Lesa's Book Critiques: MURDER ON “B” DECK BY VINCENT STARRETT
Showing posts with label December 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label December 2021. Show all posts
Sunday, January 02, 2022
Queries
Before you query…. you need to understand a few
things. First and foremost, I am buried in more books—print and eBook—than I
could read in a couple of lifetimes. I have books going back more than a decade
and I am much slower now in the wake of events the last four years. I am also,
after a long hiatus caused by those same events and my grief, trying to find my
way back to my own writing and editing work as it is paramount for me to
somehow develop some income streams to at least slow down the dwindling of my limited
financial resources. A fast turnaround will never happen here, so if you think
I am the key to your marketing plan, you best look elsewhere.
Second, query preference is given to authors I have
read and enjoyed before. That is not to say I won’t look at somebody new if I
am interested. It is to say that it will take a bit more effort to convince me
to take a look if you are new to me.
Coupled with that fact is the fact that I do
research on new to me authors. If you are one of those folks who publicly
states that reviews do not matter and that you do not read reviews, do not ask
me to spend my valuable time reading and reviewing your work. If you are one of
those people who espouse the nonsensical idea that a review can be short and
can consist of the “I liked it… Best Book Ever!” garbage, do not waste my time
or yours in reaching out. You do not want a review. You want a rubber stamp of
approval.
Third, have an idea as to what I read and review. I
will not read a horror novel nor will I read something billed as a “medical
thriller.” I will absolutely not read
your book, fact or fiction, that deals with some idea that Big Pharma is hiding
the cure for cancer. I rarely read science fiction/fantasy. I mainly read
mystery in all its many flavors as well as crime fiction and noir.
While this policy applies to my review work, it also
applies to what projects I will take on editing wise. If you are interested in
reaching out, I am at kevinrtipple AT Verizon.net.
Friday, December 31, 2021
Beneath the Stains of Time: Sable Messenger (1947) by Francis Vivian
Beneath the Stains of Time: Sable Messenger (1947) by Francis Vivian: Back in 2018, Dean Street Press resurrected another, long out-of-print and forgotten mystery novelist, Arthur E. Ashley , who produced eigh...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Twelve Days of Tudor Christmas
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Twelve Days of Tudor Christmas: Reviewed by Jeanne I have to admit I love the Lucy Worsley documentaries about British Royals. I think the first one I saw was on He...
FFB Review: Shot To Death: 31 Stories of Nefarious New England by Stephen D. Rogers
From the massive archive ….
Reviewing anthologies and collections is always tough. A novel can lag in spots providing an uneven and yet enjoyable read. That same effect can happen in an anthology or collection where not every story is going to work well for a particular person. Then there is the fact that space limitations often prevent the reviewer from ever going into any depth on all the stories. These situations and others make reviewing such books problematic.
At the same
time, readers are asking more and more for anthologies and collections.
Subsequently, the last couple of years there has been a surge in publication of
anthologies and collections. Most collections and anthologies pass pass right
on by due to time constraints. However, when this was made available for review
by Stephen D. Rogers, it seemed like one that should be a good book.
My expectations were met with a few personal favorites being:
“C.O.D.” points out that damaging a mailbox is both a federal crime and a personal offense with repercussions for all in the area.
“Fill It with
the Cheapest” isn’t just about the gas, the road trip, or the unnamed driver in
a story that isn’t clear until the very end.
Twists are
guaranteed in this book and that certainly is also the case in “Last Call.”
Training the new employee can come back to get you in not so obvious ways.
“One-Eyed Jacks”
blends a unique drinking game, several friends with secrets, and a need for
final justice.
Justice along
with making things right are the twin themes of “Smoking Gun” where a mother
simply has no more choices.
While the New England settings of these tales is often vague or not defined at all, meaning the tales could be located anywhere, the sense of desperation comes through clearly in each one. Whether told from the perspective of the good cop, the bad cop, the petty thief, the hard working parent, or the many other character choices the author uses in each story, the sense of immense desperation comes through in every single case. Often the reader is left with the feeling that characters involved never had a chance because everything always had been and always would be stacked against him or her.
While bodies and crimes abound in the collection, that sense of desperation makes this a good book that is not easy reading. These are stories that nestle under your skin like chiggers and don’t go away easily. The fact that they linger is a basic part of what makes a good writer and a good book.
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple
© 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Rules of Civility: Amor Towles
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Rules of Civility: Amor Towles: I found Amor Towles' Rules of Civility to be an excellent book. It was one of those that took me at least a quarter of the book to sett...
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Waking Up White, Alexander Hamilton, Before She Disappeared, An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Waking Up White, Alexander Hamilton, B...: Reported by Garry The books brought to Nevermore this week ran the gamut from historical fiction to farce and romance to murder myst...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: MR. WRAY'S CASH BOX
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: MR. WRAY'S CASH BOX: "Mr. Wray's Cash Box: or The Mask and the Mystery: A Christmas Sketch" by Wilkie Collins (first published in book form by R...
Little Big Crimes Review: Born a Ramblin' Man by Michel Lee Garrett
Little Big Crimes: Born a Ramblin' Man, by Michel Lee Garrett: "Born a Ramblin' Man," by Michel Lee Garrett, in Trouble No More : Crime Fiction Inspired by Southern Rock and the Blues, edit...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 2, Fall 2021
With the recent news that one can now preorder issue three currently scheduled to drop Sunday, I thought I would remind you today of this quality magazine with my review from back in September. You can also read my review of the first issue here.
Guilty Crime
Story Magazine: Issue 2, Fall 2021, opens with “At Fury Crossing” by Brent
Spencer. Hella, a homeless vet, put her military skills to work to help Cliff.
It was a job and nothing more. Now as she watches him get increasingly agitated
outside the hotel known as “The Smiling Orchid,” she realizes she may have to
get much more involved than she would like in order to again save lives.
Harlan had a skill to separate people from their money. The problem was that he talked big, but nothing ever came of it. Now he has gone and fled town and left Madison White holding the debt in “Newfound Gap” by Adam Leeder. They can’t find Harlan. They can find her and her son, Jackson, and mean to collect the money. One way or another.
Ted has to die
in “Matter of Conscience” by Marie Anderson. Nancy met him at her sister’s
wedding. She has her reasons why he must die that slowly become clear.
Editor Brandon
Barrows is up next with “Between Friends.” Mike is tending bar, a gambler, and
in a world of trouble. He needs a miracle. He might have found it in Mr.
Steinberg. Surely Nr. Steinberg, who has known him for years, will help once he
explains his problem in enough detail.
Abby took the
shot in “No Recoil” by M. E. Proctor. A man is dead. The reasons why are at the
heart of short this tale.
“Learning To Dream”
by Stanton McCaffery comes next where life sometimes goes in unexpected ways.
Graduating along with some other folks in the class of 2000, life is tough.
Things escalate way worse when cancer and then a brutal accident strike the
characters in this dark tale where the dream might be an illusion.
Crooked cops Lafitte
and Asimov have messed up a deal as “Them Cops” by Anthony Neil Smith begins.
Time for some payback. To do that, our narrator first needs an untraceable gun.
The issue closes
with a nonfiction piece, “American Nightmare: The Noir Roots of Sandman Mystery
Theatre” by Anthony Perconti. The essay considers the reboot of the Golden Age hero,
the Sandman, as he works in a noir style landscape in a city in the throes of
the Great Depression. It is an interesting piece.
Guilty Crime Story
Magazine issue 2, Fall 2021, is another interesting read as was the
first one. This issue is darker in tone and consistently more noirish, no
matter how you define noir, than the first one.
This issue also
has several formatting errors in the way it presented on my iPad. Some
sentences started with two or three words and then had the rest of the sentence
on the next line. While somewhat distracting, it was not that big of an issue
though it may very much irritate some readers.
Regardless of
that, the issue is a good one and well worth your time. Interesting characters,
often dark and complicated situations, combine together to create tales well
worth reading.
I picked this up in early September to read and review.
Kevin R. Tipple
©2021
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Beneath the Stains of Time: A Tough One to Lose (1972) by Tony Kenrick
Beneath the Stains of Time: A Tough One to Lose (1972) by Tony Kenrick: Tony Kenrick is an Australian author who started out in advertising and worked as a copywriter in America, Britain and Canada, but abandone...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Tuesdays with Ambrea: The Witch’s Heart by Genevie Gornichec
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Tuesdays with Ambrea: The Witch’s Heart by Genevie...: Reviewed by Ambrea Punished by Odin for refusing to share her magic sight, Angrboda is burned at the stake three times and pie...
Review: Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg
As the third book in the series, Gated Prey, begins, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan Pavone, are working undercover out of a house in Calabasas. The house is a McMansion type of deal to fit their roles of beautiful trophy wife/girlfriend and rich old man. There have been numerous attacks on homeowners behind the gates of their exclusive communities so the undercover operation is important. Duncan, who is weeks away from retiring, plays his part to the hilt thanks to his do clothing and the walker he uses to shuffle around in public as he flashes cash. The plan is to get the take down the three-armed home invasion robbers who have been conducting their own increasingly violent redistribution of wealth campaign.
The plan works…and almost gets Eve and Duncan killed in the
line of duty.
When the carnage stops and the smoke clears, Eve and Duncan soon
realize that the failure of backup officers to arrive on time could have been
far more than accidental. Being the youngest detective as well as how Eve goes
about things could have had deadly consequences. That ongoing resentment and internal
threat has not gone away either.
Then there is the case itself. Dead suspects tell no tales
and Eve and Duncan are left still looking for answers regarding how the armed robbers
came and went from gated communities, what they did with stuff they stole, and
many other questions. It also becomes
clear that these guys were working at the behest of at least one person who has
yet to be identified.
Completely ignored on the book jacket copy is the second
case which involves a fetal abduction. Called out on what appears to be a still
birth due to a late term miscarriage, it soon becomes clear that something far
more horrible is going on. Little can be said about this case without creating spoilers,
but readers should be are aware of the topic as this will be triggering for
some readers. Parts of this case was tough to read.
Overall, Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg is an
enjoyable police procedural that continues to build on the foundation laid by Lost
Hills and Bone
Canyon. This remains a series that should be read in order. The
complicated backstory to the Eve Ronin character as well as her previous
actions in earlier cases are repeatedly referenced as this read moves forward.
Not quite at the same level of the previous book as this one reads differently
in an unexplainable way, Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg is still very
much worth your time as is the series.
Make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s more descriptive review.
My reading copy in print format came from the Lochwood Branch of the Dallas Public
Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2021
Monday, December 27, 2021
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