Lesa's Book Critiques: The Bookstore Diaries by Susan Mallery
Saturday, May 02, 2026
Mystery Fanfare: KENTUCKY DERBY MYSTERIES
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SleuthSayers: April Stories
SleuthSayers: April Stories: First, sincere congratulations to all the 2026 Derringer Award winners, especially to Adam Meyer, Alan Orloff, and Michael Bracken--and spec...
Scott's Take: Batman: Dark Patterns by Dan Watter and illustrated by Hayden Sherman
Batman: Dark Patterns by Dan Watter, illustrated
by Hayden Sherman, is a read that I read through Hoopla and the DC Universe Infinite
App. This is a twelve-issue miniseries where each of the four separate story
arcs contain three issues each. These stories are set in Batman’s early career.
These tales are supposed to be grounded
street level mysteries which means they are not supposed to have supernatural,
space aliens, or other fantastical elements. Yet, there are implications in the
read that those elements are, in fact, very much present. The read does not match
the plot synopsis marketed with the book. This is a mystery series with some
horror elements.
My favorite of the four separate story
arcs was the second one. The tale was clearly inspired by the movie, The Raid. (A way better movie than the
sequel.) In the story arc, Batman has to fight his way through an entire apartment
building full of people to solve the mystery at the heart of that story.
Overall, I enjoyed this miniseries even
if each story arc is a bit rushed. If you are looking for some less fantastical
Batman reading than the normal fare, this is a book for you.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/48nIbUA
Some of this I read by way of the Hoopla
App through the Dallas Public Library System and some by way of the DC Universe Infinite App.
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
Friday, May 01, 2026
Things Are Desperate Around Here
Things are very brutal money wise. Not just with the groceries, gasoline, and more that is hitting all of us. Scott has not worked in over two weeks as there has not been work for him. So, no work means no paycheck and no income.
So, if you like what we do at Kevin's Corner, please consider making a donation through the PayPal widget on the left side of the blog. We could really use the help.
Please and thank you.
Mystery Fanfare: MAY DAY MYSTERIES, MORRIS DANCING, AND MORE!
Mystery Fanfare: MAY DAY MYSTERIES, MORRIS DANCING, AND MORE!: "What potent blood hath modest May."- Ralph W. Emerson Here's my updated list of May Day Mysteries . I love May Day ...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: APACHE RISING
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: APACHE RISING: Apache Rising by Marvin H. Albert (first published in 1957; reprinted as a m0vie tie-in titled Duel at Diablo , 1965; reprinted this mont...
FFB Review: The Texas Capitol Murders by Bill Crider
From the archive….
The Texas Capitol Murders features romance, murder, a
Texas Ranger, a governor afraid of his own shadow, strident anti-abortionists,
at least one pervert (depending on your personal definition of “pervert” there
could be a couple more), and other unique human beings. In other words, the
read easily could be nonfiction, but author Bill Crider is offering this read
featuring a cast of characters as a fictional mystery. Originally published in
1992 by St. Martin’s Press, the book has recently been released again in an
e-book version with a much better cover than the original. The setting of the
late eighties may be twenty plus years old, but the story itself is not dated
and could easily be happening right now considering how things work at the
state capitol.
Nearly
everyone involved in this story is trying to use their job at the state capitol
to move up to better things. The usual worst point of the day for many is when
“Wayne the Wagger” comes out in view of tourists and staff and the drug
addicted homeless man does what comes naturally. That does not ever go over
well and the usual response by capitol police is to kick him out of the
building for the day.
While
they may tolerate Wayne inside the building when he does his thing when he goes
outside and decides to use one of the small cannons flanking the entrance –
cannons that may or may not have been used in both the Texas Revolution and the
Civil War – as a public urinal, it gets him arrested. Too bad Wayne can’t
remember witnessing the murder of a woman in the capitol building the night
before because the police could really use his help. They don’t even yet know
there is a dead woman in the building.
Shifting
through a large cast of characters, Texas author Bill Crider weaves a story of
romance, greed, lust, and political agendas run amok. Likeable and respectable
characters are few in this wild tale where idiots (certified and otherwise)
abound. Far different than his Sheriff Rhodes series where Sheriff Dan Rhodes
is the main focus while investigating the latest murder, here author Bill
Crider puts a number of characters into motion and unleashes chaos as those
involved randomly collide and ricochet off each other while going through their
day-to-day activities.
Occasionally
a little raunchy, sometimes sarcastic, The Texas Capitol Murders is
an entertaining tale that is quirky and funny while delivering a topflight
mystery to its fitting dangerous end at the top of the capitol dome. Like the
floor below, nearly everyone is cracked in this story that is well worth your
time.
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4mqMqon
With
the print copy unavailable at my local library, the material was purchased via
a gift card by this reviewer for use in an objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2021, 2026
Thursday, April 30, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: The Los Angeles Times announced the winners of the 46th annual Book Prizes in a ceremony at USC’s Bovard Auditorium. The Times ’ Book Priz...
In Reference to Murder: Edgar Distinction
In Reference to Murder: Edgar Distinction: Mystery Writers of America revealed the winners of the 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Awards , honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, a...
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder in the Tomb (1937) by Lucian Austin Osgood
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder in the Tomb (1937) by Lucian Austin Osgood: Over the years, I picked up a curious collection of so-called genre curiosities, alternative classics and a couple of neglected gems along t...
Jerry's House of Everything: CABIN B-13: SLEEP OF DEATH (DECEMBER 26, 1948)
Jerry's House of Everything: CABIN B-13: SLEEP OF DEATH (DECEMBER 26, 1948): Cabin B-13 began as a radio play by mystery author John Dickson Carr, airing on CBS's Suspense on March 16, 1943. The episode was r...
Thursday Treats: 4/30/2026
The latest reading opportunities…
Fellow SMFS list member Mark Edward
Jones reported on the list that his short story, Eve, had been published in the
latest issue of the Absolute Literary Journal. Led by student
editors, per the website,
it is the “…literary and artistic journal of Oklahoma City Community College.” The
issue can be read for free by going to the website
and clicking on the link for the pdf “Absolute 2026.” You can also learn more
about the school by going to their Facebook
page.
Fellow SMFS list member Jesse Bethea reported
on the list publication of the short story, The Girls of Robin River, in the anthology,
Of Beast & Bones. Published by Inky Bones Press, the
read is available at Amazon in a variety
of formats.
SMFS list member Edith Maxwell reported
that her mystery, A Poisonous Pour: A Cece Barton Mystery Book,
had been released. This is the 3rd book in her series and her 38th
published book overall. Published by Kensington Cozies in a variety of formats,
you can pick it up at Amazon, where you also
could pick up the entire series as well, or
at other vendors. She is also featured at this guest post at the Jungle
Red Writers blog where she is offering a free copy of the book to one
winner.
Also now out is the two book anthology series,
The Rough Country Collection.
Featuring the books, Rough Country,
and, Hard Country, are
twenty authors and their tales of western style crime fiction. Published by Hat Creek Books of Roan & Weatherford
Publishing Associates in a variety of formats at Amazon, the charity
anthology benefits the U.S. Marshals Fund.
The latest issue of Black Cat Weekly
also came out. Black Cat Weekly #243 includes short stories by Robert Lopresti (A Bad
Day for Good Samaritans) and H.K.
Slade (Il Maestoso). You can pick up the latest issue here.
Joining the ranks of those who have had novelettes
published by Black
Beacon Books, is fellow SMFS list member Bruce W. Most. His novelette, You
Only Fall Once, was released on the Kindle
platform earlier this week.
Also now out is The Lost Angels: A Thriller by
Michele DomÃnguez Greene. Published by Thomas & Mercer, the read is a direct
sequel to the Hollywood Hitmen
novel of last year. My reviews of both books are here on the blog. Both books
are available at Amazon and other vendors.
By the way, next week sees the release
of The Teacher: A DS George Cross
Mystery by Tim Sullivan as well as Steven Havill’s Reverse: A Posadas County Mystery Book.
Thanks to ARCs through NetGalley, I will have reviews of both books for you.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
(The picture that drove my late wife nuts. The first time she saw it, which was on Facebook, she shrieked from the other room in the apartment, "Kevin! What is wrong with you? Take it down now!" She was not amused by the picture caption either--- What The Book Sees. 🤣)
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 78 Calls for Submissions in May 2026 - Paying Markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 78 Calls for Submissions in May 2026 - 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...
SleuthSayers: Location, Location, and... What Was It?
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Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Goodbye to Berlin by Christ...: Description on the back of the book: Set in the 1930s, Goodbye to Berlin evokes the glamour and sleaze, excess and repression of Berlin s...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: BLACK BUTTERFLIES
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: BLACK BUTTERFLIES: "Black Butterflies" by Elmer Brown Mason (first published in All-Story Weekly , June 24, 1916; reprinted in Famous Fantastic Mys...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Merrick: A Short Story by Ben Boulden
From the archive...
Almost from the beginning, the planned robbery of the
armored stage goes wrong one day in Texas. Nobody was supposed to die. Clarence
Tilley, had a good plan, but he didn’t plan for everything in Merrick: A Short Story.
A robbery gang is only as good as its
weakest link. The point is proven again and again in this fast moving western
tale by Ben Boulden. Filled with plenty of action, intrigue and deceit, as well
as need for justice, the story recounts how Merrick does what needs to be
done to settle things as best as can be done in the hard scrabble West. Like
his novel, Blaze: Red Rock
Rampage, the short story, Merrick, is
highly recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4d9bGMC
Digital ARC was provided by the author
for my use in an objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2017, 2023, 2026
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Publication Day Review: The Lost Angels: A Thriller by Michele DomÃnguez Greene
The Lost Angels: A Thriller by Michele
DomÃnguez Greene is a direct sequel to the Hollywood Hitmen novel
of last year. Like that book, this read is not really a thriller though it is a
bit grittier. This read is more like an actual police procedural as well.
The plight of young children and teens
on the streets is a nationwide problem. It is also the main storyline of The
Lost Angels: A Thriller. Evie Peacock is one of those teens on the
streets of Los Angeles doing almost anything to survive. As the book opens on a
rainy night, she is seventeen, and very worried about her friend, Layla Waters.
The same friend, Layla Waters, who had called her a couple of days earlier, and
said the guy she had been living with was bad news after all. She had promised come
back to Evie and the others in their small group who all look out for each other.
She also wanted to show Evie something so they could figure out what to do and
who to tell about it.
That was not to be.
Soon, Officer Cassidy Clarke, just back
at work in the LAPD after a stress leave due to recent events, will be part of
the hunt for the missing Layla. So, too will her father, Bill Clarke, who is on
a better mental footing these days, thanks to the medication he is now on and
other things. It would be helpful if the killer languishing in prison would
stop calling for him.
Then there is Melinda Drake, director of
the Kidz Club house, who is just about at her wits end. She runs a resource center
and overnight shelter for homeless teens and runaways. Her place is a sanctuary
for those living on the streets. It is a
well-known refuge and sorely needed.
She flags down Cassidy and Officer Sean Riley
while they are on patrol. She wants to follow up on numerous phone calls she has
made regarding several missing kids. She knows of at least five kids who used
to be frequent guests and now have seemingly disappeared. She also knows of a
very low-level pimp, Aiden Howe, who used to be around all the time, and now is
not.
She’s called in repeatedly to report
these situations. She’s talked to Captain Dykstra of the Hollywood Station, who
promised somebody would come by and take a report. Nobody ever did, no matter
how many times she called. So, she flagged down Cassidy and Riley to ask,
again, that somebody listen and do something.
Using her data terminal in their patrol
car, Cassidy files a report for each of the missing kids so that the
investigative ball gets rolling. Cassidy isn’t about to just file the reports
and move on either. Neither will her former detective father, now retired and
working as a private investigator, as he never lets anything go. Both of them
and others will work the cases of the missing kids while also working other
cases and dealing with past and present events in various storylines.
While an incredibly depressing topic
when one thinks about the thousands and thousands of kids living on the streets
of this country, the topic is handled well in The Lost Angels: A Thriller
by Michele DomÃnguez Greene. Plenty of action and mystery are present in this
read that also concludes several over arching storylines from the first book.
The resulting read is far more of a police procedural than the cozy style first
book. That fact made it, for this reader, a far more entertaining and enjoyable
read.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/42vms9L
My digital ARC came from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Monday, April 27, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
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Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Two Kinds of Stranger: A Novel (Eddie Flynn Series) by Steve Cavanagh
While I read
the latest Eddie Flynn last year, courtesy of Waterstones and Royal Mail, when
it was published in the UK, I acquired a US edition a couple of weeks ago when
Steve Cavanagh stopped at a nearby bookstore on his tour to promote Two
Kinds of Stranger after its US release in March. So now I have two signed
copies!
Of course I
had to re-read it. It’s an enthralling story of Elly Parker, a naïve but generous
young woman who has quite a following on TikTok, posting videos that urge her
followers to perform an act of kindness every day. She has recently married the
man of her dreams and her posts overflow with happiness until a few weeks after
the wedding she walks into her apartment while filming and finds her new
husband and her best friend in bed. The post went viral and millions of people
watched Elly’s perfect life shatter.
One of the
viewers was a psychopath who decided to set Elly up for the murder of her
husband and best friend. He enjoys killing people and he considers the
possibilities of the situation too good to pass up. His plans don’t quite go as
expected but Elly did get arrested. She had enough presence of mind to call
Eddie Flynn, who by now is well known as the defense lawyer for dire cases.
The POV moves
between Eddie trying to find a viable defense strategy and the killer trying to
stay one step ahead. In a parallel thread Kevin, married to Eddie’s ex-wife,
has run into trouble with a young man who courts wealthy elderly women that
make wills in his favor and then die soon after. One of Kevin’s clients was a
victim but Kevin had the will overturned and is now being threatened in
retaliation. Eddie’s daughter asks him to step in, as Kevin is not at all equipped
to deal with thugs.
Eddy’s
attention is split between defending Elly and protecting his family.
Fortunately Eddie’s team has grown since his first book. He now has astute Kate
Brooks in partnership, his long-time friend Harry Ford the retired judge, two skilled
investigators in Bloch and Lake, and Denise the secretary who holds the office
together. Harry has become one of my favorite fictional sidekicks.
The
psychopath here is quite possibly the most ingeniously evil character to grace
the pages of crime fiction. (Steve Cavanagh seems so nice, how does he think of
people like this?) The killer’s thoroughness in establishing Elly’s guilt is
jaw-dropping, but Eddy’s expertise in countering him is no less. The final
twist in the book though is downright brilliant, a deliciously appropriate form
of retribution. Part legal thriller, part psychological thriller, and a thoroughly
good read. Recommended!
Starred
review from Publisher’s Weekly.
For the
record, this is the only piece of crime fiction I’ve read that involves that
scourge of gardeners and farmers, the Japanese lantern fly.
I am looking
forward to Eddy’s next case which will be published in the UK in August.
·
Publisher: Atria Books
·
Publication date: March 24, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 400 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1668093391
·
ISBN-13: 978-1668093399
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4tWY5Oa
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, April 26, 2026
Little Big Crimes: Lest We Forget, by Marilyn Todd
Little Big Crimes: Lest We Forget, by Marilyn Todd: "Lest We Forget," by Marilyn Todd, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2026. This is Marilyn Todd's third a...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 54 Writing Contests in May 2026 - No entry fees!
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Beneath the Stains of Time: The Double Turn (1956) by Carol Carnac
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Paula Messina Reviews: The Priest by Joseph Caruso
Please welcome back author Paula Messina to the blog today. By the way, when I was looking for cover images for the piece today, I cam across this regarding the author and the West End Museum.
The Priest
by Paula Messina
I write historical
fiction. One of my recurring characters and his family live in Boston’s North
End. He occasionally ventures into nearby Scollay Square and the West End.
Hoping to uncover some delectable morsel to use in my writing, I recently
visited the West End Museum.
The museum was
enjoyable, but I didn’t uncover anything I didn’t already know. That is until I
spotted a dark blue, thin volume in one of the display cases, Joseph Caruso’s The
Priest. Published in 1956, both novel and writer were new to me. I left the
museum hoping that The Priest would provide that tasty tidbit I’d been
searching for. I can’t say I found it. Instead, I discovered something far more
rewarding, a gripping novel.
The priest in
question is thirty-eight-year-old Father Octavio Scarpi, the eighth and
youngest surviving son of an Italian fisherman. ‘Tavio is huge, so huge he
cannot fasten his Roman collar. He is not Hollywood handsome, nor is he blessed
with a plain face. A former boxer, fisherman, and World War II soldier, the
priest has a “crooked, broken nose.” He’s an ugly giant whose exceptional
strength is his undoing.
Father Scarpi is
assigned to St. Dominic’s in the West End, where he grew up. He is haunted by
the death of his brother Onofrio and a war-time rape. A priest who hears
confessions and absolves others of their sins, he cannot forgive himself.
The novel begins
as a jury returns to the courtroom with its verdict. Joseph Shannan, a gangster
who unquestionably has earned a place behind bars, is found guilty of the
murder of Ellen Greer. When asked by the judge if he wishes to speak before
sentencing, Shannan tells the judge, “What’s there to say?...I been saying I
didn’t do it.”
Father Scarpi is
called to hear the confession of the dying Vincent Spinale. Grabbing the
priest’s wrist, Spinale begs for absolution after divulging, “I have sinned….I
killed a woman, father….Greer. I killed Ellen Greer. Save me, Father!”
Father Scarpi
grants Spinale absolution as the confessor lapses into a coma. Bound by the
seal of confession, the priest cannot reveal that Vincent Spinale is Ellen
Greer’s murderer. All hope of convincing Spinale to confess to the authorities
is doomed when he dies. Short of a miracle, the for-once-innocent Joseph
Shannan will die in the electric chair.
His lips might be
sealed, but that doesn’t keep Father Scarpi from attempting to right a wrong.
He visits Shannan, whose real name is Peppino Schianno, in prison. Shannan
recognizes ‘Tavio. Peppino and Onofrio were best friends. The meeting stirs
Father Scarpi’s memory of the first time he and Peppino met. An enraged Octavio
“poleaxed” his inebriated brother Onofrio. Their brothers Victor and Anthony as
well as Peppino restrained the massive Octavio as he lifted Onofrio “to hit him
again.”
The priest becomes
obsessed with Shannan and disobeys his superiors in a desperate effort to save
his dead brother’s friend. As he struggles to save Shannan from the electric
chair, Father Scarpi discovers Ellen Greer’s
murder hinged on rape. Ultimately, Octavio Scarpi, who cannot escape his guilt
in Onofrio’s death and the rape he committed during the war, cannot save
Shannan. Devastated by his failure, the priest decides to leave the priesthood.
Caruso doesn’t
sensationalize Father Scarpi’s dilemma. Instead, he depicts a very human,
deeply vulnerable man haunted by his violent past. Father Scarpi has lots of
company. St. Dominic’s other priests suffer from the same affliction as do
others, including Beneditto Scarpi, the priest’s father, who blames himself for
his wife’s early death. These Christians, who all believe God forgives sins,
cannot forgive themselves.
Beneditto tells
Octavio, “There is guilt in all of us, but at times the feeling of guilt is
more than the act that brought it on.”
Because of his
failure to save Shannan, ‘Tavio resoves his Roman collar and leaves the
priesthood. His brother John is unable to convince him to return to St.
Dominic. He tells the priest, “What I am doesn’t matter. It’s you that matters.
You are another man’s hope….Would you deprive your parishioners of their hopes
just for your own feelings of guilt?”
John sees what his
brother Octavio, blinded by guilt, cannot see. Father Scarpi is respected by
his parishioners, who seek and need his comfort and guidance. The priest, who
believes his physical strength is his greatest weakness, fails to recognize his
real strength, his faith.
The Priest
portrays a vibrant community of Sicilians, Southern Italian immigrants, and
their American children in the early 1950s. The men don’t attend Mass, but they
and their wives have a deep faith that guides their lives. The men are “calfoni:
fruit peddlers, laborers, fishermen.” In other words, they are uncivilized
and crude. They may have accents and lack polish, but they live their Old World
values, work hard to support their families, and trust in a God they pretend to
eschew.
There’s another
homicide that hovers unspoken over The Priest: the premeditated murder
in the first degree of the West End by the City of Boston. In the name of urban
renewal, Boston Mayor John Hynes targeted the destruction of the West End and
exiled the calfoni. According to the West End Museum, in 1958 and 1959,
more than 12,000 West Enders were evicted. Forty-six acres were leveled. Like
the Joni Mitchell’s song, “Big Yellow Taxi,” the city tore down a thriving
community to create a parking lot.
That gigantic
parking lot remained until 1965 when two towers with 477 apartments were
erected along with a gigantic sign that proclaims, “If you lived here, you’d be
home now.”
Only the families
that had occupied the land for decades could not go home. They couldn’t afford
the luxury apartments. To this day, former West Enders lament the destruction
of their homes.
Joseph Caruso
(1924-2008) was born in Sicily and immigrated to the West End when he was seven
years old. A writer, filmmaker, and painter who worked as an Art Director for
the Post Office, he received a Bronze Star for bravery during World War II.
Caruso was one of the founders of The Committee to Save the West End.
The families that
lived in the West End couldn’t stop the government, nor could they stop the
inevitable change already underway. The calfoni’s sons and daughters
assimilated and abandoned the Old World ways of their parents and ancestors.
Those who lived in the West End still mourn for the vibrant community that was taken from them. Little of Caruso’s West End remains. One exception is St. Joseph Parish, the novel’s St. Dominic. It is still an active church.
Paula Messina ©2026
Paula Messina writes the Donatello Laguardia stories, which
are set in Boston’s North End during the 1940s. They appeared in the Best
New England Crime Stories 2024 and 2025 and another Donatello Laguardia
short story is scheduled to appear in Black Cat Weekly. She lives near
America’s first public beach.
Saturday, April 25, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this morning reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozies-"The Bush Tea Murder" A Caribbean Island Mystery by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier, "Love a Comeback" A TV Detectives Mystery by Ruthie Knox and Annie Marie, and "A Crushing Walk in Cornwall" by Nicholas George https://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/end-of-april-mystery-catchup-2/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Cashed Out Cold" by Anna St. John, along with an interesting interview with Anna https://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/cashed-out-cold-by-anna-st-john/
And a mystery short story by Kate Fellowes, https://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/mystery-short-story-the-last-secret/
We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/04/25/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-may-2026/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "Here We Goat Again" by Janna Rollins https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/here-we-goat-again-by-janna-rollins.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Stuff of Malice" by Kathleen Marple Kalb https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/the-stuff-of-malice-by-kathleen-marple.html
And for those who also enjoy fantasy, we have a review of "The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigindale" by CM Waggoner https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/the-somewhat-wicked-witch-of-brigindale.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 39 Marvelous Writing Conferences and Workshops in May 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 39 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...
Mystery Fanfare: BOOKSTORE MYSTERIES: Independent Bookstore Day
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Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Staff Picks for National Library Week: Tonia & Jeanne
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Scott's Take: Enemy of My Enemy: A Daredevil Marvel Crime Novel by Alex Segura
Enemy of My Enemy: A Daredevil
Marvel Crime Novel by Alex Segura is the second book in the Marvel
Crime series. The series began with Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime
Novel that came out in the summer of 2024. The third book in the
series, Truth to Power: A Luke Cage Crime
Novel by S. A. Cosby, is scheduled to be released in September.
In this book, Daredevil agrees to
represent the Punisher who is on trial for the murder of Wilison Fisk, aka
Kingpin, and a cop. The death of Kingpin has started a gang war as various
people fight over control of the criminal underworld of New York. At the same
time, there is a deeper conspiracy at
work in the Punisher case. Can Daredevil stop this war while trying to uncover
the truth?
This is action packed legal drama with
various villains making appearances and a number of supporting characters.
There are also some small tie ins to the first book with Jessica Jones and
setup for the third book with Luke Cage. It is not necessary to have read the
previous Jessica Jones book at all. The author clearly knows a lot about
Daredevil and incorporates stuff from the comics as well as the various Netflix,
Disney, television series.
The only things that bugged me, at times,
was the overuse of animal sounds/metaphors/references. Also, the Punisher does
not play a big role in this. I thought he would be basically the second main
character and he is not. Unlike a Lincoln Lawyer type series
novel, in this case, we do not spend much time at all actually in a courtroom
at trial. Instead, the read is focused out of the courtroom while dealing with
numerous aspects of the case.
I enjoyed this book far more than the
Jessica Jones book and I highly recommend it. I am looking forward to the Luke
Cage book.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4c4JQ3F
I read this book through Hoopla by way
of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
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