Sunday, July 25, 2021
Beneath the Stains of Time: Golden Rain (1980) by Douglas Clark
Beneath the Stains of Time: Golden Rain (1980) by Douglas Clark: In my previous two blog-posts, I reviewed Douglas Clark's The Libertines (1978) and Roger Ormerod's An Alibi Too Soon (1987), two ...
Break Over
While I read a lot the last three days, the break did not do much for my stress levels. But, you get reviews out of it in the coming weeks so that is something. Because I started things up tonight instead of waiting till tomorrow morning, you also have a number of linked pieces going live here the next few hours. Things you might have missed.
The heat is on and we are hiding inside at Casa Tipple and Home Eatery Library. Stay frosty, my friends!
Thursday, July 22, 2021
Taking A Break
Taking a break from the blog for a few days. No cause for alarm. I am just very stressed and need some time.
Back here on Monday.
Review: Dead of Winter: A Novel by Stephen Mack Jones
Dead of Winter: A Novel by Stephen Mack Jones reflects
the way things are changing in local neighborhoods all across the United
States. Places that were ignored for years and residents were left to fend for
themselves are now the cool place to be and rehabbers and others are snapping
up properties. Some homes are rehabbed and put back on the market for double or
more the purchase price. In other cases, long time neighborhood fixtures are
purchased, bulldozed, and replace with whatever is trendy at the moment.
That is apparently the fate in
mind of some for Authentico foods owned by Mr. Ochoa in Mexicantown. What
started as a mom-and-pop small store front grew over the decades into a major supply
house for the Midwest that catered to restaurants and more. The recipes for
tortillas, salsas, and queso came from Ochoa family who never forgot they were
part of the neighborhood. In good times and very bad times, Authentico Foods
and the Ochoa family took care of their neighbors. Mr. Snow's mom worked for
him and rose up the ranks at the company. So, when Mr. Ochoa wants a meeting
with August Snow, his mom passes the word, and the former cop goes to the
meeting.
Mr. Ochoa is dying thanks to
cancer and is trying to make things right for folks after he passes. He wants
Snow to buy the company. While Snow could do so because of the settlement with
the city of Detroit that paid him millions, he does not know a thing about
running such a company. He does not want to buy the company, but as the meeting
continues it becomes clear that Mr. Ochoa is in a squeeze and not just because of
the cancer.
Some sort of real estate
speculator who only goes by “Mr. Sloan” is pushing hard for him to sell.
Allegedly he is working on behalf of the wealthy Vic Bronson who made his fortune
in adjustable-rate mortgages and balloon payments when the housing market was
crazy two decades ago. Apparently, the plan is fire everyone, demolish the
place, and build some sort of ethnic mall with all the culturally appropriated
trappings, put some high-end apartments on the floor above the shops, and slap
a cheesy name on the place. All Mr. Ochoa wants is to protect what he has built
and keep his workers employed so they have jobs after he dies. To make that happen,
he is willing to sell the company for a lot less money.
Snow is still very reluctant to
get involved until he learns that as part of the initial negotiating offer by
Sloan, a piece of blackmail was given to the family. The loan shark and a few
other things, Marcus “Duke” Ducane, is involved. Many decades ago, Mr. Ochoa
had business dealings with him. The involvement of Duke Ducane makes things
very personal as Snow put an end to his criminal enterprise as a young Detroit cop.
Duke did five years at a minimum-security prison, got out, and now runs a high-end
recording studio in a Detroit Suburb. The business is supposedly legit. In Snow’s
mind, it is probably more likely to be crooked and better hidden thanks to Duke
Ducane’s time inside with his companions from the banking and investment world.
A visit by Snow to Duke Ducane as
well as some other activities soon results in a counter response and things quickly
escalate in Dead of Winter: A Novel by Stephen Mack Jones.
Social commentary has always been
part of the fabric of the series. Some of the fact-based societal observations
in this fast-moving mystery read are sure to tick off some folks. They may even
stop some folks from reading the book. That would be a shame as, if they do,
they will miss a very enjoyable and intense read that features a complicated
mystery and more. While there are references to earlier events in the preceding
books, those references are fairly brief in nature and background, thus making
this book one could easily read if new to the series.
Dead of Winter: A Novel, as are the preceding books, is highly recommended.
The preceding books and my reviews:
August
Snow
(April 2018)
Lives Laid Away (February 2019)
Dead of Winter
Stephen Mack Jones
SoHo Press
https://sohopress.com/books/dead-of-winter/
ASIN: B089S6NPCY
May 2021
eBook (also available in print and
audio formats)
302 Pages
While I was on hold for the print
copy, the eBook version became available at my local library system. Once
again, Scott made the magic happen and got technology to work for this reader.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2021
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Libertines (1978) by Douglas Clark
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Libertines (1978) by Douglas Clark: In my previous review , I mentioned several modern classicists like the pharmacist of crime, Douglas Clark , who specialized in medical myst...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday -- Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories by Charles Beaumont
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday -- Perchance to Dream: Selec...: After reading Patti Abbott's post featuring "Black Country" by Charles Beaumont, I was motivated to read some of Beaumont'...
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: KOOTCHIE
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: KOOTCHIE: "Kootchie" by H. D. Umbstaetter (first published in The Black Cat , December 1895, under the pseudonym "Harold Kinsabby&quo...
Short Story Wednesday Review: Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 1, Summer 2021
Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 1, Summer
2021, opens with “Midnight At The Oasis” by
Robb T. White. His uncle, Rexford Allan Roisch, likes to call himself, “the
Notorious Double-R.” He also has mood swings, a prison rap sheet, and a plan.
The plan tonight is for Uncle and nephew to grab stuff from a certain house
high up in the hills as a wildfire rages nearby causing a mandatory evacuation.
Max Caspian is in Paris on holiday when
the police sweep into the lobby of his hotel. Soon he is questioned by a
Captain Badeaux who dismisses him as a suspect in the murder of Michelle Lambert.
He also dismisses the idea of having Max Caspian, who is a psychic who has
worked with NYPD on cases in the past, assist with this case. Until the good
captain changes his mind in “French Twist” by Joe Giordano.
No one ever knew why Principal Taylor was
found in the parking lot of a small-town drug store roughly two hundred miles
away and suffering from a heart attack. His dying words as well as his theft of
a truck from the school parking lot earlier in the day never made sense. Moving
the dead man’s desk may explain at least one piece of the puzzle in
“Unprincipled” by Stephen Sottong.
It has been a few years but Houser is
the same guy he always was back in the sandbox. In “Give Me A Reason” by the
magazine’s editor, Brandon Borrows, Chris Zender is in Miami and the plan is
underway. Houser is the target and is going to get his. Finally.
Robin always looks forward to visits by
Richard in “Bridal Wreath” by Jill Hand. He has his rules, but always brings
her a plant. He created a garden out at the back of her place where it comes up
against the state forest. He brings her shrubs and trees and plants them out
there in the dark hours of the night. Robin is single, in her early 40s, and
glad to have his visits to her farm.
Raven and Sparrow, two escorts, showed
up to party with the three guys. At least that was the plan the guys had when
the two walked in the door. Then the dope filled leather briefcase came out. The
women had other ideas in “Cymbaline” by Alec Cizak.
“Chasing 61” by Bruce Harris takes
readers back to when Roger Marris and Mickey Mantle were chasing history as the
two Yankee players sought to break Babe Ruth's record of sixty homeruns in a
single season. It is September 1961 and history could be made with 61 homeruns.
History could also be made in the stands as Frank Zuletto, Frankie Z. to his
friends, is in the stands chasing his personal best record of 61 wallets
stolen.
“The Famous Last Words of Mickey
Spillane” by Mike McHone is a nonfiction piece that brings the issue to a
close. It takes a look at the last words of three of the books featuring Mr.
Spillane’s legendary Mike Hammer character.
The seven tales and one non-fiction
piece in Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 1, Summer 2021, are
all good ones. The tales are complicated crime fiction reads with a frequent
hint of noir to them. Occasionally graphic, this is not a magazine for all crime
fiction or all mystery readers. It most definitely is a magazine that is
solidly good and well worth your attention.
I picked this up back in May to read
and review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2021
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Little Big Crimes Review: Sonny's Encore by Michael Bracken
Little Big Crimes: Sonny's Encore, by Michael Bracken: "Sonny's Encore," by Michael Bracken, in Black Cat Mystery Magazine, #9. This is the ninth appearance in this column by my ...
Writers Who Kill: Celebrating the 2019 and 2020 Agatha Nominated Best Short Stories
Writers Who Kill: Celebrating the 2019 and 2020 Agatha Nominated Bes...: by Paula Gail Benson Last Wednesday through Saturday, the Malice Domestic board organized and presented a series of online panels and inte...
SleuthSayers: Over and Over and Over Again by Michael Bracken
SleuthSayers: Over and Over and Over Again: In “ Bad Contracts ” three weeks ago, I wrote about selling all rights to several of my stories. Luckily, I’ve not sold all rights to all...
Guest Post: The Mystery of Writing by E. E. Williams
Please welcome mystery author E. E. Williams to the blog today…
The Mystery of
Writing
It took me 25 years to write my first mystery novel, “Tears in the Rain,” so titled after the famous line uttered in the movie Blade Runner. It took another 17 years to write the second book, “Tears of God,” and another five to complete the third, “My Grave Is Deep,” which was published on Amazon.com last year. All three feature amateur detective, Noah Greene, who sacrifices everything dear to him to follow a dream of becoming a private investigator.
Why it took that long to write that first book is a mystery
in and of itself because from the time my father handed me a book – a thick
tome about a black stallion in the Arabian desert, the name of which has
vanished on the winds of time – and told me to read it, it was my life’s goal
to be an AUTHOR. I put that word in caps because I didn’t just want to write
books. I wanted to be famous, and rich, and so successful John Grisham would
call me for tips.
I had this vision in my head that I would live in an
A-frame house in the Colorado mountains during winter, where I would hunker
down over my typewriter (yeah, that should tell you just how old I am), pecking
out my next bestseller, and then in spring, take the manuscript to my
publisher, drop it off, pick up a fat paycheck and catch a plane for Europe
where my wife and I would travel to ancient cities, and eat at the world’s best
restaurants, and where I’d be recognized and asked to sign autographs for my
adoring fans. I’d return to the states just as the latest book hit No. 1 on
the New York Times bestseller list and do a book tour that
would take me from the East Coast to the West, and sell the movie rights to Ben
Affleck or George Clooney, before returning to Colorado and another winter of
writing.
Oh, I was going to be a star, baby. Excuse me. A STAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then, life happened.
I got married my senior year in college at Kent State. I
graduated with a degree in journalism and got my first job at the Dayton
Journal Herald, now defunct. From there I went to the Miami News,
now defunct. And then the Dallas Times Herald, now defunct. (Yes,
I was a serial newspaper killer.)
It was when I worked at the Miami News that I decided to get serious about writing the book I always wanted to write – a mystery. A surprise, that. After reading the book my father gave me, I started a strict regimen of Sci-Fi novels. I devoured everything written by Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury, and Robert Heinlein, and Ursula K. Le Guin. (Now, of course, I devour everything written by John Scalzi, James S.A. Corey and Richard K. Morgan.) I thought if my dream were to ever come true it would be writing Sci-Fi. But … before I hit the shift key for the first time, I read an Esquire Magazine piece that stated some of the best writing being done by novelists was in the mystery genre. They recommended Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald and John. D. MacDonald.
It was John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series that I first
picked up. Travis lived on a houseboat, The Busted Flush, and did investigative
jobs for hire. There was a color in each of the book titles. “The Deep Blue
Good-by.” “The Girl In the Plain Brown Wrapper.” “Nightmare in Pink.” “The
Dreadful Lemon Sky.” I was hooked. I devoured all 21 McGee novels like a
starving man. Then chomped down Chandler, followed by Hammett, the other
Macdonald, Robert Parker and James Lee Burke. I was fascinated by the stories
of world-weary detectives overcoming long odds to turn back evil. That was
the kind of book I wanted to write.
And so, I started a book that didn’t even have a title
because Blade Runner was still off in the future. I wanted a
McGee-like amateur hero, someone who loved movies with the same sort of passion
as I did, and who lived in Miami because, well, that’s where I lived.
I dove into the book with gusto, determined to make it a
bestseller. The gusto didn’t last long. I had a family – a wife and young son.
Could I afford to take a risk on writing books, I asked myself. I was good at
newspapering. What if I failed as a novelist? What if I failed my family?
So, I put my energy and focus on writing about sports
stars, and actors, and yes, other novelists. I did it well enough to keep
getting promoted, a velvet fist if there ever was one. I bounced from one paper
to another, – 14 in 42 years – working at some of the country’s biggest and
best, including the New York Daily News, the Cleveland
Plain Dealer, and the Fresno
Bee.
Oh, it wasn’t as if I didn’t work on the book. I’d write
for a day or two, sometimes three, and put it in a drawer and go months before starting
again. By which time, the thread of the plot was lost, requiring a do-over. I
did a lot of do-overs. Then I lost the manuscript in one of
those 14 moves (remember, everything was on paper, not in a computer). Began
again. Moved and lost it again. My wife once threw it out in the trash,
something I prefer to chalk up to as a tragic mistake rather than a comment on
the book’s quality.
The years stacked atop one another and when I looked up, 25
of them had passed. I told myself it was because I had that day job. And yet,
so many of my friends and colleagues were successful novelists – John Scalzi,
one of the Sci-Fi genre’s biggest names, Sheryl Woods, whose romance novels
have been turned into a series on the Hallmark Channel, and John Katzenbach,
who wrote “The Mean Season,” the movie adaptation of which starred Kurt
Russell, and “Hart’s War,” which was turned into a film with Bruce Willis, and
“Just Cause,” which starred Sean Connery – and they all had day jobs just like
me. I was embarrassed by my own inability to do what they’d done. I decided it
was either do what I always dreamed of or stop dreaming.
Eventually, I found the will and discipline to drag “Tears
in the Rain” over the finish line and get it published by a small independent
press … which is now defunct. (I’m sensing a pattern here, do you?)
Stardom, fame, and fortune did not follow.
Still, I loved the characters I’d created and gave it
another go with “Tears of God.” It’s a better book and only took me 17 years to
write.
Stardom, fame, and fortune did not follow.
Nevertheless, I continued to enjoy writing and seeing my
characters grow, so out poured (can something that takes five years really be
described as pouring out?) “My Grave Is Deep.” It is, I think, the best of the
three.
Yes, stardom, fame and fortune did not follow.
Why? It’s something I’ve wondered about. Still wonder if
I’m being honest. Were my friends just lucky, or were they, are they,
better than me? Are all those mystery authors I see – and read – at Barnes
& Noble superior writers? Some are, but in my mind, some aren’t. So, why
are their books lining the shelves and mine aren’t?
It’s something for which I have no answer. I have mostly
accepted that unless Stephen Spielberg is a regular reader of Kevin’s blog, stardom,
fame, and fortune aren’t likely to happen. Ever.
Still, realizing this, I’ve started to write a fourth Noah
Greene mystery. I have but one hope.
That it doesn’t take 25 years to write. Because, you know, death.
E. E. Williams ©2021
E.E. Williams is a former
journalist who worked at some of the country's best and biggest newspapers. A
1971 graduate of Kent State University, he published in 2002 his first Noah
Greene novel, Tears In The Rain. His second novel, Tears of
God, was published in 2014. The third Noah Greene thriller, My
Grave Is Deep, was published last year.
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