Something is Going To Happen: In the Beginning (by Jeffrey Marks)
Showing posts with label Jeffrey Marks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeffrey Marks. Show all posts
Thursday, September 03, 2026
Saturday, November 29, 2025
SleuthSayers: The Long Road to River Road
SleuthSayers: The Long Road to River Road: I probably shouldn't admit this, but I've never been good at setting goals, in either my life or my work. I've always just tried...
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Short Story Wednesday Review: Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries by Jeffrey Marks
From the massive archive...
Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an
interesting and very enjoyable collection of previously published stories
featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each story occurs during the Civil War and before
the time of the first US Grant Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name.
The stories portray Grant as a detective bringing his skills to bear on cases
where the Civil War is a backdrop.
The book opens with “Under Reconstruction.” Ulysses S. Grant likes to start his day with
as belt of whiskey. His wife, Julia, as well as many others expect him to be
President in about three years. In the meantime, he has to put up with nonsense
like the planned meeting this morning with Stanton who is Secretary of War.
Too bad there is a dead man in Stanton’s office.
In Grant’s opinion, it is a real shame that the dead man is not Stanton. Not
only does Grant need to find the Secretary of War, he needs to find out who
killed the dead man as quickly as possible to deal with the politics involved.
“Under Siege” follows and moves the action from
the White House to the war. Grant has a new regiment from Ohio and they are not
ready for battle. Not only are they not remotely ready, but in Grant’s
considered opinion, the new troops don’t even know which end of the gun to
point at the enemy. Contrary to Grant’s
opinion, apparently at least one did.
Because the shot Grant just heard over the
flapping of the tents was the shot that killed Private Walters. According to
Captain Turner, a man Grant respects even if he is soft on the recruits, it is
a suicide. Turner wants Grant to see for himself. The problem with that is that
once Grant takes a look he realizes this death was no suicide.
It’s late in 1863 and the various desserts
cooling in the kitchen in “Under Cooked” are creating an intoxicating smell.
What isn’t so pleasant is the sight of the dead woman bleeding into her own
dough. Vicksburg is behind him and the manor home on Lookout Mountain in East
Tennessee was supposed to have been a tranquil headquarters for Grant. Now
Jenny Rowe is dead and the assumption by everyone else is that she was killed
by a stray round fired during drills. If you aren’t hungry for desert when you
start reading this story you will be by the end as there is a recipe from 1862
for “Green Apple Pies.”
Shifting the perspective considerably is the
story “Under Hoof.” Written from the prospective of a horse, Cincinnati that
General Ulysses S. Grant rode during the war, it tells the tale of a
death. Since the humans all look so much
alike to the horses involved it is hard for Cincinnati and the other horses to
know which specific humans were involved. That fact and the fact Cincinnati is
going to have to somehow explain the real truth to the General are just two of the
complexities in the story.
General Ulysses S. Grant was supposed to be out
on one of the Federal boats, dry and comfortable. Instead, as “Under Water”
opens, Grant is standing over a corpse that lies in the muck next to the bank
somewhere along the Mississippi River. Somebody has caved in the man’s skull
and most likely it was a shovel. Shovels are everywhere as Grant plans to
divert the Mississippi to leave Vicksburg dry and vulnerable to attack. Who the
man was, what his purpose was, and who killed him are just a few of the
questions Grant needs answered as fast as possible.
Ulysses S. Grant has had men in his command, men
he trusted, commit murder and other acts dishonoring themselves and their
units. So, the fact that Private Jones says he didn’t do it in “Under
Suspicion” does not mean that much to Grant. Plans for the campaign after
Vicksburg are missing with the fate of the war hanging in the balance. Private
Jones was the last person known to be in the room with the documents. If he
didn’t take them, then who did?
Major General Abner Doubleday needs Grant’s help
in “Under Hand.” Doubleday has a
reputation that is not at all positive. What happened at Gettysburg and
Doubleday’s role in it no longer matters but it does to Doubleday. He claims to
now have proof for what he has said all along. He wants Grant to meet a witness
who is now finally coming forward more than a year later after the events in
question. Grant knows that the whole deal is suspect but has no idea how messed
up things will become before the deal is finished.
War takes a toll on all. Some die. Some live. Of
those that live a significant number will be forever broken. That reality is
true today just as it is true in “Under Sedation.” Grant is going to visit those broken men in
the hospital in Washington. It is his duty and his responsibility. The fact
that somebody killed a patient while Grant was at the hospital won’t be
tolerated. Before long, Grant is investigating to make sure the guilty party is
caught.
Cyrus Williams disappeared just after the Army of
Tennessee took Jackson, Mississippi. Captain Lee, no relation at all to the
southern general, has a picture from one of those new-fangled camera things
showing what might be Williams as a ghostly apparition in the picture. While
some believe Williams deserted, Captain Lee believes the ghostly figure in the
picture is Williams pointing out his killer. Then the body of Williams turns
out proving he wasn’t a deserter in “Under Developed.”
These ten stories are full of rich history and
scene details that all invoke a bye gone era. In story after story, General
Grant finds the truth with or without the help of man or beast. War is easier
than investigation and yet Ulysses S. Grant manages to be incredibly successful
at both while excellently entertaining the reader with his brand of truth,
honor and justice.
You can pick the read up here
at Amazon.
Material supplied quite some time ago by the
author in exchange for my objectivereview.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2016, 2024
Friday, May 05, 2023
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday — Silver Bullets: The 25th Anniversary of Crippen & Landru Publishers
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday — Silver Bullets: The 25th A...: From the back of my edition of Silver Bullets , published by Crippen & Landru in 2019: Twenty-five years of the best mystery short fic...
Friday, March 11, 2016
FFB Review: "Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries" by Jeffrey Marks
Back in January 2012 I first brought
this book to your attention. More than 4 years later it seems appropriate to
remind you of the book by way of a Friday’s Forgotten Books post. This book--
as well as this series-- is some seriously good reading.
Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an interesting and very enjoyable collection of previously published stories featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each story occurs during the Civil War and before the time of the first US Grant Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name. The stories portray Grant as a detective bringing his skills to bear on cases where the Civil War is a backdrop.
The book opens with “Under Reconstruction.” Ulysses S. Grant likes to start his day with as belt of whiskey. His wife, Julia, as well as many others expect him to be President in about three years. In the meantime he has to put up with nonsense like the planned meeting this morning with Stanton who is Secretary of War.
Too bad there is a dead man in Stanton’s office. In Grant’s opinion, it is a real shame that the dead man is not Stanton. Not only does Grant need to find the Secretary of War, he needs to find out who killed the dead man as quickly as possible to deal with the politics involved.
“Under Siege” follows and moves the action from the White House to the war. Grant has a new regiment from Ohio and they are not ready for battle. Not only are they not remotely ready, but in Grant’s considered opinion, the new troops don’t even know which end of the gun to point at the enemy. Contrary to Grant’s opinion, apparently at least one did.
Because the shot Grant just heard over the flapping of the tents was the shot that killed Private Walters. According to Captain Turner, a man Grant respects even if he is soft on the recruits, it is a suicide. Turner wants Grant to see for himself. The problem with that is that once Grant takes a look he realizes this death was no suicide.
It’s late in 1863 and the various desserts cooling in the kitchen in “Under Cooked” are creating an intoxicating smell. What isn’t so pleasant is the sight of the dead woman bleeding into her own dough. Vicksburg is behind him and the manor home on Lookout Mountain in East Tennessee was supposed to have been a tranquil headquarters for Grant. Now Jenny Rowe is dead and the assumption by everyone else is that she was killed by a stray round fired during drills. If you aren’t hungry for desert when you start reading this story you will be by the end as there is a recipe from 1862 for “Green Apple Pies.”
Shifting the perspective considerably is the story “Under Hoof.” Written from the prospective of a horse, Cincinnati that General Ulysses S. Grant rode during the war, it tells the tale of a death. Since the humans all look so much alike to the horses involved it is hard for Cincinnati and the other horses to know which specific humans were involved. That fact and the fact Cincinnati is going to have to somehow explain the real truth to the General are just two of the complexities in the story.
General Ulysses S. Grant was supposed to be out on one of the Federal boats, dry and comfortable. Instead as “Under Water” opens, Grant is standing over a corpse that lies in the muck next to the bank somewhere along the Mississippi River. Somebody has caved in the man’s skull and most likely it was a shovel. Shovels are everywhere as Grant plans to divert the Mississippi to leave Vicksburg dry and vulnerable to attack. Who the man was, what his purpose was, and who killed him are just a few of the questions Grant needs answered as fast as possible.
Ulysses S. Grant has had men in his command, men he trusted, commit murder and other acts dishonoring themselves and their units. So, the fact that Private Jones says he didn’t do it in “Under Suspicion” does not mean that much to Grant. Plans for the campaign after Vicksburg are missing with the fate of the war hanging in the balance. Private Jones was the last person known to be in the room with the documents. If he didn’t take them, then who did?
Major General Abner Doubleday needs Grant’s help in “Under Hand.” Doubleday has a reputation that is not at all positive. What happened at Gettysburg and Doubleday’s role in it no longer matters but it does to Doubleday. He claims to now have proof for what he has said all along. He wants Grant to meet a witness who is now finally coming forward more than a year later after the events in question. Grant knows that the whole deal is suspect but has no idea how messed up things will become before the deal is finished.
War takes a toll on all. Some die. Some live. Of those that live a significant number will be forever broken. That reality is true today just as it is true in “Under Sedation.” Grant is going to visit those broken men in the hospital in Washington. It is his duty and his responsibility. The fact that somebody killed a patient while Grant was at the hospital won’t be tolerated. Before long, Grant is investigating to make sure the guilty party is caught.
Cyrus Williams disappeared just after the Army of Tennessee took Jackson, Mississippi. Captain Lee, no relation at all to the southern general, has a picture from one of those new-fangled camera things showing what might be Williams as a ghostly apparition in the picture. While some believe Williams deserted, Captain Lee believes the ghostly figure in the picture is Williams pointing out his killer. Then the body of Williams turns out proving he wasn’t a deserter in “Under Developed.”
These ten stories are full of rich history and scene details that all invoke a bye gone era. In story after story, General Grant finds the truth with or without the help of man or beast. War is easier than investigation and yet Ulysses S. Grant manages to be incredibly successful at both while excellently entertaining the reader with his brand of truth, honor and justice.
Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries
Material supplied quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2016
Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an interesting and very enjoyable collection of previously published stories featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each story occurs during the Civil War and before the time of the first US Grant Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name. The stories portray Grant as a detective bringing his skills to bear on cases where the Civil War is a backdrop.
The book opens with “Under Reconstruction.” Ulysses S. Grant likes to start his day with as belt of whiskey. His wife, Julia, as well as many others expect him to be President in about three years. In the meantime he has to put up with nonsense like the planned meeting this morning with Stanton who is Secretary of War.
Too bad there is a dead man in Stanton’s office. In Grant’s opinion, it is a real shame that the dead man is not Stanton. Not only does Grant need to find the Secretary of War, he needs to find out who killed the dead man as quickly as possible to deal with the politics involved.
“Under Siege” follows and moves the action from the White House to the war. Grant has a new regiment from Ohio and they are not ready for battle. Not only are they not remotely ready, but in Grant’s considered opinion, the new troops don’t even know which end of the gun to point at the enemy. Contrary to Grant’s opinion, apparently at least one did.
Because the shot Grant just heard over the flapping of the tents was the shot that killed Private Walters. According to Captain Turner, a man Grant respects even if he is soft on the recruits, it is a suicide. Turner wants Grant to see for himself. The problem with that is that once Grant takes a look he realizes this death was no suicide.
It’s late in 1863 and the various desserts cooling in the kitchen in “Under Cooked” are creating an intoxicating smell. What isn’t so pleasant is the sight of the dead woman bleeding into her own dough. Vicksburg is behind him and the manor home on Lookout Mountain in East Tennessee was supposed to have been a tranquil headquarters for Grant. Now Jenny Rowe is dead and the assumption by everyone else is that she was killed by a stray round fired during drills. If you aren’t hungry for desert when you start reading this story you will be by the end as there is a recipe from 1862 for “Green Apple Pies.”
Shifting the perspective considerably is the story “Under Hoof.” Written from the prospective of a horse, Cincinnati that General Ulysses S. Grant rode during the war, it tells the tale of a death. Since the humans all look so much alike to the horses involved it is hard for Cincinnati and the other horses to know which specific humans were involved. That fact and the fact Cincinnati is going to have to somehow explain the real truth to the General are just two of the complexities in the story.
General Ulysses S. Grant was supposed to be out on one of the Federal boats, dry and comfortable. Instead as “Under Water” opens, Grant is standing over a corpse that lies in the muck next to the bank somewhere along the Mississippi River. Somebody has caved in the man’s skull and most likely it was a shovel. Shovels are everywhere as Grant plans to divert the Mississippi to leave Vicksburg dry and vulnerable to attack. Who the man was, what his purpose was, and who killed him are just a few of the questions Grant needs answered as fast as possible.
Ulysses S. Grant has had men in his command, men he trusted, commit murder and other acts dishonoring themselves and their units. So, the fact that Private Jones says he didn’t do it in “Under Suspicion” does not mean that much to Grant. Plans for the campaign after Vicksburg are missing with the fate of the war hanging in the balance. Private Jones was the last person known to be in the room with the documents. If he didn’t take them, then who did?
Major General Abner Doubleday needs Grant’s help in “Under Hand.” Doubleday has a reputation that is not at all positive. What happened at Gettysburg and Doubleday’s role in it no longer matters but it does to Doubleday. He claims to now have proof for what he has said all along. He wants Grant to meet a witness who is now finally coming forward more than a year later after the events in question. Grant knows that the whole deal is suspect but has no idea how messed up things will become before the deal is finished.
War takes a toll on all. Some die. Some live. Of those that live a significant number will be forever broken. That reality is true today just as it is true in “Under Sedation.” Grant is going to visit those broken men in the hospital in Washington. It is his duty and his responsibility. The fact that somebody killed a patient while Grant was at the hospital won’t be tolerated. Before long, Grant is investigating to make sure the guilty party is caught.
Cyrus Williams disappeared just after the Army of Tennessee took Jackson, Mississippi. Captain Lee, no relation at all to the southern general, has a picture from one of those new-fangled camera things showing what might be Williams as a ghostly apparition in the picture. While some believe Williams deserted, Captain Lee believes the ghostly figure in the picture is Williams pointing out his killer. Then the body of Williams turns out proving he wasn’t a deserter in “Under Developed.”
These ten stories are full of rich history and scene details that all invoke a bye gone era. In story after story, General Grant finds the truth with or without the help of man or beast. War is easier than investigation and yet Ulysses S. Grant manages to be incredibly successful at both while excellently entertaining the reader with his brand of truth, honor and justice.
Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries
Jeffrey Marks
2011
E-Book (also available in audio
format)
$0.99
Material supplied quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2016
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
FEATURE: In The Strange Dark: MISCHIEF by Charlotte Armstrong (Jake Hinkson at The Life Sentence)
In addition to reading his essay below, you should also read Jake Hinkson's book THE DEEPENING SHADE. I reviewed it last month here.
FEATURE: In The Strange Dark: MISCHIEF by Charlotte Armstrong (Jake Hinkson at The Life Sentence)
FEATURE: In The Strange Dark: MISCHIEF by Charlotte Armstrong (Jake Hinkson at The Life Sentence)
Friday, May 22, 2015
Monday, September 15, 2014
Via The Corpse Steps Out: Another Series Continuation...
The Corpse Steps Out: Another Series Continuation...: Thomas Chastain agreed to continue the Perry Mason series with books written by him and approved by the estate. Chastain had been a newspa...
Sunday, August 03, 2014
Via The Corpse Steps Out: My Top 5 Cool and Lam titles
The Corpse Steps Out: My Top 5 Cool and Lam titles: 5) Owls Don’t Blink - Gardner wrote Owls Don’t Blink while staying in New Orleans during January 1942. The start of World War II stifled ...
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Via The Corpse Steps Out: Greener Pastures
The Corpse Steps Out: Greener Pastures: All Grass Isn’t Green was the final Cool/Lam case. Gardner got the Advanced Review Copies just days before his death. While the book was...
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Want To Make The Most Out Of Twitter?
If you do, you should read a recent post by Jeffrey Marks on PJ Nunn's "Bookbrowsing" blog. You can read the post here. I think you will find it well worth your time.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Free Book from author Jeffrey Marks
Author Jeffrey Marks is giving away the latest edition of his INTENT TO SELL on Amazon Kindle. I believe it was the first edition I read years ago that was so good. Now he is up to edition four and posting the below message online in various groups:
This is probably the only time this year that I'll be giving away ebook copies of the latest edition of Intent to Sell: Marketing the Genre Novel (4th edition). http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007A4I3FI
There is a new print edition as well for those who prefer paper. http://tinyurl.com/IntenttoSell
The only book designed to help authors learn about how to market their own genre fiction titles, this book was nominated for an Anthony and a Macavity.
Jeff
This is probably the only time this year that I'll be giving away ebook copies of the latest edition of Intent to Sell: Marketing the Genre Novel (4th edition). http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007A4I3FI
There is a new print edition as well for those who prefer paper. http://tinyurl.com/IntenttoSell
The only book designed to help authors learn about how to market their own genre fiction titles, this book was nominated for an Anthony and a Macavity.
Jeff
--
Jeffrey Marks
www.jeffreymarks.com
Check out my website for news about my books and marketing tips of the month
Atomic Renaissance: Women Mystery Writers of the 1940s/1950s
Who Was That Lady? Craig Rice: The Queen of the Screwball Mystery
Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography -- 2009 Anthony winner
Monday, January 16, 2012
Reviewed: "Under Investigation" by Jeffrey Marks
Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an interesting and very enjoyable collection of previously published stories featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each story occurs during the Civil War and before the time of the first US Grant Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name. The stories portray Grant as a detective bringing his skills to bear on cases where the Civil War is a backdrop.
The book opens with “Under Reconstruction.” Ulysses S. Grant likes to start his day with as belt of whiskey. His wife, Julia, as well as many others expect him to be President in about three years. In the meantime he has to put up with nonsense like the planned meeting this morning with Stanton who is Secretary of War.
Too bad there is a dead man in Stanton’s office. In Grant’s opinion, it is a real shame that the dead man is not Stanton. Not only does Grant need to find the Secretary of War, he needs to find out who killed the dead man as quickly as possible to deal with the politics involved.
“Under Siege” follows and moves the action from the White House to the war. Grant has a new regiment from Ohio and they are not ready for battle. Not only are they not remotely ready, but in Grant’s considered opinion, the new troops don’t even know which end of the gun to point at the enemy. Contrary to Grant’s opinion, apparently at least one did.
Because the shot Grant just heard over the flapping of the tents was the shot that killed Private Walters. According to Captain Turner, a man Grant respects even if he is soft on the recruits, it is a suicide. Turner wants Grant to see for himself. The problem with that is that once Grant takes a look he realizes this death was no suicide.
It’s late in 1863 and the various desserts cooling in the kitchen in “Under Cooked” are creating an intoxicating smell. What isn’t so pleasant is the sight of the dead woman bleeding into her own dough. Vicksburg is behind him and the manor home on Lookout Mountain in East Tennessee was supposed to have been a tranquil headquarters for Grant. Now Jenny Rowe is dead and the assumption by everyone else is that she was killed by a stray round fired during drills. If you aren’t hungry for desert when you start reading this story you will be by the end as there is a recipe from 1862 for “Green Apple Pies.”
Shifting the perspective considerably is the story “Under Hoof.” Written from the prospective of a horse, Cincinnati that General Ulysses S. Grant rode during the war, it tells the tale of a death. Since the humans all look so much alike to the horses involved it is hard for Cincinnati and the other horses to know which specific humans were involved. That fact and the fact Cincinnati is going to have to somehow explain the real truth to the General are just two of the complexities in the story.
General Ulysses S. Grant was supposed to be out on one of the Federal boats, dry and comfortable. Instead as “Under Water” opens, Grant is standing over a corpse that lies in the muck next to the bank somewhere along the Mississippi River. Somebody has caved in the man’s skull and most likely it was a shovel. Shovels are everywhere as Grant plans to divert the Mississippi to leave Vicksburg dry and vulnerable to attack. Who the man was, what his purpose was, and who killed him are just a few of the questions Grant needs answered as fast as possible.
Ulysses S. Grant has had men in his command, men he trusted, commit murder and other acts dishonoring themselves and their units. So, the fact that Private Jones says he didn’t do it in “Under Suspicion” does not mean that much to Grant. Plans for the campaign after Vicksburg are missing with the fate of the war hanging in the balance. Private Jones was the last person known to be in the room with the documents. If he didn’t take them, then who did?
Major General Abner Doubleday needs Grant’s help in “Under Hand.” Doubleday has a reputation that is not at all positive. What happened at Gettysburg and Doubleday’s role in it no longer matters but it does to Doubleday. He claims to now have proof for what he has said all along. He wants Grant to meet a witness who is now finally coming forward more than a year later after the events in question. Grant knows that the whole deal is suspect but has no idea how messed up things will become before the deal is finished.
War takes a toll on all. Some die. Some live. Of those that live a significant number will be forever broken. That reality is true today just as it is true in “Under Sedation.” Grant is going to visit those broken men in the hospital in Washington. It is his duty and his responsibility. The fact that somebody killed a patient while Grant was at the hospital won’t be tolerated. Before long, Grant is investigating to make sure the guilty party is caught.
Cyrus Williams disappeared just after the Army of Tennessee took Jackson, Mississippi. Captain Lee, no relation at all to the southern general, has a picture from one of those new-fangled camera things showing what might be Williams as a ghostly apparition in the picture. While some believe Williams deserted, Captain Lee believes the ghostly figure in the picture is Williams pointing out his killer. Then the body of Williams turns out proving he wasn’t a deserter in “Under Developed.”
These ten stories are full of rich history and scene details that all invoke a bye gone era. In story after story, General Grant finds the truth with or without the help of man or beast. War is easier than investigation and yet Ulysses S. Grant manages to be incredibly successful at both while excellently entertaining the reader with his brand of truth, honor and justice.
Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries
Jeffrey Marks
2011
E-Book (also available in audio format)
$0.99
Material supplied quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Review: "Techno-Noir" Edited by Eva Batonne and Jeffrey Marks
The dark side of technology is often reported in the day’s news. The modern problem of identify theft was a topic long ago covered in classic science fiction. With such problems and others being daily fodder for the media which seems to be driven by sensationalism these days, it isn’t surprising that authors in other genres are going to explore the positives and the negatives of technology. The mystery field, out of the remaining genres, seems to be not only the most suited to do so, but the genre leading the pack in the form of novels, anthologies, and collections.
Case in point is the recent anthology release Techno-Noir edited by Eva Batonne and Jeffrey Marks. In the book, which contains eighteen stories by as many authors, the roles of technology, morality, deceit and consequences are considered. Some authors and the resulting stories play on the classic stereotypes in the mystery field and twist them while others go in a different direction. A couple of works contain some humor but most of the stories in the anthology are deadly serious as is subject matter. Like all anthologies, it’s hard to go into detail on all the strong stories so just a couple will be covered here.
One that really jumps out is “Suspicion” by Leann Sweeney. Keeping one’s mental health secret is important because even the paranoids do have enemies.
“Cookie Monster” by Tim Wohlforth also stands out for divine retribution on a dishonest computer salesman.
Driven by memories that won’t let go, “All the World is a Stage” by Rick McMahan also works very well and gives the reader a lasting image.
That isn’t to say the other authors, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Nick Andreychuk, Michael Bracken, Earl Staggs, Eva Batonne, Stephen D. Rogers, J. Michael Blue, Flora Davis, Bill Crider, Jeffrey Marks, Arla Gregory, Linda Posey, Kris Neri, H. Robert Perry, and Vera-Jane Goodin didn’t contribute excellent stories. They did. But any reader, or reviewer for that matter, is going to have personal favorites. The above are mine. Your experience will vary.
Techno-Noir
Edited by Eva Batonne and Jeffrey Marks
Zumaya Publications
www.zumayapublications.com
2005
ISBN #1-55410-266-9
Large Trade Paperback
223 Pages
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
Case in point is the recent anthology release Techno-Noir edited by Eva Batonne and Jeffrey Marks. In the book, which contains eighteen stories by as many authors, the roles of technology, morality, deceit and consequences are considered. Some authors and the resulting stories play on the classic stereotypes in the mystery field and twist them while others go in a different direction. A couple of works contain some humor but most of the stories in the anthology are deadly serious as is subject matter. Like all anthologies, it’s hard to go into detail on all the strong stories so just a couple will be covered here.
One that really jumps out is “Suspicion” by Leann Sweeney. Keeping one’s mental health secret is important because even the paranoids do have enemies.
“Cookie Monster” by Tim Wohlforth also stands out for divine retribution on a dishonest computer salesman.
Driven by memories that won’t let go, “All the World is a Stage” by Rick McMahan also works very well and gives the reader a lasting image.
That isn’t to say the other authors, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Nick Andreychuk, Michael Bracken, Earl Staggs, Eva Batonne, Stephen D. Rogers, J. Michael Blue, Flora Davis, Bill Crider, Jeffrey Marks, Arla Gregory, Linda Posey, Kris Neri, H. Robert Perry, and Vera-Jane Goodin didn’t contribute excellent stories. They did. But any reader, or reviewer for that matter, is going to have personal favorites. The above are mine. Your experience will vary.
Techno-Noir
Edited by Eva Batonne and Jeffrey Marks
Zumaya Publications
www.zumayapublications.com
2005
ISBN #1-55410-266-9
Large Trade Paperback
223 Pages
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
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