Showing posts with label August 2022. Show all posts
Showing posts with label August 2022. Show all posts
Saturday, August 19, 2023
Beneath the Stains of Time: The English Garden Mystery (2022) by Dan Andriacco
Beneath the Stains of Time: The English Garden Mystery (2022) by Dan Andriacco: Last time, I babbled incessantly about " The Locked Room Mystery & Impossible Crime Story in the 21st Century ," rattling on h...
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Review: Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames
Murder at the
Jubilee Rally: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames opens with many
of the locals less than thrilled with the coming event featuring motorcycle
folks from all over. Some want the entire town closed for business during the
Jubilee Motorcycle Rally. They want to force those attending to go over to
Bobtail, another small town about ten miles away, to do their shopping. The
theory being shutting down everything will keep the bikes and their noise out
of the town.
Of course, the small business folks who
need the money from the out of towners hate the idea as do the locals who do
not want to be inconvenienced. Folks are very heated on both sides of the
issue. The town meeting causes some folks to say things that would have been
better left unsaid. Thanks to Police Chief Samuel Craddock and a couple of
others, a compromise is worked out, where some businesses have an early curfew
while others do not.
Soon the rally is underway, the compromise
is working well, and things at the rally which draws hundreds of folks from all
over the state of Texas and beyond are going okay. That is until a murder
happens.
A murder that makes things way more
complicated as Craddock and his team have been trying to keep things calm at
the rally and in town. Not that ever having a murder is a good thing, but the
timing right now is really bad, and not just because of the local event.
Craddock is also dealing with a serious
family problem as his niece Hailey is giving her parents fits. The little girl
he remembers is not the child she was if her parents are right about everything
that is going on with her. The teen years can be ugly and things are ugly. Sixteen
and acting out with alcohol, possibly using drugs, and sneaking out to see an
older guy are just part of it. She is acting up at school too and her grades
are falling. Things are so bad her parents are thinking of sending her to a boarding
school for troubled kids.
Hailey and Samuel used to get along
pretty well and she liked to watch the cows Samuel has and spend time with him.
He offers for her to come stay a few days to give everyone a break. Samuel believes
that if things get difficult, he can get advice and help from his lady friend, Wendy,
as she has raised two girls and survived the teen wars. Before long, Hailey is
in the house. The bad thing is, trouble in more than one form, followed her
from Austin.
Between the murder of a local business
owner, Hailey’s antics, and other things, there is no rest for a good lawman. Samuel
Craddock and his patience is put to the test constantly through this read. Drama
and trouble, on and off the job, power Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A
Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames as does the summer time Texas heat
and humidity.
If you have not acquainted yourself with
the series, you should, and you could safely start here as references to prior
events/books are limited. If you are a reader of the series that began long ago
with A
Killing at Cotton Hill: A Samuel Craddock Mystery then you know you
are in for another fun read as author Terry
Shames does not disappoint with Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A Samuel
Craddock Mystery.
While the book came out today, I was able to skip the library wait and read it during the last week of July thanks to a digital ARC from them through NetGalley.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2022
Thursday, September 01, 2022
Beneath the Stains of Time: Funeral in the Fog (2020) by Edward D. Hoch
Beneath the Stains of Time: Funeral in the Fog (2020) by Edward D. Hoch: Crippen & Landru announced Edward D. Hoch 's first collection of Simon Ark short stories since The Quests of Simon Ark (1984) back...
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: HIGHLAND SNOWSTORM
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: HIGHLAND SNOWSTORM: "Highland Snowstorm" by John Wilson (an excerpt from " 'Winter Rhapsody' -- Fytte IV," first published in Black...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "The Scorched Face" by Dashiell Hammett
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "The Scorched Face" by Dash...: "The Scorched Face" is a Continental Op story, over thirty pages long, a novelette I guess. First published in 1925 in Black Mas...
Short Story Wednesday Review: The Shamus Sampler Edited by Jochem Vandersteen
From the massively
magnificent archive…
As author Reed
Farrel Coleman writes in the introduction, crime fiction these days has grown
far beyond the private investigator. Not that PI novels no longer exist, far
from it. But, these days the PI novel does not hold the preeminent position in
the world of crime fiction as it used to back decades ago. The classic PI of
yesteryear may be gone to a certain extent as no one walks around in trench
coats while wearing a fedora these days. But the classic PI is still present in
manner and action, though he or she appears in a far different form these days.
That idea is very clearly illustrated in the excellent read The Shamus Sampler
that features “new detective stories from around the world.”
This highly
entertaining anthology begins with one of the hardest stories to explain while
not giving away too much. “Mysterious Private Investigations” by Peter
DiChellis is one very complicated tale. It involves a jewelry heist, a private
investigator, a man in jail for a crime he did not commit, and a search for
justice, among other elements.
Jake Diamond is
up next in “One Hit Wonder: A Jake Diamond Short Story” by J. L. Abramo. If
Darlene Roman had answered the phone like she should have instead of ducking
across the street for a drink at the health food bar across the street, Jake
would not have answered the phone. He did answer and the caller, who didn't
give him time to speak, gave the instructions on how he wanted somebody killed.
With little to go on, Jake has six hours to find the intended victim somewhere
in the city of San Francisco.
“The Case of the
Derby Diamond” by Jeffery Marks comes next with a classic style PI tale set
just after World War II. Mrs. Van Hoskins is a very wealthy woman and
exceedingly unhappy as her ring, a seven carat diamond surrounded by a jewel
encrusted horseshoe, is missing. She wants it back. PI Donnelly has the chance
to find the ring and make some money as The Van Hoskins want things keep very
quiet.
Gypsy is a call
girl and is about to get out of the life. She plans on making Nick Kepler her
final client in “Gypsy's Kiss” by Jim Winter. Somebody is not happy with her,
or her decision, and is making the point loud and clear. The Cleveland PI will
have his hands full trying to keep Gypsy alive and well.
Sergeant Thomas
Hamilton kept Harry Charters alive during the war and Harry knows he owes him a
huge debt. It has been ten years since they saw each other and the passing
years have not been kind to either man. Hamilton’s son is missing in “The Smell
Of Perfume” by Graham Smith. Hamilton wants Chet found and wants Harry’s help.
Jim Wolf,
private investigator, lives on a boat in a harbor in Oakland. When he isn't
actively working he hangs out at a bar known as “Big Emma’s.” He almost never
works for lawyers, but makes an exception for defense lawyer Sandra Jacobs. She
needs his help on behalf of a client in “Rage: A Jim Wolf Mystery” by Tim
Wohlforth. Wealthy psychotherapist Henry Platt was brutally killed at his
outdoor pool. Sandra’s client, his wife Carol, has admitted to killing him, but
none of it makes sense.
Set in Morris,
Oklahoma in 1965 “The Patriot” by Sean Benjamin Dexter is right out of the Cold
War with a tale of Russian spies, espionage, and life in small town, Oklahoma.
One of the residents thinks he heard somebody who sounded like a “Ruskie” on
his amateur radio talking about the local Dow Chemical plant. Local police
can’t be trusted so the resident has come to local private investigator, Alex
Taylor, for help.
He may not be a
private investigator as such, but reporter Liam Michael Murphy who goes by the
nickname of “Mad Mick Murphy” acts like one in “Drumstick Murder” by Michael
Haskins. He is at the annual Key West Songwriters Festival and is supposed to
interview the legendary Dallas Lucas. His interview subject is dead and it is
very clear it was not a suicide. With Lucas murdered the planned interview
feature will now be a piece on his murder--unless the local cops decide the
reporter did it.
It is always a
treat to come across a story from Texas author Bill Crider. Far from the East
Texas stomping grounds of his Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, “A Matter Of Heart” is
set on Galveston Island. The highly entertaining tale features a private
investigator working the murder case of one Sue Traylor. It is a complicated
case that has links to the past and the colorful history of Galveston when
literally anything was possible on the island.
“Christmas Morning” by Stephen D. Rogers comes
next where a man is sure his wife is cheating on him. He bases that on how she
behaved at the recent holiday party they attended. He wants proof and will use
that to convince her to stop. First up, the private investigator has to find
proof that his client is right.
Keith Dixon
takes readers over to the United Kingdom in “The Same Old Story.” Richie Downes
is insisting that he be the latest client of a private investigator by the name
of Sam Dyke. He is a big physically imposing man who insists that he is not
looking for a divorce; he just wants to know who his wife is seeing. All he
wants is the name of the person and does not want proof. He is willing to
promise not to hurt anyone. Dykes needs the money and reluctantly agrees.
“Q” didn't want
to have to give up a knife she liked, but considering she just used it to gut a
man in the frozen alley, it seemed like wiping and dropping it was a good idea.
That dead guy is just one of the many issues going on in the complicated “The
Dutch Connection” by Kit Rohrbach.
Fred Zackel is
next with his tale set in San Francisco titled “Mario and Cheryse.” A
streetwalker named Cheryse should lead to Mario Rosales. His grandmother wants
him found and convinced to turn himself in before the cops find him. She would
much rather have Mario alive and in jail as opposed to being killed in the
streets by the cops.
Editor Jochem
Vandersteen brings the book to a close his own tale titled “Hired From The
Grave: A Noah Milano Short Story.” Noah Milano is a security specialist/
investigator who got a phone call from a man named Mark Beck who wanted to hire
him. He would explain why when Milano cane to his Burbank area apartment. When
Milano arrived, he found Beck dead in what could be construed as an accidental
auto-erotic asphyxiation. Milano doesn't buy it and soon is working the case as
a murder.
Each of the
fourteen stories in “The Shamus Sampler” features a small introduction to the
piece that provides context to the story as well as an author bio at the end.
Each of the author bios makes a point of mentioning titles of other works by
the author as well as the name of the publisher. The tales in this anthology
are not only very good ones, but are often very complicated and provide plenty
of twists right up to the end.
Material supplied by a good friend for my use in an objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple
© 2013, 2022
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Top Ten Tuesday list: Mysteries with an Academic Setting
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Top Ten Tuesday list: Mysteries with an Academic S...: Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl . This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is a School Freebie (come up with...
Monday, August 29, 2022
Beneath the Stains of Time: Two and Two Make Twenty-Two (1932) by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning
Beneath the Stains of Time: Two and Two Make Twenty-Two (1932) by Gwen Bristow...: Several months ago, I returned to the detective fiction of an American husband-and-wife writing tandem, Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning , who...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collectio...: Reviewed by Jeanne It should have been the library’s moment to shine. Not only had director Christopher Wolfe scored the acquisiti...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian
It’s the
autumn of 1964 and Katie Barstow is a hot ticket in Hollywood. Everything she
touches becomes box office gold, even the controversial movie in which she
starred with a black man. She marries her brother’s childhood best friend and
they honeymoon in Paris and then meet a group to go on a photography safari in
the Serengeti. They include her brother and his pregnant wife, her publicist,
her agent, her best friend and her husband, and the aforementioned black actor.
Their chief safari guide led Ernest Hemingway on some of his African hunting
trips. There are at least two dozen porters who carry their canvas bathtubs and
who heat water for them every night so they can bathe, and they tote a
generator to make ice for their gin and tonics. In short they leave Hollywood
only to recreate the experience in the midst of a vast wilderness.
The Serengeti
is in northern Tanzania, a country formed early in 1964 by the merger of
Tanganyika and Zanzibar. To the west is the Congo where a bloody revolution had
been ongoing for four years and in which the USSR was taking an active role. It
seems to have never occurred to the group that a newly formed country next to a
violent civil war might not be the safest place to be.
On the fourth
day of their trip Russian terrorists overpower their guides and kill a few,
taking everyone else prisoner. Their experience is narrated in nine different
voices. Each of the nine sketches a quick background and how he or she came to
be at that particular place at that particular time and then describes the
present situation, advancing the plot. It can be hard to keep the names
straight; I used the cast of characters in the front of the book more than
once. The heading for each chapter is a breathless piece of fluff from a
contemporary Hollywood gossip column about Katie and her companions,
contrasting sharply with their current harsh reality.
The beauty, the danger, and the immensity of the land shine throughout the entire intense, violent narrative. The vivid and realistic depiction of the wildlife, predators and prey, is chilling. I will be checking for a hungry leopard lurking in the maple tree in my back yard the next time I step outside. An absorbing and hair-raising historical thriller.
·
Publisher: Doubleday (May 10,
2022)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 336 pages
·
ISBN-10: 0385544820
·
ISBN-13: 978-0385544825
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2022
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 70 Calls for Submissions in September 2022 - Paying Markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 70 Calls for Submissions in September 2022 - Payin...: This September there are more than five dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As al...
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