Tag: Fiction
Live Read: That Thing at the Zoo
Today, The Poisoned Martini is reading James R. Tuck’s novella, That Thing at the Zoo. Monster slayer Deacon Chalk faces an unknown assailant or “whatever is leaving the Atlanta Zoo’s most dangerous predators bloodless, skinned, and hanging high in treetops.” Now with the zoo in lockdown, Deacon and a handful of zoo staffers must survive… Read More ›
By Its Cover: The Martini Shot
How do we choose what we read? Reviews? Word of mouth? Familiarity? Or by its cover? I’ll admit the first thing that caught my eye about this book was its title: The Martini Shot. Then I noticed it said “a novella and stories” and that it was by George Pelecanos. Now, working in a library,… Read More ›
18 Scandinavian Crime Novels
Recommended Reads: Scandinavian Crime The success of the Steig Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy shined a light on Scandinavian crime. Translations of existing titles and newly imported authors rose in popularity and continue to be read by American audiences today. Here are 18 of the most notable Scandinavian authors who’ve made an… Read More ›
For Your Eyes Only
“M replaced the stamp and the ink pad in the drawer and closed the drawer. He turned the docket around and pushed it gently across the desk to Bond. The red sans-serif letters, still damp, said: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.” This meeting with M occurs in the title story featured in this collection of adventures… Read More ›
Chapter by Chapter: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Read along with The Poisoned Martini each week and examine the the origins of mysteries in the earliest examples of the genre. In April 1870, Charles Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood began appearing in installments. It would be Dickens’ last novel and one left unfinished at the time of his death. Presumably this was… Read More ›
Josephine Tey’s To Love and Be Wise
Tey’s 3rd Inspector Alan Grant has to be one of the most ingenious mysteries ever written, and it begins with a good-looking young man arriving at a party… “Just inside the door, baffled apparently by the solid wall of talking and drinking humanity, was a young man, looking lost. He still had his hat in… Read More ›
A Cold Day for Murder
First, a young national park ranger has gone missing in Alaska. Then an investigator sent to find him has disappeared, too. Will it be a case of search-and-rescue or murder? The mystery begins with two men ski doo-ing their way to an isolated homestead, a log cabin that looked “more as if it had grown… Read More ›
Live Read: Dead Man Walker
The Poisoned Martini‘s is privileged to be reading Duffy Brown’s forthcoming mystery novella, Dead Man Walker. This 4th book in the Consignment Shop Mystery series releases as an ebook on February 3, 2015 from Penguin books and their Berkley Prime Crime imprint. A dead body is discovered in a bathtub and the discoverer turns to… Read More ›
Top 10 Fantasy Novels in 2014?
Reflecting on last year’s top mysteries made me curious to take a look at the fantasy novels of 2014. What were the most popular? Perhaps you may be surprised to learn that #1 was published over a decade ago! Now, this top 10 list includes a mix of high fantasy and urban/paranormal fantasy titles, all… Read More ›
Top 10 Mysteries in 2014?
2015 has certainly arrived, along with the cold. But I still find myself reflecting on the year that was. What were the most popular mysteries of 2014? Based on circulation figures at the library where I work, these were the most checked out mysteries in 2014. *** 10. Dust by Patricia Cornwell — Kay Scarpetta… Read More ›
The Poisoned Martini 