Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Taken at the Flood: A Hercule Poirot Novel by Agatha Christie

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Taken at the Flood: A Hercule Poirot Novel by Agat...: Reviewed by Jeanne   In recently post-World War II England, the Cloade family has lived in relative comfort, helped along financially by...

Short Story Wednesday Review: The Devil’s Jurisdiction by Michael Wegener (Thriller Magazine: August 2026 Issue)

 

Thriller Magazine: August 2026 contains six entertaining short stories. My favorite in the issue was the opening short story, “The Devil’s Jurisdiction” by Michael Wegener.

 

It is past time to get out of Los Angeles for Gabriel Cruz. The cops have his car at some impound lot. That means his car is not an option as he can’t have the cops knowing where he at since they are part of the problem. The last place he is going to go is to their impound lot.

 

The only solution is to swipe a new set of wheels. Easily done.

 

But, he stole the wrong car, and that made everything worse.

 

One heck of a story and a mighty good read.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4h0XE1H 

  

 

My digital reading copy came by way of my ninety-day free Kindle Unlimited trial. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Happiness Is A Book: McGarr at the Dublin Horse Show by Bartholomew Gill

 Happiness Is A Book: McGarr at the Dublin Horse Show by Bartholomew Gill

Publication Day Review: The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2026

After a forward by Series Editor Otto Penzler and an introduction by Guest Editor Tess Gerritsen it is on to the nineteen short stories in the Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best mystery stories of the Year 2026. Each of the stories selected begins with a short bio of the author, the tale itself, followed by a short background explanation from the author as to how the story came to be, a point they were hoping to accomplish, the context of the tale, etc. With nineteen short stories included, I am highlighting several that really struck a chord with this reader. But to be clear, there is not a bad one in the bunch. I just liked some more than others.

 

In order of appearance as I read straight through from front to back…

 

Doug Allyn’s “Dead Man’s Mail” revolves around escape, the legacy of what came before you in the place you now reside in, and how isolationism can have severe consequences when others want what you have right now.

 

Eli is on a mission in “The Lord God Bird” by Andy Boyle. He’s doing it for Belle. Secrecy is important. The first thing to do is to get Greg to actually honor their deal.

 

Amanda and Madeline are on their best behavior at the elegant restaurant. They are in public and therefore, on stage, as both are aware. Deceit, double cross, and revenge are all on the menu in “The Luncheon” by Christopher Fowler.

 

Arthur Stancil is sure that Dougal Canterbury must die. The question as “The Twenty-Fourth Canterbury” by Richard Helms begins is how, exactly, to kill him. The fact that the potential murder victim is the most decorated detective in Yorkshire presents a complication, though not unsurmountable.

 

A murder case is at work in “Juror Number Three” by Joel Nedecki. Told from the perspective of the juror who has a lot going on, we follow a case that has plenty of twists and turns.

 

He just wanted a quiet walk in the woods with his dog.  That is not at all what he got in “Murder by the Creek” by H.K. Slade. Now he is on the wrong side of the cuffs and disrespected. Not cool at all.

 

After the reprinted short stories, there is a listing of “The Best Mystery Stories 2026 Honor Roll.” This year, eleven stories and their authors are featured. Each listing includes the publication so that one can hunt down these good reads.

 

It should be noted that my digital ARC review copy from NetGalley did not contain the bonus short story by Agatha Christie. I have no idea if that was deliberate for the review copy or just an accidental oversight.

 

The latest book in the series, The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2026, is chockful of good reading. It is well worth your time and recommended.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3TeDnfN 

 

 

My digital ARC came from the publisher, The Mysterious Press, through the NetGalley platform with no expectation of a positive review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026  

Lesa's Book Critiques: Damned If I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Damned If I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Glass Tower Murders (2021) by Mikito Chinen

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Glass Tower Murders (2021) by Mikito Chinen: Last year, I came across the work of fan-lator Mitsuda Konno , formerly known as Mitsuda Madoy, who's translating first-rate Japanese de...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Count Them One by One: Black Mississippians Fighting for the Right to Vote by Gordon A. Martin, Jr.

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Count Them One by One: Black Mississippians Fighti...:   This description at Goodreads is excellent: Forrest County, Mississippi, became a focal point of the civil rights movement when, in 1961,...

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Death at the Crossings by Jacquelyn Nowak

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Death at the Crossings by Jacquelyn Nowak:     Reviewed by Jeanne   Sergeant Mike Minor is called to the Art History building on a college campus after the decomposing body of...

Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Burning Question by Carol Carnac

 Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: The Burning Question by Carol Carnac

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Ghost of a Chance

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Ghost of a Chance: William Roos (1911-1987) was born in Pennsylvania, eventually heading to Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh to study drama, first as an actor, then...

Patricia Abbott: FFB: POISON, Ed McBain

 Patricia Abbott: FFB: POISON, Ed McBain

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Dark Harbor by Bruce Robert Coffin

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Dark Harbor by Bruce Robert Coffin

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – One Good Eye by Kevin Wade

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – One Good Eye by Kevin Wade

Happiness Is A Book: Sapphires on Wednesday by Malcolm Gair

 Happiness Is A Book: Sapphires on Wednesday by Malcolm Gair

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: A Murmuration of Starlings: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows

A Murmuration of Starlings (Durndurn Press, September 2026) is the tenth book in the Birder Murder Mysteries by Canadian Steve Burrows. The first title, A Siege of Bitterns, won the Crime Writers of Canada award for Best First Novel and was selected as one of the Globe & Mail’s top 100 books of the year. Burrows has pursued his birdwatching interest on eight continents so far and has published articles on travel and environmental issues around the world.

In this newest story with a multi-layered approach Detective Chief Inspector Dominic Jejeune visits a former superior, Detective Chief Superintendent Colleen Shepherd, now in the Australian outback, to discuss his future career and becomes enmeshed in the kidnapping and death of the Environmental Compliance Officer of a large mining firm. Meanwhile his team back in Norfolk has the sudden death of the CEO of the largest lithium battery production facility in the country to investigate. It could have been an accident but the timing was entirely too convenient for some people not to suspect foul play.

Relationships are in high focus in this story, both personal and professional, and the outcome of both cases lead to major turning points for several of the characters. What is even more prominent is the discussion of present-day Australian environmental concerns, their history, current impact, and possible solutions. An aboriginal elder adds a strand of mysticism to the narrative. The descriptions of the Australian landscape, the animals, and of course the birds are wonderful and make the book worth reading for the travelogue alone.

Usually I have no trouble collecting enough back story to understand the context of a mid-series title but just identifying the location of action, Norfolk or Australia, wasn’t always clear in this book. This is not the right place to start the series. Environmentalists and nature lovers will likely already know this author, but if not, they definitely should. Police procedural fans will enjoy the complex plot and the careful work of both the Norfolk and the Australian investigation teams to unravel the mystery. Recommended. 

 

·         Publisher: ‎Dundurn Press

·         Publication date: ‎September 22, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎360 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1459756592

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1459756595

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4rd08xw

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026

 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night

Scott's Take: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder Vol. 1 by Dan Watters and Illustrators Michele Bandini and Sid Kotian

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder Vol. 1 by Dan Watters and Illustrators Michele Bandini and Sid Kotian is set in the second series of IDW TMNT books. The second series is a continuation of the first series, but they rebooted it because the issue numbers got too high. They also did a significant time skip forward.

 

The Shredder returns with PTSD and without the Foot Clan. He is now alone in the world. He returns to find that a new Foot Clan has risen in his absence. This Foot Clan seeks to cause the end of the world. The Shredder isn’t going to allow that to happen. Things are way more complicated than this, but that is the basic synopsis without revealing too much.

 

This is a violent story that uses the complex character of the Shredder in a dark tale as he goes around the globe on his mission. This tale is more violent than the usual TMNT story. The Shredder has no qualms about leaving people in bloody heaps as he goes about his mission.

 

The art is excellent and detailed. The character work is interesting. By the end, Shredder has a new purpose and a new mission. If one is expecting to see the Turtles in this one would be disappointed as they only get a brief cameo.

 

This story is about the Shredder and I am interested to see where it goes from here in Volume 2. At this time, I have no idea what the title is for that and could find no record of it anywhere. But, I want to read it.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4wFFaIo

 

 

I read this by way of Hoopla through the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: A Bullet in the Ballet by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon

 Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: A Bullet in the Ballet by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Dancing Man

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Dancing Man: Philip Maitland Hubbard, better known as P.M. Hubbard (1910-1980) studied at Oxford where he won the Newdigate Prize for English verse in 19...

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Argentinean Butterfly Mystery: C.M.B. vol. 13-14 by Motohiro Katou

Beneath the Stains of Time: The Argentinean Butterfly Mystery: C.M.B. vol. 13-...: Motohiro Katou's C.M.B. vol. 13 comprises of four, one-chapter stories starting with one of those human, heart-shaped puzzles, "Th...