Review: "Nightzone: The Posadas County Mysteries" by Steven F. Havill

Known for his legendary insomnia it would surprise no one to learn that retired Posadas County sheriff William K. Gastner is out and about somewhere in the county in the long hours of the night. This February night at one in the morning finds him on a rim rock of Cat Mesa wrapped up in a blanket looking at the stars and thinking about Bennett's Trail and his recent discovery of a Colt single action revolver lodged in a nearby crevice. Along with the possible history of a legendary weapon, also on his mind is the upcoming concert by one of the children of Undersheriff  Estelle Reyes Guzman and the fact that his small adobe home is going to serve as the host for the traveling faculty and stage crew in just a few days.

His thoughts are interrupted by two flashes of light far to the south more than at least 20 miles away. Over the next few minutes, Gastner sees what appears to be the start of a prairie wildfire as well as a pair of headlights going north on County Road 14. Whomever is on that stretch of gravel road seems to be fleeing where the building prairie wildfire started. Bill Gastner calls it in and then, like the police officer he was and to a certain extent still is, is drawn to where the action is as things rapidly escalate. Before long, Gastner is being second guessed by those who should know better, is a target of a psycho, and a wealthy rancher wants him for a job. Everybody wants a piece of him while all Gastner wants to do is stay out of it and listen to the music.

Steven F. Havill's latest in the series now branded as The Posadas County Mysteries is another good one. Gastner takes primary stage, as he used to when this series first started with Heartshot, and reminds loyal readers just how good he can be. Much like Sheriff Dan Rhodes as envisioned by Bill Crider or Sheriff Walt Longmire by Craig Johnson, Bill Gastner is an old friend and very much welcome companion.

Nightzone: The Posadas County Mysteries reflects an author at the top of his game in a story that is full throttle from start to finish. Featuring a number of characters long familiar to series readers, the tale is of family just as much as crime. As always, the author's love for the New Mexico landscape depicted in the fictional Posadas County is clear and detailed in yet another simply great read.

Nightzone: The Posadas County Mysteries

Steven F. Havill

Poisoned Pen Press

http://www.poisonedpenpress.com

October 2013

ISBN# 978-1-4642-0069-4

Hardback

305 Pages

$24.95

Material courtesy of the good folks of the Haggard Branch of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Barry Ergang is reading the first book, Heartshot, and alerted me to the fact that it is William C. Gastner in that book as opposed to the William K. Gastner here. A quick check on Amazon of both books verified the middle name discrepancy. I am not changing it here as I can only go by what the author wrote. No matter the middle name, these are great books and I strongly recommend this series.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Back Home

Back home and Sandi's kidney function has vastly improved which is a huge relief. Other blood work looked okay. Plan is for blood work next Friday with a doctor visit as well as the six hour plus IVIG infusion to hopefully stabalize her immune system.

FFB Review: "The Tattoo Murder Case" by Akimitsu Takagi / Translator Deborah Boehm (Reviewed by Patrick Ohl)

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books with Patti Abbott. The list will be here later today. In the meantime, please welcome back  Patrick Ohl…

There is a legend about three powerful sorcerers who once lived in the Nagano prefecture. They were known as Tsunedahime, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, and have been the subjects of numerous legends, plays … and tattoos. Akimitsu Takagi’s The Tattoo Murder Case involves the story of three such tattoos.

Mysteries in Japan have evolved in a completely different direction than those in the Anglo-Saxon world, at least from what I can gather. I don’t know Japanese, nor am I too familiar with the culture, but the translations we get into English only seem to confirm the idea. It seems that in Japan, the “game” is still highly respected—you give the readers all the clues and you tell a story instead of wallowing in angst and self-pity. In other words, a Japanese detective novel is about a mystery, and not about telling readers how awful society is, vaguely disguising the lecture as a mystery by throwing in a corpse or two and some violence.

So as you can probably tell, I eagerly looked forward to revisiting the Japanese detective story, finally settling on The Tattoo Murder Case. This particular book was originally published in 1948, and was published in English by Soho Press. And much to my delight, I discovered that it involved a locked-room mystery!

In itself, that posed a difficulty, because Japanese-style homes do not lend themselves very well to the locked-room mystery. Takagi finds a way around this, however, and an explanation is given in full. The situation is an intriguing one: a woman, beautifully tattooed, is found in her locked bathroom, murdered. More specifically, her head and limbs are found, because some maniac has carted off the tattooed torso for himself!!!

And thus the plot is set into motion. Steeped in the world of that Japanese art tattoo, The Tattoo Murder Case is a fascinating read. You really get a lot of information on post-WWII Japan, with American GI’s roaming the streets, side-by-side with Japanese citizens who are still getting used to the Emperor’s announcement that he is not, after all, a God. Tattoos are still technically illegal, and the police might choose any time to crack down on them, so a sense of shadiness is embedded right into the plot. When the author talks about these tattoos and the appreciation societies and the mad collectors who literally will decorate their homes with tattooed human skins… the book is at its most fascinating.

There’s also a lot of neat touches of social commentary, all done quite subtly. I’m sort of surprised you could get away with publishing this kind of stuff in 1948… although then again, this was Japan and there was a fifty-year delay in getting it published in the States. Some of this material is rather sickening in fact, such as one point in the story in which several prostitutes are questioned, and one of them is a mere fourteen years old. Then there’s the nearly-sexual fetish one character has for tattoos… And the most disturbingly beautiful art collection I’ve ever read about!

Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t quite live up to its promise. The situation is intriguing and there are several moments with seemingly-supernatural touches. All of this is excellent build-up to a rather anticlimactic finish. Most of the plot’s secrets become fairly obvious by the end, with only one or two surprises left. One of these surprises is how the locked-room trick was worked… but to be honest, I’ve never been a fan of such tricks. All the variations work on the same principle. With merely a few memorably ingenious exceptions, they all seem to boil down to one major mish-mash of a category of locked-room solutions. It’s very underwhelming to say the least. Instead of a gasp of astonishment—“How could I have been so silly as to not see it?”  my reactions was more of an: “Oh, so it was just this type of solution all over again…”

There’s one other major problem with the book, and that is the translation. It’s not a bad translation, let me clear that up, and I’m not blaming anyone here, least of all translator Deborah Boehm. In fact I’d love to see more of this sort of stuff translated. However, there is a lot of explanatory material in the book. Some of it makes sense, but much of it seems out of place—something any Japanese reader at the time would not have needed to be told. That information seems like it was added to help explain things to the Western reader, but to be honest, they tend to interrupt narrative flow. That’s why I prefer the footnote approach personally.

Still, The Tattoo Murder Case is an interesting book overall. It reads like a Japanese S. S. Van Dine without Philo Vance. It’s just as tricky and ingenious… and unfortunately, most of it is just as obvious. The book’s title even fits the pattern of Van Dine’s titles: The [Six Letter Word] Murder Case. It’s a tricky, complex, and delightful read, and it’s pretty well written too… it just doesn’t get that extra push of ingenuity to make it a classic like The Tokyo Zodiac Murders.

Notes: Unfortunately, the publisher seems to have missed out on the whole this-is-a-puzzle-mystery thing. The reviews they choose to quote describe the book in distinctly modern terms: “chilling”, “kinky”, a tale of voyeurism “down the charred streets of bombed-out Tokyo” involving “sexual obsession and perversity”. One review even calls the locked-room mystery one that will outdo John Dickinson Carr!!! The truth is, this is an excellent fair-play puzzle mystery that should be enjoyed by fans of the Golden Age mystery despite its flaws. Don’t be fooled by the rather off-putting reviews.

Patrick Ohl ©2014

Patrick Ohl is a 20-year old Canadian crime fiction aficionado who enjoys hobbies such as taxidermy and runs a dilapidated motel in the middle of nowhere alongside his crazed mother. He enjoys relaxing in his subterranean evil lair while watching his favourite hockey team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and will occasionally make chicken chow mein to die for. His life is accompanied by a soundtrack composed by John Williams, and James Earl Jones provides occasional voice-overs.

Doctor Day Tomorrow

Sandi has blood work in the morning for sure. Depending on how her kidneys are doing, or not doing as the case may be, we could be there several hours while they do some IV stuff.  I am hoping not for her sake as well as my own as I have been feeling really bad the last couple of days.

Nothing that I can point to specifically, I just feel way worse than normal. It is absolutely exhausting to do much of anything and tomorrow is going to be one of those days. I hate being a grown up....life was not supposed to be this way.

Review: "Thuglit: Issue Nine" Edited by Todd Robinson

Thuglit: Issue Nine opens with “How to Make the Perfect New York Bagel” by Rob W. Hart. Mikey, like his father before him, makes bagels either plain or with salt. While the neighborhood on the Lower East Side is changing around him, he isn’t about to change the way he makes bagels or the way he handles his business. At his age he isn’t about to change in a story that is as much about the past as it is about the present. Sometimes old school is still the best way no matter how things are done now.

“Feeling Good” by Max Sheridan comes next featuring a guy who has his life and business all figured out. Unlike Mikey in the previous story, this guy is firmly in control professionally and personally and made calculated choices to get ahead in the world of publishing. He was able to do that because he has a clear idea what will sell in today’s market. He does what he has to do and that starts with drawing you in.

Romantic relationships that don’t work out well are a constant theme on daytime talk shows and, of course, in crime fiction.  That is certainly the case in the next two stories starting off with “Visitor at Copenhagen Street” by Jen Conley. She smells the hash as soon as she opens the door at her London apartment. Clearly, her boyfriend, Colin, has a guest and she knows the role she is expected to play. Colin has certain expectations and the 23 year old Amy knows to earn his love and good graces she best follow his expectations and plans as she is far from home.

Jason is sure his wife is cheating on him. He wants to hire a private detective in “The Bottom of My Heart” by Adam McFarlane. Natalie is the wife in question in a case full of pain and more questions than answers.

Dispensing justice is often necessary and one does not look to law enforcement to do it. You take care of your own and that is readily apparent in the next several stories which begin with “Redline” by Eddie McNamara. Tommy “Devs” Riordan runs the neighborhood his way building off a hard earned reputation. He wants his street team of young adolescents to do what he says that summer of 1989 during the bike wars.

Nathan Rhodes isn’t doing very well these days in “Catch and Release” by Harry St. John. While things have clearly taken a toll on him based on his physical appearance e, he still has not suffered enough for what he did. Others involved have not suffered enough either which results in a reunion of sorts.

“She Died With Grace” by Stuart Smith and Stephen Zippilli follows with a family on the run and looking for a specific isolated cabin. Like the characters in the proceeding story they can’t run from the threat or their shared past.

Selling weed in the summer of 1976 is what started things sideways in “Pimp Game ’76” by R. J. Martin Jr. Tony King got into the pimp game because of what he started learning that summer. One always has to respect the game no matter what it is, but especially the pimp game.

As always in each Thuglit edition, the tales presented here are solidly good ones featuring characters on the edge in so many ways. Some by deliberate choice, others by circumstance, the characters involved will not make you feel good about humanity in general. If you learn nothing else from reading this latest edition, understand that you can’t run from your past and you always better respect the game.

Thuglit: Issue Nine

Edited by Todd Robinson

Thuglit Publishing

http://www.thuglit.com

ISBN-10: 1494861399

December 2013

E-Book (also available in paperback)

151 pages

$0.99

Material was purchased to read/review using funds thankfully available to me via the Amazon Associate program.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Review: "Baby Shark’s Grass Widow Legacy" by Robert Fate

It is June 1961 as this sixth book in the series opens. Kristin Van Dijk, known to one and all as “Baby Shark,” has always pushed things to the edge. While never fully expressed, no matter the situation, she carries herself with an attitude that she does not care whether she lives or dies. Working with Fort Worth Private Investigator Otis Millett has not polished her rough edges though he and others have tried. Working for him has increased her skill set while also making violent situations ultimately involving the police a little smoother than they would have been otherwise. But, that may be about to change as this latest incident involving Baby Shark might be too much for all involved to ignore. Going solo has consequences.

While the gates of hell just received two more very worthy inductees, in the land of the living Baby Shark has a problem.  Five years of working with Otis is not going to make this go away. Even with her background there are limits and she has really done it this time. Otis isn’t the only one who thinks she needs a vacation to clear her head and get her mind straight. He is the only one around who could enforce her taking a break and he definitely wants her out of town for a bit.

Baby Shark hits the road intending to see some old friends and get back to what she used to do to make money--play pool. Her moniker is legendary and those who don’t know of her in smoky pool rooms and dives across the state of Texas are about to get a crash course in reality. The only problem with her plan is that she might find more trouble out on the road than if she had stayed home and worked cases.

The series that started with the powerful debut novel Baby Shark (reviewed here) just keeps getting better and better. Plenty of action, complicated characters, and powerful imagery fuel this high octane series in reads that don’t stop until the final words.  Baby Shark’s Grass Widow Legacy is another very good read in an excellent series featuring a character forged in fire and blood determined to dispense justice as she sees fit. In her world some folks need help and a lot of folks need killing and she intends to do both while running the table.

Baby Shark’s Grass Widow Legacy  

Robert Fate

http://www.robertfate.com

Self-Published

October 2013

ASIN: B00GCYQHMS

266 Pages

$3.99

Material was purchased last month to read/review thanks to a small credit in my Amazon Associates account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
http://www.amazon.com/gp/prime/signup/videos?tag= kevscor-20

Lady Sandra: Valentine’s Day Projects for teens to make

 Sandi's latest blog. I convinced her to keep her iOffer store up for now so scroll down the blog to get the details on her latest sale.

Lady Sandra: Valentine’s Day Projects for teens to make: These are some fun ideas for teens to make the bracelets might be a great idea to do for other holidays, too. Unfortunately, the last p...

Via The Passive Voice---Impatience Has Its Reward: Books Are Rolled Out Faster

 This has been going on for several years now in traditional publishing. While some authors are handling the pace by churning out books for several series each year, others are cranking out new installments in a series. Either way, I think in general, the practice leads to lower quality reads as the pressure to do it increases.

Impatience Has Its Reward: Books Are Rolled Out Faster

Mystery Fanfare: Lovey Awards 2014

Yet more books I have not read......

Mystery Fanfare: Lovey Awards 2014: Love is Murder Mystery Conference announced the 2014 Lovey Awards: Best First Novel: One Man’s Castle by J. Michael Major (Five Star) Ot...

Flash Jab Fiction: Drabble Challenge #1

Flash Jab Fiction: Drabble Challenge #1: Distance The rules for the challenge are simple:  1)100 words exactly 2) Use this picture as the inspiration for you piece 3)...

KRL This Week-- Valentine's Day mystery fun, Triss Stein, Lucy Burdette, JJ Cook, giveaways & more in KRL

As posted elsewhere over the weekend....
 

This morning in Kings River Life Magazine in honor of Valentine's Day Sharon Tucker talks about 3 mystery characters that have trouble with romance-Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles, M.C. Beaton's Hamish McBeth & Janet Neel’s Scotland Yard DCI John McLeish. http://kingsriverlife.com/02/08/my-dysfunctional-valentine-three-mysteries-of-love-going-going-gone-awry/

We also have reviews & giveaway of 4 more great Penguin mysteries-"Murder with Ganache": A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette, "Murder Sends a Postcard": A Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery By Christy Fifield, "Playing with Fire" by  J.J. Cook, and "Zero Degree Murder" by M. L. Rowland http://kingsriverlife.com/02/08/penguin-mystery-fun-in-february/

Also up this morning, Sunny Frazier has the first of her new column Coming Attractions, where she shares about some mystery novels coming out soon-this time by authors who will be at Left Coast Crime 2014 http://kingsriverlife.com/02/08/coming-attractions-countdown-to-left-coast-crime/

Also in honor of Valentine's Day mystery author Jeanne Matthews shares a guest post about murder and love http://kingsriverlife.com/02/08/love-is-murder/

We also have a review & giveaway of Triss Stein mystery novel "Brooklyn Graves", which is coming out soon http://kingsriverlife.com/02/08/brooklyn-graves-by-triss-stein

Lastly for our fantasy & vampire readers we have a review & giveaway of M L Brennan new vampire novel "Iron Night" http://kingsriverlife.com/02/08/iron-night-by-m-l-brennan/

Watch for some Valentine's Day mystery short stories later this week!

As always, these and much more can also be found by going to our home page and scrolling down http://KingsRiverLife.com
Happy reading, Lorie

--

KRL is now selling advertising & we have special discounts for
mystery authors & bookstores! Ask me about it!
Mystery section in Kings River Life http://KingsRiverLife.com

Check out my own blog at http://mysteryratscloset.blogspot.com/

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free Book! Last Day! Get Your Copy Now!

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free Book! Last Day! Get Your Copy Now!: This time it's for real! And if you're so inclined, please post a short review on Amazon after you read the book. Amazon.com: Out...

RTE UPDATE--New Interview, New Crime Fiction Reviews at RTE

As posted elewhere over the weekend...

At RTE this week we have

Fifteen new crime fiction reviews:
http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com

Sabine Durrant in the 'Sixty seconds with . . .' interview hot seat:

http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/interviews.html?id=175

Reviews this week:

TITLE                    AUTHOR                REVIEWER

UNDER YOUR SKIN    Sabine Durrant Deb Shoss       
A woman who appears to have it all has her life all but destroyed after she finds the dead body of a young woman while taking her morning run.

COLD STORAGE, ALASKA  John Straley Barbara Fister    
When Clive McCahon gets out of prison, he returns to small town Alaska to open a bar, using drug money that a former colleague believes is his.

LAKE OF TEARS    Mary Logue        Barbara Fister   
Human remains are found in the ashes of ceremonially burned boat sculpture just as her boss's heart attack forces Claire Watkins to step in as acting sheriff.

DYING TO KNOW  T.J. O'Connor    Diana Borse           
Homicide Detective Oliver Tucker (“Tuck”) is shot to death in the opening of the mystery but somehow is not gone.  Mostly invisible and unnoticed, he determines to find and punish his murderer but he is still a jealous husband and he suspects literally everyone, including his anthropologist wife Dr. Angela Tucker and his former partner “Bear” Braddock.

TIGER SHRIMP TANGO    Tim Dorsey   Sarah Dudley       
Serge Storm and sidekick Coleman are dealing with scam artists in the Sunshine State with their own style of vigilant justice

THE JOSHUA STONE        James Barney    Anne Corey       
When a famous physicist, long presumed dead, stumbles into a rural West Virginia coffee shop with a bullet wound, Mike Califano, a government analyst, is tasked with uncovering secret experiments that involve an international web of evil and pose a terrible threat to the world

RED 1-2-3     John Katzenbach    Paris Abell       
A serial killer decides to kill three women on the same day, but he doesn’t expect them to find each other and turn the tables on him.

BROTHERHOOD OF FEAR    Paul Grossman     Yvonne Klein   
Following Hitler's rise to power, Willi Kraus, formerly Berlin's top police detective, is now an exile in Paris where his detective talents are used by various and shadowy interests.

HUNTING SHADOWS    Charles Todd        PJ Coldren       
Inspector Ian Rutledge has to find a sniper whose targets seem to have no connection to each other.

A MEDAL FOR MURDER    Frances Brody    Meredith Frazier   
Set in Harrogate, England, in the 1920s, this mystery is the second in a series starring Kate Shackleton, a private detective who begins by investigating a pawnshop robbery but quickly finds herself involved with murder, kidnapping, and secrets from the past.

CROSSBONES YARD  Kate Rhodes    P D Crumbaker       
Psychologist Alice Quentin is asked by police to aid in the investigation of the brutal torture and murder of a London prostitute, an undertaking that exposes her to the dangers of the darker side of the city and forces her to confront her own dark family secrets.

A CONSPIRACY OF FAITH  Jussi Adler-Olsen    Yvonne Klein       
A very cold case for Department Q, in which a note in a bottle cast adrift a decade earlier finally arrives on Carl Mørck's desk and leads to the team uncovering a series of exceptionally cold-hearted kidnappings of children of members of small religious sects.

WHERE MONSTERS DWELL Jorgen Brekke    Sharon Mensing   
Police from Richmond, Virginia, and Trondheim, Norway, collaborate to solve related murders having a connection to a 16th century book about human anatomy.

BRISTOL HOUSE    Beverly Swerling    Meredith Frazier   
Annie Kendall, historian and recovering alcoholic, is sent to London to research - and possibly find - a treasure trove of ancient Judaica. Her search, aided in part by the ghost of a 16th-century monk, uncovers links to the present that could be deadly for Annie and, ultimately, threaten the foundations of established religions and the precarious peace in Israel.

THE INTERCEPT    Dick Wolf        Christine Zibas       
In this debut thriller from the creator of NBC's "Law & Order," Dick Wolf introduces readers to a new series featuring Jeremy Fisk of the NYPD's Intelligence Division

We post more than 900 new reviews a year -- all of them are archived on the site -- as well as a new interview with a top author every issue.

Yvonne Klein
Editor: ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com 

Via The Passive Voice---The Gospels of Publishing

Well worth reading....

The Gospels of Publishing

Blog Alert: "Beware the Sharks"

I have written here before about Sandra Seamans and her excellent blog "My Little Corner." An incredible daily resource and she did it again yesterday with her "Beware the Sharks" post. You can read it here and make sure to read the comments as well.

QueryTracker Blog: A Book Blogger Tells Us How It Really Is

 Full disclosure---I was NOT surveyed for this or contacted about it.....

QueryTracker Blog: A Book Blogger Tells Us How It Really Is: Since I write frequently about book publicity, I'm sent a number of links on the topic. But none of them has been quite so useful lately...

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free for Kindle Today and Monday -- Two Days Only!...

 I picked up my copy this morning.....

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free for Kindle Today and Monday -- Two Days Only!...: This time it's for real! Amazon.com: Outrage at Blanco (Ellie Taine) eBook: Bill Crider: Kindle Store : Western action thriller in th...

VIA The Passive Voice--- Getting Great “Word of Mouth” Advertising

Getting Great “Word of Mouth” Advertising

Sample Sunday: Excerpt from the locked room mystery "The Play Of Light And Shadow" by Barry Ergang

 This week Barry shares an excerpt from his locked room mystery The Play Of Light And Shadow. The book has gained very positive reviews including this one here on the blog “At The Scene Of The Crime.”

THE PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW

by Barry Ergang

            On quiet nights Darnell came into Culhane’s and sat at a table or in a booth.  On busy nights he sat at the end of the bar, as far away from the traffic as possible.  He always had a book with him, and wherever he sat he’d read, sip Scotch, and smoke.  Sometimes he ordered dinner.

            Tonight he sat at the bar.  After pouring his drink, I glanced at the book and asked: “What is it this week?”

            He turned it over so I could see the cover: The Sound and the Fury.

            “Rereading an old favorite,” he said.

            I raised an eyebrow.  “Faulkner.  Pretty unconventional for a private detective.”

            He chuckled dryly.  “You’re calling me unconventional, Professor?”          

            “Good point,” I admitted. 

            A few months earlier, at the end of the semester, I had begun a year’s sabbatical from teaching literature at City University of Philadelphia and taken a job as a bartender at Culhane’s Pub.  The alternative profession, which I had practiced as a graduate student, gained me unwanted notoriety among the administration, faculty, and student body, but it got me away from departmental politics and the hermetic insularity of academia and back into the “real” world among people with everyday concerns.

            Darnell was a regular customer; literature was our common ground.  He wasn’t inclined to small talk, but discussions about books pierced his reserve and evoked a veiled passion.

            A little over six feet tall, with an athletic build that could run to fat if he weren’t careful, he was in his mid-forties, with dark, gray-streaked hair and gray-blue eyes in a face of hard-won stoicism.  Deep brackets etched the corners of his mouth, marking him, you sensed, as witness for half a lifetime to tragedy and human darkness.     

            “How’s business?” I asked.

            He tapped his book.  “Let’s just say I have lots of time to read.”

            “Well, I got a call today from someone who could use a detective.”

            “If it’s divorce work, I’m not interested.”

            “It’s more of a security matter.”

            He lit a cigarette.  “Talk to me, Professor.”

            My explanation was fragmented by customers and waitresses who needed orders filled.  Darnell’s prospective client was one of my university colleagues, Dr. Barton Gaines, Chairman of the Art History Department.  He’d phoned to invite my wife and me to a party he was throwing the following Saturday afternoon to celebrate an auction he’d won for a painting by Charles Riveau.  My wife works for a large corporation and would be out of town, but I said I’d be happy to attend.  Gaines then voiced his brooding and abiding concern for the painting’s safety.  That was when I first heard allusions to the shadowy Paul Marchand, Riveau’s nemesis and Gaines’s hobgoblin—the catalyst for everything that happened later.

            Gaines wanted to hire a high-priced security agency but his wife Marjorie refused.  Hearing this, I said I knew a lone operative whose rates might be more reasonable and who might agree to the job if he weren’t already engaged by another client.  Gaines had welcomed the notion.

            “Babysitting a painting,” Darnell said, then shrugged.  “Sounds like paid reading time.  Go ahead, set something up.”

Barry Ergang ©2014 The Play Of Light And Shadow is one of a number of Barry Ergang's books available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Readers....And My Dad

I come from a family of readers. Both of my parents were avid readers and loved mysteries. It was from them I got my love of books and reading. That love of reading was always one of the major ways I dealt with stress and pain. That love of reading has especially helped these last four years while I have been ill and Sandi has been ill with a succession of things from heart attacks and strokes to the ongoing fight against cancer. Being able to escape into the fictional world as the real world has closed in on us has been about the only way I could hold it together.

Today marks two years since my father suddenly passed away. He often told me in the months before he died that I should be working on my own stuff and that he hoped he would live long enough to see my novel in print and on the shelves at the local library and bookstores. That didn't happen. Life and illness got in the way in a major league fashion.

Somewhere.....I think he understands......

I'm A Voracious Reader : Saturday Shorts

I'm A Voracious Reader : Saturday Shorts: *Book source ~ Many thanks to the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Title ~ Crawl Author ~ Edward ...

Pulp Modern: New Call

 "Thieves and Liars" -- Deadline: April 1, 2014



More Details at Pulp Modern: SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Dallas Morning News Agrees With my Assestment on "The Last Death Of Jack Harbin" by Terry Shames

Or, at least the reviewer they are using right now, agreed with me. I said here that The Last Death Of Jack Harbin by Terry Shames was a good one. The reviewer agrees and says so here.

They may not be willing to hire me as a freelance writer, but at least they used good judgment in this case.





It begins with this.....



 

Lesa's Latest Contest-- Icy Mystery Giveaway

As posted yesterday while we were gone.....

If you can't beat the weather, might as well give away seasonal mysteries. I'm giving away copies of M.L. Rowland's debut mystery, Zero-Degree Murder and Dana Haynes' Ice Cold Kill. Details on my blog, http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com. Entries from the U.S. only, please.

Lesa Holstine

lesa.holstine@gmail.com 

http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free for Kindle for Sunday and Monday Only! Impor...

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free for Kindle for Sunday and Monday Only! Impor...: Something went haywire with the big free deal.  Now (supposedly) the book will be free tomorrown and Monday instead of today and Sunday.  ...

Back Home

We are back home and Sandi did not get the planned six hour infusion today to try and stabilize her immune system. Winter weather in the area meant no oxygen delivery yesterday and it also meant they did not get this speciality drug in  for today. Not only was the drug not there to be had, Sandi's kidney functions are way off so she could not have it anyway.

Medication change and they will do blood work next week. If her kidney stuff is still off she will get some sort of multi hour drip deal to address that.

In two weeks, assuming everything is okay, she will get her first six hour infusion to stabilize the immune system.

We both are absolutely exhausted.

FFB: "The Last Refuge" By Chris Knopf

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted here by Patti Abbott. While Patti declared today a celebration of Shirley Jackson, the boys (Patrick and Barry) and I didn’t have anything for that. While looking for something else, I came across this and was reminded just how much I had enjoyed this book years ago. It is the opening book of a series I have not managed to keep up with over the years. A problem that seems to be happening more and more due to time and health issues here. 

The Last Refuge by Chris Knopf is my offering for today…..

Sam Acquillo is a man living a very modest life in his deceased parent’s small cottage in the Oak Point area of Southampton, Long Island. The view from his small home is mainly of the Little Peconic Bay which is perfect for long stretches of contemplative drinking. He lives there year around, drives his Dad’s 67 Pontiac Grand Prix when he needs to go somewhere and basically just hangs out with Eddie his dog. Divorced, he has cut himself off from all human contact as much as possible and for the most part lives as a recluse.

Like his father, he has continued to help out his cantankerous neighbor, Regina Broadhurst. Like Sam, she is a bitter pill to swallow and he doesn’t really know why he helps her out when she needs it from time to time other than she expects it and it is a family tradition. Upon finding her body, he offers to those in charge his help in settling her estate and finding what may be left of her family. In so doing, his assistance begins to grate, not that he cares a bit, as questions arise not only regarding the nature of her death but also regarding her estate. Sam really doesn’t care that he is annoying unknown parties who might choose to finally eliminate him and his questions to solve their mounting problems.

With a cast of memorable characters and a burned out hero, the result is a very good read. Much like the muscle car Sam drives; this novel rumbles along on all cylinders and flattens anything that gets in its way. The characters involved are complex and in no way stereotypical and the tale itself, like those involved, is very complex and twisting. Then there is the fact that we, as readers, have just scratched the surface of Sam Acquillo. A man who does not know himself and readily admits it. It should be a real treat to watch him as he tries to figure things out and one wonders if he will have to gut another house to do so. 

The Last Refuge
By Chris Knopf
The Permanent Press
2005
ISBN #1-57962-118-X
Hardback
287 Pages

Material came my way via the Plano Public Library System after a recommendation by my parents. They both were avid readers--my Mom still is-- and especially enjoyed mysteries.


Kevin R. Tipple © 2007, 2014

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Fisking Donald Maass

 As expected Konrath and company open fire with both barrels on the posting yesterday from Donald Maass. Most of the barrage is personal attack and therefore misses the target, but the piece is worth slogging through for a few interesting things.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Fisking Donald Maass: Ah, class warfare. The royals vs. the peasants. The bourgeoisie vs. the proletariat. The establishment vs. the revolutionaries. The haves v...

Review: "Charles and Hero: Isle of Mists" by Douglas Quinn

It began in Charles of Colshire Castle and continues after a brief recap in the Isle of Mists. Charles and his purple dragon, Hero, don't feel they can yet return home. It has been two months and they have been on their own flying along the coast and exploring. Hero has developed a taste for fish and that has led them to a group of small buildings nestled against the mountains along the coast.

The place is very colorful and appears to be very tranquil place. Charles hasn't seen colors like this since he was at Colshire Castle. He also notices that to sea, off in the distance, there is a layer of clouds that don't rise very high into the air or seem to be moving. The people are moving though and like others before them are terrified as the dragon and its young rider approach and land on the pebble covered beach.

Charles and Hero don't know it yet, but they have arrived at Howth Head. And while the residents don't trust the strangers, especially a dragon, who have arrived that is just one of their problems. There is something out in mist that is preventing them from going about their normal activities. Some of the fishermen are missing and they need help. Somebody who can ride a dragon ought there to be able to help them.

This is a fun fantasy tale that subtly works in themes of understanding and accepting the differences of others. Filled with adventure and possibility, Charles is a character living the dream of nearly every kid. Who didn't think it would be so cool to have a flying dragon as a friend growing up? Author Douglas Quinn taps into that magic and spins a tale of adventure where it is not only okay but perfectly normal to be a bit scared at times. The story is a blast and sure to delight young readers.

Charles and Hero: Isle of Mists

Douglas Quinn

http://obxwriter.webs.com/

AAS White Heron Press (Via CreateSpace)

ISBN #978-1493542888

November 2013

Paperback

122 Pages

$7.95

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

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Shop Amazon - Gift Ideas in Books

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free for Kindle for a Limited Time

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Free for Kindle for a Limited Time: Amazon.com: Breaking Point eBook: Gerard Brennan: Kindle Store : Brian Morgan's relationship with his weed dealer has moved on to the ne...

Writer Unboxed---The New Class System

Donald Maass considers the state of publishing today here. Most of this I agree with though I no longer say so on the various lists because such talk hits some folks hot buttons.

Review: "REEL STUFF: A LESSOR AND MOORE MYSTERY" by Don Bruns

The guys James Lessor and Skip Moore have come a long way from their moving truck days of Stuff To Die For (reviewed here among other places) in a highly entertaining series of books. The jobs are better, but money is still a huge issue. In this seventh and most recent book in the series published last December, REEL STUFF: A LESSOR AND MOORE MYSTERY, they continue to run a private investigation company and Skip sells security systems. The guys they still have the knack for being in the wrong place at the right time.

The job should be relatively easy. They are providing additional private security on the set of a television series called Deadline Miami. Famous actor Jason Londell is doing a guest appearance for one episode before going back to work on two movies out in California. He likes to do his own stunts and at least one is planned for the television show. This particular stunt calls for Jason run along a narrow platform and then jump off and land on the tethered inflated airbag fifty feet below.

Unfortunately, something goes tragically wrong this hot Miami morning and Jason Londell dies under the watchful eyes of the production crew, a few bystanders, and Skip Moore. Skip knows what he saw and is convinced it was a horrible accident. But, Jason's actress girlfriend, Ashley Amber, is convinced he was murdered. Not only was Jason worried about the stunt according to Ashley he was also getting threatening emails. She wants Skip and James to investigate and is willing to pay the bucks as she believes Jason's agent was behind it all. James insists they take the case as, like always, they seriously need the money. Before too long it becomes clear that it was no simple accident in a case that will lead them back and forth across country to ferret out those responsible in this twisted read.

Occasionally funny and always moving forward at a steady pace, REEL STUFF: A LESSOR AND MOORE MYSTERY puts Skip and James as well as the smart and beautiful Em in the thick of it as they try to put the pieces in a shifting case together. While the trio makes mistakes they also do a lot of things right in a tale that ends in a showdown with their very lives at stake. One knows going in that the trio will survive to investigate again another day. The real question is how they will do that and the answer results in a very entertaining read from start to finish.

REEL STUFF: A LESSOR AND MOORE MYSTERY

Don Bruns

http://www.donbrunsbooks.com

Oceanview Publishing

http://www.oceanviewpub.com

ISBN# 978-1-60809-096-9

December 2013

ARC (hardback and e-book available)

295 Pages

$26.95

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

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Update on Things

Awhile back I went public with just some of the daily nonsense we deal with trying to get things resolved. I specifically wrote about the most recent issue with NELNET regarding Sandi’s student loans as well as a separate issue with a collection agency doing business as SYNERPRISE CONSULTING. That post is here if you want to take a look.

Today we got a letter from NELNET regarding Sandi’s student loans.  The form letter, which has our address wrong yet again, indicates they are reviewing the “Total And Permanent Disability Discharge Application” for completeness before sending it on to the Department of Education. In addition to not being signed or having any contact information for any responsible party at NELNET, the form letter fails to specify any time frame for their own review or how long it takes the Department of Education to make a decision once NELNET sends it in.

I’m not impressed.

At this point they have had it since December 13, rejected the fully completed application due to their internal processing errors, and got it back mid-January along with a sharply worded note.  From their correspondence we still have no idea if this takes 60 days, 6 months, or 6 years.

I should have had a job writing form letters. I never realized that one really could get paid for drafting stuff that told the recipient nothing important.

Also in the mail was a letter from the collection agency doing business as SYNERPRISE CONSULTING. Not even a letter as most of the deal was a fill in the blank form where somebody, also apparently born without a name, handwrote information in. They have closed the file on Sandi and returned the fully paid account back to Excel Anesthesia. At least they managed to get the address correct and tell us something.

Sigh.

Still no word on the CT Scan from last week. At this point, we really don’t expect to hear anything until we see the folks down at Texas Oncology on Friday. Not that we expect the CT Scan to mean anything as it never once showed her cancer before. Still, we would like to know what it showed.

Hopefully the current forecast of snow flurries on Thursday will be just that and nothing more as it is a long haul from here as it is when the streets are dry. Since they plan on a six hour infusion to try and stabilize her immune system it is pretty important we get down there and let them do their thing.

She remains massively swollen in her feet and lower legs. Swelling has been an issue all along but the last couple of weeks there has been a pronounced change. Why that is we have no idea but she is in some pain in her feet from that. Whether they can come up with anything to help that I do not know, but we will again bring it to their attention.  Friday is going to be one of those marathon days that do a number on both of us.

In case you did not already know today is World Cancer Day.  

So, on behalf of Sandi and millions of other cancer patients and survivors--know the various warning signs of the different types of cancer. Please, if something seems off, go get checked. No matter how unpleasant the test (granted with her type of cancer there were no warning signs) it beats going through treatment because you ignored something.

Gumshoe Review Update

As posted elsewhere earlier today....

Gumshoe Review February 2014 now Online @
http://www.gumshoereview.com


This month's Book Reviews:

The Breakfast Club Murder by Camilla T. Crespi
Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb
Dead Man's Time (Detective Superintendent Roy Grace) by Peter James
Dying For Attention by James T. Shannon
The Funeral Owl (A Philip Dryden Mystery) by Jim Kelly
The Harlot's Tale (Midwife's Mystery) by Samuel Thomas
Shoot the Woman First (Crissa Stone) by Wallace Stroby
Southern Heat by David Burnsworth
They Danced By The Light Of The Moon by Tempa Pagel
Town in a Strawberry Swirl (Candy Holliday) by B.B. Haywood
Whispering Death by Garry Disher

-- Gayle Surrette, Editor@gumshoereview.com
http://gumshoereview.com
Shipping Address:
  Gayle Surrette/Gumshoe Review
  16440 Baden Westwood Road
  Brandywine, MD 20613
Email: davinci@amperzen.com
Blog: http://www.amperzen.com 

Review: "Gracie The Undercover Beagle and Her Sidekick Boston Blackie: The Egg Thief" (A Little Book for Little Readers) by Douglas Quinn

Gracie, known to all as “The Undercover Beagle” has no desire to get up. Red Rooster gets going at the crack of dawn and this morning is no exception. Gracie hopes to go back to sleep once Red

Rooster is finished, but that isn't to be. Gracie's friend, Boston Blackie, brings word of a major problem-- they can't have scrambled eggs for breakfast. They can’t because somebody stole all the eggs out of the hen house.

Gracie and Boston Blackie lead the charge to solve the case in this charming children's book aimed at young readers. Black and white illustrations help to bring this short clever tale to life. A nice touch is the short section of word definitions at the back of the small book to help readers ages four to six years old.

This 50 page read is a delightful story and sure to please little ones as well as their parents and guardians. It's a treat and serves as a very nice introduction to the many stories from author Douglas Quinn.

Gracie The Undercover Beagle and Her Sidekick Boston Blackie: The Egg Thief (A Little Book for Little Readers)

Douglas Quinn

http://obxwriter.webs.com/

AAS White Heron Press (Via CreateSpace)

ISBN #978-1492942405

November 2013

Paperback

50 Pages

$7.95

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

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Withdrawal Begins

But, there is hope.....

 

Lady Sandra: More projects done

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