Showing posts with label mysteries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mysteries. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
SleuthSayers: More Books I Recommend
SleuthSayers: More Books I Recommend: How did it get to be October already? The months seem to fly, don't they? Well, having just finished the third quarter of the year, it...
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
Publication Day Review: Fury in Death by J. D. Robb
It is September 2061 as Fury in Death
by J.D. Robb begins, and Eve Dallas, a Lieutenant in the Homicide Division of
NYSPD, has seen a lot of death over the years. Just today in fact as this is
her second time standing over a body. While the previous situation was an
accident, this one certainly was not.
The crime scene she is at is striking. The
broken and mangled body of Lawrence Chu is something unique. Somebody beat him
to death and then kept going. Whomever it was, they kept going long after he was
dead. The killing is clearly a rage killing as the victim was tossed around
like a rag doll.
He was later found by his wife, Rachel
Chu, when she got home. She knows next to nothing about his job as director of
bioengineering science for Banner-Wyst. She has no idea who wanted him dead to
the point that they moped the walls and floor with him.
Dallas knows the killer had to be hyped
up on something to inflict the damage that was done. It was also very personal.
The main questions are of who and why, as they always are. It is up to Dallas,
Peabody, and the team to identify and stop the killer. A killer who has an
agenda and is showing no signs of stopping.
The latest in the long running series is
another good read. All the familiar characters are back with much going on in
the background of the murder investigation. The result is a fun and fast read
where readers know from the earliest stage who is killing and why and the focus
is on the chase. While not one of the best books in the series, Fury in
Death by J. D. Robb is solidly good and well worth your time.
For a more detailed look at the book, make sure to read Lesa Holstine's review.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/45wqRes
My digital ARC reading copy came from
the publisher, St. Martin's Press, through Edelweiss, with no expectation of a
positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Saturday, September 05, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozy foo mysteries-"Murder at First Slice" A Baker Street Mystery by Valerie Burns, "Savvy Summers and the Po’boy Perils" Savvy Summers by Sandra Jackson-Opoku, and "Killer Donuts" A Deputy Donut Mystery by Ginger Bolton https://kingsriverlife.com/09/05/delicious-fun-food-cozy-mysteries-for-your-september-tbr/
We also have the latest Mystery Coming Attractions from Victoria Fair https://kingsriverlife.com/09/05/mystery-current-coming-attractions-september-2026/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "A Golden Opportunity" by Rebecca Saltzer, along with an interesting interview with Rebecca https://kingsriverlife.com/09/05/a-golden-opportunity-for-murder-by-rebecca-saltzer/
And a review of the latest season of "The Chelsea Detective" on Acorn TV https://kingsriverlife.com/09/05/the-chelsea-detective-season-4-on-acorn-tv/
During the week, in honor of Labor Day weekend, we posted a labor-related mystery short story by Edith Maxwell https://kingsriverlife.com/09/02/mystery-short-story-labors-peril/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week, we have a review and giveaway of "Trapped" by D.E. Beckler https://www.krlnews.com/2026/09/trapped-by-d-e-beckler-reviewgiveaway.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Friday, September 04, 2026
Saturday, August 22, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 2 more fun cozies-"All Aboard for Murder" Golden Motel Mystery by Ellen Byron and "Bubble, Bubble, Tea and Trouble" Tea by the Sea Mystery by Vicki Delany https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/pair-of-cozies-from-ellen-byron-vicki-delaney/
And a review and giveaway of "Beach Blonde Betrayal" by Elaine Viets, along with an interesting guest post from Elaine https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/beach-blonde-betrayal-by-elaine-viets/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Ginger Jay Deception" by Jinty James along with a fun interview with Jinty https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/the-ginger-jar-deception-by-jinty-james/
We also have a crime short story by C. Inanen https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/crime-short-story-fair-trade/
Up during the week, another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Yvonna Russell about her new short story collection "Big Apple Whodunit" https://kingsriverlife.com/08/19/big-apple-whodunit/
For those who enjoy fantasy, up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "The Last Shard" by Debbie Atherton https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/the-last-shard-by-debbie-atherton.html
And a review and giveaway of "The Cloak and Dagger Club" by Jackie McMahon https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/the-cloak-and-dagger-club-by-jackie.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Saturday, August 08, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week the latest Mystery Coming Attractions from Victoria Fair https://kingsriverlife.com/08/08/mystery-current-coming-attractions-august-2026/
And a review and giveaway of "The Lies Between the Lines" by Sheila Lowe https://kingsriverlife.com/08/08/the-lies-between-the-lines-by-sheila-lowe/
And a review and giveaway of "A Delicious Deception" by Lucy Burdette, along with a yummy recipe for Snickerdoodles from Lucy https://kingsriverlife.com/08/08/a-delicious-deception-by-lucy-burdette/
We also have a review and giveaway of "Invitation to Murder" by Carol Floriani, along with an interesting interview with Carol https://kingsriverlife.com/08/08/invitation-to-murder-by-carol-floriani/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "Murder by Meringue" by Greta Sinclair https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/murder-by-meringue-by-greta-sinclair.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Sifting Through Secrets" by Catherine Bruns https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/sifting-through-secrets-by-catherine.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Monday, August 03, 2026
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: All the Crime in the World by Gigi Pandian (Editor), Tom Mead (Editor)
Crippen & Landru
Publishers (C&L) compiles and produces short story collections, usually by
a single-author, both contemporary and from the past. It’s the latter that I
find most valuable, since so many authors published prolifically in weekly
newspapers and magazines well before the digital age could capture them for
posterity. Locating copies of these stories is a real challenge; most of the
periodicals are long extinct and were not indexed. Authors contributing to
anthologies of all kinds is common now. These anthologies are seldom indexed in
any meaningful way and a compilation protects short stories that might
otherwise be lost. C&L preserves these stories for generations to come and
for readers interested in an author’s entire output.
In All the Crime in the
World, to be released on 4 August 2026, C&L honors the resurgence in
popularity of the locked room mystery. Editors Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead, both talented
authors of contemporary locked room mystery series, present 14 short stories
from an impressive line-up of international writers.
Most often attributed to John
Dickson Carr (1906-1977), the locked room mystery is one in which there appears
to be no way for the crime to have taken place. All access to the room is locked
or otherwise inaccessible, i.e., the chimney is far too small for a human to
climb down, and all potential culprits can show they were elsewhere but the
valuable relic has been stolen or someone has been killed in that room. Not to
be confused with the closed circle mystery, in which only a few people can be
considered suspects. The classic murder on an island or in a manor house during
a snowstorm is good example of a closed circle mystery. Locked room mysteries
are expected to be fair play, offering all the clues to the solution somewhere
in plain sight, so that readers can work out for themselves how the crime
occurred. I never succeed but the effort adds to the enjoyment of the story.
Included in this collection
are puzzles written by well-known authors from Australia, Brazil, Canada, England,
France, India, Japan, The Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States: Victor
Bonini, James Scott Byrnside, Shelly Dickson Carr, S.A. Cosby, Anne van Doorn,
Martin Edwards, Sulari Gentill, Paul Halter, Christopher Huang, Vaseem Khan, Yamaguchi
Masaya, Josh Pachter, and Ovidia Yu, in addition to a story by editors Gigi
Pandian and Tom Mead.
The narratives take place in
the past, in the present, and in alternate worlds. Locations are eclectic: hotels,
rooftops, universities, tea ceremonies, gardens, birthday parties, weddings, and
a murder mystery party that backfires. The equally diverse set of victims
include a drug dealer, an artificial intelligence engineer, an arrogant author,
a greedy financier, a crooked property manager, an entitled university student,
a hanging judge, and a rising politician. Solutions are nothing less than
ingenious.
Saying much about any one
story risks giving away the answer, which would be unfair. Rest assured they
are all admirable examples of the genre. Starred review from Publishers
Weekly.
·
Publisher:
Crippen & Landru
·
Publication
date: August 4, 2026
·
Language:
English
·
Print
length: 294 pages
·
ISBN-13:
978-1-9714-8906-3
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4w5o5HV
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©202
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, August 02, 2026
Friday, July 31, 2026
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Saturday, July 25, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week a review and giveaway of the latest Longmire mystery by Craig Johnson, "The Brothers McKay" https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/the-brothers-mckay-by-craig-johnson/
We also have reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun mysteries for your summer reading-"Dead Men Don’t Play Fetch" by David Rosenfelt, "Sweet Spot" Ghostwriter Mystery by Kemper Donovan, & "I, Spy" by L.M. Kemp https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/end-of-july-mystery-catchup/
And a review and giveaway of "Murder at Haddonford Manor” by Irina McGrath https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/murder-at-haddonford-manor-by-irina-mcgrath/
And the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions from Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/07/25/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-august-2026/
Up on KRL during the week we posted an excerpt from "The Girl on the Beach" by Carol Snow https://kingsriverlife.com/07/22/excerpt-from-the-girl-on-the-beach-by-carol-snow/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of the latest Marlow Murder Club mystery, "The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts" by Robert Thorogood https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-mysterious-affair-of-judith-potts.html
And a review and Kindle giveaway of "The Corpse at the Cottage" by Kathleen Bridge https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-corpse-at-cottage-by-kathleen.html
And a review and giveaway of "The Taverna at the Edge of Night" by H.Y. Hanna https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-taverna-at-edge-of-night-by-hy.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
_._,_._,_
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Thursday Treats: 7/23/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week.
SMFS
list member Mia Dalia announced that her short story, B Minor, was published
online at The Sunlight Press. You can read it for free here.
SMFS
list member James Patrick Focarile
announced that his short story, What Whiskey Won’t Cure, was published online
at The Saturday Evening Post. You can read it for free here.
.jpg)
Black
Cat Weekly #255 is out and includes short stories by SMFS
list members N. M. Cedeño (Mirror Life
Meltdown), Stacy Woodson (She Loves You), and others. You can pick up the
latest issue here.
SMFS
list member James
W. Ziskin announced that his latest novel, The
Prank, comes out on the 28th. “Set in Christmas 1968, a
thirteen-year-old sociopath befriends his teacher, unaware she loved the man
his prank accidentally killed.” Published by Level
Best-Historia, the read is available in both digital
and print formats at Amazon and other
vendors.
Coming early next month. and edited by SMFS list members, Editors Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles. 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 (The Allegory of the Five Senses), Masaya Yamaguchi, Ovidia Yu, and a brand-new collaboration from the editors. It is currently available for preorder at the publisher, Crippen and Landru.
And,
finally, for something completely different, the fantasy novel, Immortalized
Memories of the Omniverse: Rise of the Draconic Hero, by Alex Rosen is now out. Epic Fantasy and more are present
in this read. I am reading more than one book right now, always a dangerous
practice on my part, and this is one of them. I am not one for fantasy these
days, but I am enjoying it. Sent to me by the publisher, you can get it at Amazon or many other vendors.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Thursday Treats: 7/16/2026
Some reading opportunities of interest this week.
.jpg)
I
am leading off with this publishing news as I am in the new issue this week. Black
Cat Weekly #254 is out and includes my crime fiction short story, A Plan
Comes Together. Also in the issue are frequent guests here, Tom Milani
(Andrea Gutiérrez) and Paula
Messina (A Little Help). You can pick up the
latest issue here.
Also
now out is the latest issue of Kings River Life Mystery Magazine. In addition
to the book giveaways, reviews, and other pieces, Leslie
Budewitz announced that publication of her
short story, Pepper Reece and the Ghost of Arthur Goodwin: A Spice Shop Short
Mystery. You can read it for free here.
Janet Rudloph announced that the latest volume of the Mystery Reader’s Journal was now out. Mystery Readers Journal: Mysteries Set in France (Volume 42:2) is available here. By the way, if you are not already paying attention to her great Mystery Fanfare blog, you should be. I watch a lot of British, and elsewhere, mystery television and I get most of my news on the programs via her blog.
Author
James
H. Lewis announced that his latest novel, The
Boy in the Mirror, is now out. You can pick it up direct from the
author here, or through
several vendors including Amazon.
Author
Allen
Wyler announced that his latest novel, Deadly
Odds 9.0 was out. Published by Stairway
Press, the latest in a long line of
techno-thrillers is available at Amazon and other
vendors. Aubrey reviews it Monday here on the blog.
SMFS
Derringer Coordinator Mark Schuster sent word that John Joseph Adams has
curated the Magic & Mystery collection scheduled to be
released on July 28th. These are seven Amazon Original Tales on
Kindle. Learn more at Amazon.
Speaking
of SMFS, recently re-elected President Joseph S. Walker posted his latest
compilation of recent publishing news of the members. News of the various books
and short stories can be found here.
By
the way, Joseph’s post title reminded me of the great blog, Make Mine Mystery.
While it is dormant now, you can still read the posts if you go to the Make
Mine Mystery blog here.
The anthology, Bad Intentions: A Crime Fiction Anthology Based on the Music of Warren Zevon, has been released by Literary Garage. Edited by Michael K. Downing, the read features fifteen stories from authors, Chance Adorjan, Colin Brightwell, Jesse Binger, Geonn Cannon, Andrew Careaga, Dylan Demasi, Zakariah Johnson, Whiskey Leavins, Scott MacLeod, Bruce W. Most, Joel Nedecky, Nathan Pettigrew, Keith Roysdon, DJ Tuskmor, and Mike Zimmerman. Cover design by Frank Vatel. All proceeds go to benefit Philabundance, a Philadelphia-based charity working to end food insecurity. You can pick it up in print or digital formats at Amazon and other vendors.
Until next time….
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Sunday, July 12, 2026
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week a review and giveaway of "A Botanist's Guide to Tradition and Treachery" by Kate Khavari, along with a fun guest post by Kate about poisonous plants https://kingsriverlife.com/07/11/a-botanists-guide-to-tradition-and-treachery-by-kate-khavari/
And a review and ebook giveaway of "Dreidels and Dead Ends" by Nancy Cohen https://kingsriverlife.com/07/11/dreidels-and-dead-ends-by-nancy-cohen/
And a review and giveaway of "Voted Most Likely to Murder" by Lacey Moon, along with an interesting interview with Lacey https://kingsriverlife.com/07/11/voted-most-likely-to-murder-by-lacey-moone/
We also have a fun mystery short story by Leslie Budewitz https://kingsriverlife.com/07/11/pepper-reece-and-the-ghost-of-arthur-goodwin/
Up during the week we posted another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Greta Sinclair about the fun research she did for her latest book, "Murder by Meringue" https://kingsriverlife.com/07/08/when-research-tastes-this-good/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of the latest Irregular Detective Mystery, "The Vampyre Client" by Jeri Westerson https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-vampyre-client-by-jeri-westerson.html
And a review and giveaway of "Hemlock Bay" by Martin Edwards https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/hemlock-bay-by-martin-edwards.html
And a review and giveaway of "The Redemption Center is Closed On Sundays" by Andrea Hairston. This one is a mystery with a lot of twists--it's a scifi mystery with a dog detective https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/the-redemption-center-is-closed-on.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
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