Short Story Wednesday Review: The Missing Sniper by Earl Staggs

 

From the massive archive….

 

Thanks to his gift, Adam Kingston knew he would get a phone call. Who was calling, why he would be called, he didn’t know. But, he knew it would be a call about someone dying somewhere and he would be involved. Hard to sleep when you know something is going to happen. Hard to sleep when you know for absolute certainty just enough to be worried.

 

The phone call finally comes by way of Sheriff Dillon Corbin of Mendes County, Florida.  Adam is on a master list of Law Enforcement consultants and the good Sheriff needs his help. Three weeks ago somebody tried to take out a State Senator.  While they know where the shots came from they knew nothing else and have no suspects. The shooter is still out there and may try again if he or she isn’t stopped.

 

Soon Adam is in Jacksonville, Florida with Sheriff Dillon working the case. The target, Senator Willy Thornton, has plenty of enemies because of his politics and the way he lives his life.  Business rivals, spouses of the women he has seduced and many others have good reason to want him dead.  Good thing Adam has a bit of ability with extra sensory perception and can pick up a few images along the way as he helps with the case.

 

Released from Untreed Reads last January, this is the short story that ultimately gave rise to Earl Staggs' powerfully good novel, Memory of a Murder.  This cozy style type read is full of twists and turns and on that will keep you very entertained as it moves through the pages.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4d0Ymax

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012, 2024

Writers & Publishers Network: March Publisher’s Perspective by Jay Hartman

 Writers & Publishers Network: March Publisher’s Perspective by Jay Hartman

Short Story Wednesday Review: What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? by Gail Farrelly

With word from Jay Harman of Untreed Reads that this short story would be free at Untreed Reads until January 2 of the coming new year, it seemed like a sign I should remind you of it for this final Short Story Wednesday review of 2022.

 

8 pm and working on a broken sink in “Carl’s Car Repair Shop” isn’t a lot of fun. It is New Year’s Eve which makes the job on the industrial sink a little bit harder. At the same time with a little girl and a spouse waiting at home at least the hefty fee makes it all worth it.

Everything is okay until Police Chief Rob “The Rat” Ratner shows up. It has been 20 years, but one does not forget what happens to one during the teen years. Payback is a dish best served cold. It is also one heck of a way to start the New Year.

Gail Farrelly’s short story, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? is another good one from this talented author.  Much like her tale, The Jurors Who Knew Too Much, readers are teased here with couple of clues and a twist or two until the tale reaches a satisfying conclusion. Released by Untreed Reads, the story is well worth your time no matter the season of the year.

  

Material was recently supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2022

FFB Review: Mangrove Bayou: A Troy Adam Mangrove Bayou Mystery by Stephen Morrill

From the massive archive…

Troy Adam most recently left the Tampa PD in less than ideal circumstances. This June morning he is in the small town of Mangrove Bayou located somewhere south of Naples on the Gulf coast. Summer has come to Florida and Troy Adam has come to interview for the job of police chief. Of course, they don’t call it that. They call it the “Director of Public Safety” even though that is not quite what the sign on his door reads after it was vandalized a little bit.

 

The mayor and two council members had asked him in to interview as he was one of two candidates. The other one had bigger issues and Troy has a good resume. Upon meeting him they aren’t sure what to make of Troy Adams beyond the fact he is biracial and has a bit of an attitude. Considering what happened with the last police chief--- allegedly--- and the applicant pool it isn’t like they have much of a choice.

 

Hired with the understanding he is on a probationary period of six months Troy Adam begins to change the culture of the police department. That is when he isn’t working a murder case, dealing with a hurricane, developing a romantic connection, and a few other things. The man is busy and motivated for a variety of reasons in this very good book.

 

Very reminiscent of the Jesse Stone series by Robert B. Parker, the tale is complicated with a considerable amount of character backstory present in the book. While Troy Adam is dealing with trauma and that storyline is a major presence, he copes in other ways that has nothing to do with alcohol. A refreshing change from what is usually portrayed with these characters and an angle that makes him all the more real.

 

Mangrove Bayou: A Troy Adam Mangrove Bayou Mystery by Stephen Morrill is an excellent start to what could be a very entertaining series. Published by Untreed Reads this is an excellent fast paced mystery that has frequent funny moments. Along with a richness of detail that really brings the work alive in the mind of the reader. It also proves that the old adage about how one should not open with the weather wrong as the weather is a major character force through the book. 

 

 

 

eBook book review copy supplied by the publisher for my use in an objective review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2022

 

Writers & Publishers Network: The Publisher Perspective: December 2021

 Writers & Publishers Network: The Publisher Perspective: December 2021

FFB Review: The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving Editor Jay Hartman

From the massive archive….

 

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving leads off with a very poignant introduction. In a note that honors the pain that many of us deal with this time of year, the loss of a loved one, Editor Jay Hartman honors author and friend, Earl Staggs. Earl was, and still is as his legacy lives on, a consummate storyteller. More importantly, at least to me, he was a good friend. Earl thought the world of my late wife and went out of his way to spend time with her and me. He was still present months after she passed as he checked on me and pushed me to get back to writing, reading, and more importantly living and staying sober. He was there for many folks in many different was as Jay notes in the introduction. This latest in the series from Untreed Reads pays homage to Earl in every short story in the book. A fitting tribute to a friend to all to all and a man who preferred the short story format.

 

The read kicks off with “Let’s Talk Turkey” by Herschel Cozine. Ulysses, the turkey, is missing and the young boy has come to the police for help finding him. Rick raised the turkey from an egg and wants the help of the police. The case of the missing turkey is going to become very personal by Sergeant Mills.

 

In “Drunk Raisins” by Karl Wainwright, 31-year-old Sheila would prefer not to go out to her grandparents’ farm and deal with all the relatives. Uncle Bob is boring, Grandpa Elliot is a misogynist, and Aunt Livia is convinced that our narrator is gay because she never brought a man. Truth be told, she would not bring anyone she liked or cared about to one of these holiday dinners. While the men watch football, the woman are in the kitchen doing the work and not getting along very well. That bitterness is going to carry over to dinner with wide ranging repercussions.

 

Thanksgiving 2017 find our narrator part of a task force chasing counterfeit currency in “Dinner with the King” by Joseph S. Walker. With her parents out of town and spending the holidays with his brother and his family, and having been dumped by her boyfriend not even a month earlier, New Orleans Detective Sarah Mason had done the personal and professionally smart thing and accepted the dinner invitations from New Orleans Legend Louis Cassel. The man is connected and is a legend in New Orleans. The fact he has invited her to dinner is her first clue that things are about to get very interesting in so many ways.

 

Stan the Dentist is not intending to go to Moe’s dinner this year. Moe and his mob buddies are going to have to do without him since Moe skipped his yearly checkup. Of course, it will not work out that way in “Some More Good Times” by Steve Shrott. You Do not tell Moe no.

 

Thanksgiving 1973 is the setting for “A Fowl Play Holiday” by Lesley A. Diehl. While it is true that a lot of the husbands in the extended family die young, but that is because the women are badasses and males are genetically weak. Things just happen that way. Our narrator is coming home for the week as she has been asked to come by Aunt Nozzie who has promised that nothing will go wrong this year. Obviously, it is not going to work out that way as it never does.

 

Vivian Witherspoon is the wealthy ruler of her extended family and others. With just weeks to live, she continues to rank her family members on a number scale that only she knows. While each person knows what their number is, they do not know why they are at that number or what it would take, short of killing others, to move up in the ranking. The nine family members all want that coveted number one spot in “A Very Darwin Family Thanksgiving” by Trey Dowell. 200 million dollars and everything in the estate is a powerful incentive to be truly number one in the winner take all tournament.

 

“Nameless Adventure of the Red Carbuncle Or Who Snatched Aunt Jewel’s Jewel” by Bobbi A. Chukran comes next where Henderson’s Jewelry Shoppe has been hit in Nameless, Texas. Kendra O’Keefe had just brought in the piece of costumed jewelry on behalf of her Aunt Jewel. Nearly 100 degrees and almost Thanksgiving, Kendra O’Keefe is hoping the piece fixed will lift Aunt Jewel’s ongoing awful mood. A gift from her late husband, the piece has sentimental value and is literally falling apart. It is not the kind of thing that Dennis Henderson would normally work on, but for Aunt Jewell who he went to school with, he is happy to work on it.  Of course, it goes missing during the daring daylight robbery. If that is not bad enough, Aunt Jewel is refusing to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. Can Thanksgiving be saved? Can the brooch be recovered?

 

It should have been the real deal, but instead the senior citizen residents of the High Towers are getting a tofu turkey. Thirty pounds of Tofu shaped like a turkey and tasting nothing like turkey. While that is a crime on its own, it is not the primary one in “That’s No Turkey, It’s Murder!” by Bert Paul. The reason they are having a tofu turkey is complicated. The reasoning goes back weeks and involves the supreme commander of High Towers, Mrs. Plaid.

 

Kenzie’s mother has a lot of money and the interest accrues nicely each day in “Cranberry Beret” by Steve Liskow. Harry isn’t thrilled they are going to his mother in law’s house for Thanksgiving, but you do what you have to do. Vanessa Van Essen is 63 and on her sixth husband. While he loves Kenzie deeply, the rest of the family is horrible. This dinner is a reminder of that fact in multiple ways.

 

Detective Carl Todd is at work in the Homicide Department of the Dallas Police in “Pecan Pie Sacrifice” by C. C. Guthrie. He has two women at his desk who believe the recent death of 82-year-old Caroline Elliot was more than an accidental fall. The detective that originally investigated the death is off for Thanksgiving, so Carl Todd is talking to them two days before the big holiday. Jessica and Ashley are sure the woman at the house is not Caroline Elliot’s out of town daughter. They think she is there to loot the house. Dallas Detective Carl Todd is not sure they really know anything, but figures it does not hurt to do a little follow up on what he has been told. After all, a death in Preston Hollow gets news coverage and they have to be right.

 

They are making a movie of the novel, Justified Action by Earl Staggs, and a company known as “Fight Corps” is handling the fight chorography. Owned by Domingo Jack who is working on the set and wanting things to be going better in “Shaky Cam” by J. B. Toner. It is enough to cause a man to pour bourbon into the pumpkin flavored coffee that he loves. It is past time to really take control so that the fight scene is done correctly.

 

Vonda used to love the clubs. In her thirties now, going clubbing is not so much fun in “a ghost turkeys, and a pretty holiday sweater” by Catina Williams. It is the night before Thanksgiving and she is out on the town with her best friend Albert who goes by “Ab.” It is only because of him she is out. She is in a club where none of the guys are age appropriate and she feels like she is being stalked. It does not help that she is being haunted by a ghost who is choosing to make her presence known again to Vonda and Ab. Ten years later and the ghost, Kendra, has yet to move on in this final story in the anthology.

 

In addition to the author bios at the end of the book, there are once again numerous recipes scattered throughout the read. The recipes come from Jay’s sister, Lisa Wagner. With the pandemic raging this year, the focus in these dishes is to use supplies you probably already have in your pantry so you do not have to do extra shopping.

 

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving is another fun read in this long running and tasty anthology series. Each title is a good one where a mystery is always present and humor occasionally appears. Not only is the read a good one, the book also pays a wonderful homage to our friend, Earl Staggs.

 

 

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving

Editor Jay Hartman

Untreed Reads

https://www.untreedreads.com/product/the-killer-wore-cranberry-a-sixth-scandalous-serving-ebook-edited-by-j-alan-hartman/

September 2020

ISBN#: 1949135772

eBook (also available in print format)

150 Pages 

 

Editor Jay Hartman provided an eBook ARC for this read several weeks ago with no expectation of a review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2020, 2021

Short Story Wednesday Review: The Jurors Who Knew Too Much by Gail Farrelly

  

From the massive archive...

Recently released by Untreed Reads this short story revolves around Lorna Lombardi called to serve as a juror in Westchester, New York one January. Kelly Meadows was the 46 year old woman on trial for the murder of her 50 year old husband, Tim. The couple were going through a divorce (though things were civil) and the man’s body (minus the head and an arm) had been found floating in the Hudson River about a month after he had been reported missing.

 

There is no doubt that Tim Hudson is dead. Whether Lorna Lombardi and her fellow juror Ike O’Hara can figure out what truly happened is just part of this intriguing story told primarily by narration with very little dialogue. Told as if you are sitting with Lorna as she recounts what happened that January, the tale moves fast with plenty of clues to keep the reader involved and interested.

 

Much like her enjoyable tale “They eDone Him Wrong” in the anthology “The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping” (also from Untreed Reads) what people say is important in “The Jurors Who Knew Too Much.” In the case of the former keeping your mouth shut might keep you alive. In this case, saying something could help the case for justice.

 

The Jurors Who Knew Too Much

Gail Farrelly

Untreed Reads

http://www.untreedreads.com

March 2013

ASIN: B00BT4HABI

E-book (estimated print length ten pages) 

 

Material was purchased via a gift card by this reviewer for use in an objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2021

Short Story Wednesday Review: The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fourth Meal of Mayhem Edited by J. Alan Hartman

From the massive archive here at Casa Tipple and Home Eatery Library ….

 

In what has become a welcomed annual tradition, Editor J. Alan Hartman and Untreed Reads have a new edition of their annual crime filled Thanksgiving anthology. The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fourth Meal of Mayhem features ten stories, three recipes, and tales of chaos and mayhem often with a touch or considerably more of humor. Like the previous books in the series, all the tales are set on or just before Thanksgiving so there are plenty of mentions of food to make you hungry.

 

After a short introduction by the editor and a recipe by his sister, Lisa Wagner, for “Breakfast Pumpkin Bread” it is on to the stories. First up is “A Foolish Fowl’s Thanksgiving/Cranberry Murder Case” by Big Jim Williams. Heavy on the humor is this tale where an ongoing argument between Herbert and Myrtle Clapsaddle as they talk with a young newspaper reporter is interrupted by a member of the local constabulary. Police Detective First Class Sedgwick Segway has received a trip there is to be a murder at the Clapsaddle farm and is there to check it out.

 

Life was good as Thanksgiving approached in 1970. Darcie had her PhD, she had the position of assistant professor at a public university in upstate New York, and had gotten rid----by way of divorce---her lush of a husband. Then Aunt Nozzie called and there was no escape from having to go home for Thanksgiving in “Leave It To Cleaver” by Lesley Diehl.

 

“The Tater Tot Caper” by Sandra Murphy comes next. Mary is already not thrilled with the stress of cooking and all for Thanksgiving and now their girls are playing lets meet the parents with their boyfriends. She would much rather sit and read some of her new books that arrived than deal with all the relatives and their dietary issues, the new boyfriends, and all the rest of it. Her husband Jim isn’t going to be any help as usual because only football is on his mind. At least she has wine to help her deal with everything though there may not be enough wine to handle this year’s chaos and mayhem.

 

A Sheriff Mollie Goodall story is always a treat. Thankfully Texas author Earl Staggs gives us another with the highly entertaining “Turkey Tuesday.” Thanksgiving is six days away and 800 turkeys destined for the tables of the less fortunate in the area have been stolen from Ashburn’s Grocery Store. They can’t be replaced at this late date. The missing frozen turkeys simply have to be found and the clock is ticking.

 

A recipe for “Easy Bread Stuffing” by Lisa Wagner comes next. This is probably not time to admit this family uses always stuffing mix out of a box. The gravy comes from a jar. The cranberry sauce comes from a can too.

 

“Bogged Down” by Barbara Metzger comes next. Last year’s Thanksgiving had been pretty bad so this year’s simply has to be better. It can’t be worse. At least this year she is staying home with her new dog, new friends, and hopefully a new tradition. That is until Jann talks her into picking cranberries in the nearby cranberry bogs. They got some berries and quite a more in Jann’s desire to avoid the canned stuff.

 

Stan the Dentist has gone to Thanksgiving dinner with Moe Sabatini and his fellow members of organized crime before. While receptionist Mindy is horrified in “More Good Times” by Steve Shrott that Stan would go to Moe’s mansion for Thanksgiving ever again, Stan sees the mobsters as just your average run of the mill patients needing dental work. It is just business and business has been slow. Stan likes to keep his patients happy and when they are good he gives out toys. The mobster guys really like bobbleheads.

 

Rob Chirico comes next with his highly entertaining homage “Murder on the Side (with apologies to Raymond Chandler). It was hot that November morning of 1952 in Los Angeles. It was a Wednesday beneath the smog-laden pall. The beautiful curves walked into his Marlowe’s office.  As beautiful as she is Mrs. Mary Jones should have a perfect life. Instead, she has a problem and she wants Marlowe’s help.

 

The next client is also beautiful when she trots into the private investigator’s office in “Talk, Turkey” by Laird Long. The face nobody would love, but they would love her body. Tina is not only a talking turkey, she has a presidential pardon. Whoever is after her cares about neither in this amusing tale.

 

Just in case you were not hungry enough by this point Lisa Wagner comes next with another recipe. This time it is one for “Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies.”

 

Joanie is at her Mama’s bedside in “It’s A Trap” by Barb Goffman. Mama wanted to die at home and she is about to get that wish as the time is near. Mama also wants Joanie to forgive Elaine. It is her final dying wish. That won’t be easy as there are numerous scores to settle from the past and present.

 

Having a wedding the same time as Thanksgiving has seemed to be a good idea according to her sister, Alicia. She has been married a few times before and plans on doing it again this year in “Thanksgiving in Moderation” by Debra H. Goldstein. Not that she has made good marriage choices in recent years, but the guy this year, Philippe, seems especially problematic in this final story of the anthology.

 

Author bios bring this entertaining installment to a close.

 

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fourth Meal of Mayhem continues the fine tradition of recipes as well as short stories featuring crazed relatives, talking turkeys as well as dead and about to be dead ones, and mayhem during the Thanksgiving season. No doubt inspired by a few relatives the writer’s involved in this year’s anthology have done very well for themselves in crafting these word feasts. The reader’s only problem is how to get through the book without feeling hungry.

 

By the way, my review of the second anthology is here and the third one here. I know I read the first one years ago, but I don’t think I actually reviewed it.

 

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fourth Meal of Mayhem

Edited by J. Alan Hartman

Untreed Reads Publishing

http://www.untreedreads.com

October 2014

ASIN: B00OJLBFA0

E-Book (Paperback available)

180 Pages  

 

Material supplied by the editor in exchange for my objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014, 2021 

The First Two Pages: “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?” by Maggie King

 The First Two Pages: “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?” by Maggie King

WPN: The Publisher Perspective: October 2021

 WPN: The Publisher Perspective: October 2021

WPN: Let’s Talk Diversity by Jay Hartman

 WPN: Let’s Talk Diversity by Jay Hartman

Short Story Wednesday Review: Never Kill A Cat And Other Stories by Miles Archer

Today I remind you of Never Kill A Cat And Other Stories by Miles Archer.

 

This short story collection by Miles Archer opens with the signature story “Never Kill A Cat.” Dolores Sorrento is elderly, very lonely, and spends much of her time reading mystery books. When she isn’t reading, she is talking to her many feline companions. That is when she is not dealing with Tommy Cooper and his parents who live across the street. Tommy Cooper is the terror of the neighborhood. Now, he has gone too far and has to pay for this crime.

 

Renn is supposed to be focused on the live fire exercise at the training grounds. That is a bit difficult since he and Becky had a major fight in the hours preceding. In “Murder In Uniform” Renn does what he needs to do to get through the day.

 

 

It is October of 1973 in San Francisco in “Nobody Gets Outa Here Alive.” Freddy Jones has a job he despises, but at least he has one. A routine trip for smokes on his way home turns into the most intense experience of his life. It changes the whole way he considers the world. Fortunately, his job has the tools needs to take the first steps along his new path.

 

Brian Donovan has lost yet another job as “Eternal Love” begins. He is a good worker, but annoys his coworkers with his attitude. His day is going to get way worse when he gets home.

 

The next several stories feature Doug Mc Cool over the years. As time passes, Doug McCool gets more and more into the private investigator line of work.  That process starts with “For What It’s Worth” where it is 1972 and McCool has returned from Vietnam. He is in San Francisco spending a lot of time in the VA rehab. While there he spends a lot of time with a guy Johnny White. The same Johnny White who, after discharge from rehab, became heavily involved with the Black Panthers and changed his name to Karim Africanus.

 

After about a year or so, McCool got a call from an attorney representing Johnny/Karim. There had been an FBI raid and Jonny/Karim was under arrest for the murder of an informer named Perkins. The attorney thinks that maybe McCool could help as some of those involved in the case might be more willing to talk to a white guy instead of the African American lawyer.

 

Move forward in time a few years and McCool’s latest client is Mrs. Washington in “Hell Hath No Fury.” Her daughter, Noorleen, has been arrested for murder. A criminal defense attorney McCool knows by the name of Peter Tallent told Mrs. Washington to hire McCool to do some leg work, create a report, and he might take the case pro bono. Mr. Tallent is one of the good guys and the case in interesting enough that McCool agrees to do a little digging. It quickly is clear that Norleen is in a bind because of circumstantial evidence. Once they had their suspect in the local jail they quit working the case.

 

His next client is also in a bind, but not with the cops.  In fact, it is because of the San Francisco cops, specifically one by the name of inspector Harry Stanton, that Mr. Mori is in McCool’s office looking for help. Mr. Mori owns a waste hauling company known as “South Metro Waste.” It operates in the south side of San Francisco in the area formerly known as “Butchertown.”  The meat packers the area is known for are no longer around, but South Metro Waste that was started in 1901 is going strong.

 

So strong that the mob is trying to take over his business unless he sells out to an outfit known as “United Haulers” based out of Cleveland, bad things will start happening to his family. McCool likes the guy and agrees to poke a little and see if he can figure out a way to get Mori and his family clear of the problem in “The Art of War.”

 

The beautiful Monica Grant appears in his office doorway in “Il Beso Di Morta.” Married to an investment banker of some type, her husband is apparently in some sort of business deal with a guy known as Dominic Abbruzio. Good old Dominic is deep in the mob and is known by his nickname “Razor.” Mrs. Grant wants McCool to get her husband out of the mess he has gotten himself in to and to do it with our husband having a clue about it.  Good thing she can pay as that hat will be easier said than done.

 

Author Miles Archer shifts narrator gender with his next story titled “The Miller’s Wife’s Tale.”  Told from the perspective of Barbara Brown, McCool’s everything; she has been left behind to hold the fort while McCool cavorts in Mexico with a certain lady.  She is not happy as her hair needs a touch up, she has a headache and feels bloated, and is about to have her time of the month as well as deal with clients.

 

One of those clients is Tammy Wingate who wants them to investigate the string of prostitute murders in the city thanks to a serial killer. She is the executive director of COYOTE, a prostitute support organization. She also has connections to the important people in the city of San Francisco. The cops aren’t getting anywhere in their case so Inspector  Dave Toshi sent her their way.

 

The good Inspector had no idea McCool was in Mexico, but considering Barbara is the real brains of the outfit it should not be a problem. It is one of two cases that she will handle in this story.

 

The final McCool tale is one of pain titled “The Black Hole.” McCool now lives in a trailer contemplating suicide by bottle or gun. It has been months since he had a client and is not in the shape for one. But, a woman by the name of Susan Sharpe is nothing if not persistent.

 

She is divorced and very glad to be rid of her ex-husband. While packing up some stuff across she came across a computer disk. Her ex works for a petroleum company and apparently didn’t take it with him. Somebody is making threats over the disk, Susan is scared, and needs McCool’s help. The first thing to do, after he learns what is on it, is return the damn disk. How to do that is a problem not easily solved.

 

The nine tales that make up Never Kill A Cat And Other Stories are all highly atmospheric and very complicated tales featuring fully developed characters. The McCool tales make up two thirds of the book while providing some very good reading. Those stories frequently play with the classic private detective stereotypes while going off in unconventional tangents. The result is a read recently published by Untreed Reads that is highly entertaining and well worth your time. 

  

Never Kill A Cat And Other Stories

Miles Archer

Untreed Reads

http://www.untreedreads.com/

November 2015

ASIN: B017QGLDGU

E-book

181 Pages

$2.99

 

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2021

Short Story Wednesday Review: Chalkers by Michael Bracken

 It has been a tough few days here for me interspersed with some good which you already know about if you read the news here and elsewhere Saturday. What may not come to mind was the fact that Friday was the four year anniversary since my Mom passed. I know how everybody says 2020 was bad and it was here at times with Scott’s seizure and my health issues including the cancer scare last summer and fall, but 2017 was way worse for me personally. Mom died that January, Sandi spent much of the year in the hospital including that summer when I got us moved here to the house and then Sandi came home on hospice the Friday before Thanksgiving and passed on December 1. Yesterday would have been Sandi’s 61^st birthday. I am still here and still sober, so that counts for something, but the last few days have been really hard. I have not done much of anything, so, today is a repeat for you for Short Story Wednesday.

This week I remind you of Chalkers by Michael Bracken. A lot is going on in these few pages. It is a very good read and I tell you that again in my review from nine years ago. I also remind you to go check out the reading suggestions by Patti Abbott and TracyK for today and every day.

Using chalk to send coded messages on the sidewalks at an unnamed Baptist university in Texas is a way for men with certain interests to contact other men with those same interests. It was done 40 years ago when the narrator had attended the conservative school and it is still the technique used now.

 

40 years ago something happened one night and Bryce Daniels vanished. The eleven remaining numbers of the group have hardly spoken to each other since. Now, thanks to a sidewalk message in chalk in their traditional spot outside the English Building, the remaining members of the group have been summoned to meet once again. Secrets will be revealed in this complex story from author Michael Bracken.

 

Along with his crime fiction, author Michael Bracken is perhaps best known for his confession style stories published in a variety of markets. Such is the case here in Chalkers as the entire story consists of narration without almost any dialogue. A one sentence of dialogue in the story is powerful because of the statement it contains, but also because the one sentence explains almost everything. This short story of slightly more than two thousand words from Untreed Reads Publishing works on all levels and is a good one.

 

Material supplied quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012, 2021

Review: The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving Editor Jay Hartman

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving leads off with a very poignant introduction. In a note that honors the pain that many of us deal with this time of year, the loss of a loved one, Editor Jay Hartman honors author and friend, Earl Staggs. Earl was, and still is as his legacy lives on, a consummate storyteller. More importantly, at least to me, he was a good friend. Earl thought the world of my late wife and went out of his way to spend time with her and me. He was still present months after she passed as he checked on me and pushed me to get back to writing, reading, and more importantly living and staying sober. He was there for many folks in many different was as Jay notes in the introduction. This latest in the series from Untreed Reads pays homage to Earl in every short story in the book. A fitting tribute to a friend to all to all and a man who preferred the short story format.

 

The read kicks off with “Let’s Talk Turkey” by Herschel Cozine. Ulysses, the turkey, is missing and the young boy has come to the police for help finding him. Rick raised the turkey from an egg and wants the help of the police. The case of the missing turkey is going to become very personal by Sergeant Mills.

 

In “Drunk Raisins” by Karl Wainwright, 31-year-old Sheila would prefer not to go out to her grandparents’ farm and deal with all the relatives. Uncle Bob is boring, Grandpa Elliot is a misogynist, and Aunt Livia is convinced that our narrator is gay because she never brought a man. Truth be told, she would not bring anyone she liked or cared about to one of these holiday dinners. While the men watch football, the woman are in the kitchen doing the work and not getting along very well. That bitterness is going to carry over to dinner with wide ranging repercussions.

 

Thanksgiving 2017 find our narrator part of a task force chasing counterfeit currency in “Dinner with the King” by Joseph S. Walker. With her parents out of town and spending the holidays with his brother and his family, and having been dumped by her boyfriend not even a month earlier, New Orleans Detective Sarah Mason had done the personal and professionally smart thing and accepted the dinner invitations from New Orleans Legend Louis Cassel. The man is connected and is a legend in New Orleans. The fact he has invited her to dinner is her first clue that things are about to get very interesting in so many ways. 

 

Stan the Dentist is not intending to go to Moe’s dinner this year. Moe and his mob buddies are going to have to do without him since Moe skipped his yearly checkup. Of course, it will not work out that way in “Some More Good Times” by Steve Shrott. You Do not tell Moe no.

 

Thanksgiving 1973 is the setting for “A Fowl Play Holiday” by Lesley A. Diehl. While it is true that a lot of the husbands in the extended family die young, but that is because the women are badasses and males are genetically weak. Things just happen that way. Our narrator is coming home for the week as she has been asked to come by Aunt Nozzie who has promised that nothing will go wrong this year. Obviously, it is not going to work out that way as it never does.

 

Vivian Witherspoon is the wealthy ruler of her extended family and others. With just weeks to live, she continues to rank her family members on a number scale that only she knows. While each person knows what their number is, they do not know why they are at that number or what it would take, short of killing others, to move up in the ranking. The nine family members all want that coveted number one spot in “A Very Darwin Family Thanksgiving” by Trey Dowell. 200 million dollars and everything in the estate is a powerful incentive to be truly number one in the winner take all tournament.

 

“Nameless Adventure of the Red Carbuncle Or Who Snatched Aunt Jewel’s Jewel” by Bobbi A. Chukran comes next where Henderson’s Jewelry Shoppe has been hit in Nameless, Texas. Kendra O’Keefe had just brought in the piece of costumed jewelry on behalf of her Aunt Jewel. Nearly 100 degrees and almost Thanksgiving, Kendra O’Keefe is hoping the piece fixed will lift Aunt Jewel’s ongoing awful mood. A gift from her late husband, the piece has sentimental value and is literally falling apart. It is not the kind of thing that Dennis Henderson would normally work on, but for Aunt Jewell who he went to school with, he is happy to work on it.  Of course, it goes missing during the daring daylight robbery. If that is not bad enough, Aunt Jewel is refusing to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. Can Thanksgiving be saved? Can the brooch be recovered?

 

It should have been the real deal, but instead the senior citizen residents of the High Towers are getting a tofu turkey. Thirty pounds of Tofu shaped like a turkey and tasting nothing like turkey. While that is a crime on its own, it is not the primary one in “That’s No Turkey, It’s Murder!” by Bert Paul. The reason they are having a tofu turkey is complicated. The reasoning goes back weeks and involves the supreme commander of High Towers, Mrs. Plaid.

 

Kenzie’s mother has a lot of money and the interest accrues nicely each day in “Cranberry Beret” by Steve Liskow. Harry isn’t thrilled they are going to his mother in law’s house for Thanksgiving, but you do what you have to do. Vanessa Van Essen is 63 and on her sixth husband. While he loves Kenzie deeply, the rest of the family is horrible. This dinner is a reminder of that fact in multiple ways.

 

Detective Carl Todd is at work in the Homicide Department of the Dallas Police in “Pecan Pie Sacrifice” by C. C. Guthrie. He has two women at his desk who believe the recent death of 82-year-old Caroline Elliot was more than an accidental fall. The detective that originally investigated the death is off for Thanksgiving, so Carl Todd is talking to them two days before the big holiday. Jessica and Ashley are sure the woman at the house is not Caroline Elliot’s out of town daughter. They think she is there to loot the house. Dallas Detective Carl Todd is not sure they really know anything, but figures it does not hurt to do a little follow up on what he has been told. After all, a death in Preston Hollow gets news coverage and they have to be right.

 

They are making a movie of the novel, Justified Action by Earl Staggs, and a company known as “Fight Corps” is handling the fight chorography. Owned by Domingo Jack who is working on the set and wanting things to be going better in “Shaky Cam” by J. B. Toner. It is enough to cause a man to pour bourbon into the pumpkin flavored coffee that he loves. It is past time to really take control so that the fight scene is done correctly.

 

Vonda used to love the clubs. In her thirties now, going clubbing is not so much fun in “a ghost turkeys, and a pretty holiday sweater” by Catina Williams. It is the night before Thanksgiving and she is out on the town with her best friend Albert who goes by “Ab.” It is only because of him she is out. She is in a club where none of the guys are age appropriate and she feels like she is being stalked. It does not help that she is being haunted by a ghost who is choosing to make her presence known again to Vonda and Ab. Ten years later and the ghost, Kendra, has yet to move on in this final story in the anthology.

 

In addition to the author bios at the end of the book, there are once again numerous recipes scattered throughout the read. The recipes come from Jay’s sister, Lisa Wagner. With the pandemic raging this year, the focus in these dishes is to use supplies you probably already have in your pantry so you do not have to do extra shopping.

 

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving is another fun read in this long running and tasty anthology series. Each title is a good one where a mystery is always present and humor occasionally appears. Not only is the read a good one, the book also pays a wonderful homage to our friend, Earl Staggs.

 

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving

Editor Jay Hartman

Untreed Reads

https://www.untreedreads.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2234

September 2020

ISBN#: 1949135772

eBook (also available in print format)

189 Pages 

 

Editor Jay Hartman provided an eBook ARC for this read several weeks ago with no expectation of a review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2020