Short Story Wednesday Review: Game Face by Mark Troy

From the archive…

  

Texas author Mark Troy brings together in this collection titled GAME FACE eight short stories featuring his signature character Val Lyon. A tough talking wise cracking private investigator that brooks no interference when there is a case to be solved. This former military brat calls Hawaii home.  Along with plenty of the sights, sounds, and history of the islands, readers get strong well written stories featuring complex cases and the always present search for justice.

 

After a forward that explains some of the history behind the character, the book opens with “Teed Off.” Glenn Floeck owns a line of golf shops under the name “Teed Off.” He plans to expand his company to the islands. That means he and his bodyguard, Frodo Baggins, need a car and a driver. Val Lyon can provide both along with plenty of attitude and investigative skills. By working undercover and getting close to him she can get the answers she needs. The answers will come one way or another in this very good story.  

 

Val Lyon is an athlete so there is a sports angle to every story in some way. In “Home Wreckers” star Julie Storm is dead and Coach Sherri Costello, head coach of the Tropical Storm, wants her help.  The players of the women’s Professional Basketball League are not supposed to be dead. But, Julie Storm is very dead and the team, as well as Val Lyon, is in huge trouble.  

 

Next up is “Kill Leader” when Val Lyon has to protect Paula Evangelista from a killer. Paula is something else when she is playing beach volleyball and seemingly scoring at will. She scores off the beach too with a clothing line, a generous sponsor, and work as a model. For somebody, all that is too much and he or she wants her dead.  

 

Val Lyon is at Memorial Arena on the campus of U. C. Santa Christa and back on the court she once played far too many games to count in “The Big Dance With Death.”  Head coach of the female basketball team, Carol Onofrido, needs her help and Val is more than ready to help.  Even if it means the legendary Val Lyon has to go undercover as an assistant coach to stop what appears at first to be stalking while the team works to stay in the tournament.  

 

“Wahine O Ka Hoe” opens with a tragedy in the sea surrounding the island of Oahu. Something went wrong aboard the canoe and now fellow teammate Nani is dead. The medical examiner thinks it was an accident caused by a rogue wave.  Was it? Did someone take advantage of the chaos at sea to kill one of the “Women of The Paddle” or was it an accident?  

 

Readers go from the sea to the air in “Drop Dead Zone.” A constant need in Val Lyon’s life is her need for adrenaline. Because of that, she is onboard a Cessna airplane preparing to make a parachute jump as this story opens. All the hard work of learning how to skydive is about to pay off as she and three others leave the safety of the airplane and begin their fall to earth. Not everyone lands via parachute. Was it an accident or was it murder?  

 

Somebody is swiping the sperm from award winning bulls and owner Doyle Gillispie wants it stopped in “Horns.” He doesn’t know who is the stealing his championship bull sperm, but he knows it is happening and makes it very clear he wants Val Lyon to stop it. The last thing Val wants is this case or this client.  But, you do what you have to do when you need to make the car payment. The championship bulls Gillispie owns and his possible suspect will be at the upcoming rodeo in Maui. So too will be private investigator Val Lyon.  

 

The bites on the surf board Alana Nichols was using indicate a serious shark attack in “Ripper.” There is blood on the remnants of the surf board, most likely blood from Alana Nichols, but there is no body. Terry, Alana’s mother, is convinced she is alive and not a victim of a shark attack.  She has questions, such as what happened to Alana’s computer, and wants Val’s help in finding her daughter.  

 

After eight very good stories, the book closes with Chapter One of the novel Pilikia Is My Business. Pilikia means “trouble” in Hawaiian and public defender Brian Magruder has quite the job for her. I have reviewed the novel before and it is a good one without question.  

 

Val Lyon is an interesting character and one can see how she changes through the years in these previously published stories. Now available as a collection of the single short stories, GAME FACE, not only brings them together, it also includes the cover art work from each single. A nice touch that works well in the collection. Filled with plenty of action, interesting cases, and difficult situations this book is a solidly good read. The book also serves to what the reader appetite for the novel Pilikia Is My Business.

 

One hopes there will be many more Val Lyon stories as well as a novel or two in the future.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4tW7SUA

 

 

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

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2017, 2022, 2026

Short Story Wednesday Review: Game Face by Mark Troy

From the massively magnificent archive… 

Texas author Mark Troy brings together in this collection titled GAME FACE eight short stories featuring his signature character Val Lyon. A tough talking wise cracking private investigator that brooks no interference when there is a case to be solved. This former military brat calls Hawaii home.  Along with plenty of the sights, sounds, and history of the islands, readers get strong well written stories featuring complex cases and the always present search for justice. 

After a forward that explains some of the history behind the character, the book opens with “Teed Off.” Glenn Floeck owns a line of golf shops under the name “Teed Off.” He plans to expand his company to the islands. That means he and his bodyguard, Frodo Baggins, need a car and a driver. Val Lyon can provide both along with plenty of attitude and investigative skills. By working undercover and getting close to him she can get the answers she needs. The answers will come one way or another in this very good story. 

 

Val Lyon is an athlete so there is a sports angle to every story in some way. In “Home Wreckers” star Julie Storm is dead and Coach Sherri Costello, head coach of the Tropical Storm, wants her help.  The players of the women’s Professional Basketball League are not supposed to be dead. But, Julie Storm is very dead and the team, as well as Val Lyon, is in huge trouble. 

 

Next up is “Kill Leader” when Val Lyon has to protect Paula Evangelista from a killer. Paula is something else when she is playing beach volleyball and seemingly scoring at will. She scores off the beach too with a clothing line, a generous sponsor, and work as a model. For somebody, all that is too much and he or she wants her dead. 

 

Val Lyon is at Memorial Arena on the campus of U. C. Santa Christa and back on the court she once played far too many games to count in “The Big Dance With Death.”  Head coach of the female basketball team, Carol Onofrido, needs her help and Val is more than ready to help.  Even if it means the legendary Val Lyon has to go undercover as an assistant coach to stop what appears at first to be stalking while the team works to stay in the tournament. 

 

“Wahine O Ka Hoe” opens with a tragedy in the sea surrounding the island of Oahu. Something went wrong aboard the canoe and now fellow teammate Nani is dead. The medical examiner thinks it was an accident caused by a rogue wave.  Was it? Did someone take advantage of the chaos at sea to kill one of the “Women of The Paddle” or was it an accident? 

 

Readers go from the sea to the air in “Drop Dead Zone.” A constant need in Val Lyon’s life is her need for adrenaline. Because of that, she is onboard a Cessna airplane preparing to make a parachute jump as this story opens. All the hard work of learning how to skydive is about to pay off as she and three others leave the safety of the airplane and begin their fall to earth. Not everyone lands via parachute. Was it an accident or was it murder? 

 

Somebody is swiping the sperm from award winning bulls and owner Doyle Gillispie wants it stopped in “Horns.” He doesn’t know who is the stealing his championship bull sperm, but he knows it is happening and makes it very clear he wants Val Lyon to stop it. The last thing Val wants is this case or this client.  But, you do what you have to do when you need to make the car payment. The championship bulls Gillispie owns and his possible suspect will be at the upcoming rodeo in Maui. So too will be private investigator Val Lyon. 

 

The bites on the surf board Alana Nichols was using indicate a serious shark attack in “Ripper.” There is blood on the remnants of the surf board, most likely blood from Alana Nichols, but there is no body. Terry, Alana’s mother, is convinced she is alive and not a victim of a shark attack.  She has questions, such as what happened to Alana’s computer, and wants Val’s help in finding her daughter. 

 

After eight very good stories, the book closes with Chapter One of the novel Pilikia Is My Business. Pilikia means “trouble” in Hawaiian and public defender Brian Magruder has quite the job for her. I have reviewed the novel before and it is a good one without question. 

 

Val Lyon is an interesting character and one can see how she changes through the years in these previously published stories. Now available as a collection of the single short stories, GAME FACE not only brings them together, it also includes the cover art work from each single. A nice touch that works well in the collection.  Filled with plenty of action, interesting cases, and difficult situations this book is a solidly good read. The book also serves to what the reader appetite for the novel Pilikia Is My Business. 

 

One hopes there will be many more Val Lyon stories as well as a novel or two in the future.

 

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

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2017, 2022

FFB Review: Game Face by Mark Troy

Last week for FFB, I reminded you of Mark Troy’s The Splintered Paddle. Today I remind you of Game Face which is another very good book. For the full list of reading suggestions, make sure you head over to Todd Mason’s Sweet Freedom blog.

Texas author Mark Troy brings together in this collection titled GAME FACE eight short stories featuring his signature character Val Lyon. A tough talking wise cracking private investigator that brooks no interference when there is a case to be solved. This former military brat calls Hawaii home.  Along with plenty of the sights, sounds, and history of the islands, readers get strong well written stories featuring complex cases and the always present search for justice.

After a forward that explains some of the history behind the character, the book opens with “Teed Off.”  Glenn Floeck owns a line of golf shops under the name “Teed Off.”  He plans to expand his company to the islands. That means he and his bodyguard, Frodo Baggins, need a car and a driver. Val Lyon can provide both along with plenty of attitude and investigative skills. By working undercover and getting close to him she can get the answers she needs. The answers will come one way or another in this very good story.

Val Lyon is an athlete so there is a sports angle to every story in some way.  In “Home Wreckers” star Julie Storm is dead and Coach Sherri Costello, head coach of the Tropical Storm, wants her help.  The players of the women’s Professional Basketball League are not supposed to be dead. But, Julie Storm is very dead and the team, as well as Val Lyon, is in huge trouble.

Next up is “Kill Leader” when Val Lyon has to protect Paula Evangelista from a killer. Paula is something else when she is playing beach volleyball and seemingly scoring at will. She scores off the beach too with a clothing line, a generous sponsor, and work as a model. For somebody, all that is too much and he or she wants her dead.

Val Lyon is at Memorial Arena on the campus of U. C. Santa Christa and back on the court she once played far too many games to count in “The Big Dance With Death.”  Head coach of the female basketball team, Carol Onofrido, needs her help and Val is more than ready to help.  Even if it means the legendary Val Lyon has to go undercover as an assistant coach to stop what appears at first to be stalking while the team works to stay in the tournament.

“Wahine O Ka Hoe” opens with a tragedy in the sea surrounding the island of Oahu. Something went wrong aboard the canoe and now fellow teammate Nani is dead. The medical examiner thinks it was an accident caused by a rogue wave.  Was it?  Did someone take advantage of the chaos at sea to kill one of the “Women of The Paddle” or was it an accident?

Readers go from the sea to the air in “Drop Dead Zone.”  A constant need in Val Lyon’s life is her need for adrenaline. Because of that, she is onboard a Cessna airplane preparing to make a parachute jump as this story opens. All the hard work of learning how to skydive is about to pay off as she and three others leave the safety of the airplane and begin their fall to earth. Not everyone lands via parachute. Was it an accident or was it murder? 

Somebody is swiping the sperm from award winning bulls and owner Doyle Gillispie wants it stopped in “Horns.”  He doesn’t know who is the stealing his championship bull sperm, but he knows it is happening and makes it very clear he wants Val Lyon to stop it. The last thing Val wants is this case or this client.  But, you do what you have to do when you need to make the car payment.  The championship bulls Gillispie owns and his possible suspect will be at the upcoming rodeo in Maui and so too will be private investigator Val Lyon.

The bites on the surf board Alana Nichols was using indicate a serious shark attack in “Ripper.”  There is blood on the remnants of the surf board, most likely blood from Alana Nichols, but there is no body. Terry, Alana’s mother, is convinced she is alive and not a victim of a shark attack.  She has questions, such as what happened to Alana’s computer, and wants Val’s help in finding her daughter.

After eight very good stories, the book closes with Chapter One of the novel Pilikia Is My Business.  Pilikia means “trouble” in Hawaiian and public defender Brian Magruder has quite the job for her.  I have reviewed the novel before and it is a good one without question.

Val Lyon is an interesting character and one can see how she changes through the years in these previously published stories. Now available as single short stories, GAME FACE not only brings them together it also includes the cover art work from each single. A nice touch that works well in the collection.  Filled with plenty of action, interesting cases, and difficult situations this book is a solidly good read. The book also serves to what the reader appetite for the novel Pilikia Is My Business.

One hopes there will be many more Val Lyon stories as well as a novel or two in the future.

Game Face

Mark Troy

http://www.marktroy.net

Ilium Books

2011

ISBN 978-0-9848081-1-3

eBook (Paperback format also available)

190 Pages

$2.99

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

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2019

FFB Review: Game Face by Mark Troy

I first told you about this book back in January 2012 here on the blog. More than five years later, it seemed fitting to mention this one again. So, I blew the dust off my review of GAME FACE by Mark Troy today and ran the review again. For more reading suggestions today, make sure to head over to Patti Abbott’s blog. You ought to read her books too.

Texas author Mark Troy brings together in this collection titled GAME FACE eight short stories featuring his signature character Val Lyon. A tough talking wise cracking private investigator that brooks no interference when there is a case to be solved. This former military brat calls Hawaii home.  Along with plenty of the sights, sounds, and history of the islands, readers get strong well written stories featuring complex cases and the always present search for justice.

After a forward that explains some of the history behind the character, the book opens with “Teed Off.” Glenn Floeck owns a line of golf shops under the name “Teed Off.” He plans to expand his company to the islands. That means he and his bodyguard, Frodo Baggins, need a car and a driver. Val Lyon can provide both along with plenty of attitude and investigative skills. By working undercover and getting close to him she can get the answers she needs. The answers will come one way or another in this very good story.

Val Lyon is an athlete so there is a sports angle to every story in some way. In “Home Wreckers” star Julie Storm is dead and Coach Sherri Costello, head coach of the Tropical Storm, wants her help.  The players of the women’s Professional Basketball League are not supposed to be dead. But, Julie Storm is very dead and the team, as well as Val Lyon, is in huge trouble.

Next up is “Kill Leader” when Val Lyon has to protect Paula Evangelista from a killer. Paula is something else when she is playing beach volleyball and seemingly scoring at will. She scores off the beach too with a clothing line, a generous sponsor, and work as a model. For somebody, all that is too much and he or she wants her dead.

Val Lyon is at Memorial Arena on the campus of U. C. Santa Christa and back on the court she once played far too many games to count in “The Big Dance With Death.”  Head coach of the female basketball team, Carol Onofrido, needs her help and Val is more than ready to help.  Even if it means the legendary Val Lyon has to go undercover as an assistant coach to stop what appears at first to be stalking while the team works to stay in the tournament.

“Wahine O Ka Hoe” opens with a tragedy in the sea surrounding the island of Oahu. Something went wrong aboard the canoe and now fellow teammate Nani is dead. The medical examiner thinks it was an accident caused by a rogue wave.  Was it? Did someone take advantage of the chaos at sea to kill one of the “Women of The Paddle” or was it an accident?

Readers go from the sea to the air in “Drop Dead Zone.” A constant need in Val Lyon’s life is her need for adrenaline. Because of that, she is onboard a Cessna airplane preparing to make a parachute jump as this story opens. All the hard work of learning how to skydive is about to pay off as she and three others leave the safety of the airplane and begin their fall to earth. Not everyone lands via parachute. Was it an accident or was it murder? 

Somebody is swiping the sperm from award winning bulls and owner Doyle Gillispie wants it stopped in “Horns.” He doesn’t know who is the stealing his championship bull sperm, but he knows it is happening and makes it very clear he wants Val Lyon to stop it. The last thing Val wants is this case or this client.  But, you do what you have to do when you need to make the car payment. The championship bulls Gillispie owns and his possible suspect will be at the upcoming rodeo in Maui. So too will be private investigator Val Lyon.

The bites on the surf board Alana Nichols was using indicate a serious shark attack in “Ripper.” There is blood on the remnants of the surf board, most likely blood from Alana Nichols, but there is no body. Terry, Alana’s mother, is convinced she is alive and not a victim of a shark attack.  She has questions, such as what happened to Alana’s computer, and wants Val’s help in finding her daughter.

After eight very good stories, the book closes with Chapter One of the novel Pilikia Is My Business. Pilikia means “trouble” in Hawaiian and public defender Brian Magruder has quite the job for her. I have reviewed the novel before and it is a good one without question.

Val Lyon is an interesting character and one can see how she changes through the years in these previously published stories. Now available as a collection of the single short stories, GAME FACE not only brings them together, it also includes the cover art work from each single. A nice touch that works well in the collection.  Filled with plenty of action, interesting cases, and difficult situations this book is a solidly good read. The book also serves to what the reader appetite for the novel Pilikia Is My Business.


One hopes there will be many more Val Lyon stories as well as a novel or two in the future.

GAME FACE

Mark Troy

https://marktroyauthor.com/

Ilium Books

2011

ISBN 978-0-9848081-1-3

eBook (Print also available)
190 Pages
$2.99

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

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2017

Mark Troy and the Female Private Detective: Sarah Watson, 1935-1938

Please welcome back Mark Troy with his perspective on the female private detective. Two Wednesdays ago he detailed Carrie Cashin. This week his focus is on Sarah Watson.

Mark Troy and the Female Private Detective: Sarah Watson, 1935-1938

Among the sisterhood of female crime-fighters are many attractive, hardboiled Janes who have every man they encounter eating out of their hands. Sarah Watson is not one of them. She is middle-aged, frumpy, heavy and charmless. ". . . a large woman,  solid with the solidity of rock." Her clothes are "rusty black," her hair is gray and her bosom is "rigidly corseted." She wears old-fashioned headgear and square-toed shoes. With her craggy chin and incipient moustache, she is not a doll to make the cover of a magazine.

The creation of D. B. McCandless, Sarah Watson appeared in eleven stories in Detective Fiction Weekly from 1935 to 1938. She ran the Watson Detective Agency, ably assisted by a tall, thin red-head named Ben Todd, whom she calls "whipper snapper." The stories are more medium than hard boiled, but the narrative is fast-paced and highly readable.

Sarah carries a gat, as does just about everybody in these stories, and she's not afraid to pull it out of the pocket of her skirt. Neither is she intimidated by gorillas who wield them. When a man sticks a gun into her stomach, she says, "If you shoot there, feller, the bullet will flatten on solid whalebone." More than one gorilla bears the marks of her pistol whipping. Sarah admits that she would like to ". . . beat up a man proper, for once! I'd begin on the nose...The nose is a nice tender place to begin. Maybe I'd break it -- after a while."

Sarah is all determination. She won’t back down from anybody, whether it be the law, a banker, bureaucrats or gangsters, who stand in the way of her solving the case and getting the geetus, and, usually, someone’s goat. Those who do come up against her grudgingly admire her intelligence.

Sarah is amazingly agile for her size and age, able to climb over gates and leap off of trains easily. The stories strain credibility. Sarah is a lone vigilante in a world of bumbling police and incompetent district attorneys. When a known crime figure kidnaps and kills a young girl, only Sarah can bring him to justice by planting the ransom money on him--money which she herself obtained by breaking into the district attorney’s home and taking from his desk where it was conveniently left outside of a locked safe. In another story, she constructs a dummy out of Ben Todd’s clothes, along with a parachute, and tosses the bundle out the window of an airliner in a ruse to convince a crook that someone else has made off with his stolen loot.

In spite of the credibility gap, the stories are fun reads, chiefly due to the interplay between Sarah and the long-suffering Ben. Ben is brash and impetuous and needs to be restrained for his own and Sarah’s good. She locks him in closets or the back of her car, and even singes his hair with a warning shot. He calls her a she-devil and harridan when he’s angry with her, and “old girl” when he’s not. At the end of a case full of bickering, however, she is willing to share her lunch with him, which, of course, she brought from home.

Some of the Sarah Watson stories can be found through an internet search. Two of the best—“The Corpse in the Crystal” (1937) and “He Got What He Asked For” (1937)—are reprinted in Otto Penzler’s The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (2007). Little is known about D. B. McCandless. It’s not even known if McCandless is a man or a woman. He or she is the author of over fifty stories appearing in such magazines as Detective Fiction Weekly, Gangster Stories, Speakeasy Stories, and others. He or she does not appear to have written any novel-length stories.

Mark Troy is the author of The Splintered Paddle, The Rules, Pilikia Is My Business, and Game Face. His website is http://marktroymysterywriter.com

Via Mark Troy-- Black and White Friday (FREE BOOKS)

As posted elsewhere....

Let's turn Black Friday into Black and White Friday, that is, a day for reading instead of shopping. What could be better than a comfortable chair, a leftover turkey sandwich, and a good mystery? 

To get it going, I am making my novella, The Rules, available for free download to Kindle from today through Sunday: http://amzn.to/1iljnye  And my collection of short stories, Game Face, will be available free on Smashwords during the same period: http://bit.ly/1HEqcWN 
 
The Rules is an Ava Rome mystery. Game Face is a collection of all the Val Lyon short stories.

Mark Troy
metroy@mac.com
http://marktroymysterywriter.com
The Splintered Paddle, an Ava Rome Mystery from Five Star Publishing

Via Mark Troy: Read an Excerpt from "The Splintered Paddle"

It is not Sunday, but then again, this is not here either so what the heck. Texas author and good guy Mark Troy who currently has offered the very good THE RULES for free at Amazon also has the first three chapters of his soon to be released book The Splintered Paddle online at his website http://marktroy.net/

The book also happens to be in my TBR via an ARC I got awhile back. Looks to be a good one.

So, go to Mark's site and and then surf over to the "Read An Excerpt From The Splintered Paddle." I didn't know this was up until tonight as he just mentioned it on one of the lists I am on. 

By the way, Mark is the guy who also wrote the very good Game Face and Pilikia Is My Business. If you have not read his work, get familiar as he is really good.