Saturday, September 01, 2018
Saturdays With Kaye: Dark Fissures by Matt Coyle
Dark Fissures by Matt Coyle
This third Rick Cahill
dark thriller opened with him disgraced, and pulled over. Again. Cahill is an
ex-cop, a hard-boiled character with a melty-soft center, especially for his
dog, Midnight.
He left the La Jolla Police Department in California under a
cloud and Police Chief Tony Moretti has it in for him. Since he has to drive
through La Jolla regularly to access his mailbox, Moretti has plenty of chances
to target and harass him. Cahill was never charged with his wife’s murder, but
he wasn’t cleared, either. He’s implicated in another twisted series of events
that happened before the start of this book, but they follow him.
He’s on the verge of losing his house when a beautiful woman
drops a case into his lap. They meet at Muldoon’s Steakhouse, the place he
calls his office, and Brianne Colton tells him she wants her husband’s supposed
suicide investigated. They were separated, but he died in their house and was
discovered by their son when he came home from school. Colton doesn’t think
that’s what her husband would have done.
The more Cahill looks into it, the more he agrees with her. Up to
a point. Some strange things are going on with the band Colton plays in and
he’s not sure of her. When he learns the man’s cell phone is missing, he
knows he’s on the right track. He must face some of the
members of the police force he’s been ousted from in order to get the details.
If you like tight, fast, dark thrillers, you’ll do well to follow Coyle into
the dark fissure that runs through Cahill’s soul.
Friday, August 31, 2018
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Somebody’s Daughter by David Bell
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Somebody’s Daughter by David Bell: Reviewed by Brenda G’Fellers I like this book. Well-written, suspenseful, and generally believable, it offers unexpected twist...
FFB Review: Bad Little Falls: A Novel by Paul Doiron
After
reminding you of The
Poacher’s Son and Trespasser
in recent weeks, I remind you today of the third book in the series, Bad Little Falls. Like any good series,
or at least the ones I like, this series shows the passage of time and
character development for Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch. The series also does
something else for me as a person who has never been to Maine and can’t get
around very well. Because of the author’s ability to bring the outdoors angle
to his books alive for the reader, when Mike is going places and doing things I
feel like I am right there with him. That talent shines through in the books as
well as the recently published novella, Rabid:
A Story.
For
the rest of the reading suggestions today make sure you head over to Patti Abbott’s blog.
When you annoy the bosses once too many times and
you work as a game warden for the State of Maine, you get sent to their version
of Siberia. In this case, Warden Mike Bowditch has been sent to Washington
County. The eastern most county in Maine is well known for poaching, drug
abuse, high unemployment, and a host of other social ills. Not to mention the
brutal winter working conditions. Bowditch is being punished and he knows it. Just
about everything Bowditch has to deal with in his new assignment is made worse
because his considerable reputation precedes him.
The biggest place in the county population wise is the
county seat of Machias. The town barely has two thousand people. The small town,
as well as the surrounding county, is a place where everyone knows everyone
else, looks the other way, and pretends to know nothing. That includes ignoring
the actions of a local drug dealer. A drug dealer that soon winds up dead with
his friend severely injured by frost bite.
While others believe the friend killed the drug
dealer during a snowstorm, Bowditch doesn’t think so. Any shred of credibility
he had coming in was shot by his involvement in the case (never get
romantically involved with a suspect is rule one no matter what agency you work
for), so he is forced to go it alone to get to the truth. It isn’t the first time and won’t be the
last.
The series that began with The Poacher’s Son and
continued with Trespasser just keeps getting better and better. This is a very
complicated novel that continues to build on an excellent foundation while
bringing further nuance and depth to the Bowditch character. Those efforts do
not get in the way of the multiple storylines at work in this complex and multi-layered
novel. Bad Little Falls by Maine
author Paul Doiron is very good and well worth your time.
Bad
Little Falls: A Novel
Paul
Doiron
Minotaur
Books (St. Martin’s Press)
August
2012
ISBN#
978-0-312-55848-2
Hardback
(also available in e-book)
310
Pages
$24.99
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano,
Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012, 2018
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Dorothy Allison, Louisa May Alcott, Do...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Dorothy Allison, Louisa May Alcott, Do...: Reported by Jeanne Our first Nevermore member was very excited to share two novels by Dorothy Allison. She felt Allison’s writin...
Crime Review Update
We feature new 20 reviews in each issue of Crime Review (www.crimereview.co.uk), together with a top industry interview. This time it’s author Rod Reynolds in the Countdown hot seat: http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/6581 We’re on Twitter at: Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia This week’s reviews are: BROKEN GROUND by Val McDermid, reviewed by Linda Wilson The case of a body found in a peat bog is investigated by DCI Karen Pirie of Edinburgh’s Historic Cases Unit. A TREACHERY OF SPIES by Manda Scott, reviewed by Chris Roberts A series of murders in modern-day Orleans appears to be linked to events over 70 years old - the struggles of French resistance fighters battling the Nazis. SMOKE AND ASHES by Abir Mukherjee, reviewed by John Cleal Drug addict war veteran Captain Sam Wyndham, now a senior officer in the British-India police, is surprised in an opium den by a vice squad raid. During his escape he finds a mutilated body and then stumbles into a plot to disrupt a royal visit. ALL THE PIECES MATTER by Jonathan Abrams, reviewed by Sharon Wheeler Actors, writers, directors and others involved with The Wire contribute to an oral history of the influential TV drama. FORCE OF NATURE by Jane Harper, reviewed by Linda Wilson Five women trek into the bush on a company awayday. Only four of them make it out. THE MIDNIGHT LINE by Lee Child, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan Jack Reacher finds a small ring in a pawn shop that must have belonged to a marine. As an ex-military man himself, he sets off to track the owner down. GOLDSTEIN by Volker Kutscher, reviewed by Chris Roberts In Weimar Berlin, police detective Gereon Rath is assigned to shadow Abraham Goldstein, a New York hit man who has recently arrived in town. MAIGRET TRAVELS by Georges Simenon, reviewed by Arnold Taylor Maigret investigates the death of a very wealthy Englishman.
MONEY IN THE MORGUE by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy, reviewed by John Cleal A government paymaster is trapped overnight at an isolated hospital. With the telephones out and the nearby river about to burst its banks in a storm, the payroll disappears from a locked safe. When bodies follow, Scotland Yard Inspector Alleyn must investigate. TIME IS A KILLER by Michel Bussi, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor Twenty-seven years after the accident that killed her parents and brother, Clotilde is back on the island of Corsica where they died. But her past is about to rise and threaten her and her family. WRONG WAY HOME by Isabelle Grey, reviewed by John Cleal DI Grace Fisher of the Essex Major Investigation Team re-opens a 25-year-old cold case in which a girl was raped and killed. The possible involvement of a local hero and a young true-crime podcaster hampers her investigation. PERFECT DEATH by Helen Fields, reviewed by John Barnbrook A naked girl is found dead on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh in midwinter in mysterious circumstances. DI Callanach and newly promoted DCI Ava Turner investigate. THE FIRE PIT by Chris Ould, reviewed by Ewa Sherman On the Faroe Islands local detective Hjalti Hentze investigates the suicide of an old drunk. In Denmark the British DI Jan Reyna searches for answers to his past. Both men realise that both stories might be connected. BOX OF BONES by Peter Morfoot, reviewed by John Cleal A man suffers a fatal fall at the Nice carnival, the first in a series of suspicious deaths. Captain Paul Darac of the Brigade Criminelle investigates. GIRL ON THE LINE by Alice Vinten, reviewed by Linda Wilson An account of Alice Hearn’s life as a female officer in the Met from idealistic beginnings to a soul-wearing ending. STRANGE FASCINATION by Syd Moore, reviewed by Anthea Hawdon A stone with an old legend is about to cause major problems for the locals in the village of Adders Fork. SONG OF THE DAMNED by Sarah Rayne, reviewed by Sharon Wheeler Music researcher Phineas Fox finds himself embroiled in a school’s sinister legends when he’s asked to investigate the possible plagiarism of an opera. TRUTH STONE by Michael O’Byrne, reviewed by John Cleal DCI Rachel Stone puts her job on the line when she allows a child killer to lead her to a second body. BLACK VIOLET by Alex Hyland, reviewed by Chris Roberts Michael Violet is a skilled pickpocket who uses his talent to lift top-end cars. When his journalist brother is murdered, Violet ends up in a team tracking the killers. THE BOOK CASE: AN EMILY LIME MYSTERY by Dave Shelton, reviewed by Linda Wilson After an unfortunate incident at her old school, Daphne is offered a scholarship to St Rita’s School for Spirited Girls where she’s soon plunged into the mystery of a missing schoolgirl and a robbery at the local bank. Best wishes Sharon www.crimereview.co.uk
Mystery Fanfare: The Blood Road: Guest Post by Stuart MacBride
Mystery Fanfare: The Blood Road: Guest Post by Stuart MacBride: Stuart MacBride: The Blood Road I’ve been writing about the northeast of Scotland for about sixteen years now. Which is a lot of time...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 33 Calls for Submissions in September 2018 - Payin...
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 33 Calls for Submissions in September 2018 - Payin...: Maxpixel There are nearly three dozen calls for submissions in September. As always, anything you can think of is wanted - flash fictio...
Review: The Digest Enthusiast: Book Eight Editor Richard Krauss
The
Digest Enthusiast: Book Eight distinctively features
prolific short story author Michael Bracken on the cover. Edited by Richard
Krauss and published by Largue Press, the issue opens with a roundup of current
story and feature lineups in the mystery, science fiction/fantasy digests and other
news.
Starting
on page 16, Editor Richard Krauss interviews Michael Bracken in considerable
depth regarding his writing career and background. Included in the far ranging
interview is how Mr. Bracken goes about the writing process, how some of his
published works link up in terms of location and/or characters, and how his
writing has appeared and continues to do so across multiple genres. Naturally,
such an in depth discussion of the writing process also features his editing
work and future projects.
That
far reaching interview is followed by “Manhunt 1953 part three.” Peter
Enfantino summarizes the issues of Manhunt: Volume 1 No.9 September 1953 to No.
12 December 1953 and gives a brief recap of each short story starting on page 35.
A
fantasy short story featuring the power of toy soldiers titled “Junior and the
Little Guys” by Robert Snashall begins on page 46. Junior Tward has a tough
time at home and at school. His only escape is his toy solider collection. A
very special collection that has the power to help him as well in a very
entertaining tale.
Vince
Nowell, Sr. considers the first issue run of Gamma starting on page 56. In the
piece, “Gamma New Frontiers in Fiction” he charts the publication’s short run
from June 1963 to 1965. He does so by providing an overview detailing why it
stood out as well as synopsis of each issue and the print format changes made
to the publication as each issue came out.
After
some comics by Bob Vojtko, Tom Brinkmann goes into considerable depth in the
life and death of Playboy Playmate
Connie Kreski. Tied into the article are synopses’ of various magazines and
other publications that featured her in some way. “The Connie Kreski Conundrum”
feature begins on page 68.
Many
people seem to believe that it is only ezines that release one issue and then
vanish from sight. That is not the case at all as you can learn starting on
page 83 with Steve Carper and his “One-and-Dones part two.”
Editor
Richard Kraus takes over on page 97 with his tribute piece titled “The Creative
Worlds of Joe Wehrle, Jr.” The tribute and appreciation piece extends far
beyond the work he did for The Digest Enthusiast.
It
is back to fiction next with the reprinting of a short story by Josh Pachter. The story, “The Defenestration of
Prague” originally appeared in the June 1986 issue of Espionage. At that time
there was a printing error which has been noted and corrected for the printing
here that starts on page 114. The second part of the story will appear in the
next edition of The Digest Enthusiast where readers will learn the fate of
Mckenna and much more.
Starting
on page 125, Peter Enfantino makes a second appearance in the issue as he recounts
the history of “Western Magazine.” Filled with short stories and novels of 15k
to nearly 30k, there was clearly plenty of reading in each issue starting in
July 1956.
“Opening
Lines” comes next starting on page 151. It features a compilation of the
opening sentence of numerous short stories appearing in the various digests
featured in this issue.
“Links”
for the publisher/magazine and some of the people in the issue follows the “Opening
Lines” page. The list also includes in alphabetical order the names of the
current digests operating and their location on the World Wide Web. For all
intents and purposes this is the end of the issue as that is followed by three
pages of ads for various books and the publication itself.
According
to Amazon, I picked this up on May 22, 2018. As to the why, I did it solely
because Michael Bracken was on the cover. I wanted to read what he had to say
because whenever he has an opportunity to talk about writing the resulting
piece is always informative. As I try to find my way back to my own fiction
after the death of both my mom and my wife last year, the very difficult struggle
is helped by reading of the successes of those I admire and the respect.
Beyond
the Michael Bracken interview itself, which was most definitely worth the price
of the read, there was/is plenty of other very worthwhile informative and
entertaining pieces in The Digest Enthusiast: Book Eight.
The short stories were very good. I also I enjoyed learning about magazines and
people that were before my time or later when I was a small child bouncing of
the walls of this old house from time to time. As I bounce of the walls of this
old house now as a disabled adult, I am more aware than ever of the passing of
time and the loss I have personally experienced, but the loss we all suffered
whether we knew it or not as these digests and people involved vanished from
our world.
The
Digest Enthusiast: Book Eight
Editor
Richard Krauss
Largue
Press
May
2018
ASIN:
B07D6V8795
eBook
(available in print format)
156
Pages
$2.99
Material
was picked up to read and review using funds in my Amazon Associate Account.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2018
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Crime Time : LAST BUS TO WOODSTOCK – Colin Dexter
Crime Time : LAST BUS TO WOODSTOCK – Colin Dexter: After a fitful ride on Last Bus to Woodstock I doubt I shall read anything more by Colin Dexter. Ever again. I can't remember w...
Mystery Fanfare: Poisoned Pen Conference/RebusFest: September 2-3
Mystery Fanfare: Poisoned Pen Conference/RebusFest: September 2-3: Poisoned Pen Conference/RebusFest Celebrating Ian Rankin's 30th Year of Publishing in the U.S. Hosts: Hank Phillippi Ryan, James ...
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Playing for Pizza by John Grisham: Reviewed by Jeanne Rick Dockery is an NFL quarterback. . . or was an NFL quarterback. The third stringer has been bounce...
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