Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan
Showing posts with label June 2026. Show all posts
Showing posts with label June 2026. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: Jack the Poetical Private (1997) by MORI Hiroshi
Beneath the Stains of Time: Jack the Poetical Private (1997) by MORI Hiroshi: In 2013, the Breakthrough Bandwagon Books translated and published over half a dozen short stories by MORI Hiroshi, associate professor, en...
SleuthSayers: Using Real Life in Fiction
SleuthSayers: Using Real Life in Fiction: As writers, we often mine our lives for bits and pieces we can incorporate into our stories, from setting them in places where we have lived...
Publication Day Review: Storm Tide: A Novel by Paul Doiron
In some sense what began in The Poacher’s Son
long ago is about to come full circle. As Storm
Tide: A Novel by Paul Doiron begins, Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch,
who had a very problematic relationship with his own father, is about to be a
father. His wife, Stacey, is just a few weeks away from giving birth. The clock
is ticking on the arrival of their child in a world that has seen dad demoted
back to patrol and about to lose his career with the Maine Warden Service.
On this October night others have lost far more. The
roaring blaze in the shattered remains of the house means people have lost
their lives. Somehow, a baby made it out, and a nearby neighbor has the child.
Allegedly, the father brough the baby out and went back in for his wife. Bowditch
had made it to the scene fast after the call came out and tried the same feat.
The intense heat almost killed him as he entered and saw a man in flames collapsing
to the floor. Bowditch managed to pull the man out of the raging inferno, but
it was too late.
It is only in the aftermath with the arrival of Detective
Sergeant Delphine Cruz of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit that Bowditch
realizes something is up. Originally from Boston, she has made it to the scene
before the Arson Investigator. So too has her attitude as she doesn’t like
Maine or, as she sees it, what Bowditch represents. Through her, while
answering her questions, he learns this is the home of the Malloys.
Specifically, the home of the infamous Brian Malloy
who has been in the news for over a year due to his infidelity, a child out of
wedlock, and the disappearance of the child shortly after he was ordered to pay
child support. Many in the area searched for the missing child that has yet to
be found. The court of public opinion has found them both guilty as people
think dad took and killed the child and his wife lied for him. Their alibis had
proven unshakable. There is a lot of anger amongst the locals who believe the Malloys
got away with it all.
Now, both are thought to be dead in what is left of
their relatively new home. Bowditch is pretty sure that something is off about the
fire and the situation, in general, but he isn’t an investigator anymore, and
never has been one for arsons anyway. Nobody is going to listen to him on this.
Especially with his record and the fact that he is about to lose his job due to
his recent actions.
Then some really weird things start happening.
Somebody is once again toying with Bowditch. To mess with him is one thing.
But, now Stacy and the baby are at risk.
What follows is a complicated read full of twists,
turns, and links to the past. If Maine Game Warden Mike Bowdicth does not
figure it out fast, he and his family may not survive.
Storm Tide: A Novel
by Paul Doiron is the latest outing in a strong series best read in order. It finds
Bowditch contemplating faith, fatherhood, and family, while also trying to
prove that he isn’t just a conspiracy nutcase with a badge and gun. Sometimes
you aren’t paranoid if they really are trying to get you.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Mia20a
My digital ARC reading copy came by way of the publisher,
Minotaur Books, through NetGalley, in early November 2025, with no expectation of
a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Monday, June 29, 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 Natalie Bur...
Little Big Crimes: One For Yes, Two For No, by Will Ferguson
Little Big Crimes: One For Yes, Two For No, by Will Ferguson: "One For Yes, Two For No," by Will Ferguson, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, July/August 2026. Let's talk a bit...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in May 2026
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in May 2026: I read nine books in May, more than I expected to, but it is a good thing, because with only 3 days left in June, I have only read three b...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: McKenna's Guy by Mike Lawson
Mike Lawson
is a consistently good author whom I wish were better known. His stories have
been shortlisted for Edgar, Barry, and Shamus awards. His political thrillers
with unofficial fixer Joe DeMarco skewers the Washington establishment
thoroughly while giving his resourceful hero yet one more problem to solve. Lawson
branches out into a stand-alone in his newest book, McKenna’s Guy,
scheduled for release by Blackstone in early July 2026.
Roger Smith
is a retirement age widower living quietly in a modest neighborhood in
Washington, DC. He is closing in on a pension from his civil service job, the
only job he’s had in his adult life. Smith has one daughter who is married with
a child of her own. Predictable and inoffensive to the point of dullness. So
why a masked man dressed in black should break into Smith’s house one night and
attempt to kill him is a mystery to everyone, especially Smith. Had Smith still
been asleep, he would not have survived, as the assassin fired four or five bullets
into the bed. Smith fortunately heard the intruder break in and had time to find
a baseball bat and retreat behind the bedroom door before the killer entered
the room shooting. Then Smith hit the man as hard as he could with the bat,
knocking him to the floor. Fear bolstered Smith’s swing, the single blow killed
the intruder.
Even in his
shock Smith knew he needed a lawyer despite acting in self-defense. He called
his friend John McKenna, who had an extensive network, and asked for help, then
he called the police. Detective Grace Lillinthal of Homicide was sent to the
scene. She assumed she was dealing with a home invasion until she learned that
the lawyer that showed up was referred by McKenna, when all her antennae went
straight up. McKenna had a reputation as a criminal middleman. No matter what
devious or illicit act someone might need assistance with, McKenna knew a guy
who could help. That Smith thought to call McKenna first made his entire story
suspect in Lillinthal’s mind.
While she relentlessly
sought to establish the illicit connection between the two, Smith was trying to
find out who cared enough about him to hire a professional hitman and why.
This is
another fast-moving, well-written thriller with a unique spin, great characters,
and a clever resolution. Readers unfamiliar with Lawson’s work might find this
book a good place to start. Recommended!
Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.
·
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
·
Publication date: July 7, 2026
·
Edition: Hardcover
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 272 pages
·
ISBN-13: 979-8228358188
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4oR3k0j
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, June 28, 2026
KRL Update 6/28/2026
Up on KRL this week as we reach the end of Pride month, this week we have a review and giveaway of "Beneath a Broken Sky" by Joshua Moehling, along with an interesting interview with Joshua https://kingsriverlife.com/06/27/beneath-a-broken-sky-by-joshua-moehling/
We also have reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozies for your summer reading--"Dungeons and Danger" The Ravensea Castle Book #2 by Elizabeth Penney, "The Body in the Kitchen Garden" A Hill House Vintage Murder Mystery #2 by Paula sutton, & "Ode to the Bones" by Carolyn Haines https://kingsriverlife.com/06/27/end-of-june-mystery-catchup-2/
And the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/06/27/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-july-2026-hidden-truths-and-unlikely-detectives/
Up during the week we posted another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Lynda Allen about how her Liv Wilde Mysteries came to be https://kingsriverlife.com/06/24/menopause-as-a-superpower/
And another special midweek guest post, this one from mystery author Randy Overbeck about his new historical spy novel "Abigail Trench" https://kingsriverlife.com/06/24/women-in-the-revolution/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Pour Choices" by Adrian Andover https://www.krlnews.com/2026/06/pour-choices-by-adrian-andover.html
And a review of "Masher of Ceremonies" by Victoria Hamilton, and a giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift card https://www.krlnews.com/2026/06/masher-of-ceremonies-by-victoria.html
And a review and giveaway of a 4th of July mystery, "The Diva Hosts a Murderer" by Krista Davis https://www.krlnews.com/2026/06/the-diva-hosts-murderer-by-krista-davis.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 84 Calls for Submissions in July 2026 - Paying markets
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 84 Calls for Submissions in July 2026 - Paying mar...: This July there are seven dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every ge...
Jerry's House of Everything: UNCLE SAM QUARTERLY #5 (WINTER 1942)
Jerry's House of Everything: UNCLE SAM QUARTERLY #5 (WINTER 1942): America's 250th anniversary is coming up and there are many ways -- both appropriate and non-appropriate -- one can celebrate. You coul...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: London Bridge is Falling Down by Christopher Fowler
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: London Bridge is Falling Down by Christopher Fowler: Reviewed by Jeanne Once again, the Peculiar Crimes Unit—an office devoted to investigating incidents that other departments don’t want t...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
