Tag: Fiction
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 ›
Grande Dames of Mystery
Some of the best, most enduring mysteries have been written by women. Such authors as Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham have been dubbed as “Queens of Crime,” rising to prominence during the period known as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction (in the 1920s and 1930s). Sample some of these… 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 ›
Fragments
Over time, writers inevitably create innumerable pieces of writing, some of which end up as mere fragments that needed to be written at the time of conception. Some of these fragments go on to be part of a larger whole, a story or novel, while others languish. Recently, I’ve decided to review my own such fragments. … Read More ›
Double Indemnity
“I drove out to Glendale to put three new truck drivers on a brewery company bond, and then I remembered this renewal over in Hollywoodland. I decided to run over there. That was how I came to this House of Death, that you’ve been reading about in the papers.” It’s that familiar story again. Man… Read More ›
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The classic story of a man falling in love with a married woman and the two conspiring to kill her husband, The Postman Always Rings Twice inspired two feature films and numerous crime novels. It’s difficult to review The Postman Always Rings Twice without revealing details of the plot. The plot is a familiar one,… Read More ›
Murder on a Midsummer Night
Have you met the delightful Miss Phryne Fisher? Why, she’s simply the bee’s knees! She’s wealthy, sharp as a tack, and likely to solve all your little mysteries. “One reason why Phryne solved puzzles is that she hated mysteries.” In Murder on a Midsummer Night, Phryne takes on two disparate cases. She’s first approaching by a… Read More ›
Crime Square
New York City’s Times Square becomes Crime Square in this anthology of 21 short stories. “Spanning more than one hundred years—from Longacre Square’s rechristening on April 19, 1904 to the contemporary “Disney-ized” neighborhood—Crime Square is the ultimate collection of crime stories, set in the world’s ultimate destination.” Thus the book’s back cover boasts along with… Read More ›
Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter
“Something about not having to shovel snow and being surrounded by sunshine and tropical foliage 365 days of the year causes a lot of people to feel so guilty that they compensate by scaring themselves with thoughts of imminent crime. They go out and buy themselves a gun and sort of hope they’ll get to… Read More ›
The Poisoned Martini 