Wednesday, November 19, 2025
SleuthSayers: Farewell to San Sebastiano
Beneath the Stains of Time: As if By Magic: Locked Room Mysteries and Other Miraculous Crimes (2025) edited by Martin Edwards
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Thrilling Tales
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS
Little Big Crimes: This Time Oughta Go Different, by Robert Mangeot
Short Story Wednesday Review: The Perp Wore Pumpkin II: A Humorous Crime Anthology to Benefit Second Harvest Food Bank
The Perp Wore Pumpkin II: A Humorous
Crime Anthology to Benefit Second Harvest Food Bank
is the new release from White City Press, an imprint of Misti Media. Published
by J. Alan Hartman, edited by Sandra Murphy, the anthology contains eleven
tales of the season where crime, food, and humor are in large supply. There are
also three recipes from the Mr. Hartman’s sister, Lisa Lynn.
It should be noted that the anthology includes the
short story, Choked on Love, by yours truly. I am breaking my long-standing
policy of not reviewing books I am in because this is a charity anthology. The
mission here, and one I believe in, is to help others with food insolvency in
some way. I am unable to do much, but I can do this, and so I am.
After an introduction from the publisher, J. Alan
Hartman, it is on to the stories. “A Trifle Too Far” by Shari Held kicks things
off where Aunt Sadie is well known for bringing inedible concoctions to the
holiday dinner. For example, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without her pumpkin whoopie
pies. She soon arrives in her red Mustang with yet more surprises for this
year. She isn’t the only one with surprises.
Editor Sandra Murphy is next with “And a
Thanksgiving Turkey Names John Glenn.” Ronnie and Buddy are private detectives
and on a stakeout. Neither one of them wants a repeat of last year when Buddy
got shot. Though that did bring Sharon into his life and a lot of other changes.
My story, Choked on Love, is next. Enough said about
that.
After a recipe for “Easy Poultry, Rice, and Carrot
Soup” it is back to the stories with “What Cranberry Relish Can Add to Your
Holiday” by Vicki Erwin. Like the main character in the last story, she had
plans to for dinner, a bit of reading, and television at home. But, little
sister Jenna refuses to take no for an answer and knows her weak spots.
Fedora Amis is up next with “A Faery Tale
Thanksgiving” where Rodney and his buddy have significant expenses. They have
bills to cover as professional criminals and the lifestyle is not cheap.
Grabbing the daughter of a rich guy sounds like just the ticket.
Alice and Lorna are going to spend time with Lorna’s
family in “The Turducken Murder” by Lisa Krystosek. Upon arrival, they discover
the police and a lot more is already going on at the house of Lorna’s parents.
They also still have to participate in all the family traditions that some
folks would also consider crimes.
After a recipe for “Quick Black Beans” it is on to “Easy
as Pie” by Mike Rusetsky. Big brother Dusty Bruiser and Davey have the huge bag
of potatoes after it fell off a farmer’s truck with nobody the wiser. Now, if
they could just get their hands on some pies. Dusty Bruiser has a plan.
He wants no part of the Rehabilitation Center in “Gelatin
and Soda” by Stephen M. Pierce. But, his mom in in the place after a bad fall.
Sandra King is also now missing a shoe. There will be no peace for him or
anyone else until his mom’s shoe is found.
Ruth Harper used to be an attorney. She retired, got
bored, and took a job as a sales rep for New Orleans Naughty and Nice. Basically,
she sells erotica products at small parties in homes. The latest event was a
fun evening. Until it wasn’t in “Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler” by donalee
Moulton.
After a recipe for “Fruit Crumble” it is back to the
stories with “Great Aunt Martha’s Pumpkin Pie” by Sally Milliken. Instead of
the annual football game, these folks play a soccer game. They also do it full costumes.
Dad might be having cognitive issues and some folks might be trying to take
advantage of that fact.
NYPD Officer Sumi Lin is a rookie and working her
first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in “What the Dicken’s Is Going On?” by
Wendy Harrison. She is pretty sure there is some criminality going with the
folks on the float she has been assigned to be with, but Sergeant Arlo Harris
won’t listen to her at all.
The list of authors and their short bios bring the enjoyable
anthology to a close.
A fun read full of crimes, hijinks, shenanigans,
foods, and more, The Perp Wore Pumpkin II: A Humorous Crime Anthology to
Benefit Second Harvest Food Bank, delivers in all aspects. It
definitely will make you laugh and it will make you hungry as food is
everywhere in the read.
Publisher Purchasing Link: https://whitecitypress.com/product/perp2/
Amazon Purchasing Link: https://amzn.to/4pfI5nV
My reading copy was several proofs during the
editing process because of my contribution as well as a digital ARC.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Lesa's Book Critiques: The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts
Lesa's Book Critiques: The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts
Mystery Fanfare: THANKSGIVING MYSTERIES // Thanksgiving Crime Fiction
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Cat Nap by Brian Lies
Publication Day Review: Murder in Mykonos: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger
Murder in Mykonos: A Chief
Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger is the first book in
the series originally published by the Poisoned Pen Press. Now published by
Severn House, the book begins a series of at least fourteen police procedurals
set in Greece. In this case, specifically, the Greek island of Mykonos.
At thirty-four, Andreas Kaldis has been
a hot shot homicide detective in the capital city of Athens. But, he annoyed those
in power, so he has been “promoted” out of town. He is the new Chief of Police
for the island of Mykonos. One of the smallest places in the Cyclades Islands,
it has become a go to spot for the wealthy who are taking over everything.
Those wealthy folks are calling the shots, the locals be damned, and Kaldis is
the answer. Not only is he good at his job, it also gets him out of multiple
cases in Athens, and allows some powerful people there to sleep better at
night.
Politics and orders mean that he arrives
on the island in early June along with numerous tourists. The first couple of
weeks in the new job are rocky as he makes changes, but he has hope of
surviving the summer, and getting back to Athens.
That hope takes a body blow when a
worker discovers a body inside a small church. Kladis is supposed to immediately
report the find to the Central Police Headquarters on the bigger island of
Syros, but Kladis is here because he tends to do his own thing. So, he wants to
see the situation for himself before folks from elsewhere trample all over his possible
crime scene.
Upon arriving at the church and hearing
the story from the worker, it does not take long for them to see the body in
the floor of the church. The body inside the very small chamber is recent,
decomposing, and clearly posing in place. With confirmation of the body, Kladis
has his people report the situation to those who need to know on Syros.
A team is dispatched to him and arrives
by boat to the island. That assemblage includes a man by the same of Tassos
Stamatos, Chief Homicide Investigator for the Cyclades. Though he has several
decades of experience on him, he has the same attitude about finding the truth
and getting the guilty caught as Kladis. Those additional decades of experience
make him better at navigating both local and national politics. That fact will
be a huge help as the case moves forward.
Primarily because they have stumbled on
the unthinkable—a serial killer. The body is the work of a serial killer who has
been active for quite some time. A serial killer, who in all likelihood, has
taken the daughter of Ambassador Vanden Haag. Young Annika Vanden Haag is also the
niece of the Deputy Minister for Public Safety. She is missing and going to be
his next kill if Stamatos and Kaldis don’t find him first.
Full of Greek politics and history that
does not slow down the mystery at work, Murder in Mykonos: A Chief
Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger is a very good read.
Rich in details, both investigators do the work the old-fashioned way of going
to a lot of places and asking question.
The result is a very complex and
extremely entertaining read well worth your time. If you are new to the series,
as I am, this is well worth your time and attention.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3WuetHj
My digital ARC came from Severn House,
where I am preapproved, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive
review. While NetGalley does not yet list the second book, Assassins of
Athens, Amazon has it coming out on November 20th along with
the entire rest of the series on the same day.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Monday, November 17, 2025
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Fun City Heist by Michael Kardos
Michael
Kardos invokes visions of rock star wannabes in Fun City Heist, to be
published in early December 2025 by Severn House. He dampens those dreams with
a considerable dose of realism through stories of backstage concert prep,
grueling travel, miserable sleeping accommodations, betrayals by booking agents
and managers, and hopes that eventually fizzle.
Sunshine
Apocalypse started with a few teenage friends who struggled through constant
touring and taking every booking, looking for that one big break to strike gold.
Their reality was a record contract, some radio air time, and one song that
reached the national top 20. The contract evaporated and the group fractured
under the strain.
Thirty years
on and none of the band members are doing much more than scraping by. Lead singer
John Clay appears from nowhere and wants to pull the band together for one last
gig at Fun City, the New Jersey seaside amusement park where the band first
played. Clay has wangled a place at the July Fourth celebration at the park,
always the highlight of the summer tourist season.
Mo Melnick,
the drummer with perfect pitch, hasn’t touched his drums for years, has painful
memories of the group’s split, and is reluctant to even consider trying to re-create
the past, but the other members are in and they pressure him to join. Then Clay
explains his real motive: he intends to rob Fun City to pay his medical bills. The
fact he based his plan on logistical information that is years old and not only
might have changed but almost definitely has changed doesn’t stop him. He
sweeps the rest of the group along with an offer of cash that they can all use.
Mo’s teenage
daughter, raised solely by her mother, decided to spend the summer at the New
Jersey beach with friends and then moves in with Mo uninvited when a squabble
ends the friendship. Mo doesn’t know how he feels about suddenly becoming a
guardian but he’s hesitantly intrigued by this human linked to him through
genes. He is at first startled and then enchanted by the discovery she has
inherited his musical talent.
Nothing about
the gig or the robbery goes as planned, as might be expected.
A surprising story,
by turns light-hearted and melancholy with overtones of midlife regrets,
beautifully expressed. Great ending.
Fans of Donald
Westlake’s Dortmunder and of Carl Hiassen will want to look at this book, as
will rock afficionados who enjoyed One Last Hit by Nathan Walpow, the
music industry references in the Harry McCoy series by Alan Parks, and the Vinyl
Detective series by Andrew Cartmel.
·
Publisher: Severn House
·
Publication date: December 2, 2025
·
Print length: 208 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1448317231
· ISBN-13: 978-1448317233
Amazon Associate Purchase Link:
https://amzn.to/4p7NaP0
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Posts
