Reviews 
Whether it be a book, movie, or something else, here’s a critique.
John Steakley’s Vampires
Have you ever started reading a book, but for whatever reason set it aside—and possibly in the process lost track of your copy—only to pick it up to read years later? Years ago—likely in the mid1990s—I picked up a vampire book. I started reading it, but (j’en sais quoi) I really don’t remember why I set… Read More ›
Dorothy L. Sayers’ Whose Body?
A scant two years before the introduction of that Belgian detective, Dorothy L. Sayers featured gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey in her 1923 novel, Whose Body? When we first meet him, Wimsey is in a taxi. He’s forgotten his catalogue for an auction and returns home to retrieve it. Just as he arrives his butler/valet… Read More ›
D’Aulaires’ Norse Myths
Early in the morning of time there was no sand, no grass, no lapping wave. There was no earth, no sun, no moon, no stars. There was Niflheim, a waste of frozen fog, and Muspelheim, a place of raging flame. And in between the fog and fire was a gaping pit–Ginungagap. Thus begins the creation… Read More ›
Dark Horse
Nicky ‘Nick’ Rigopoulos finds himself a dark horse in a race to solve a frame up—his own. Nick’s day starts off well enough. He’s in a courtroom handling a personal injury case. “None of his cases went to trial anymore. That was the way he liked it—no risk. Just put your John Hancock right there… Read More ›
A Kiss Before Dying
“His plans had been running so beautifully, so goddamned beautifully, and now she was going to smash them all. Hate erupted and flooded through him, gripping his face with jaw-aching pressure. That was all right though; the lights were out.” Dorothy ‘Dorrie’ Kingship has just told her boyfriend she’s pregnant. “Finally his face relaxed. He put… Read More ›
Killer Theory: ABC’s Whodunnit
Really, it was only a matter of time before reality show contestants participated in a murder mystery-themed game. Not surprisingly the ‘penalty’ for failing to solve the case is murder. In “Whodunnit?”, thirteen guests arrive at Rue Manor where they are greeted by Giles, the butler, and two creepy, silent maids. When one of the… Read More ›
Billy Boyle: World War II Mystery
In the opening pages, Lieutenant William Boyle has finished typing. “I pulled the sheets out of the typewriter, separated out the carbon paper, and made two neat stacks. My offical report.” What follows is his first adventure as special investigator for his “uncle”, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Billy Boyle “made detective three days before Pearl Harbor.” … Read More ›
Hounded
Centuries ago, the druid Siodhachan Ó Suileabháin fled a battle between gods and carried away the powerful and dangerous sword, Fragarach, capable of killing the gods themselves. He angered the Celtic god of love, Aenghus Óg, who longs to take back the sword and kill the druid who took it. In Tempe, Arizona, a handsome, seemingly… Read More ›
Dead Things
More horror than urban paranormal, Dead Things is a very dark tale about the price of going home again. Eric Carter has spent 15 years on the road trying to escape his past. A mobster of the magic-wielding sort, Jean Boudreau killed Eric’s parents, and in revenge, Eric killed him. Boudreau’s second-in-command, Ben Duncan, forced Eric to… Read More ›
Do or Diner
Culinary mystery fans have a new series to sample. Do or Diner is the first in the Comfort Food Mystery series by author Christine Wenger. Trixie Matkowski has just taken over her aunt and late uncle’s diner, the Silver Bullet, when the the worst thing that could befall a budding restaurateur happens, the local health inspector dies… Read More ›
The Poisoned Martini 