Six Word Wonder
Six Word Wonder is a book for people with little time to read and/or short attention spans. Only one person ahead of you in the grocery store line? You still have time to read one or two of these concise little stories. I have to admit I was skeptical. HowContinue Reading
Stranger in the Lake
Charlotte, aka Charlie, finds a drowned Stranger in the Lake in front of her southern Appalachian home. Charlotte is more concerned for her recent husband, Paul. After all, his wife drowned in the same location not too long ago. Even though Paul denies knowing the stranger, Charlotte saw him talkingContinue Reading
Death in White Pyjamas & Death Knows No Calendar
Both Death in White Pyjamas & Death Knows No Calendar were disappointments to me. I expect more from John Bude than an incredibly long setup and a disappointing conclusion. Both tales have a vicious female provocateur that is murdered late in the story. Deidre in Pyjamas was literally hated byContinue Reading
Grave Consequences
My Review In Grave Consequences, Cass hears the voices of the dead. A lot of them…making such a cacophony that she can’t understand what they want. Finally, while visiting her town’s lighthouse with friends, she hears a clear message, “Stay away from the lighthouse.” Immediately afterwards she sees a manContinue Reading
Snowed Under Review and Character Interview
My Review While accidently slipping down an ice-covered side street in Lake Tahoe in February, Maggie discovers a dead body literally Snowed Under the recent blizzard’s wrath. It’s the neighbor’s long-missing husband. With her best friend’s help, Maggie investigates all the neighbors for means, motive, and opportunity in a snowyContinue Reading
Cult Musicians
A Cult Musician is someone that has an eclectic artist point-of-view or who likes to perform in new or multiple genres of music. The fifty musicians explored go from Yoko Ono to Bobbie Gentry to Sun Ra. The one thing they have in common is great, sometimes greatly overlooked, musicality.Continue Reading
Lady Rosamund and the Poison Pen
My Review Lady Rosamund seems to have it all. She’s rich, twenty-four, and an aristocrat in Regency England. She also has a houseful of servants. However, she also has undiagnosed OCD plus a husband who loves, both physically and mentally, another. Of course, Rosie knew about the non-sexual match sheContinue Reading
The Voter File
Political campaigns live and die by The Voter File. The file contains massive amounts of data about each voter. The voters are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 based on how likely it is that they will vote for your candidate. Tori Justice is the voting file managerContinue Reading
Booked for Death
My Review Can words jinx someone? In Booked for Death, B&B owner Charlotte is hosting a Josephine Tey book week with War of the Roses-themed events. When a guest named Lincoln, insinuates Isabella, the founder of the B&B, came about her wealth in a shady way, Charlotte states, “The lastContinue Reading
Remain Silent
White supremacists live everywhere—not just the US—as an immigrant exploitation ring is embroiled in a murder case in northeast England. How can Officer Manon Bradshaw deal with all that while also fighting the middle-age doldrums? Remain Silent tells the story of Lithuanian refugees that are used as cheap labor inContinue Reading
Final Cuts
Final Cuts is an anthology of eighteen “all new dark and strange fiction inspired by cinema and television.” As with all anthologies, the stories vary in skill-level. However, these tales also swing wildly in genre. All have horror settings or themes. But some are also thrillers, fantasy, and romances. MyContinue Reading
Hit and Mist
Techie Marty is pulled back into sleuthing when his surfer brah Brody is accused of murder in Hit and Mist, the fourth in this zany cozy mystery series. You just gotta love a mystery that (a) kills off a kickboxing instructor, and (b) does it by the end of theContinue Reading
Study of Secrets
A book club’s evening is shattered when one member is found strangled on the study floor. The motive evolves into the Study of Secrets of the remaining three members of the club. Good thing that the college professor, intrepid researcher and part-time sleuth, Lila, is on the scene. Lila isContinue Reading
All of Us
All of Us combines the complex plot of Split and Sybil with a standard thriller. Did one of Carolyn’s personalities kill her sexual predator father? Or is her therapist manipulating her memories to get her to confess even though she is innocent? If so, why? Carolyn was sexually abused asContinue Reading
Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows
Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows is a good example of the atmospheric horror of the 1800s despite being published in 1907. Think of the books (not the movies) Dracula and Frankenstein. I thought the pen and ink drawings were effective in depicting the plot. However, a bit of color would haveContinue Reading
Spy x Family Vol 1
It takes more than DNA to make a family. See how this is purely evident in the excellent manga, Spy x Family Vol 1. “Everyone has a secret self they don’t show to other people. Not to friends…not to lovers…not even to family. They hide who they are and whatContinue Reading