Monday, April 13, 2026
Mystery Fanfare: Call for Articles: Mysteries set in France: Mystery Readers Journal (42:2)
Mystery Fanfare: Call for Articles: Mysteries set in France: Myster...: Call for Articles: Mystery Readers Journal : Mysteries set in France(42:2); Summer 2026 For our next issue, we are looking for articles, r...
Mystery Fanfare: NATIONAL BOOKMOBILE DAY: Bookmobile Mysteries
Mystery Fanfare: NATIONAL BOOKMOBILE DAY: Bookmobile Mysteries: Saturday was National Bookmobile Day ! What a great source of library outreach. I've posted several photos of Bookmobiles before, but ...
Little Big Crimes: Skeleton Crew, by V.G. Burke
Little Big Crimes: Skeleton Crew, by V.G. Burke: "Skeleton Crew," by V.G. Burke, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2026. First stories seldom make this l...
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Left on Rancho: A Novel by Francesco Paola
I met Francesco Paola at Left
Coast Crime last month during the Author Speed Dating event. For those who have
not attended a mystery conference, author speed dating takes place in a large
room, where readers sit at tables and authors in pairs walk from table to table
and describe their latest book in two minutes. They generally give out
bookmarks and other swag. The room usually holds around 30 or 40 tables, and
the authors are talked out by the time they reach the last few groups. From the
reader’s perspective, it’s a great way to learn about new authors, which is the
point of the exercise.
Paola’s debut is Left on
Rancho (SparkPress, 2025), an original tale based on Paola’s short-lived
career in the California cannabis industry. Andrew Eastman spent 20 years in
the Silicon Valley tech world. When his last company collapsed in flames, he
was so bruised by the experience that he planned to live abroad for awhile. A
call from his childhood best friend Charlie changed his mind. Charlie’s legal
cannabis company Kannawerks is floundering. He needs Andrew to apply his
corporate management expertise and his knowledge of mergers and acquisitions to
shore it up until the company can be sold. Manufacturing is a different world
from IT but Andrew’s bond with Charlie ran deep, so he agreed.
The Kannawerks manufacturing
facility is on the edge of the Mojave Desert in a small town, with only a
for-profit prison that holds immigrants waiting to be deported. Andrew quickly
learns that the facility operations need rework, although the staff, many of
whom are enthusiastic users of the cannabis gummies they produce, are resistant
to structure and process.
The managers fill him in on
the legislative side of the business. While cannabis has been legalized in
California, the illegal sale of marijuana continues. Firms who have gone
through the licensing process to become legal producers and who are subject to
regulatory oversight are consistently undercut by their street competitors.
Marijuana and its products are still considered illegal federally, which means the
stores who buy merchandise from Kannawerks are generally an all-cash business,
subject to frequent robberies. (See Light It Up by Nick Petrie, the
third book in the Peter Ash series, for another look at this aspect of the
legal cannabis industry.)
Andrew recognizes the company
is in an impossible situation. He intends to help Charlie find a buyer and make
a quick exit until circumstances shift beyond his control.
While the narrative is mostly
fresh and unexpected, the theme of immigrant abuse is unfortunately nothing new
and downright depressing. Despite Andrew’s extensive experience in the tech
world, he is astonishingly naïve in this new setting, mostly due to his loyalty
to his childhood friend whom he comes to see he doesn’t really know.
I have mixed feelings about
the depth of industry information in the story, which covers the California
state legislative quagmire, the production process, the relationships with
retail sellers, and funding for start-ups. On one hand it all informs the plot,
on the other it approaches the level of a data dump.
I found the ending both
surprising and deeply satisfying. Not the usual thriller, readers who enjoy
financial crime fiction or who are looking for something new will want to look
at this one.
- Publisher:
SparkPress
- Publication
date: February 11, 2025
- Language:
English
- Print
length: 352 pages
- ISBN-10:
1684632927
- ISBN-13:
978-1684632923
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4tHLEWr
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: Inspector De Klerck and Tears for Valentine (2026) by P. Dieudonné
Beneath the Stains of Time: Inspector De Klerck and Tears for Valentine (2026)...: Recently, E-Pulp published the 14th title in P. Dieudonné 's Rotterdam Police series, Rechercheur De Klerck en tranen om Valentijn ( I...
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: Announcing HOT SHOTS: CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS OF CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS OF THE SHORT MYSTERY FICTION SOCIETY
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: Announcing HOT SHOTS: CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS OF ...: This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, the free-to-join community of writers, read...
Publishing News from Barry Ergang
My friend Barry Ergang, has a new poem published in the latest issue of Yellow Mama Webzine. His poem, Centerfold, appears in Yellow Mama #115 and is free to read.
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Mystery Fanfare: GRANTCHESTER FINAL SEASON: PBS
Mystery Fanfare: GRANTCHESTER FINAL SEASON: PBS: Masterpiece (PBS) has confirmed the premiere date and released a trailer for the eleventh and final season of Grantchester . The Myste...
Mystery Fanfare: Mystery Readers Journal: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries (42:1)
Mystery Fanfare: Mystery Readers Journal: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals...: Mystery Readers Journal: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries (42:1) is now available. Buy this issue or subscribe to Mystery Readers...
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 3 fun cozies-"Booking for Trouble" by Jenn McKinlay, "If Books Could Kill" A Tea and Tomes Mystery by Karen Rose Smith, and "Murder at an Irish Session" An Irish Village Mystery by Carlene O'Connor https://kingsriverlife.com/04/11/three-bookish-matchmaking-cozies-for-spring-reading/
And the latest Mystery Coming Attractions from Victoria Fair https://kingsriverlife.com/04/11/mystery-current-coming-attractions-april-2026/
Up during the week, another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author DS Lang about her historical mysteries involving golf https://kingsriverlife.com/04/08/mystery-mud-memories-and-masters-week/
We also have another special midweek guest post, this one an excerpt from "Two Truths and a Lie" by Mark Stevens https://kingsriverlife.com/04/08/excerpt-from-two-truths-and-a-lie-by-mark-stevens/
Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "Diet of Death" by Ang Pompano, along with an interesting interview with Ang https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/diet-of-death-by-ang-pompano.html
And a review of "The Delivery" by Andrew Welsh-Huggins https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/the-delivery-by-andrew-welsh-huggins.html
And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Case of the Devious Daughter" by Cathy Ace https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/the-case-of-devious-daughter-by-cathy.html
And a review and giveaway of "A Honeymoon of Havoc" by Victoria Tait https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/a-honeymoon-of-havoc-by-victoria-tait.html
Happy reading,
Lorie
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Body in the Kelp by Katherine Hall Page
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Body in the Kelp by Katherine Hall Page: Reviewed by Jeanne Faith Fairchild, her minister husband Tom, and toddler Ben are spending the summer on Sanpere, an island in Maine. ...
Jerry's House of Everything: SLAM-BANG COMICS #7 (SEPTEMBER 1940)
Jerry's House of Everything: SLAM-BANG COMICS #7 (SEPTEMBER 1940): Slam-Bang Comics was a short-lived anthology comic book from Fawcett that lasted a mere seven issues, from March through September 1940. ...
Scott's Take: The Death of Captain America by Larry Hama
The Death of Captain America by Larry Hama
is a novel that adapts the same story arc in the comics from the Marvel
Universe. In this book, set after the events of the superhero Civil War, Captain
America is murdered through a conspiracy by the Red Skull. This novel explores
various characters attempting to uncover the truth and stop the Red Skull from
destroying the United States. But with Steve dead, who will pick up his legacy,
and stop the Red Skull?
This book is told from the point of view
of Bucky, Sharon Carter, The Falcon, Iron Man, Red Skull, and others. Steve is
in it for a bit, but this book deals mostly with how his life impacted others.
There is action, humor, Nazis, and sex. There is also a miscarriage which could
be triggering for some readers.
Overall, I enjoyed this adaption of the
comics books story arc.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4u4pIFJ
I read this through Hoopla, by way of
the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
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