for her cooking videos. People just couldn’t get enough of her downhome...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in November and December 2025
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in November and December 2025: I had some very good reading in both November and December of 2025. Seven books per month. I completed two short story books, which is unu...
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday: It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news: THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES Oscar winne...
Mystery Fanfare: The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 4
Mystery Fanfare: The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 4: The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 4, starts February 5 on Netflix. On trial for a murder he didn’t commit, Mickey must face a relentless DA as he...
SleuthSayers: Bill Crider Rides Again
SleuthSayers: Bill Crider Rides Again: Bill Crider Having a few health issues in recent months like throwing arterial fibrillations aka AFibs and finally had ablation surgery to ...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Asset by Mike Lawson
The nineteenth book by Mike
Lawson about political fixer Joe DeMarco, The Asset (Atlantic Grove,
February 2026), finds DeMarco in the midst of his usual covert investigation
and problem solving while yearning to perfect his golf swing. Former Speaker of
the House, and still mightily annoyed about it, John Mahoney is approached by an
ex-CIA agent who tells him that she witnessed the wife of a senior Senator
meeting with a Chinese intelligence agent. Instead of reporting the matter to
the FBI, Mahoney tasks DeMarco with verifying the connection and then learning
more. DeMarco finds out that the wife is being blackmailed over something her college-aged
daughter did that could send her to prison. The Chinese agent is willing to
exchange his silence for her classified information, creating an impossible
situation for this veteran political wife.
DeMarco doesn’t understand how
the information came into the agent’s hands initially and wonders if the
videotaped evidence has been falsified, and if so, why. He delves further into
the background of the daughter, the Chinese agent, and the technical genesis of
the video, which yields more questions than answers.
Although DeMarco is denied the
assistance of his usual sidekick, retired DIA agent Emma, who despises Mahoney
but helps DeMarco when she’s bored, he does have the expertise of a
professional hacker now turned white hat and working for the Department of
Homeland Security. Neil is happy being on the right side of the law for a
change, although large sums of money can make him revert to his old ways.
I was amused to note that the
description of the Senator and his wife bears close resemblance to an actual
power couple on the Hill.
DeMarco manages to just barely
escape being shot or drowned as he is caught up in a dizzyingly escalating
torrent of backstabbing players who double-cross each other and then
double-cross the double-crossersn.
While this outing starts out amusingly
with DeMarco on one of his expeditions for Mahoney, this one in the bucolic
hills of eastern Kentucky where he’s getting his city clothes muddy, the story becomes
serious quickly and grows increasingly bleaker until the end, which is
stunning.
·
Publisher:
Atlantic Crime
·
Publication
date February 3, 2026
·
Language:
English
·
Print
length: 320 pages
·
ISBN-10:
0802167004
·
ISBN-13:
978-0802167002
Amazon Associate Purchase
Link: https://amzn.to/4qMRTqo
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Little Big Crimes: Squirrel Day Afternoon, by Gregory Fallis
Little Big Crimes: Squirrel Day Afternoon, by Gregory Fallis: "Squirrel Day Afternoon," by Gregory Fallis, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, November/December 2025. This is the fi...
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week we have a review and giveaway of "Murder at the Scottish Games" by Traci Hall https://kingsriverlife.com/01/17/murder-at-the-scottish-games-by-traci-hall/
And a review and giveaway (book and a goodie bag) of "A Ferry Long Way to Go" by Misty Simon, along with a fun guest post by Misty about her writing https://kingsriverlife.com/01/17/a-ferry-long-way-to-go-by-misty-simon/
And a review and giveaway of "Vows and Villainy" by Elizabeth Penney, https://kingsriverlife.com/01/17/vows-and-villainy-by-elizabeth-penney/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Itch of Greed" by Christa Nardi, along with an interesting interview with Christa https://kingsriverlife.com/01/17/itch-of-greed-by-christa-nardi/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "How Deep is the Body?" by Ivanka Fear https://www.krlnews.com/2026/01/how-deep-is-body-by-ivanka-fear.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Lizzie Borden House Anthology" Edited By Sèphera Girón https://www.krlnews.com/2026/01/the-lizzie-borden-house-anthology.html
Happy Reading,
Lorie
Beneath the Stains of Time: Best Served Cold: Case Closed, vol. 96 by Gosho Aoyama
Beneath the Stains of Time: Best Served Cold: Case Closed, vol. 96 by Gosho Ao...: This is probably going to be a slightly shorter review than usual, because Gosho Aoyama 's 96th volume of Case Closed only has one comp...
Guest Post: THE ASSASSINATION WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF by Jim Nesbitt
Please
welcome author Jim Nesbitt back to the blog today with his latest guest post
review …
THE
ASSASSINATION WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF
America
is a conspiracy-crazed nation, addicted to the breadcrumbs of "insider
information" that only the few are smart enough to suss out, hyped on the
latest finger-pointing revelation of shadowy string-pullers manipulating
dastardly deeds too many are fervently willing to believe without question.
How
did we get this way? Don't just blame the rise of social media that can inject
a fresh dose of outlandish intrigue from your smartphone right into your
brainpan. Look to the mother of all cabals, the malignant fountainhead of dark
machinations and evil intrigue, the gateway to America's addiction to
conspiracy theories -- the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
JFK's
shocking murder in Dallas' Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963 was one of the
first major temblors of the turbulent 1960s. It was a seminal event that ripped
a huge rift in America's cultural and political fabric and taught us a searing inaugural
lesson about mistrusting our own government, hammered home by the
assassinations of JFK's brother, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
as well as the violent upheaval and unrest caused by the Vietnam War.
More
than sixty years after those fatal shots rang out, we're still morbidly
fascinated, fixated on the question that still remains unanswered for many
Americans: who killed John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the nation's 35th president?
Author
Terrence McCauley shrewdly capitalizes on this eternal interest in JFK's murder
with a superbly written historical novel, The Twilight Town: A Dallas '63
Novel, the second in a planned trilogy. It is work firmly rooted in the record,
including a prequel novella focused on the squad of Cuban gunmen that fruitlessly
awaited Kennedy's arrival in Chicago earlier that year. The book also leans on
the most plausible alternatives to the official finding that an overwhelming
majority of Americans don't believe -- Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, killed
Kennedy.
McCauley,
a talented author of thrillers, Westerns and crime fiction, deftly weaves
characters of his creation with the real-life figures of this American tragedy,
including former Major Gen. Edwin Walker, a rabid right-wing extremist; Jack
Ruby, the transplanted minor mobster and strip club owner who killed Oswald;
J.D. Tippit, the Dallas police officer who was gunned down less than an hour
after Kennedy's assassination, a murder pinned on Oswald by the Warren
Commission; and, George de Mohrenschildt, a Russian-born geophysicist and
occasional CIA asset.
But
it's a smart move to center the narrative on a character of his own creation --
Dan Wilson, an ambitious Dallas police detective seconded to an FBI unit
eavesdropping on the cop and criminal patrons of a popular diner. That way, the
reader discovers the scattered pieces of this lethal puzzle as Wilson does,
meeting the players along the way, both real-life, like Tippit, a fellow Korean
War vet styled as Wilson's former partner, and fictional, like Harry Denton, a
Dallas cop and sharpshooter who is part of cadre of hard-core segregationists
and right-wingers commanded by a hyper-political captain.
Wilson,
the son of a legendary Texas Ranger named Duke, is trying to parlay his FBI
work into a gig as one of J. Edgar Hoover's boys and figures digging up dirt on
Walker and his minions is the quickest way to climb this ladder.
He
also befriends Oswald, turning him into a snitch and trailing him on a
gun-running trip to camps in the Louisiana swamps used to train Cuban exiles
for a possible sequel to the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion.
The
camps are connected to two New Orleans figures who become targets of Orleans
Parish DA Jim Garrison's later investigation of JFK's assassination, former
Eastern Airlines pilot David Ferrie and former senior FBI agent Guy Banister,
both rabid anti-Communists. Oswald spent the summer of 1963 in New Orleans,
where he frequently passed out pro-Castro pamphlets printed at the building
where Banister's private eye agency was located, which puts his political
stance in question.
The
pace is swift and the action is sudden and often violent, like Wilson's
decision to murder one of Walker's key minions after he delivers a
not-so-veiled threat toward Wilson's wife, leaving the body on Swish Street, the
"pink part" of downtown Dallas.
It's
a line you don't expect Wilson to cross and when he does, without as much as a
blink, you instantly think of James Ellroy's murderous cops and that author's
flawed masterpiece, American Tabloid. McCauley skillfully treads some of
the same ground but refrains from the juddering and distracting gimmicks to
tell a straight, edgy story we think we know but find out we don't.
So,
let's ask the question again. Who killed Jack Kennedy? The Mob, pissed about
Bobby's relentless prosecutions and the botched Cuba invasion? Gen. Walker's right-wing
crazies who helped make Dallas a city of hate? How about the CIA, also angry
about Cuba and Kennedy's desire to negotiate with the Soviet Union to ease Cold
War tensions and get us out of Vietnam.
Or,
it could have been D, all of the above, a hellish confluence of conspirators,
with freelancers and operatives keeping a foot in several camps. McCauley does
a masterful job portraying the criss-crossing connections and the swirl of
deadly plots with no Mr. Big to rule them all.
Take
your pick. Remember, though -- none of these players are a sure thing, but all
had a reason for wanting Kennedy dead. And if you want to know where McCauley
stands, buy his book. And the prequel, Chicago '63, as well as the sequel.
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4pLE0I2
Jim Nesbitt ©2026
Jim Nesbitt is the award-winning author of five hard-boiled Texas crime thrillers that feature battered but dogged Dallas PI Ed Earl Burch. The fifth Ed Earl Burch novel, THE FATAL SAVING GRACE, has just been released. Nesbitt was a journalist for more than 30 years, serving as a reporter, editor and roving national correspondent for newspapers and wire services in Alabama, Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington, D.C. He now lives in Athens, Alabama, where he is writing his sixth Ed Earl Burch novel, THE PERFECT TRAIN WRECK.
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