Monday, September 07, 2026
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Songs of Saigon by Ed Teja
Ed Teja is a
versatile guy. In his own words, he has been a magazine writer and editor in
several countries. He lived for years as a Caribbean boat bum and blues
musician. He is a member of The Short Mystery Fiction Society, was a finalist
for the Shamus Award for short PI fiction in 2025, and his stories appear
frequently in magazines and anthologies.
His newest
book is an appealing historical crime thriller with an unusual setting. Most
World War II thrillers focus on the European front although the very good Secret
War of Julia Child by Diana Chambers (2024) looks at Child’s work for the
OSS in China, India, and Ceylon. Teja sets his story in 1943 Vietnam, where the
collaborationist Vichy French government co-managed with Japan, which had
overrun Southeast Asia by spring 1942.
Cole Miller joined
the small OSS office in Saigon about a year ago. Their assignment is to
destabilize Japan’s hold on the region wherever and however they can while
going through the motions of a shipping business. Miller is delivering arms to
a group of Vietnamese insurgents in the jungle when the book opens. The
Japanese ambushed them, killing a number of the rebels and leaving Miller to
wonder who had betrayed them. When he returns to Saigon, his boss Major Fred
Olson tells him via a note left at his hotel to meet him at their usual café.
When Miller reports as scheduled, a group of snipers sprays the cafe with
bullets and Olson’s body is found among the victims. It’s clear to
investigators that Olson was dead before the café shooting. A local member of
the Vichy France government who dislikes Miller pushes the police to arrest
him. Miller has two jobs, to find who actually did kill Olson and to identify
the traitor who is feeding information about OSS activities to the Japanese.
While the
plot is straightforward enough, the setting is anything but. Vietnam with its
significant natural resources was a valuable asset to both sides of the war,
creating a complex political tug-of-war over a small nation about the size of
New Mexico. Vietnam was a French colony before the war and the French intended
to maintain its control after the war ended. In the meantime Japan had asserted
dominion over the entire region. The Free French were also present, trying to
dislodge the Vichy collaborationists. The Allies had established a presence via
U.S. and Great Britain intelligence groups, working to undermine the Japanese.
Behind the scenes Ho Chi Minh had established the Communist party in Vietnam,
tapping into the great desire of the Vietnamese people for freedom from
external rule. In short the country was seething with political tensions and
barely contained hostility, creating a powder keg with a very short fuse.
I found the
time and the place as described fascinating. The Vietnamese people were
hard-working, resourceful, and far more intelligent than invading forces
believed. It is easy to see why and how the armed conflict in the country
during the 1950s and 1960s broke out. Miller is a credible character with
series potential; it will be interesting to see if Teja brings him back.
Readers who
enjoy modern historical crime fiction, especially World War II and espionage
fans, will want to add this book to their TBR stacks. Recommended.
·
Publisher: Float Street Press
·
Publication date: September 1, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 318 pages
·
ISBN-13: 979-8994688823
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ctfqrH
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night
Sunday, September 06, 2026
Flat Out Begging For Help
I am flat out begging for help and hate myself.
Things
are very brutal money wise. Not just with the groceries, gasoline, and more, that is hitting all of us. Continuing the situation that was in place all summer, Scott did not work
most of August as there was not any work for him. He hasn’t worked at all this
month and there is no sign of that changing. No work means no paycheck and no
income.
So,
I am begging for help. If you like what we do at Kevin's Corner, please
consider making a donation through the PayPal widget on the left side of the
blog. We could really use the help.
Please
and thank you.
Saturday, September 05, 2026
Update on Santa Rage 2
Submissions closed last Monday night. I received
nearly three dozen submissions for twelve slots. All the stories have been read
once.
My plan is to let things sit and then read everything
a second time, starting early next week. Once that is completed, hopefully by
the middle of the week, I will start reaching out to folks to make absolutely
sure their stories are still available as well as letting other folks know
their status.
If you submitted, and wish to now withdraw for
whatever reason, please let me know so I can remove your story from
consideration.
Please and thank you.
KRL Update
Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun cozy foo mysteries-"Murder at First Slice" A Baker Street Mystery by Valerie Burns, "Savvy Summers and the Po’boy Perils" Savvy Summers by Sandra Jackson-Opoku, and "Killer Donuts" A Deputy Donut Mystery by Ginger Bolton https://kingsriverlife.com/09/05/delicious-fun-food-cozy-mysteries-for-your-september-tbr/
SleuthSayers: The Old Man and the Sand and Sea
Jerry's House of Everything: SHOWCASE #19: ADAM STRANGE (MARCH-APRIL 1959)
Scott's Take: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds- The Seeds of Salvation by Robbie Thompson and artists Travis Mercer and Serg Acuña
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds- The Seeds
of Salvation by Robbie Thompson and artists Travis
Mercer and Serg Acuña and more is set, apparently, sometime before season 4 of
the television show, but the story is not clear on the timeline. The author,
Richie Thompson, is one of the writers for season 4 which started airing in
late July 2026. I read this collected five issue comic book through Hoopla.
In this story, Chapel (one of the medical team) is
bored after a series of uneventful missions and decides to visit an old friend
at an arctic research lab on some planet. She convinces Captain Pike to take
the Enterprise there and send her down with an away team.
In this Lovecraftian horror story, the Enterprise away
team arrives at the facility and discovered everyone missing. That is except
for a lone robot that states that all
the staff of the research station has gone into the dark waters below. Part of
the group went down in a mini sub and all contact was soon lost. So, the rest
of the station personnel went down in the second mini sub and contact was lost.
There remains a third mini sub available for use so
the usual suspects on the away team will use that to go hunt for the station personnel.
Led by the XO with Chapel, Spock, and others, they go down while Captain Pike
aboard the Enterprise monitors their efforts. Of course, there are things down
below that are more than willing to greet the crew of the Enterprise…
The read is advertised as focusing on Chapel and
Spock, but that’s not really true. The read is mostly focused on Chapel. Spock
does get some of the spotlight, but he is not a focus. The characterization of
everyone is really good and it feels like an episode of the show in the short
five issues of this miniseries.
The art is good, but has one main problem the
characters don’t look exactly like themselves. While the Enterprise is right,
every person on the crew is just a little off. I get who they are supposed to
be but the art style does not help. Pike and Scottie especially suffer from
this. I think it’s just the style of art is the problem, but it is good art.
This is action themed and horror episode with an optimistic
ending that kind of feels unrealistic. Overall, I enjoyed Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds- The Seeds of Salvation even with these minor flaws.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fudD6o
My reading copy came by way of Hoopla through the
Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
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