Thursday Treats: 8/06/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week... 

 

My flash fiction piece, Consequences, went up at Guilty Crime Story Magazine Flash earlier this week. It can read it for free here.

 

Black Cat Weekly #257 is out and includes cover short story by SMFS list member Anne Swardson (Lost in Paris) and others. You can pick up the latest issue here. 

 

I have long been a fan of Larry D. Sweazy. He has announced on Facebook that the Literary Garage will publishing his short story, A Knock at the Door, on August 13^th. So, next week. And go get his books. Great reads.

 

Speaking of being a fan, I also have long been a fan of the works by Russ Hall. Especially the Al Quinn novels. His latest in that series, Gold in Them Texas Hills, was reviewed here last week by yours truly. He has a new two book series just out featuring Brett Crutherstone and private investigator Ketch. You can pick up this small-town Texas suspense series on Amazon.

 

This month marks another resurrected book from author Beau Johnson. Shotgun Honey has now released, All of Them to Burn: Stories. Part of the Bishop Rider series, the read is available at the publisher and Amazon.

 

 

SMFS list member Michael Bracken also announced on Facebook that the anthology, Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun: Private Eyes in the Material World, will once again be in print. The new publisher is Crimson Gate Books and the read is up at Amazon for preorder. Pub date is August 10th. Also in the read are SMFS list members, John M. Floyd (Redwood Creek), Debra H. Goldstein (Who Shot J.R.?), Kathleen Marple Kalb (Diana and the Princess), and SMFS President Joseph S. Walker (The Right Size of Favor).

 

 

Edited by SMFS list members, Editors Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles, has been released.  According to the synopsis, the anthology will feature 14 short stories by “Victor Bonini, James Scott Byrnside, Shelly Dickson Carr, S.A. Cosby, Anne van Doorn, Martin Edwards, Sulari Gentill, Paul Halter, Christopher Huang, Vaseem Khan, Josh Pachter, Masaya Yamaguchi, Ovidia Yu, and a brand-new collaboration from the editors.” Available from the publisher, Crippen and Landru, and Amazon, the read was reviewed here earlier this week by Aubrey Nye Hamilton.

 

As Gigi Pandian posted to the SMFS list recently and I quote: “We've got several SMFS members in the anthology. Josh mentioned his story, "The Allegory of the Five Senses," which is terrific. Tom Mead and I wrote "The Problem of the Poison Garden" as a nod to our favorite author, John Dickson Carr. I had no idea co-writing could be such fun!”

 

Finally, as you may have already seen on Facebook, after more than two decades of being bandied about on the SMFS list, something very cool comes this way. This October will see the first issue of SMFS Mystery Magazine. Not only did I suggest the title to Publisher John Connelly of Murderous Ink Press (Crimeucopia series), but I also have a couple of pieces in this first issue. The plan is for 3 issues a year that will have short stories, essays, and interviews, with all the material involving the world of crime fiction and mysteries. It should be very cool. More details on where and how to buy are coming, and it should be available at Bouchercon.

 

Until next time…. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Little Big Crimes: The Texas Chain-Store Manager, by Josh Pachter

Little Big Crimes: The Texas Chain-Store Manager, by Josh Pachter: "The Texas Chain-Store Manager," by Josh Pachter, in Crimeucopia: A Coterie of Dicks, edited by John Connor, Murderous Ink Press,...

Review: Crimeucopia - The Not So Frail Detective Agency

  

Recently released by Murderous Ink Press, Crimeucopia - The Not So Frail Detective Agency, is a good read. The entertaining anthology focuses on the female private investigator and does so by way of a variety of tales set across multiple time periods and featuring women often not fully appreciated by others. In other words, just like women experience in real life every single day of the week. In this case, while these ladies may not have the brawn of a man, they also walk down mean streets and get the job done.

 

The anthology contains fifteen solid stories from as many authors. Several tales I personally preferred over others, as you can see below. No doubt your preferences would vary from mine. There is also no doubt that you will find lots of good reading here as you would in any of the long running series of Crimeucopia books.

 

The tales that resonated with me, in order of appearance, are:

 

Steve Liskow’s “Slam Dunk” where Tatiana, known to all as “Tats” for reasons soon made clear, takes a case where the client is sure the husband is cheating on her. He plays basketball for incredible money. AmyLee signed a prenup and she knows the kind of guy she married. But, now she is pregnant, and wants proof of what he is doing so she make sure that the child and her have a secure financial future.

 

It has been decades since she last saw her. Lorriane coming loudly into her office in Detroit was absolutely not a sight for sore eyes. She could have gone the rest of her life never thinking about Lorriane again. In Sandra J. Cady’s “High School Reunion,” she is back in Bonnie’s life and won’t take no for an answer. She wants to hire Bonnie to look into the death of her husband, Harvey Harris. He died a few weeks earlier, in a traffic accident, and the cops are not moving fast enough to suit her as she needs access to his money. She wants Bonnie’s help and is very willing to use her pollical connections to make sure Bonnie never works again as a private investigator should she refuse. It is very clear that in the more than three decades since they last saw each other that Lorriane has not improved one bit as a human being.

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb takes readers to the fall of 1987 with her very young private investigator in “Danno and the Babysitter.” Diana Czednik wants the case. A mutual friend, Gary Bigelow, sent Mark McKinnon to her. Somebody has been killing men in Shadyside, a gay friendly neighborhood in Pittsburgh. The cops, to this point, have done less than nothing. Gary, Mark, and others, have decided it is past time to get some professional help. She’s willing, but the owner of the agency and her boss, Mr. Kozakevich, does not want his rookie investigator on the front lines on a murder case and thus in danger from a serial killer. He severely limits what she can do at the start, but, before long, she is deep into it.

 

Crimeucopia - The Not So Frail Detective Agency has twelve more tales to interest you beyond the three that I highlighted. The read, as these books always do, showcases a variety of authors with varied writing styles, characters, time periods, and more. The read is full of interesting cases. It features female private investigators often dealing with those who do not understand their capabilities. They soon do, one way or another, in the very enjoyable read.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/45JBWZQ

 

 

My digital ARC was provided by the publisher with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2026

Little Big Crimes: The Roosevelt Affair, by Adam Meyer

Little Big Crimes: The Roosevelt Affair, by Adam Meyer:  "The Roosevelt Affair," by Adam Meyer, in Crimecopia: The Not So Frail Detective Agency, Murderous Ink Press, 2026. A nice straig...

Little Big Crimes: Fancy Car Lover, by Ed Teja

Little Big Crimes: Fancy Car Lover, by Ed Teja:   "Fancy Car Lover," by Ed Teja, in Crimeucopia: A Load of Balls , edited by John Connor, Murderous Ink Press, 2025. This is Ed Te...

Little Big Crimes: Never Bet Against Death, by J.F. Benedetto

Little Big Crimes: Never Bet Against Death, by J.F. Benedetto: "Never Bet Against Death," by J.F. Benedetto, in Crimeucopia: A Load of Balls , edited by John Connor, Murderous Ink Press, 2025. ...

Short Story Wednesday: Crimeucopia - A Load Of Balls Editor John Connor

 

Crimeucopia - A Load Of Balls is a Murderous Ink Press anthology featuring mystery and crime fiction tales involving various sports. Pool and golf make multiple appearances, but other sports also make it in here and there. It is a solidly good book that also scores with the reader.

 

(Referee Whistle)

 

Stadium Announcer: Called for a double foul of combining a sports pun with a dad joke. That is a Flagrant and One Foul.

 

Oh, come on. You call that a foul? You can’t be serious! (Screaming the last in his best John McEnroe at Wimbledon voice.)

 

(Referee glares, then makes an arm motion, play resumes.)

 

As always, I read an anthology from front to back, so the list below of my personal favorites is in the order of appearance. It is not a ranking. No, these are the tales that resonated with this reader as he hit them over a several day period.  

 

Those that follow my reviews know I have a fondness for police procedurals. If Dallas had not had a multi-year hiring freeze in the early and mid-eighties, I was going to apply to the police academy. Instead, I went to work for a security guard company and, a few months later, got myself shot one night just before 3 in the morning, and that changed many things.

 

I grew up watching my Dallas Cowboys playing Coach Bud Grant and his Vikings. We had “The Man in the Hat.” The Vikings were “The Purple People Eaters.” Back when the game was played outdoors, like it should be, and not all the frozen tundra was in Green Bay. The stuff of legends all around. Some of that decades ago glory you can still experience from NFL Films with their excellent soundtracks and narration by legends all.

 

All of the above probably played a major role in my liking “The Purple Figurine Murders” by Arthur Vidro so much. A complex mystery that uses NFL history for clues. A mighty good read.

 

The career of DS Jim Cooper of the Norfolk Constabulary showed such promise back in the day. That promise was never actualized. The discovery of a body in the here and now in “Thank God for the Nineteenth Hole” by Dave Dempster might be a way to put some shine back on him.

 

John M. Floyd’s recurring character, Sheriff Lucy Valentine, makes a welcome appearance here in “Rules of the Game.” So too does her mother, Frances, who is again ready to help with a case surrounding a certain wrist watch.

 

He had a plan when he walked into the bar. A bar that has pool tables in the backroom. One of those tables is in use by his target. It slowly becomes clear what he aims to do in “Side Pocket Bank Shot” by William Kitcher.

 

“You May Already Be A Winner: A Vermont Radio Mystery” by Nikki Knight combines a lotto drawing, a DJ, and some amateur sleuthing into a fast-moving enjoyable mystery read. Not to mention an arson at a local business.

 

Fake jerseys are an expensive and growing problem for all the leagues, especially the NBA. A street hustler is selling them at the heart of “The Baby Lawyer” by Paul R. Paradise. The bosses want him gone. Easier said than done.

 

Back in the long ago, I was a pretty good bowler. I was known to frequent the nearby Jupiter Lanes, every couple of weeks, where I rolled 220 to 245 or so without much practice or effort. Sandi and I talked, more than once, about me trying out for the Pro Bowler event over in Grand Prairie every year. But, being a new dad and life, in general, meant we never got beyond the talking stage.

 

Bowling is at the heart of “The Perfect Game” by Robert Petyo. If everybody would leave him alone, Donnie might complete his quest for a perfect game. Nine frames in, he has a very chance. Bowling leagues can be cut throat so he knows the pressure is on in more ways than one.

 

Her husband is still alive, but for all intents and purposes his wife, Marie, is a golf widow in the Diane A. Hadac’s short story, “Golf Widow.” She is increasingly fed-up with the situation and wants to travel like they talked about and he promised. Ralph better pay attention at home instead of the greens.

 

Jimmy loves cars. Especially expensive fast cars. He also has skills being ex miliary. He puts everything to work in “Fancy Car Lover” by Ed Teja. The problem is that some of his choices to liberate from their owners are not the best choices for others. That causes problems.

 

While these are the stories I preferred, that is not to say the others are not good. On the contrary. They are good. These just happen to be my personal favorites for a variety of reasons. No doubt your choices for favorites in Crimeucopia - A Load Of Balls anthology would vary.

 

Available in print and eBook at this Amazon Associate Purchase Link:  https://amzn.to/4eGr3LN

 

 

My ARC reading copy came from Editor/Publisher John Connor of Murderous Ink Press back in May with no expectation of a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Little Big Crimes: Her Dangerously Clever Hands, by Karen Odden

Little Big Crimes: Her Dangerously Clever Hands, by Karen Odden:   "Her Dangerously Clever Hands," by Karen Odden, in Crimeucopia: Through the Past Darkly ,  Murderous Ink Press, 2024. The publis...

Little Big Crimes: How Easily Things Can Explode, by Daniel C. Bartlett

Little Big Crimes: How Easily Things Can Explode, by Daniel C. Bartlett:  "How Easily Things Can Explode," by Daniel C. Bartlett, in Crimeucopia: Totally Psycho Logical, Murderous Ink Press, 2024. The p...

Little Big Crimes: Lavender Diamond, by Edward Sheehy

Little Big Crimes: Lavender Diamond, by Edward Sheehy:   "Lavender Diamond," by Edward Sheehy in Crimeucopia: Boomshakalaking! Modern Crimes for Modern Times, Murderous Ink Press, 2023...

SleuthSayers: Hooked on Crime(ucopia) by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: Hooked on Crime(ucopia):    It's not often that a publisher produces crime anthologies one after the other in a very short period of time. One did, though, this ...