KN Magazine: Reviews
Dig Your Grave by Steven Cooper/Review by Danny Lindsey
Dig Your Grave
By Steven Cooper
Seventh Street Books
$15.95
ISBN 978-16333884809
Publication Date: October 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
Dig Your Grave (2018 by Seventh Street Books) is one of those that grabbed me right away and held on to me all the way to the (unexpected) end. Somehow Steven Cooper’s style, characters, ,and pace clicked the sweet spot in my brain. I’m not sure if it was Gus Parker’s mysticism and his long-term relationship with a rock star, or if it was Alex Mills’ approach to crime solving and his “real person” attributes and actions. Whichever, or both, this book was a genuine pleasure to read.
Prominent men are being killed in Phoenix. They are apparently forced to walk into a cemetery, dig a shallow grave, and with a marker write their own epitaph on cardboard. Seemingly unrelated, the murders have one thing in common – success. It is Mills’ job to link them and solve the cases, and his relationship with Gus Parker is called into play when clues and motive are elusive.
Cooper blends the right amounts of setting and character development with a strong plot line. The reader still gets to use his or her imagination instead of being fed endless detail, which permits personal engagement with the story, one of the reasons we read instead of only watching television or streaming movies. It’s refreshing to become involved with the writer’s narration.
Dig Your Grave is the second Gus Parker and Alex Mills novel, and should not be the last. Strong characters and good writing make me want to go back and read the first, and eagerly wait for the next in the series.
I recommend it heartily.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny's 2017 Claymore Award winning manuscript Serial Justice is now available on Amazon!
Firefly by Henry Porter/Review by Bill Hopkins
Firefly
By Henry Porter
The Mysterious Press
$27.00
ISBN 978-0802128959
Publication Date: October 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
FIREFLY (The Mysterious Press; October 2, 2018) is a thriller that pays its dues overall. It’s about a young man, Luc Samson, who is running from the Muslims during the Syrian civil war. He is cast adrift (literally) into the ocean and washes up on a Greek island. Then he begins his trek northward to find a place he can live in Europe. He is a quasi-intelligence agent, having been strong-armed (not literally) into working for the Brits.
This is a cat-and-mouse game in the style and genre of lots of spy novels. The Brits are excellent at writing spy novels. The pace moves quickly here.
As usual, we (the readers) are urged to not fall in love with the spy agencies. In fact, there isn’t any particular group who is endearing. The different people the young man runs into are none any too moral. They have a job and they plan to get it done. This isn’t a slam against anyone in the book. That’s just the way life works.
Generally, I liked this book. I love spy novels. When I read, for example, a James Bond novel, I know there is a lot of fantasy there. The same here. Coincidence and happenstance play a large role in the plot.
There are two main nits I have to pick with this book: The pronouns sometimes are difficult to pin down to the people they belong to. I found myself going back and re-reading pages to figure out who was doing what to whom. The other nit is that the word “Firefly” is overused in the book and gaming world. I had a difficult time finding this book on Amazon.
However, both of these nits can surely be laid at the feet of the publisher.
Nonetheless, for a smashing good read, you won’t be sorry you read this!
Many thanks to Justina Batchelor from Grove Atlantic for providing me with the hardcover edition for review. It has been donated to the Bollinger County Library in Marble Hill, Missouri.
Bill Hopkins is retired after beginning his legal career in 1971, serving as a private attorney, prosecuting attorney, an administrative law judge, and a trial court judge, all in Missouri. Bill is a member of Horror Writers Association, Heartland Writers Guild, and Sisters In Crime. Bill and his wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins (a mystery writer!), live in Marble Hill, Missouri, with their dogs and cats. Courting Murder was his first novel and his second novel River Mourn won first place in the Best Novel of 2014 from the Missouri Writers Guild. His latest novel, Harvest Death is available from Amazon, with a new novel coming soon!
Learn more about Bill at his website, deadlyduo.net
Last Seen Leaving by Catherine Lea / Review by Danny Lindsey
Last Seen Leaving
By Catherine Lea
Brakelight Press
$11.99
ISBN 978-0473449773
Publication Date: August, 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
NEW FROM CLAY STAFFORD BOOKS
Catherine Lea has become a master storyteller. In Last Seen Leaving (Brakelight Press, 2018) she tackles a unique and very difficult protagonist, and succeeds nicely. Syd Schaeffer, former assistant District Attorney, has been blinded by a rogue virus. Her promising career has become little more than a subsistence practice, fed the occasional case from Walt Vander, a police detective. Syd suspects that even the cases he refers are from a sense of pity.
All that changes when her former fiancé disappears in New Zealand. He’s been caught up in an international tug of war over plans to retrofit the targeting software on an A4 Skyhawk, and apparently kidnapped. Syd is determined to not only solve the case, but to travel alone to New Zealand and solve it in person, over the objections of both her assistant and Walt Vander.
Lea describes the hurdles encountered by Syd at each step as though she has personal knowledge of the constant obstacles visually impaired persons must overcome routinely. She makes the reader aware of just how difficult every move can be.
If the telling is done well, the plot is even better. Without becoming so convoluted that the reader needs a program to tell the good guys from bad, Lea weaves an intricate thread, all the while giving Syd the correct doses of pluck and luck to move the storyline along at a good pace.
U.S. readers will find a few words here and there (e.g., lorry) that are not in use in America, but none that need be looked up. In fact, their use often blends right in with the location. All in all, this is a good one. Catherine Lea has once again stepped up her game.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins/ Review by Sharon Marchisello
INTO THE WATER
By Paula Hawkins
Riverhead Books
$11,85
ISBN 978-0735211209
Publication Date: May, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Into the Water, the latest novel by Paula Hawkins, author of the international bestseller The Girl on the Train, was nominated for a Silver Falchion award.
For more than three centuries, the Beckford Drowning Pool has seen the demise of "troublesome" women. From Libby Seeton, accused of witchcraft in 1679, to Katie Whitaker, a popular, well-adjusted 15-year-old high school student who unexpectedly commits suicide, the river has swallowed inconvenient women and their secrets along with them.
Nel Abbott was always fascinated with the river's power and the women who met their ends in its quiet bend beneath a cliff. She begins researching the questionable suicides and compiling their stories into a book with the help of psychic Nickie Sage. But then Nel herself becomes a victim of the water.
When Into the Water opens, Nel's estranged sister Jules returns to Beckford to settle the estate and look after Nel's hostile 15-year-old daughter Lena. While packing up Nel's things and perusing her writings, Jules finds the missing pieces to their broken relationship and is able to unravel some of Beckford's mysteries.
Master of "the unreliable narrator," Hawkins tells the story through the eyes of 10 different characters, all looking at events from different angles, alternating between first, second, and third person. Woven through the narrative are excerpts from Nel's unfinished manuscript. Just like the characters, sometimes the reader doesn't know whom to trust. The pace is steady through to the twist at the end.
Into the Water is the second novel by Paula Hawkins, whose debut psychological thriller, The Girl on the Train, was published in 50 countries, sold 20 million copies worldwide, and was made into a major motion picture. She currently resides in London.
Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of Going Home, (Sunbury Press, 2014) a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's disease. She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, with her husband and cat, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitnesshttps://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/.
PAULA HAWKINS worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. She is the author of two #1 New York Times bestselling novels, Into The Water and The Girl on The Train. An international #1 bestseller, The Girl on the Train has sold almost 20 million copies worldwide and has been adapted into a major motion picture. Hawkins was born in Zimbabwe and now lives in London.
Tripleye by John Hegenberger / Review by Frank Reed
TRIPLEYE
By John Hegenberger
Black Opal Books
$12.97
ISBN 978-1626946835
Publication Date: June, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Tripleye (Black Opal Books, 2017) has at least triple layers of intrigue. John Hegenberger has co-mingled bits and pieces of Bond, Bourne, and the occasional smidgen of other familiar “tagonists,” both pro- and an- in his sci-fi fantasy. Murder, theft of military weapons, double agent Manchurians (or New New Yorkians?), they’re all present and sometimes accounted for. He nails it—duplicity, greed, and ego have no boundaries. The final frontier is just as wild and dangerous as the Old West back on Earth three centuries ago.
The Weave Corp, headed by Van Loon, is set on taking over the entire extra-terrestrial enterprise, complete with geo-therm stations, sand mines, and a thriving population. The Corp has also managed to infiltrate Tripleye, the government’s private investigation entity, which enables them to interfere with Tripleye’s ace in the hole, a mind meld technology called the Link.
Throughout, it is apparent that regardless of location, time, technology, or other advancements, certain basic attributes continue to drive humans. Love, hate, anger, fear, jealousy still are prime motivators. Most anything can be purchased (for credits, the new cash), no one can be taken at face value, and the coin of the realm still rules behavior.
Did I mention that there is evidence of intelligent life on Mars? Did I forget to say that much of the conflict centers around the theft of “Snot,” the acronym for the tangible life form? Did I get so caught up in the action that I omitted that little tidbit? Oh, well.
But perhaps the best nugget, though easy to miss, is the fare on the thirteen hour shuttle from Ceres to Mars. The featured menu item? Microwaved hegenbergers, of course.
Born and raised in the heart of the heartland, Columbus, Ohio, John Hegenberger is the author of upcoming Stan Wade LAPI series from Black Opal Books, father of three, tennis enthusiast, collector of silent films and OTR, hiker, Francophile, B.A. Comparative Lit., Pop culture author, crime-fighter, comedian, ex-lead in the senior class play, ex-Navy, ex-comic book dealer, ex-marketing exec at Exxon, AT&T, and IBM, happily married for 45 years.
Active Member of SFWA, PWA and ITW.
The Bricklayer of Albany Park by Terry John Malik / Review by Sharon Wood Hopkins
THE BRICK LAYER OF ALBANY PARK
By Terry John Malik
Blank Slate Press
$16.95
ISBN 978-1943075348
Publication Date: August 22, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
The Bricklayer of Albany Park is a name the Chicago area police give to a serial killer. It is Detective Francis Vincenti’s job to apprehend him. Frank is totally consumed with finding the killer, that, as his marriage and sanity are at risk, he turns to his mentor, retired detective Thomas Foster for help. Will Frank find the killer before he loses everything?
This gripping debut thriller is told in fast-moving alternating chapters between Frank and the killer. Their paths must cross, but the suspense builds trying to figure out when.
The plot snags you from the start, so do not overlook any sentence, any nuance, because there are clues everywhere in this masterfully crafted psychological thriller.
Hold on to your seat as the story skids to a surprising conclusion. It will leave you breathless.
Give Place to Wrath by Steven Harms / Review by Sheila Sobel
GIVE PLACE TO WRATH
By Steve C. Harms
KCM Publishing
$12.99
ISBN 978-1939961723
Publication Date: October 28, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
After sinking the putt of a lifetime, Mary Hale is dead. The explosion that killed her left little evidence. The assassin that killed her left behind one obscure clue. Detective Roger Viceroy and his Midwest Region Special Crimes Unit team have virtually nothing to help them solve her murder. Tension builds as the assassin strikes again and again. The killings appear to be random because each murder is different, but Viceroy soon discovers that every crime scene contains a similar, solitary clue. The killer is clever and highly motivated. He thwarts and teases Viceroy and the Special Crimes Unit with each new victim. As Viceroy and his team piece together the puzzle, they uncover the thread that binds the crimes—Curwood, Wisconsin, a sleepy little town with a dark, hidden past. Viceroy, believing that Governor Kay Spurgeon is the next target, is up against a ticking clock. Give Place to Wrath will leave the reader wanting a quick release of a second book in the series.
After three decades as a professional sports business executive across the NBA, NFL, and MLB, Steven C. Harms has knocked it out of the park with his debut novel, Give Place to Wrath by combining sports with a police procedural. He resides in Oxford, Michigan, a rural suburb of Detroit. For more information about Steven C. Harms: http://stevencharms.com/
After thirty-three years and seventy films (including Harry Potter, The Matrix trilogy and Batman, The Dark Knight), Sheila stepped away from the film business to complete her Young Adult novel. Her debut novel Color Blindwon the 2017 Killer Nashville Reader's Choice Award for Best Fiction YA and was a Finalist for the 2017 Silver Falchion Award for Best Fiction YA. Sheila was also nominated for the 2016 Allegra Johnson Prize in Novel Writing through UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
Sheila is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Women in Film. She lives in Beverly Hills with her husband, two dogs and a cat. www.sheilasobel.com
Unto the Third Generation by Larry & Rosemary Mild / Reviewed by Sharon Marchisello
UNTO THE THIRD GENERATION
By Rosemary and Larry Mild
Magic Island Literary Works
$11.95
ISBN 978-0990547228
Publication Date: November 1, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Unto the Third Generation, a Novella of the Future, by Rosemary and Larry Mild (Magic Island Literary Works) is a Silver Falchion nominee in the Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi category. It prompts the reader to wonder, "What if…"
The story begins in the prime number year 2039. A group of scientists and other dignitaries are celebrating the end of world hunger thanks to the development of Synthomanna, a synthetic food that has just been approved for worldwide distribution.
But another problem arises that year: the outbreak of Infirenza, a deadly flu-like disease so-named because it first appeared in Florence (Firenze), Italy. There's no known cure or vaccine, and the medical community is not even sure how it is spread.
There are many P.O.V. characters, sometimes within the same scene. Two of the main protagonists are Fanny Mapleton, a waitress from St. Louis, and Leo Tall-Chief, a high-rise construction worker from Columbus, Ohio. Both contract Infirenza and are on the brink of death when they are accepted into an experimental cryogenic program. They meet briefly during recruitment, find each other attractive, and then end up hibernating side-by-side for 24 years.
A lot changes in the world while Fanny and Leo sleep, but the reader sees little of it. Funding priorities for cryogenic research have shifted, and the subjects are all but forgotten. A rogue doctor and nurse team decides to resuscitate them. But when the cryonauts awaken, they are asked to take on a new role that might help save mankind.
As well as this foray into science fiction, Rosemary and Larry Mild co-author cozy mysteries, adventure/thrillers, short stories, articles, and essays. They belong to Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Hawaii Fiction Writers.
Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of Going Home, (Sunbury Press, 2014) a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's. She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, with her husband and cat, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitness https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/.
Insidious Intent by Val McDermid / Reviewed by Sharon Marchisello
INSIDIOUS INTENT
By Val McDermid
Atlantic Monthly Press
$14.79
ISBN 978-0802127167
Publication Date: December 5, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Insidious Intent, the tenth installment of international bestselling author Val McDermid's Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, has been nominated for a Silver Falchion award.
Dr. Tony Hill is an astute psychological profiler and former police detective Carol Jordan has recently been tapped to head the elite Regional Major Incident Team. Their first case involves a forensically savvy serial killer with no previous criminal record and no connection to any of his unrelated victims. All were single women who met a dashing stranger at a wedding, engaged in a whirlwind courtship, and then were found burned to a crisp in their own cars, stranded in remote locations.
AsInsidious Intent was my first introduction to this series, I felt a bit like a newcomer at a family reunion. All the characters had rich back stories and complex relationships which were alluded to in passing. I'm still wondering what happened to Carol's brother and his wife; I only know they met a tragic end, most likely simultaneously, and Carol is still haunted by their deaths.
Nevertheless, my unfamiliarity with the characters' history did not prevent me from becoming thoroughly engaged in this well-crafted British police procedural. The author rotates point-of-view among the characters who play essential roles on the task force, like cogs in a well-oiled machine. An interesting sub-plot features Detective Sergeant Paula McIntyre and her partner Elinor, wards of an orphaned teenager, Torin, who becomes a target of cyber-bullying.
Besides the frustration of hunting a murderer who knows how to cover his tracks, the team faces pressure from above to deliver results and skepticism from other branches of law enforcement who resent them. And a pesky reporter starts digging up unsavory details from Carol's past which could derail her career, taking the fledgling task force down along with her. When they catch a break and figure out the identity of the alleged culprit, he lawyers up and taunts them with their lack of concrete evidence, which further convinces the brass to shut down their investigation and dismantle the team. Desperation drives Tony and Carol to use unorthodox methods, with an end result readers will not see coming.
Multiple award-winning author Val McDermid has been turning out murder mysteries for over thirty years. In addition to her popular Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, she has published series featuring sleuths Karen Pirie, Lindsay Gordon, and Kate Branigan, as well as several short story collections and nonfiction books.
Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of Going Home, (Sunbury Press, 2014) a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's disease. She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, with her husband and cat, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitness https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/
The Ostermann House by J.R. Klein / Review by Sharon Marchisello
THE OSTERMANN HOUSE
By J.R. Klein
CreateSpace
$13.95
ISBN 978-1544815053
Publication Date: June 19, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
J.R. Klein's paranormal psychological thriller, The Ostermann House, has been nominated for a Silver Falchion award. Read it and step into The Twilight Zone.
The protagonist is university professor Michael Felton. He and his wife Audrey, also a professor at a university in Houston, seek refuge from the rat race of the city and buy an old farmhouse in the eccentric community of Krivac, Texas. The price was a steal and they soon find out why.
There's a shroud of mystique surrounding the former owner, Herman Ostermann, who was feared and loathed by the townspeople. Michael and Audrey, as the new owners of the Ostermann House, are distrusted by association.
Weird things start happening. Items disappear or are moved. Cryptic messages appear on Michael's computer. Mysterious nonograms are found on the property.
People visit and chat, and then the next day denies the interaction. Many of the people who show up have been reported dead… long dead.
Michael and Audrey alternate from being spooked, to shrugging it off, to being curious, to not caring, to be totally creeped out. Just when they make up their minds to cut their losses and leave Krivac, they find they might not be able to.
J.R. Klein has a Ph.D. in Immunology from John Hopkins University and has published over 150 articles in academic journals and mainstream magazines. His first novel, Frankie Jones, was published in 2016. He currently lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife.
Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of Going Home, (Sunbury Press, 2014) a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's disease. She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, with her husband and cat, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitness https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/
Lesson Plan for Murder by Lori Robbins / Review by Joy Gorence
Lesson Plan For Murder
By Lori Robbins
Barking Rain Press
$14.99
ISBN 978-1941295540
Publication Date: November 21, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Readers of crime fiction will uncover the machinations of a high school English department as Liz Hopewell, the new Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition teacher, becomes Liz Hopewell, “lady detective.” Liz knows full-well no AP teacher relinquishes his or her role unless death intervenes, so when the AP Lit teacher suddenly dies, Liz knows something is amiss. With skill and craft, Ms. Robbins never leaves an opportunity to guide the reader through a mastery of allusions interlaced with the reality of high school faculty drama to create a lively, delightful, and fast-paced mystery novel.
After Liz enters Marcia’s AP classroom and notices Marcia’s “shiny red-soled shoes on the floor…[which] really were beautiful shoes,” she sees the body of the “acerbic” Marcia Deaver “behind the desk.” Gordon, the principal of Valerian Hills High School, bestows the coveted role of AP instructor to Liz, who understands that Marcia Deaver, whom Liz doesn’t really know, would never commit suicide despite the preliminary report of her cause of death. When the “Hot Detective” comes to investigate, Liz explains that “Marcia’s entire life was ruled by the written word. She wouldn’t have killed herself without leaving a suicide note.” Although at first, the detective doesn’t take her observations seriously, it soon becomes apparent that she is more attuned to the workings of an AP teacher than he realizes.
Ms. Robbins uses the titles of her chapters to provide further insight into each chapter. Chapter one entitled “Things Fall Apart” not only appeals to the readers of Achebe’s novel, but its title also provides clues to the disturbance of the balance of the norm. With an eye to detail, the title for chapter two, “Heart of Darkness,” is also aptly placed. It helps reflect the conflict among the characters and also hints at the depth of what Liz is about to uncover.
To discover ‘whodunnit,’ the reader follows the crumbs that Robbins provides without any distraction of unnecessary detail. With each new clue, the reader continually guesses how the story will end. The final chapter, “Annals of the Former World,” reaches a satisfying conclusion through structure and substance.
Brooklyn-born Lori Robbins began dancing at age 16 and launched her professional career three years later. After ten very lean years as a dancer, she attended Hunter College, graduating summa cum laude with a major in British Literature and a minor in Classics. She is now an English teacher in New Jersey. The mother of six, Robbins has vast experience with the homicidal tendencies that everyday life inspires. Lesson Plan for Murder, Robbins’s first book was published by Barking Rain Press. Two more books are in the works: the second Lesson Plan mystery, and a new series, which takes place in the world of professional ballet. Find her at lorirobbins.com
Murder Among the Tombstones by Kim Carter / Review by Tim Suddeth
Murder Among the Tombstones
By Kim Carter
Raven South Publishing
$14.99
ISBN 978-1947140035
Publication Date: August 29, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Kim Carter has given us the second in her Clara and Iris Mystery series, Murder Among the Tombstones. Part cozy, part police procedural, Clara Samples and Iris Hadley are septuagenarians who decide to begin their second careers, by opening a private investigation agency in one of the rougher areas of Atlanta. Sounds like a perfect fit, except Iris doesn’t like to drive in traffic or at night, and Clara doesn’t have a lot of confidence. And did I mention a little thing called technology?
They surprise everyone, including themselves by solving their first couple of cases. Along the way, they meet Quita, a young lady from the neighborhood who soon takes over their office and introduces them to a smartphone. When victims of a possible serial killer begin turning up at some of the city’s historic cemeteries, one of their sisters turns to them for help. The ladies realize things have gotten serious. The police officers, who were on the case, were gun down outside their precinct.
If you have a parent who comes to you to help with their phone, or you are from a generation that remembers phone booths, this book will leave you both laughing and on the edge of your seat. Clara and Iris have a way of finding themselves in trouble, yet making a way out. They prove that teamwork goes a long way. Even the police, begrudgingly, begin to give them respect. Ms. Carter surrounds them with very colorful characters. She lives in Atlanta and gives us a very realistic picture of the city and its citizens.
I look forward to reading more of the series and watching the faceoff between two very different generations. A fun series but with an opportunity to hold a mirror up to ourselves.
Tim Suddeth attended the 2017 Killer Nashville Internation Writers’ Conferences as the Jimmy Loftin Memorial Scholarship winner. He has started a series of a young law school graduate starting her career in Charleston, SC. He lives in Greenville, SC with his wife, Vickie, and his 20-year-old autistic son, Madison. He can be reached at timingreenville@gmail.com and is a regular contributor at The Write Conversation and www.timingreenville.com.
Daughters of Bad Men by Laura Oles / Review by Danny Lindsey
DAUGHTERS OF BAD MEN
By Laura Oles
Red Adept Publishing
$12.99
ISBN 978-0615816319
Publication Date: November 14, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
In Daughters of Bad Men (Red Adept Publishing, 2017) photojournalist, Laura Oles draws from a blend of the familiar and the unique in crafting a whodunit that keeps the reader reading non-stop.
Who would think that the daughter of a con-man would leave the con-world behind and jump to the other side of the law? And who would think that her half-brother, himself a con-man, would use his own daughter in the life? Jamie Rush is a small town private eye in Port Alene, Texas, content (mostly) to work divorce cases, trace deadbeat dads, and perform other skip tracing jobs. She makes a modest living and enjoys, for the first time in her life, actually staying put longer than just to the end of the con.
When her niece disappears and her half-brother asks Jamie for help finding her, she knew at once that something was wrong. He shifted from lie-to-lie-to-partial-truth, in turn shifting her reaction from concern-to-worry-to-even stronger feelings. The path to finding her niece immediately involved Jamie with rival gangs, bookies, wealthy patrons and their confused interrelationships. There is no shortage of either intrigue or danger.
Daughters of Bad Men also exposes a portion of society that is continuously simmering, just below the surface and out of sight. Blood feuds, rival bar owners, and family rifts all appear to a greater or lesser extent. The thing is, they are all portrayed as they are, and do not require the reader to stretch the imagination to realize that even in a small town there is often more (or less) than meets the eye.
For her first foray into full-length fiction, Laura Oles has demonstrated that her fictional eye is every bit as accurate as her camera lens. Well deserving of earning a place as a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist, Daughters of Bad Men is a solid tale, well told, and a promise of more to come from Jamie Rush. I’ll be waiting for the next one.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
Cat Got Your Secrets by Julie Chase / Review by Joy Gorence
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
CAT GOT YOUR SECRETS
By Julie Chase
Crooked Lane Books | $26.99
978-1683312833
September 12, 2017
Julie Chase writes about suspense, murder, and self-discovery in her third novel, Cat Got Your Secrets. The narrator, Lacy Crocker, “thirty and single,” has recently opened the Furry Godmother, “a pet boutique and organic treat bakery in the heart of New Orleans’s Garden District.” Having left home twelve years earlier to find herself, Lacy discovers that although she left New Orleans, her family roots and ancestral heritage define her and provide the comfort and support she seeks. However, once she is home, she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation, the third since her return. With a flair for invoking life into her characters, Ms. Chase commands each page with finesse and suspense. From the opening chapter, the characters take on a life that draws the reader into the midst of the action and tension that builds throughout the story.
Penelope, Lacy’s cat, provides the indirect anchor for the story. Although there must be more to her cat than meets the eye, Violet Conti-Crocker, Lacy’s southern and wealthy mother contributes to the list of colorful characters that compose Lacy’s support system. When the body of Wallace Becker, her father’s close friend is discovered, and Dr. Crocker is accused of his murder, the motivation behind Lacy’s unending quest to find the murderer has her cross paths with Detective Jack Oliver and Chase Hawthorne, a member of the “Garden District Royalty,” attorney, and her best friend’s brother-in-law.
The author’s deft manipulation of the story-line is enhanced by the addition of the sexual tension and uncertainty of Lacy’s emotional feelings for both Jack and Chase. Part of her self-discovery involves her understanding of her relationship with these men. In addition, the underlying tension in the story is enhanced through juxtaposition. It subtly forces Lacy and the reader to consider that people and events are not always as they appear. For instance, Ms. Chase writes that her “Dad’s friend was dead” and in the next paragraph, she shows the life surrounding the city as Lacy “careened onto Magazine Street, the heart of the Garden District…Robust baskets of red, white, and pink flowers hung from lampposts along the six-mile stretch of charming shops and delicious food, anchored by matching ‘Fall in Love with the Garden District’ flags and golden silhouettes of Cupid and his bow.”
With a flair for detail, Ms. Chase provides an entertaining read the keeps one riveted. The questions that one may have about some of the other characters, such as Kinley and Mrs. Becker, may be revealed in her next novel. But as any good writer, Ms. Chase brings the reader back again to the beginning of the story with her discovery of the truth.
Joy Gorence is new to Killer Nashville. She is an author, world-traveler, English professor, and avid reader. Originally from Long Island, NY she now lives in South Florida with her husband, Bill and their two pampered kitties.
Bury the Past by James L’Etoile / Review by Sheila Sobel
BURY THE PAST
By James L’Etoile
Crooked Lane Books
$26.99
ISBN 978-1683314424
Publication Date: December 12, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
James L’Etoile wrote, “The past isn’t done with us yet.” Truer words were never written. In Bury the Past, his follow-up novel to At What Cost, the first Detective Penley Mystery, James L'Etoile has written another heart-pounding suspense novel filled with dramatic twists and turns. Detective John Penley's son is recovering from a much-needed kidney transplant, his daughter has been suspended from school and his marriage is crumbling. When his wife leaves home for an unexpected break from the family, John is left to parent on his own, with no good answers to his children’s questions.
Detective Paula Newberry is not fairing much better as her integrity is called into question and the evidence against her for multiple crimes begins to mount. As a former Internal Affairs detective, Paula had ample opportunity to build a long list of enemies. Her prime suspect for this personal attack is in prison. His alibi is ironclad. Who on the outside is helping him? And, why? As the body count rises, local politicians want somebody’s head. They don’t care whose. With stakes as high as these, the partners have each other's backs, working together to find a stash of missing street drugs, put a group of corrupt cops out of action and resolve dilemmas on the home-front.
Fans will be more than ready for the third installment in A Detective Penley Mystery series after reading Bury the Past.
James L’Etoile has a Masters’ Degree in Criminal Justice and twenty-nine years of experience working within the prison system: Associate Warden, Director of Parole, Chief of Institutions and Hostage Negotiator. He resides in Cameron Park, CA with his wife, Ann-Marie, their Corgi, Emma, and a part-time cat named Case. For more information: https://jamesletoile.com.
After thirty-three years and seventy films (including Harry Potter, The Matrix trilogy and Batman, The Dark Knight), Sheila stepped away from the film business to complete her Young Adult novel. Her debut novel, Color Blind, won the 2017 Killer Nashville Reader's Choice Award for Best Fiction YA and was a Finalist for the 2017 Silver Falchion Award for Best Fiction YA. Sheila was also nominated for the 2016 Allegra Johnson Prize in Novel Writing through UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
Sheila is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Women in Film. She lives in Beverly Hills with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. www.sheilasobel.com
Hunting Hour by Margaret Mizushima/ Review by Sheila Sobel
HUNTING HOUR
A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery
By Margaret Mizushima
Crooked Lane Books
$25.99
978-1683312772
August 8, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Timber Creek, Colorado sounds like an idyllic place to live, but Officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 dog, Robo, know better. When called in to help locate a missing junior high student, Mattie and Robo are on the hunt. The hunt comes to a tragic end when the young girl is found dead not far from the high school. When the secret life of the murdered girl is exposed, the list of suspects grows, including the girl’s father and several teen-aged boys. When a second girl goes missing the job becomes much harder and more personal. The missing girl is Sophie, the youngest daughter of Timber Creek’s vet and Mattie’s love-interest, Cole Walker.
Mattie is forced to quell her own life struggles to focus on finding Sophie. She widens her suspect pool to include a rancher who has gone off his meds, a group of campers who are registered sex-offenders and a kind, but odd feed-store clerk. Mattie’s and Robo’s skills are put to the test again as the clock ticks down and the trail goes cold.
In Hunting Hour, book three in the A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series, Margaret Mizushima leads the reader on an edge-of-your-seat chase through the darkness of an otherwise tranquil town in Colorado. If you are new to the A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series, you have books one and two, KillingTrail and Stalking Ground, to look forward to while waiting for the release of book four, Burning Ridge, on September 11, 2018.
After thirty-three years and seventy films (including Harry Potter, The Matrix trilogy and Batman, The Dark Knight), Sheila stepped away from the film business to complete her Young Adult novel. Her debut novel, Color Blind, won the 2017 Killer Nashville Reader's Choice Award for Best Fiction YA and was a Finalist for the 2017 Silver Falchion Award for Best Fiction YA. Sheila was also nominated for the 2016 Allegra Johnson Prize in Novel Writing through UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
Sheila is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Women in Film. She lives in Beverly Hills with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. www.sheilasobel.com
Beside The Syrian Sea by James Wolff / Review by G. Robert Frazier
BESIDE THE SYRIAN SEA
By James Wolff
Bitter Lemon Press
$14.95
ISBN 9781908524-980
Publication Date: May 15, 2018
Book of the Day
Information, as Jonas Worth equates it, is “a currency more sought-after than cash.” Worth, a British intelligence worker, knows this firsthand. But he faces a weighty moral dilemma: Can he trade his access to government secrets to the terrorist organization of ISIS, even if it means saving his father’s life?
Author James Wolff, who is himself a former British government worker, poses that question for his main character, Jonas, in his gripping debut spy thriller Beside the Syrian Sea ($14.95, Bitter Lemon Press). Jonas reaches this critical turning point following the kidnapping of his father by ISIS forces.
At first, Jonas’s own government, along with the Foreign Office and the police, implores him to simply be patient: “It’s a waiting game.” He is told in no uncertain terms that the people holding his father will eventually come under the control of more moderate forces who in turn can be persuaded to release their hostages without paying a ransom, which is against British government policy.
But after three months of anxious waiting, Jonas’ patience wears thin.
Recalling Edward Snowden’s decision to steal government secrets and release them to the media, Jonas confiscates a trove of top secret documents from his office, smuggles them through the building’s security checkpoint, and arranges to exchange the information for the safe return of his father. The trick is to pull it off successfully with the British government, MI-5, and the CIA watching his every move. What follows is a tense, page-turning plot filled with government intrigue, shady foreign agents, danger, and a looming question of just how far would someone go for the sake of love and family.
Set in Beirut, Wolff masterfully pulls off this complex modern-day spy thriller in convincing fashion, evoking obvious comparisons to John Le Carre’s George Smiley spy novels.
Robert Frazier is a freelance writer and former reporter and editor at several Middle Tennessee newspapers. He also reviews books for BookPage and BloggingforBooks and has served as a script reader for both the Austin Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival screenwriting competitions.
19 Souls by JD Allen / Review by Holly A. Chaille
19 SOULS
By JD Allen
Midnight Ink
$15.99
ISBN 978-0738754031
Publication Date: February 8, 2018
Book of the Day
Little girls never forget their butterflies-in the-the-gut first crush. Sophie Ever’s crush turned into a lifelong obsession fueled by the dangerous voice in her head, driving her to do whatever it takes to get her man to love her back. J.D. Allen’s first book in a new series 19 Souls (Midnight Ink) brings us face to face with a woman on the edge of sanity who tricks Private Investigator Jim Bean into locating the object of her desire, Dan Hodge, who’s gone off the grid in hopes she never finds him.
The book opens with tension and continues to build it even though we are immediately aware of who the villain is. The noir style and Las Vegas setting give the book a distinct hard-boiled feeling, and the voice in Sophie’s head doubles down on the deviant femme fatale trope. Allen does an excellent job with dialogue, description, and making Sophie fallible enough that we can’t completely hate her.
As Bean tracks her movement through a trail of dead bodies we readers get up close and personal with her inner critic, almost rooting for Sophie just to spite the psychopath in her head. The story oscillates between Bean and Sophie perfectly, giving the reader opportunity to learn more about both characters without it seeming like an information dump.
Fans of female antagonists will devour this mystery, as Allen found the recipe for creating a villain both vicious and vulnerable. The body count clicks higher without gratuitous gore, making for a great guilty pleasure weekend read.
Allen is a graduate of Ohio State University where she earned a degree in forensic anthropology and a creative writing minor. 19 Souls is her first full-length mystery.
Holly Chaille is a member of Sisters in Crime and the daughter of a librarian. Growing up in the stacks cultivated her lifelong love of suspense and thrillers, and she’s currently querying her first mystery and developing her blog at HollyAChaille.com.
The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name by Fiza Pathan / Review by Brittany Menken
THE LOVE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME
Short Stories
By Fiza Pathan
Fiza Pathan Publishing
$28.00
978-978-8193290644
November 30, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
A progression on what the word love means to each individual has become gradually universal. With well-versed authors contributing to the LGBT community such as Fiza Pathan, all love gets the recognition it deserves. In A Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name, the reader gets to take part in an emotional 21 short story collection that not only sheds light on the struggles of the gay and transgender but the people that oppose them.
Pathan grabs the reader by the heartstrings from the first page to the last beginning her collection in a time warp. Set in the 1950’s, a young Indian man struggles to write his father a letter confessing he’s gay and the torment of being in love. Quick to abide by the laws of Indian culture, his father marries him off to a complete stranger while his lover witnesses the charade. In this short story alone, the connection between the brother, his youngest sister and lover show how easily Pathan is able to create a strong bond between characters in just a few pages.
A young boy trapped in his own body is just another example of Pathan’s understanding for the human condition. A mother and her two children are visited by an old educator from her time in Catholic School who served as principal and nun. Upon arrival, she learns the beautiful little girl was a boy by birth and shames the family. Years after the children expanded their own families, a meek knock echoes through the hallways of their childhood home and the forlorn nun enters once again. Dementia ridden, the nun is shown kindness she never expressed to the family and gains a quick acceptance into the home. Here Pathan creates characters as empathetic as they are scorned by testament of reassuring eyes and kind words for the elderly nun.
A family of seven struggling to head out to the car in time for a dinner party seemed average enough until a mysterious suitcase is found full of lingerie. After shots are fired in attempt to catch the culprit out of the five children, the father admits the suitcase is his. After a brief but heated argument, the mother storms out and begins to pack her bags without any explanation. The children, quick to defend their father, are shunned entirely as she proclaims she’s done with all of them and leaves. The quick acceptance that their father finds joy in dressing like a woman shows Pathan’s understanding of the younger generation and how all love is slowly becoming the social norm in today’s society as a whole.
In A love That Dare Not Speak Its Name, Pathan expertly writes of suppression and love on such a deep level the reader may feel they are learning about her own life. The intimacy of language pulls the reader in page by page, diving in to 21 emotionally rich stories bringing to life social hardships the LGBT community face every day. From hopelessly single 58-year-old drag queens to a culture that believes arranged marriages are more vital than how you feel, it’s easy to see Pathan genuinely understands pain and acceptance. Besides the range of emotions created for her characters, Pathan also succeeds to speak through her characters in a breezy conversational tone that would make it easy for anyone to read and enjoy. With her shift from different time eras and cultures, A Love That Dare Not Speak its Name is not only for people struggling with their sexuality but people old and young that can easily connect to each and every story.
*With nine published books, it’s no surprise Fiza Pathan has achievements ranging in other genres. Other works include S.0.S Animals and Other Stories, Classics: Why We Should Encourage Children to Read, and Treasury of Bizarre Christmas Stories. Awards include the Gold Award 2016, Readers' Favorite International Book Awards, Mom's Choice Awards Kindle version 2014,Pinnacle
Britany Menken is a lover of the arts with a Creative Writing degree from Tusculum College. A firm advocate of reading and writing, Britany spends her days working on her own novels as well as helping others do the same. Born in Maryville TN, she also enjoys morning trips to the mountains for writing sessions and spending more time with her cat than humans.
F.O.X by Kelly Oliver / Review by Sharon Marchisello
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
Silver-Falchion-nominated F.O.X. is the third mystery in Kelly Oliver's series featuring cowgirl philosopher Jessica James, a Ph.D. student at Northwestern University transplanted from rural Montana to downtown Chicago. This novel deals with behind-the-scenes ethics surrounding IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) and animal research.
When the story opens, Jessica wakes up naked behind a dumpster in the dead of winter. Her last memory was the inside of the local student pub, where she was drinking with a hot young intern. The assumption was that she'd been drugged and sexually assaulted, but actually, her experience turns out to be something even more sinister.
Besides the mystery of what really happened to Jessica and dozens of other college students in the area during the same time period, there is also a murder. However, the death gets little attention and the crime is solved almost by chance, because the police initially rule it an accident.
Jessica, the protagonist, is more a victim than an amateur sleuth. Colorful, strong secondary characters—Lolita, Jack, Vanya, Sam (a.k.a. "Beagle Girl") and even Olga to some degree—enhance the plot and their unconventional problem-solving keeps the narrative entertaining.
Besides her mystery series, Kelly Oliver has written 15 non-fiction books and over 100 articles, and her work has been translated into seven languages. She is currently a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She lives in Nashville with her husband and fur children.
Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of Going Home, (Sunbury Press, 2014) a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's. She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, with her husband and cat, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitness https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/.
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