I have a new mug in the house courtesy of Johnny Wesner @SweetJohnny1960 and it absolutely reflects my attitudinal magnificence.
Saturday, November 20, 2021
SHOTSMAG CONFIDENTIAL: Understanding Monsters, Surviving Monsters by Clea Simon
SHOTSMAG CONFIDENTIAL: Understanding Monsters, Surviving Monsters by Clea...: Nobody in our high school was completely surprised when Joel Rifkin turned out to be a serial killer. Were we shocked? Sure. The quiet kin...
KRL This Week for 11/20/21
Up in KRL this morning reviews and giveaways of 5 food mysteries for your Thanksgiving feast-"Deck the Donuts": A Deputy Donuts Mystery by Ginger Bolton, "The Cure for What Ales You": A Sloan Krause Mystery by Ellie Alexander, "Here Comes the Fudge": A Candy-Coated Mystery by Nancy J Coco, "No Grater Crime": A Country Store Mystery by Maddie Day, and "Murder Can Frost Your Doughnut": A Haunted Craft Mystery by Author Rose Pressey https://kingsriverlife.com/11/20/food-mysteries-for-your-thanksgiving-feast-2/
Also a review and giveaway of "The Enemy You Gnocchi" by Catherine Bruns along with a great Italian dessert recipe from Catherine for your Thanksgiving dinner https://kingsriverlife.com/11/20/the-enemy-you-gnocchi-by-catherine-bruns/
And a review and giveaway of "Gated Prey" by Lee Goldberg https://kingsriverlife.com/11/20/gated-prey-by-lee-goldberg/
We also have the latest Queer Mystery Coming Attractions by Matt Lubbers-Moore https://kingsriverlife.com/11/20/queer-mystery-coming-attractions-december-2021/
And Sharon Tucker talks about Preston & Child's Pendergast Series https://kingsriverlife.com/11/20/sensational-reads-preston-and-childs-pendergast-series/
For those who prefer to listen to Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast directly on KRL you can find the player here for our latest episode Part 2 of the mystery short story "Harvey and the Redhead" written by Debra Goldstein and read by local actors Ariel Linn and Sean Hopper https://kingsriverlife.com/11/20/harvey-and-the-redhead-part-2-by-debra-h-goldstein/
Up during the week another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Mar Preston about her latest book "By Accident" https://kingsriverlife.com/11/17/why-a-celebrity-crime-novel/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week a review and ebook giveaway of "Death Under the Sea" by Rosalie Spielman author and published by Gemma Halliday Publishing
https://www.krlnews.com/2021/11/death-under-sea-by-rosalie-spielman.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
SleuthSayers: Who Chose the Prose for Those Anthos? by John M. Floyd
SleuthSayers: Who Chose the Prose for Those Anthos?: I think I've mentioned, here at SleuthSayers , the fact that I've been submitting almost as many short stories to anthologies as ...
Mystery and Suspense Magazine: MODERN NOIR: WHY WE NEED A "FEMMES NOIR" GENRE by Valerie J. Brooks
Mystery and Suspense Magazine: MODERN NOIR: WHY WE NEED A "FEMMES NOIR" GENRE by Valerie J. Brooks
Scott's Take: The Next Batman: Second Son by John Ridley
The Next Batman: Second Son by John Ridley collects the twelve-issue digital first series into four physical issues bound together. This read will be confusing for readers that have not read the current Batman run by James Tynion as well as parts of Future State by John Ridley that dealt with the Bat family set five years into a possible future within in the DC universe. The Next Batman: Second Son after the events of Joker War and A-Day, Lucius Fox has become the head of Wayne Enterprises and is now the proud owner of most of Bruce Wayne’s money. Lucius Fox is suffering from the effects of being tortured by Joker’s new girlfriend, Punchline, and is not adjusting well to being the richest person in Gotham. Lucius wants his family together to deal with the changes in his life now and he forces his adult son, Tim Fox, who these days by “Jace” to come home to Gotham and face their past together. Jace Fox has no desire to be back in Gotham or part of the family again. He left everything and everyone behind for reasons that are explained in this read.
For those who do not know, Jace is supposed to become the
next Batman in a possible future. This is his origin story on why he chose to become
the Batman.
This book is part action, part thriller, and part family
drama. The Fox family is a highly dysfunctional group of individuals where no
one has dealt with their own personal past nor have they dealt with any of the
issues between each other. Each one is very broken by his or her past. This is
a story about power, privilege, and ignoring your responsibilities. Jace and
the rest of the Fox family will need to grow up and come to terms with their
own individual demons as well as relationship issues if they truly want to fix
things and be a family again.
The Next Batman: Second Son by John
Ridley is good as long as you can deal with
the fact that pretty much everyone involved in the book thinks they are the good
guy and is totally wrong about that fact. This read is pretty hard to follow if
you are not caught up with the DC Universe and the current status quo of Batman
right now. This origin story is billed as a complete story and it is not.
Actually, this just part one and ends with a cliffhanger. The second part is
from the same author and currently is just available in yet another digital
first series. That series is called I Am Batman and will be
collected into a physical book at some point.
The Next Batman: Second Son by John
Ridley is an interesting read despite those
two caveats.
The Next Batman: Second Son
John Ridley
https://www.dccomics.com/talent/john-ridley
DC Comics
https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/the-next-batman-second-son
ISBN# 1779513607
September 2021
Hardback (also available in digital format)
128 Pages
Material came by way of the Forest Green Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2021
Friday, November 19, 2021
Writer Beware®: The Blog: Small Press Storm Warnings: Hurn Publications, Dreaming Big Publications, Azure Spider Publications
Writer Beware®: The Blog: Small Press Storm Warnings: Hurn Publications, Dre...: Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware® HURN PUBLICATIONS I first heard of Hurn Publications (that's a link to an archived vers...
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: ARACHNE RISING by "James Vogh" (John Sladek)
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: ARACHNE RISING: Arachne Rising: the search for the thirteenth sign of the zodiac by "James Vogh" (John Sladek) (1977) It takes a special kind...
FFB Review: The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving Editor Jay Hartman
From the massive
archive….
The Killer Wore
Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving leads off with a very poignant
introduction. In a note that honors the pain that many of us deal with this
time of year, the loss of a loved one, Editor Jay Hartman honors author and
friend, Earl Staggs. Earl was, and still is as his legacy lives on, a
consummate storyteller. More importantly, at least to me, he was a good friend.
Earl thought the world of my late wife and went out of his way to spend time
with her and me. He was still present months after she passed as he checked on
me and pushed me to get back to writing, reading, and more importantly living
and staying sober. He was there for many folks in many different was as Jay
notes in the introduction. This latest in the series from Untreed Reads pays
homage to Earl in every short story in the book. A fitting tribute to a friend
to all to all and a man who preferred the short story format.
The read kicks
off with “Let’s Talk Turkey” by Herschel Cozine. Ulysses, the turkey, is
missing and the young boy has come to the police for help finding him. Rick
raised the turkey from an egg and wants the help of the police. The case of the
missing turkey is going to become very personal by Sergeant Mills.
In “Drunk
Raisins” by Karl Wainwright, 31-year-old Sheila would prefer not to go out to
her grandparents’ farm and deal with all the relatives. Uncle Bob is boring,
Grandpa Elliot is a misogynist, and Aunt Livia is convinced that our narrator
is gay because she never brought a man. Truth be told, she would not bring
anyone she liked or cared about to one of these holiday dinners. While the men
watch football, the woman are in the kitchen doing the work and not getting
along very well. That bitterness is going to carry over to dinner with wide
ranging repercussions.
Thanksgiving
2017 find our narrator part of a task force chasing counterfeit currency in
“Dinner with the King” by Joseph S. Walker. With her parents out of town and
spending the holidays with his brother and his family, and having been dumped
by her boyfriend not even a month earlier, New Orleans Detective Sarah Mason
had done the personal and professionally smart thing and accepted the dinner
invitations from New Orleans Legend Louis Cassel. The man is connected and is a
legend in New Orleans. The fact he has invited her to dinner is her first clue
that things are about to get very interesting in so many ways.
Stan the Dentist
is not intending to go to Moe’s dinner this year. Moe and his mob buddies are
going to have to do without him since Moe skipped his yearly checkup. Of
course, it will not work out that way in “Some More Good Times” by Steve
Shrott. You Do not tell Moe no.
Thanksgiving
1973 is the setting for “A Fowl Play Holiday” by Lesley A. Diehl. While it is
true that a lot of the husbands in the extended family die young, but that is
because the women are badasses and males are genetically weak. Things just
happen that way. Our narrator is coming home for the week as she has been asked
to come by Aunt Nozzie who has promised that nothing will go wrong this year.
Obviously, it is not going to work out that way as it never does.
Vivian
Witherspoon is the wealthy ruler of her extended family and others. With just
weeks to live, she continues to rank her family members on a number scale that
only she knows. While each person knows what their number is, they do not know
why they are at that number or what it would take, short of killing others, to
move up in the ranking. The nine family members all want that coveted number
one spot in “A Very Darwin Family Thanksgiving” by Trey Dowell. 200 million
dollars and everything in the estate is a powerful incentive to be truly number
one in the winner take all tournament.
“Nameless
Adventure of the Red Carbuncle Or Who Snatched Aunt Jewel’s Jewel” by Bobbi A.
Chukran comes next where Henderson’s Jewelry Shoppe has been hit in Nameless,
Texas. Kendra O’Keefe had just brought in the piece of costumed jewelry on
behalf of her Aunt Jewel. Nearly 100 degrees and almost Thanksgiving, Kendra
O’Keefe is hoping the piece fixed will lift Aunt Jewel’s ongoing awful mood. A
gift from her late husband, the piece has sentimental value and is literally
falling apart. It is not the kind of thing that Dennis Henderson would normally
work on, but for Aunt Jewell who he went to school with, he is happy to work on
it. Of course, it goes missing during
the daring daylight robbery. If that is not bad enough, Aunt Jewel is refusing
to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. Can Thanksgiving be saved? Can the
brooch be recovered?
It should have
been the real deal, but instead the senior citizen residents of the High Towers
are getting a tofu turkey. Thirty pounds of Tofu shaped like a turkey and tasting
nothing like turkey. While that is a crime on its own, it is not the primary
one in “That’s No Turkey, It’s Murder!” by Bert Paul. The reason they are
having a tofu turkey is complicated. The reasoning goes back weeks and involves
the supreme commander of High Towers, Mrs. Plaid.
Kenzie’s mother
has a lot of money and the interest accrues nicely each day in “Cranberry
Beret” by Steve Liskow. Harry isn’t thrilled they are going to his mother in
law’s house for Thanksgiving, but you do what you have to do. Vanessa Van Essen
is 63 and on her sixth husband. While he loves Kenzie deeply, the rest of the
family is horrible. This dinner is a reminder of that fact in multiple ways.
Detective Carl
Todd is at work in the Homicide Department of the Dallas Police in “Pecan Pie
Sacrifice” by C. C. Guthrie. He has two women at his desk who believe the
recent death of 82-year-old Caroline Elliot was more than an accidental fall.
The detective that originally investigated the death is off for Thanksgiving,
so Carl Todd is talking to them two days before the big holiday. Jessica and
Ashley are sure the woman at the house is not Caroline Elliot’s out of town
daughter. They think she is there to loot the house. Dallas Detective Carl Todd
is not sure they really know anything, but figures it does not hurt to do a
little follow up on what he has been told. After all, a death in Preston Hollow
gets news coverage and they have to be right.
They are making
a movie of the novel, Justified Action by Earl Staggs, and a company known as
“Fight Corps” is handling the fight chorography. Owned by Domingo Jack who is
working on the set and wanting things to be going better in “Shaky Cam” by J.
B. Toner. It is enough to cause a man to pour bourbon into the pumpkin flavored
coffee that he loves. It is past time to really take control so that the fight
scene is done correctly.
Vonda used to
love the clubs. In her thirties now, going clubbing is not so much fun in “a
ghost turkeys, and a pretty holiday sweater” by Catina Williams. It is the
night before Thanksgiving and she is out on the town with her best friend
Albert who goes by “Ab.” It is only because of him she is out. She is in a club
where none of the guys are age appropriate and she feels like she is being
stalked. It does not help that she is being haunted by a ghost who is choosing
to make her presence known again to Vonda and Ab. Ten years later and the
ghost, Kendra, has yet to move on in this final story in the anthology.
In addition to
the author bios at the end of the book, there are once again numerous recipes
scattered throughout the read. The recipes come from Jay’s sister, Lisa Wagner.
With the pandemic raging this year, the focus in these dishes is to use
supplies you probably already have in your pantry so you do not have to do
extra shopping.
The Killer Wore
Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving is another fun read in this long
running and tasty anthology series. Each title is a good one where a mystery is
always present and humor occasionally appears. Not only is the read a good one,
the book also pays a wonderful homage to our friend, Earl Staggs.
The Killer Wore
Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving
Editor Jay
Hartman
Untreed Reads
September 2020
ISBN#:
1949135772
eBook (also
available in print format)
150 Pages
Editor Jay Hartman provided an eBook ARC for this read several weeks ago with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple
© 2020, 2021
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Jeanne Reviews: Moonshine Shack Murder by Diane Kelly
Hattie Hayes is from a long line of moonshiners, but she’s
probably the first make the stuff legally.
She’s staked her savings on opening her own store selling her very own
fruit-flavored moonshine in her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. She’s hoping to make a really good
impression, not just on the tourists but on the locals. She wants to network with some of the other
merchants and offer discounts but not everyone is receptive—especially not the owner
of a bar down the street.
Hattie soon learns that it’s not easy to run your own small
business. Between the light-fingered visitors and some cold shoulders from
competitors, Hattie could get discouraged. On the bright side, handsome mounted
policeman Marlon Landers seems to have taken a shine to her (yes, pun intended)
and stops by often, much to the consternation of her grandfather. It seems the Hayes and Landers families go
way back—and on opposite sides of the law.
However, when a body turns up and the murder weapon was a jar of
Hattie’s moonshine, she’s going to need all the help she can get.
Diane Kelly is a prolific cozy author, with several series
to her name. I have enjoyed her House Flipper Mystery series, so I
decided to give the Southern Homebrew
Mystery series a try. She’s staying
with the Tennessee setting, but moving from Nashville to Chattanooga, with many
mentions of Gatlinburg (aka the Tourist Trap of the South, as it is known in
some quarters.) Hattie is promoting her wares by playing on some Appalachian
stereotypes (a common Gatlinburg strategy) but that’s not something I
particularly care for. I won’t go into
all the pros and cons; I just tried to skim over those parts.
I also wasn’t enamored of Marlon’s referring to Hattie as
“little filly” soon after meeting her.
It’s supposed to be cute because he does love his police horse. It just seemed condescending to me, rather
than affectionate though it also made me think of Dudley Do-Right. (Rocky and Bullwinkle, anyone?)
On the up side, Kelly does a good job of plotting and
creating characters. I also love that
she gives us a good sense of place. Hattie’s grandfather is a handful, but he
adores his granddaughter. Kelly is an
animal person—one of her other series is called Paw Enforcement—so she knows to keep an eye on the animals, both
Hattie’s cat Smoky and Officer Landers’ horse.
Hattie herself is a spunky heroine and I think there could be
interesting things done with the setting and background.
As I recall, it took the second book to sell me on the House Flipper series, so I will
certainly give this one another try when the second book comes out next
year. It has definite possibilities.
Titles in the series are:
The Moonshine Shack Mystery
The Proof Is in the Poison (2022)
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Beekeeper of Aleppo, When Twilight Breaks, Highfire, No One Goes Alone
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Nevermore: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Beekeeper of Aleppo...: Reported by Garry The books brought to Nevermore this week ran the gamut from historical fiction to high fantasy and romance to murder...
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