Earl Staggs and his collection: "Short Stories of Earl Staggs: Mystery Fiction From Hardboiled To Humor"

Featuring sixteen stories written by Earl Staggs, this collection of previously published short stories is a very good one. While the works range in style from cozy to hardboiled noir, you won’t find gory violence or graphic sex. Each story comes with a small introduction that explains the history of the story regarding where it was previously published and how the story came to be. For both readers and writers, the brief introductions showcase not only the variety of publications, but the variety of the works themselves. And yet, like many a good mystery author or crime writer, one can make the case that many, if not all, of these stories share the common theme of justice. The only real question left to answer is how the main character involved determines justice and what that entails for those that have actually committed crimes or have been perceived to have done so. Justice is often not simple in these stories.

 

Fittingly, the book opens with the “Derringer” award winning story “All the Fine Actors.” If the Mayor would just hurry up and finish his remarks, the sniper could do his work and get off the hot roof. Shooting the target is the easy part. Finishing the job is the hard part.

Earl is one of those authors who can easily write female as well as male characters and make it believable. Sheriff Mollie Goodall of the fictional Watango County in North Central Texas makes her first appearance of three in the book with the story titled “A Rainy Day Robbery.” Every single thing is a clue—even the weather.

While Texas is usually the setting of the stories, Earl occasionally uses his former hometown of Baltimore. Such is the case here with “Baltimore Bounty.” Jack is chasing a dangerous fugitive by the name of Tommy Roselli who has fled to Baltimore.  This could be a huge problem and not just because of Roselli and the fact that he is very dangerous. Jack’s past is in Baltimore too and some things just have to be resolved.

If you have read much of Earl’s work before you know that domestic violence and repercussions from that frequently come up in his stories. Unlike real life where justice in such cases is often little more than a myth, in Earl’s stories justice is always dispensed. Detective Sam Hollis works such a case in “Battered” while dealing with his own many issues.

“Brother-In-Law” follows in terms of type of story as well as placement in the book. John’s sister, Linda, is dead and it was no accident. Timmy did it and it is up to John to prove it and settle the will.

“Caught on Christmas Eve” tells the tale of a crime during the holiday season and one man’s attempt to make a real difference. It is a good one.

Suppose you are a hit man. Suppose you are a good one with a number of kills. Suppose you are having dinner in a restaurant when one of your vanquished targets walks in alive. You know she can’t be alive—and yet there she is just a few tables away. What do you do? That is the central point of “Dead Wife Walking.”

Earl comes up with quite the change of pace with his next story titled “Fig Newtons And Heavy Bags.” Two elderly sisters share a home, a penchant for meandering conversations, and interest in a missing person’s case. While Mildred wants to get involved, Agatha does not. The result is a very funny and revealing story set in a conversational format. 

Sheriff Mollie Goodall makes another appearance in “Robbery On Christmas Eve.” Pastor Jimmy Wilson is upset and rightfully so. Somebody stole the church’s money from the locked drawer in his desk in his locked office. Without the missing money, the church might not survive. Sheriff Goodall has to find the suspects and the money fast.

For a writer that first short story that sees print publication is magical and one never forgets that experience. “Room Six” was that one for Earl and it was first published back in 1998 as he notes in his introduction. The Sheriff of South Padre Beach is awaiting the arrival of three men. Three men who are about to finally receive justice that has been thirty years in the making. Some murder cases take longer to close than others.

Information is the key to Silky Sutton’s business in ‘Silky’s Getaway.” Too bad this particular piece of information was wrong.

The usual theme of justice is also involved in “Taking Richie Gold Down” and is noted by Earl in the introduction to the story. It is time for the Drug Kingpin of the South Side to go down—one way or another. John Lawyer, aka “Johnny Law,” plans on finally getting Richie Gold.

“That Night In Galveston” follows and reminds readers that the past is never really gone. It sometimes waits years before rising up to smack you in the face.

“The Chopsticks Clue” exposes not only a murderer but an intriguing backstory between the two main characters. The past is a major theme theme in this story despite Homicide Lieutenant Sue Townes’ refusal to consider it while working the current murder case.

Readers have to wait till nearly the end of the book to get to the first published Sheriff Mollie Goodall story but “The Naked Man On The Roof” is worth waiting for. Small town life in Texas where folks know each other from birth to death plays a key role in this tale. You just have to read it to find out why one of the local residents is up on the hot roof one August afternoon and is naked.

Police Chief Harry Winfield likes to solve crimes and crossword puzzles. He gets the opportunity to do both in “The Waitress” as well as teach the big city boys from Dallas Homicide a thing or two about how to properly conduct a murder investigation.

Featuring the same writing talent that made his novel, Memory of A Murder, so good this collection of stories contains interesting characters, plenty of mysteries and themes, and a variety of locations that come alive for the reader. Currently only available in a variety of e-book formats, the book features a lot of good reads.  The small introduction to each story is a nice touch as it provides readers a glimpse into the writing process and shows how Mr. Staggs has been so successful over the years.

Short Stories of Earl Staggs: Mystery Fiction From Hardboiled To Humor

Earl Staggs

April 2011

E-book—Various Formats

Smashwords ISBN# 978-1-4524-5654-6

Amazon Ebook:  ASIN B004YR8D7W

$2.99

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

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

New Market: Snubnose Press

Sandra Ruttan and Brian Lindenmuth have announced they are launching Snubnose Press. They are planning to publish crime and horror e-books. They prefer dark fiction with a word count of 20-60k.  Further details at the site: http://snubnosepress.wordpress.com/

Online Book Sales

Thanks to Suspense Your Disbelief run by Jenny Milchman comes word that Lorie Ham of Kings River Life is running a book sale. I love book sales and used to haunt them. We did not have book sales at school when I was a kid so I never knew what I was missing. It was not until I was an adult and being dragged to garage sales by my wife Sandi that I realized that often one could find a book treasure amidst the old clothes, broken toys, etc. of a garage sale. I caught the fever. 

These days thanks to the wonderful world of the internet that keeps homebound folks like me plugged into a life beyond the four walls, one can do almost anything online. Including checking out the book sales. Nothing beats finding a good book at a book sale.

Surf over to Jenny Milchman’s neat site titled Suspense Your Disbelief and take a look at what is listed. Lots of good titles there for sale via Lorie Ham of Kings River Life. Take a look at her site too as there are lots of interesting articles, fiction, etc. on there of interest to folks in that particular region of California as well as the rest of the country.

And while you are at it, you might want to take another look at Barry Ergang’s ongoing book sales. In addition to his own works of fiction that he put up at Smashwords, he has his own library of books selling at http://barryergangbooksforsale.yolasite.com/  in a variety of categories including mysteries. For mysteries only, Barry set up  http://jdcarr.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6771  His stock changes frequently thanks to sales as well as adding more titles from his treasure trove of books. Usually, what Barry reviews for his posts for the Friday Forgotten Books segments come from his books for sale.

Now, as frequent readers of this space know as well as what Barry has posted on the various lists, he is helping me by donating funds to help my family out. As Barry has put it:

“Make a purchase and I'll contribute 20% of the total price of the books to Kevin and his family. Just indicate in your e-mail order that you're doing this for Kevin. If you want me to acknowledge you to him, say so. If you'd prefer to remain anonymous, I can simply let him know that an anonymous buyer contributed whatever the amount is. This way, you help one of our friends and colleagues, and come away with something tangible to show for it.”

I very much appreciate Barry’s offer and am very grateful for his help as well as the support of those who have bought books from Barry and donated funds.  Barry is not the only one to make such an offer.

Ben Leroy owner of Tyrus Books has offered a special incentive. In his words:

“We've got limited editions that I'd donate to the cause. If people put $200 in your account, I'll send them a copy of Delta Blues or By Hook or By Crook ($275/$250 suggested retail). The descriptions are on our website.”

I have read and reviewed Delta Blues here and it is a good one. Have not read “By Hook Or By Cook” (and no it is not in my TBR pile--I did look) but it sounds like a good anthology.

So, if you are looking for some good books and want to help out some folks, you have several different choices. The money is all going to good people who really appreciate it.

Kevin

Sandi's Surgery---Postponed

Sandi’s surgery scheduled Monday morning was postponed indefinitely late yesterday afternoon.  That was because the surgery center folks demanded more money than we could possibly pay upfront---even if we both had been working and earning full paychecks. Everyone involved believes Sandi has not met her deductible. She has. We can’t prove it because the insurance company has not processed the transactions she had the past four or five weeks. So, we can’t prove she has met her deductible and they can’t verify that fact.

If we had the kind of money the surgery center wanted, not only would we not be on food stamps, but life would be good. Really good.  You would not see a Chip In widget to your left that was based on the idea that we would have to come up with 300 or so for her surgery. That could have been done if we did not make the car payment.

Heck, if we had the mind of money they were talking about, we could have started making good on our goal of repaying folks for all their financial generosity the last six months since I started talking about how dire things are here. If it was just me, I would have gone homeless and not said a word. But with Sandi and the boys involved, I took the advice of a couple of good friends and started talking about how bad things were/are.

Sandi tried to explain things to the surgery center folks and got nowhere. Once it was clear that the very young lady working on our case for the surgery center didn’t understand our financial reality or have anything at all helpful to offer, the “insurance coordinator” at the doctor’s office agreed it was not possible and would look at other options. His main idea seems to be moving the operation to one of the local area hospitals and that would avoid the upfront costs that the surgery center believes are necessary.

He will start working on this Monday so at this point we have no idea when the surgery will happen. Quite frankly, I would feel better about her having it done at a hospital simply because of her medical history. One would hope that if something unexpected cropped up, having the full resources of any of our local hospitals would help tremendously and with her already on the premises that would speed up treatment. At this point, we spend another weekend with her hurting and waiting and no closer to the goal of getting well. We have no idea when this is now going to happen and she still can’t take her pain pills because of pending surgery.

I know the surgery will not be Friday because I have just been notified by the folks reviewing my social security case that I have been tasked to meet with a mental health therapist Friday around noon to be evaluated for “depression, stress, and anxiety.” Yep—got them all in spades. Who wouldn’t? Seems to me that somebody who did not have them would be a person who needed to meet with some sort of mental health professional.

Instead of sending me to somebody who can look at the physical stuff that is demonstrably wrong with me and might really be able to help, I guess they’re sending me to somebody to determine if it is all in my head.  It isn’t. I have my issues as we all do, but this is not one of them. So, cane in hand and barely able to walk, I will go see this person and cooperate knowing full well that everyone involved is wasting their time.

Wednesday marks the start of the 16^th month since this all happened to me. It has been a long ride and apparently the train is not stopping anytime soon……

FFB Review: THE SUNRISE GUNS (a.k.a. LAW OF THE FORTY-FIVES) by William Colt MacDonald

THE SUNRISE GUNS (a.k.a. LAW OF THE FORTY-FIVES) by William Colt MacDonald

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

A few years ago as of this writing (June 2011), Turner Classic Movies one day ran a marathon of westerns starring Roy Rogers. It was fun to watch them again after so many years, and they got me thinking about many of the B-western heroes whose adventures I followed so avidly when I was a kid. Thus, with a view to revisiting my first childhood and getting a head start on the second, I began to rent some of those films from Netflix—films starring, among others, William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy, Lash Larue, "Wild Bill" Elliott, Allan "Rocky" Lane, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and, as the Three Mesquiteers, Robert Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, and Max Terhune portraying, respectively, Stony Brooke, Tucson Smith, and Lullaby Joslin.^*

As I learned from the credits, the Mesquiteers were created by the prolific western writer William Colt MacDonald. According to a Wikipedia article, two of them originally appeared in the 1929 novel Restless Guns. But it was the 1933 Law of the Forty-Fives, later renamed The Sunrise Guns, that “officially” began the series.

The movies tended to emphasize Stony Brooke as the lead character, but The Sunrise Guns stars Tucson Smith. The book opens when he and Stony are in the town of Juarez in Mexico, having come there seeking a change of scenery and some excitement. They’re disappointed at not having found any of the latter—until they observe a Mexican approach another man who has just emerged from Big Tim’s Palace. They recognize the other man as Hugo Hayden, wealthy owner of the Double-H cattle ranch. The Mexican tries to pull a gun on Hayden, but the latter knocks him down. The Mexican hurries away, and Hayden hails a passing carriage and rides off into the night.

Tucson and Stony wander along until they come to a disreputable neighborhood and enter a cantina. There they spot Hayden among the seedy clientele, and Tucson notices a man gazing intently at Hayden while he slowly removes a gun from its holster. Tucson draws and fires his own gun, downing the would-be assassin.

Chaos ensues, and the trio bolts from the cantina, initially pursued by the Mexican police. Once things settle down a bit, Hayden explains that he was lured to Juarez by someone wanting to sell a valuable bull. “Lookin’ for a chance to start an argument and plug you,” Stony says. Hayden’s ranch is near the town of Yavapai, where there has been trouble of late. A group of unknown raiders have killed a number of men, settlements have been attacked, and cattle have been rustled. Hayden says he wants Tucson and Stony to join his crew—not as cow-punchers, but rather as bodyguards and investigators.

They agree and have barely entered Yavapai when Hayden is gunned down in an ambush. Tucson and Stony determine to stay on and find out who is behind it, knowing that when they do, they’ll also learn the identity of the raiders’ boss. They’re aided in their investigations by the sheriff and his deputy, Lullaby Joslin.

I’ve barely described some of the events in the first four chapters in a book of twenty-two chapters, a book that is pure pulpy delight for fans of western fiction, and especially of B-western films. Shades of James Bond, it even has a nefarious super-villain type, a man named Roantell who has allegedly come to the region to study snakes, but whose machinations have more sinister goals. If I point out that he has a pit of poisonous snakes beneath a trap door in his home, that Tucson eventually confronts him in said home…well, you can probably guess that their meeting isn’t a polite tea party.

This is not a book for someone who wants in-depth character studies or brilliant insights into the human condition. This is the literary equivalent of the westerns kids watched in the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s at Saturday matinees, and on early 1950s television. There is, quite literally, action in every chapter: fists flying, guns spurting flame and smoke, bullets cutting the air. Reading it, one has the feeling that William Colt MacDonald loved every minute of the writing.

I couldn’t put it down, hope to find other Mesquiteers novels, and wholeheartedly recommend that fans of this sort of adventure find copies of   Sunrise Guns (original Title: Law of the Forty-Fives).

That said, let me end with the caveat that MacDonald employed some racial stereotyping and epithets modern readers should find offensive, but which they should also put into the context of the time he was writing about and the times in which he wrote.

*******

^*Other actors portrayed some of these characters at different times as the series progressed and Republic Pictures made changes. John Wayne portrayed Stony Brook in a number of the films. Because it was a successful and popular series, some of the other Poverty Row studios of the era created their own trios of cowboy heroes—e.g., the Rough Riders and the Range Busters.

If you’re ever feeling nostalgic for B-westerns, the outstanding Old Corral website is a must visit.

Barry Ergang © 2011

Winner of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award in the Flash Fiction category, Barry Ergang’s work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. For links to material available, see  Barry’s Smashwords offerings http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/cassidy20

and Barry’s webpages

For the complete list of Friday's Forgotten Books, see http://pattinase.blogspot.com/ 

Thursday Update

We finally got word late today that Sandi was cleared for surgery on Monday. The CT scan was to determine how much fluid she has around her lungs. The fluid showed up as shadows on the x-ray and they wanted a further check to evaluate whether or not she had fluid around her heart and how much fluid was around the lungs. Heart is fine fluid wise. Lungs do have pockets of fluid around both but not to the level that will interfere with the surgery or the anaesthesia.


So, at this point she is scheduled for surgery Monday. They will double check the insurance in the morning and recalculate how much we have to come up with to have the surgery.


Also, some unspecified time tomorrow afternoon, two therapist folks will deliver some sort of knee exercise machine and crutches for post operative treatment. Both Sandi and I will get trained on the use of cructhes (think we have that down already) and how to operate the knee flexing machine.


I offered to do the same thing as the machine but Sandi said no. She says no a lot. I am hoping the surgery will address that too.

The Week So Far

The week so far has meant a lot of time in the offices of various doctors and imaging centers. Thanks to some very shocking generosity by mail from a wonderful person who shall not be named, Sandi has been able to pay for some very expensive tests that suddenly became necessary in the last couple of days. What was supposed to be very routine created a couple of things that raised big red flags and have to be checked.

So, at this point, we await results from a ct scan that was done yesterday afternoon on her chest. We are not sure what they are looking for. We also don't know if the surgery will get the go ahead for Monday as apparently something turned up on the chest x-ray and that resulted in the emergency ct scan.

And so we wait......

Reviewing: "FLANK HAWK: A First Civilization’s Legacy Novel" by Terry W. Ervin II

Zombies are never a good thing.  Souled zombies, ones that can independently think and act, are even worse. Then there are the goblins, ogres, seers, wizards, and more in this time nearly 3000 years in the future where magic is prevalent, dragons fly, and the evil necromancer king seeks to rule the world.  The good people and creatures are far outnumbered by those bent on war and conquest. Those that can harness the most magic can turn the tide of battle –at least for now.

For Krish and his cousin Guzzy, the recent battles outside of their small village have been more then the annual minor attacks designed to disrupt the yearly harvest. The young men fight to defend their village, Pine Ridge, and to protect all they hold dear. With swords and spears protected by magic and salt, they fight on as the enemy in many different forms continues to press the attack and people they know die around them. Back up is on the way as kingdoms make alliances in order to slow the advance of those loyal to the evil necromancer king. One such alliance allows Prince Reveron of Kreese to eventually take over and lead the small group Krish is part of into battle. Krish becomes noticed not only by the Prince but by others and gradually works his way deeper and deeper into the circle of those that Prince Reveron trusts. While Krish may not have had formal military training, he acquires battle skills at a rapid rate and has certain other skills that he continues to try to keep hidden from those around him.

Nearly any fantasy story has to have an epic quest. The one Krish is sent on is huge and could mean the fate of the world as well as what is left of humanity, forever changed in our times, could massively change again. That is assuming he can survive and complete a quest that is nearly impossible from the start. The good thing is he will get some help. The bad thing is that the little help he gets most likely will not nearly be enough.

Blending a fantasy line set nearly 3000 years in the future heavily reliant on magic with a modern day cold and dispassionate tale of technology mercilessly doing exactly what it was designed to do resulting in horrific results, is not easy. Author Terry Ervin makes it look easy as he captivates readers for 288 pages in this very complex book.

Filled with interesting characters, this fully formed world is strangely different and yet at times very relevant to our modern day world of today. Krish is a man who develops throughout the book while never losing his awe at what forces are arrayed against him. Nor does he lose his own sense of purpose and place despite realistic periods of self-doubt and contemplation. The same core values that come across in the first few pages are still there at the end in a smarter more seasoned character.

In a world where nightmares and worse of a child are very much real and life does not last long, Krish battles and delights readers. It is a world that could happen. May even happen as technology spreads and is always vulnerable to use by those bent on power and greed.

The book is highly recommended as “FLANK HAWK “is a mighty good read.

FLANK HAWK: A First Civilization’s Legacy Novel

Terry W. Ervin II

http://www.ervin-author.com/

Gryphonwood Press

http://www.gryphonwoodpress.com/

July 2009

ISBN# 978-0-9825087-0-1

Paperback

290 Pages

$12.99

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

Kevin R.  Tipple © 2011

Reviewing: "Auraria Dead: A Maria Sebastian Mystery" by Melody Scott

Realtor Maria Sebastian had not wanted to take the trip north to Auraria, Georgia with her realtor partner Bonnie Keen but she had to do it. As it happened, both real estate agents had been independently working to sell the same 95 acre wooded tract in northern Georgia for different members in the same investor consortium. Her contact had not told her of the involvement of the other agent and Bonnie’s contact had apparently failed to tell Bonnie that Maria was working on the sale. Now, despite their thirty year age difference and the fact that neither wants to work together or even trust each other, they are forced to do so in order to salvage the sale. With a commission for both of them at stake, they simply have to work together. This mild November day finds them about to walk the property. 

Maria always walks the property she sells and the fact that Bonnie does not want to do so is not going to stop Maria from doing it. Bonnie ends up coming along and clearly is not happy about it. The heavily wooded site is a pretty one with plenty of hills, trees, plants and at least one apparently injured rabbit. Bonnie’s attempt to rescue the rabbit results in Bonnie needing a rescue herself and medical attention. Her actions also result in the discovery of a skeleton that may or may not be someone from Maria’s past.

In between trying to sell the parcel of land despite learning of more and more obstacles for the sale, going home to see her parents for Thanksgiving, and a host of other problems including resolving the identity of the skeleton, Maria maintains a romance with Mason. But, unlike her crazy cousin Emily who has now decided she wants to make clothes and have her own fashion line while telling Maria every thought that ever comes through her head, Maria’s very level headed boyfriend apparently has been keeping secrets from her. The fact that Mason is not the only one she loves that has been doing so does not make her life easier. When you can’t trust the ones you love—what do you do?

Secrets drive these romantic cozy mystery steadily forward the full 290 pages.  Filled with interesting characters, several different mystery storylines, a romantic angle that has its own mystery, and plenty of observations about real world behavior, this recent publication from Wolfmont Press is a good one. Not only does author Melody Scott bring the cast of characters alive, she throws in plenty of twists and turns to keep readers involved all the way to the end that many won’t see coming.

While being a realtor is a major part of the Maria Sebastian character, the read is not bogged down with real estate terms and technical jargon. What little is included is limited and easily explained for the reader. The focus is on the character relationships, the numerous mysteries, and her everyday real world life elements that most, if not all readers, will relate to easily and enjoy.

The result is a solid comfortable read with quite a few twists and turns and a heroine readers care about. Hopefully, “Auraria Dead: A Maria Sebastian Mystery” is the start of a new series. If so, it gets off with a great rock solid beginning. 

Auraria Dead: A Maria Sebastian Mystery

Melody Scott

http://melodyscott.com/index.html

Wolfmont Press

http://www.wolfmont.com

April 2011

ISBN# 978-1-60364-038-1

290 Pages(also available as an e-book)

$14.00

Material supplied by publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

Roy Rogers and Earl Staggs and Carol Too!

On one of the lists I am on, it has been discussed over the last few days that the Roy Rogers museum has closed.  That news got Earl to blow the dust off of one of his very rare non fiction pieces and put it up on his website along with a picture of Roy, Earl and Earl's lovely wife Carol.  Take a look at http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com/white-hats-and-happy-trails/

While you are there, poke around a bit. Earl has a new e-book of short stories out that he is plugging on there too. I am about two thirds of the way through it and it is a good one. I would also recommend that mystery novel he wrote awhile back, "Memory of a Murder."

It is a good one.

A Family Update

Somebody said in an e-mail to me earlier this week that I owed no one an explanation of what was going on here. On the contrary, I think I do. When I ask for your help in donations and support, when I am literally begging for help, I owe you an explanation of everything going on and in detail. My life and by extension all of our lives, is an open book.  

It has been a rough week. I fell a number of times, especially in the last two days, which is always scary and painful. Nothing broken but my bruises have bruises that have bruises.  I am considering outsourcing my bruises overseas as I have far too many and no way to support them.

Thursday was the one year anniversary of my mother-in-law’s passing. An anniversary made even more painful for Sandi because the person responsible for handling the estate has failed to give Sandi or her brother the personal items that were to be theirs or finalize the estate situation. It is just a mess and one that is not going to go away anytime soon. Missing her Mom is hard enough, but the garbage that has been deliberately caused around it makes everything so much worse.

Thursday also meant it was time to go to the doctor again. Sandi saw the knee doctor Thursday morning and the news was not good. We kind of expected bad news as her lower leg in the bone bruise area had in the last week started hurting just as much as it ever had and the knee itself was swollen again and painful. A new complication was the fact that the upper leg, the area above the knee, was now giving her considerable pain as well.

So, we knew going in that most likely another injection was off the table and something more serious would be coming. He looked again at everything and her MRI, etc. and now believes that what little meniscus she has in her knee is shredded and not salvageable. He believes she is pretty much a bone on bone situation and deteriorating. He has her scheduled for some sort of knee scoping deal on the 13th (how we shall pay for this--a well as everything else-- I have no idea) to clean out the debris and inject some sort of artificial cartilage type junk to pad things in there. He wants her cleared by the general practice doctor and all of her records for the last decade to make sure she can safely be put fully under so that he can do all this on her knee. He believes the knee is collapsing on itself and this is causing stress down the leg and that is why her leg is so badly bruised below the knee and getting worse as well as muscle tearing above the knee. Yes, the muscles in her upper leg are starting to separate and let go in his opinion because the knee is collapsing.

The only other option is an immediate total knee replacement.

So, assuming this works, she will be on crutches a minimum of four weeks after surgery and at some point will start doing physical therapy. While her work can’t actually help with anything as they reserve that for fulltime folks only, they have been supportive of her and understanding.

We had already alerted the food stamp folks three weeks ago to what was going on by phone and by mail. We had been told  that all we had to do was send in copies of the paperwork from work and the doctor and they would be added to our case and adjustments would be made for whatever we qualified for based on our new situation.

We found out yesterday that is all bogus bull –you-know-what.

Things can never, ever, be simple.

Instead, what we have to do is fill out their new application when it arrives, send it to Midland, Texas for processing and wait for them to schedule another phone interview for Food Stamps, Temporary Aide to Needy Families, etc. We also need to resend copies of everything we have been sending the last month since she went on unpaid medical leave as well as have those involved fill out a couple more forms. All that has to be received and processed and then they will have to schedule the phone interview, evaluate everything and decide if we qualify for whatever.

Basically, instead of just adding the current data and adjusting the account for our worse off situation, we have to start over from scratch and have a brand new case and everything. They have up to 45 days once they get the new application which means the clock just keeps ticking with no help in the meantime.

I have no idea what we are going to do. We are past due on everything and somehow have to come up with money for surgery too. Despite explaining the situation to the medical folks, no allowances or breaks are allowed because it is a business and they just can’t afford to make a concession for one patient over another.

While I do understand their point, it does not help us at all.

We aren’t bad people. Just broke people. We did not choose this.

FFB Review: "Dying Embers" by Robert E. Bailey

"People can be trusted to lie. They lie in the bedroom, the boardroom, and the courtroom. The biggest lies are told the loudest. The worst ones are the ones they whisper to themselves." (Page 9) 

In this intense sequel to his book "Private Heat" author Robert E. Bailey brings back Art Hardin and pushes him to the literal edge of losing it all. It begins when he is hired by Scott Lambert, a wealthy businessman about to take his company public on the back of some cutting edge technology, to find a certain person named Anne Jones. He knew her in college and was attracted to her and because of one thing or the other, he lost track of her. Hardin agrees with the provisions that Mr. Lambert does not get her address and that once found she has to make the first contact.

Mr. Lambert agrees and then before he leaves their meeting, tells Art that the operative working undercover for Art's wife, Wendy, who runs an industrial security business, hasn't made contact in a week. Art agrees to pass on the message to his wife and begins the search for Anne Jones. Before long he finds the reclusive artist locked behind the gates in a nearby wealthy mansion almost as if she is the prisoner of a wealthy patron.

Having found her, he thinks the case is solved but it is actually just the beginning of a rapidly escalating nightmare. Through as series of increasingly violent events, he is attacked professionally and personally again and again to the point that his marriage is threatened. He has become a target and should he accept the FBI's plan which might be the only way out, he just might die anyway. However, death might be preferable.

This is one of those rare cases where the second book from an author is even better than the first. With the complexity of plot, it reminds me very favorably of an early Robert Ludlum where reality is nothing more than smoke and mirrors and the main character is a pawn in everyone else's game. Just when the situation is under control, or at least appears to be, the situation changes and violently morphs into something else.

Having laid the groundwork in the first novel, this book also serves to bring more attention to the secondary characters in Art's life. Most notably his wife Wendy and his teenage sons, Danny and Ben. Not only does this case threaten the family's professional livelihood, it threatens their marriage. Having a husband arrested for some of the things Art is accused of, would make any wife question what she knows to be true about her husband and her marriage. The dynamic that flows between Wendy and her husband severs as a major secondary storyline in this novel and something I am sure will be pursued in the future.

The same small criticism of the first book holds here as well regarding names and keeping track of the players. It should be noted that this book is significantly more complicated than the first, which was fairly complicated, which makes the naming issue more critical. Still, the criticism is minor and should not deter potential readers, especially with a third book planned to be out in the spring.

The news of another book in the series is very good news as Art and his secondary characters are fast becoming old friends. That is a somewhat risky proposition, as they seem to be leading very violent lives lately with little sleep. But, in the long run, it's worth it.


Book Facts:


Dying Embers (An Art Hardin Mystery)
By Robert Bailey
M. Evans and Company, Inc.
2003
ISBN # 0-87131-997-7
Hardback
$21.95 US




Kevin R. Tipple © 2004, 2011

For a complete list of FFB reviews and particiapants as well as lots of good stuff, please see Patti Abbott's blog at: http://pattinase.blogspot.com/

Barry returns next Friday for FFB and that should be good.