Thursday, January 22, 2026
Criminal Minds: Sow What You Reap from James W. Ziskin
Criminal Minds: Sow What You Reap from James W. Ziskin: In person conferences are great for socialization and building a community and increasing motivation. But if you're not in the position ...
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Sentry-Box Murder (1935) by Newton Gayle
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Sentry-Box Murder (1935) by Newton Gayle: " Newton Gayle ," a pseudonym, was a partnership of strange bedfellows between Muna Lee and Maurice Guinness, a human rights activ...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember,...
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember,...: Nevermore: Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember, Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife Nevermore 12-9-25 Reported by Rita The Girls in ...
Jerry's House of Everything: THE BIG BOW MYSTERY (MARCH 20, 2006)
Jerry's House of Everything: THE BIG BOW MYSTERY (MARCH 20, 2006): Israel Zangwell (1864-1926) was a British author closely affiliated with the Zionist movement. He was called "the Dickens of the Ghett...
Thursday Treats
Welcome to what will be, I hope, the first of many weekly columns highlighting cool stuff to check out. Publishing news of books, short stories, interviews, and more, that I have seen and think might be of interest to you. So, you will see a lot of publishing news related items as, more than anything else, I am a reader. A reader who reads both eBooks and print.
I’m not a true crime kind of guy. Many of you are,
and so I mention that authors Judy Penz Sheluk and Amanda Capper are writing a
book on the Helen Grier murder case. Judy explains the background and their
plans in her post earlier this month on The Stiletto
Gang. Even though I am not a true crime guy, the post is intriguing. Her post
is well worth the read.
Ed Ridgley’s short story “The Blue Lincoln” is up at
the Guilty
Crime Magazine website. A flash tale and a free read. And, if you missed
it, the latest issue of the magazine, Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 015
- Summer 2025 is available over on Amazon.
I have my copy in the TBR pile along with several other issues. Just way behind
in my reading.
As Lesa Holstine announced on Lesa’s
Book Critiques back in November 2024, Bill Crider’s books are being
republished by his daughter, Angela, and her husband, Tom. In recent days, Jan
Grape wrote about her love for Bill, the Dan Rhodes series, and more in a post
that includes an interview with Angela. Check out her SluethSayers
post. By the way, if you have not read the mystery series set in East Texas
with the good sheriff, you should do so. Begin with Too Late To Die and
read in order. I have reviews of the books here on the blog as well if you want
to know more. Been a big fan for decades.
The new issue, Starlight
Pulp Review #7, is out. Features short stories by numerous folks
including SMFS list members, Robert J. Binney with “Gifts of Providence,” Ron
Clyburn with “Send in the Killers,” Martin Hill Ortiz with “Not Enough Corpses,”
and Jennifeer Slee with “The Apex.”
Mystery Writers of America put out their monthly
roundup of publishing news from their members. New
Books by MWA Members – January 2026 also lists short stories. This month,
all the stories are found in the pages of AHMM or EQMM. SMFS list members are
featured in the books as well as the short story categories.
Speaking of SMFS, the latest publishing
news post as compiled and issued by SMFS President Joseph S. Walker came
out last week. With winter weather making things dangerous outside coming for
most of the nation, including my part of NE Dallas where we are being threatened
with a crippling ice storm this weekend (God, no), this is a good time to stock
up on reading materials.
Also, get your submissions in to the Derringers. All
the details are up on the SMFS
blog. Deadline is 1/30/2026.
Finally, as Lorie Ham of Kings River Life Magazine has shared on
Facebook and elsewhere, “We've had some big unexpected expenses come up lately,
so I'm running another big ad special for KRL. So if you are interested in
knowing more reach out via email at kingsriverlife@gmail.com.”
Until next time...
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A BIT OF A BANSHEE
Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A BIT OF A BANSHEE: "A Bit of a Banshee" by Tod Robbins (first published in The Forum , December 1924; reprinted in Current Opinion , February 1925;...
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Monday, January 19, 2026
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Southern Mirror: Stories and Reflections on Life in the South by Brenda Gantt
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Southern Mirror: Stories and Reflections on L...: Brenda Gantt has made quite a name for herself on social media for her cooking videos. People just couldn’t get enough of her downhome...
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in November and December 2025
Bitter Tea and Mystery: Books Read in November and December 2025: I had some very good reading in both November and December of 2025. Seven books per month. I completed two short story books, which is unu...
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
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Mystery Fanfare: The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 4
Mystery Fanfare: The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 4: The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 4, starts February 5 on Netflix. On trial for a murder he didn’t commit, Mickey must face a relentless DA as he...
SleuthSayers: Bill Crider Rides Again
SleuthSayers: Bill Crider Rides Again: Bill Crider Having a few health issues in recent months like throwing arterial fibrillations aka AFibs and finally had ablation surgery to ...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Asset by Mike Lawson
The nineteenth book by Mike
Lawson about political fixer Joe DeMarco, The Asset (Atlantic Grove,
February 2026), finds DeMarco in the midst of his usual covert investigation
and problem solving while yearning to perfect his golf swing. Former Speaker of
the House, and still mightily annoyed about it, John Mahoney is approached by an
ex-CIA agent who tells him that she witnessed the wife of a senior Senator
meeting with a Chinese intelligence agent. Instead of reporting the matter to
the FBI, Mahoney tasks DeMarco with verifying the connection and then learning
more. DeMarco finds out that the wife is being blackmailed over something her college-aged
daughter did that could send her to prison. The Chinese agent is willing to
exchange his silence for her classified information, creating an impossible
situation for this veteran political wife.
DeMarco doesn’t understand how
the information came into the agent’s hands initially and wonders if the
videotaped evidence has been falsified, and if so, why. He delves further into
the background of the daughter, the Chinese agent, and the technical genesis of
the video, which yields more questions than answers.
Although DeMarco is denied the
assistance of his usual sidekick, retired DIA agent Emma, who despises Mahoney
but helps DeMarco when she’s bored, he does have the expertise of a
professional hacker now turned white hat and working for the Department of
Homeland Security. Neil is happy being on the right side of the law for a
change, although large sums of money can make him revert to his old ways.
I was amused to note that the
description of the Senator and his wife bears close resemblance to an actual
power couple on the Hill.
DeMarco manages to just barely
escape being shot or drowned as he is caught up in a dizzyingly escalating
torrent of backstabbing players who double-cross each other and then
double-cross the double-crossersn.
While this outing starts out amusingly
with DeMarco on one of his expeditions for Mahoney, this one in the bucolic
hills of eastern Kentucky where he’s getting his city clothes muddy, the story becomes
serious quickly and grows increasingly bleaker until the end, which is
stunning.
·
Publisher:
Atlantic Crime
·
Publication
date February 3, 2026
·
Language:
English
·
Print
length: 320 pages
·
ISBN-10:
0802167004
·
ISBN-13:
978-0802167002
Amazon Associate Purchase
Link: https://amzn.to/4qMRTqo
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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