Month: May 2016

By Its Cover: Code Grey

Pets, particularly cats, often feature in mystery stories. This one’s a bit unusual in that it features a ghost cat. Mr. Grey was/is the name of Dulcie Schwartz’s late cat, and befittingly serves as the eponymous “grey” of the titles in the series. Presumably—although looking more corporeal—Mr. Grey is the cat on the cover who… Read More ›

Circus of Blood

“If my heart wasn’t armor-plated with scar tissue, it would have broken for the girl who was hooked up to IVs and fighting for her life.” What an opening. We learn that someone tried to beat this girl to death, but then… “If she hadn’t been a Were-bat, then this would’ve been an autopsy.” The scene… Read More ›

By Its Cover: Tea with Jam and Dread

It’s scrumptious! What better way to market a culinary mystery than with something delectable on the cover? Perfectly tying into the title, tea and jam are served up on a plate. The jam—is it raspberry, strawberry?—on toast looks absolutely mouth-watering. But what’s this? Is that jam or specks of blood at the edge of the… Read More ›

Spider’s Lullaby

The first clue was the door… open ever so slightly. “The second clue was the bittersweet scent of Were-spider blood drifting from inside the house.” Yikes! Spider’s Lullaby begins with Deacon Chalk, Occult Bounty Hunter—”have silver bullets, will travel”—and his lady friends, Charlotte and Tiff, returning to Charlotte’s place after a night of binge drinking…. Read More ›

Buffalo Noir

Akashic Books continues to grow their line of Noir titles, and this one hits a little closer to home (at least for me). Most of the Noir books have been set in big and iconic cities like Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the New York City boroughs. Or they’ve been set… Read More ›