Only days left to win books and more from KRL!

Don't forget to check out this article about "Christmas Heartwarmers &
Holiday Smiles" an ebook mystery boxed set where the proceeds from the
sales goes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital-so I encourage everyone
to check out the article and buy a copy! Some of the authors included are Kathi
Daley, Anna Celeste Burke, and Kim Hornsby
http://kingsriverlife.com/12/15/authors-give-back-to-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital/

Only days left to check out our review of "Wreath Between the Lines" by Daryl
Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames and enter to win a Cookbook Mystery of your
choice. Daryl has also shared with us a fun Christmas recipe!
http://kingsriverlife.com/12/15/wreath-between-the-lines-by-daryl-wood-gerber/

Only days left to enter to win a fun gift basket when you check out our
review of "Yule Be Dead" by Lorraine Bartlett and Gayle Leeson
http://kingsriverlife.com/12/15/yule-be-dead-by-lorraine-bartlett-with-gayle-leeson/

Only days left to win a copy of "Reason to Doubt" by Nancy Cole Silverman
http://kingsriverlife.com/12/15/reason-to-doubt-by-nancy-cole-silverman/

And to win a copy of "Hunting the Saturday Night Strangler" by CM Wendelboe
https://www.krlnews.com/2018/12/hunting-saturday-night-strangler-by-cm-wendelboe.html

Also to win a copy of "Cemetery Wine" by Sharon L. Dean
https://www.krlnews.com/2018/12/cemetery-wine-by-sharon-l-dean.html

And to win an ebook copy of "Fatal Bond" by Gemma Halliday and Jennifer
Fischetto
https://www.krlnews.com/2018/12/fatal-bond-by-gemma-halliday-jennifer-fischetto.html

Don't forget to enter to win a copy of "Naughty on Ice" by Maia Chance
http://kingsriverlife.com/12/15/naughty-on-ice-by-maia-chance/

You have until December 29 to enter to win a copy of "A Midwinter's Tail",
A Petsitting Mystery by Bethany Blake, but enter now so you don't forget!
And while there you can check out a fun interview with Bethany
http://kingsriverlife.com/12/15/a-midwinters-tail-by-bethany-blake/

Also watch for more Christmas short stories to go up this week!

Happy holidays!
Lorie

MAKE MINE MYSTERY: Mary Sue and You - How Much of Ourselves Do We Put...

MAKE MINE MYSTERY: Mary Sue and You - How Much of Ourselves Do We Put...: by Janis Patterson One of the more peculiar kinds of book is known somewhat disparagingly as the Mary Sue. Although i...

Beneath the Stains of Time: Asteroid Blues: "Time Wants a Skeleton" (1941) by ...

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Lesa's Book Critiques: Post Facto by Darryl Wimberley

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MysteryPeople: TOP FIVE DEBUTS OF 2018

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Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: #CHRISTMAS MEMORIES WITH AUTHOR JANIS PATERSON

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: #CHRISTMAS MEMORIES WITH AUTHOR JANIS PATERSON: Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson is a 7th-generation Texan and a 3rd-generation wordsmith who writes in mystery, romance, and horror. Lear...

Guest Post: Jeanne and Airport Books

In honor of the season, Jeanne of the BPL, has dumped her treadmill and is thinking about airports and reading. It is the holiday season, after all. Please welcome back Jeanne today.

Airport Books by Jeanne

As I may have mentioned, I’m one of those people who feels obligated to finish a book once started.  This occasionally bogs down my reading when I’m in a book I’m not particularly enjoying but I can’t start another until I finish the first.  I’m working on that and hope to be able to abandon books soon. Well, some books, anyways.

In an airport I will read almost anything—I add the qualifier only because someday I might find something I wouldn’t read, but haven’t so far—so I tend to put “maybe” books in my travel bag, certain that I’ll read them no matter what.

This time around I had Peggy Ehrhart’s Died in the Wool, the second in the Knit and Nibble series.  I had read the first one, Murder, She Knit and thought it had promise.  The setup is that a group of folks get together once a week for knitting sessions and a snack, giving the author a chance to offer tips and recipes.  The main character is Pamela, a widow with a college student daughter who works as an editor for a fiber arts magazine. The knitting group is mostly female, although there is a grumpy male lawyer who has taken up knitting on the advice of his doctor as a way to handle stress.  This time around the knitters have knitted aardvarks to sell as a fundraiser for the local high school sports program.  Things are going quite well until a dead body turns up, with one of the knitted aardvarks on his chest.  As per usual, the victim had any number of people wishing him ill so there’s a good pool of suspects.  Pamela and the other knitters are drawn in because of the knitted aardvark and must solve the mystery to clear their names.

 

Scheduled Pub Date --April 30, 2019

I had actually picked this one up before the trip, read a bit, put it down, and repeated.  I like Pamela very much:  she’s generally calm and collected, a steadying influence for the group.   Catrina the cat is appropriately adorable, and there is a whiff of romance in the air with the distinguishably handsome man next door, even if Pamela denies it.  I enjoyed the bits about the fiber arts articles she was working on for the magazine. However, for me the pacing was off: after I put the book down, there was no compelling reason to pick it back up again. Much time was spent preparing meals, for example, with no progress in any of the plot threads.  I also had trouble believing that the whole town would turn against the knitters because of the aardvark toy found with the body.  It served as an excuse for Pamela and best friend Bettina to investigate, but for me that reaching and an unneeded distraction.

The writing itself is enjoyable and as indicated, I like many of the characters.  I just needed for a little more to be going on to entice me to read “just one more chapter.”

There are two more books in the series coming out in 2019. I’ll certainly pick up Knit One, Die Two and see how it goes from there.

Stephen Mack Jones: LIVES LAID AWAY (Hardcover on sale January 8, 2019)

August Snow was an incredible book and I tried to explain that in my review. LIVES LAID AWAY is book two in the series and you can read the synopsis here.

Lesa's Book Critiques: Have You Heard?...Charlaine Harris' All Together Dead

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Cats and Crime: PSA: eBookMall Has Gone From eBook Retailer to Phi...

Cats and Crime: PSA: eBookMall Has Gone From eBook Retailer to Phi...: Criminals are everywhere. Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard wailing and crying and gnashing of teeth. Following...

Crime Time : THE DEATH OF MR. LOMAS – Francis Vivian

Crime Time : THE DEATH OF MR. LOMAS – Francis Vivian: There was a character actor who always got bumped off in movies I watched as a kid. Soon as I saw him on the screen, as a hotel clerk, a ba...

The Rap Sheet: Crider to Be Honored in Dallas

Personal Note..... I have spoken before more than once about how Bill Crider played a huge roll in my life as well as Sandi's in recent years. I won't bore you with that again. I always hoped Bill and I  would be able to meet up somewhere. That was not meant to be. What the Bouchercon folks are doing here is a wonderful thing. 

The Rap Sheet: Crider to Be Honored in Dallas

Lesa Holstine Reviews: Have You Heard...Donna Andrews' Owls Well That Ends Well

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A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: WRITING THE OLD WEST

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Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (read by Jim ...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (read by Jim ...: Reviewed by Christy             In 2007, the tv show Pushing Daisies premiered on ABC. It was a whimsical take on the popular...

RTE Update: End Of Year Issue

The December 15th issue of RTE is out and includes new reviews as well as an interview from the archive:

http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com

A repeat of a previous interview with Reginald Hill in the 'Sixty Seconds with . . .' interview hot seat:

http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/interviews.html?id=263

This is our last issue for 2018, so we wish everyone a very happy holiday and a splendid New Year.



REVIEWS THIS WEEK:

THE WAY OF ALL FLESH Ambrose Parry Reviewed by Yvonne Klein

THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL Anne Emery Reviewed by Jim Napier

THE FERAL DETECTIVE Jonathan Lethem Reviewed by Yvonne Klein

THE BIG EMPTY Stan Jones and Patricia Watts Reviewed by Barbara Fister

LIES COME EASY Steven F. Havill Reviewed Anne Corey

ROBERT B. PARKER'S BLOOD FEUD Mike Lupica Reviewed by Ruth Castleberry

WATCHING YOU Lisa Jewell Reviewed by Keshena Hanson

THE CLINCHER Lisa Preston Reviewed by PJ Coldren

FRACTURED TRUTH Susan Furlong Reviewed by PJ Coldren

STORM RISING Sara Driscoll Reviewed by Diana Borse
NOT OF THIS FOLD Mette Ivie Harrison Reviewed by Keshena Hanson

THE CHRISTMAS CARD CRIME
and other stories Martin Edwards, ed. Reviewed by Rik Shepherd

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

In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday 12/17/18

In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday 12/17/18

MysteryPeople: GOOD ANTHOLOGIES, GOOD CAUSES

MysteryPeople: GOOD ANTHOLOGIES, GOOD CAUSES

CrimeReads: THE 10 BEST CRIME ANTHOLOGIES OF 2018

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Gravetapping: SHADOW GAMES by Ed Gorman

Gravetapping: SHADOW GAMES by Ed Gorman: I have a particular fondness for Shadow Games . It is not only a terrific novel, but it was my introduction to the work of Ed Gorman. Th...