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John Greco: Dark Secrets
Let’s start off the Autumn season of short stories with this selection by John Greco. Inside, what is now his fourth book, are stories of murder, enticement and betrayal. The Bombay Hook Incident was a bit of fun and I loved when the character Dee said: “Call me girl one more time, and I’ll shoot…
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Trace Conger: Five Will Die
In a departure from some of his earlier books, Trace Conger offers up the tale of Sheriff Tim Burke whose town is at the mercy of a serial killer. Burke moved to Lincoln, Ohio, when an anxiety disorder forced him to leave the Cleveland Police Department. Now confronted with the certainty that a previously trashed,…
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Joe R. Lansdale: Moon Lake
In 1968, Daniel Russel was only 13-years old when his father drove them off a bridge in a murder-suicide attempt. Luckily, Ronnie Candles and her father were nearby and he was rescued and taken into their home. At night though Russel is haunted by visits from his father in his dreams. Ten years later when…
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LaVonne Griffin-Valade: Dead Point
Maggie Blackthorne is a Sergeant in the Oregon State Police. She’s back in her home town in the eastern Oregon high desert after 20-years. The same faces, and the drunks and pushers, poverty and feuds are all in place. Finding the twin Nodine brothers shot dead along with their dog is a shocking site. Blackthorne…
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James L’Etoile: Black Label
Jilly Cooper wakes up, naked in bed with a brutal migraine. She’s in a condo that she’s never seen before and has no idea where she is. Nearby is an empty tequila bottle and a framed photo of her and her boss at Dynalife Pharmaceutical, CEO Jonathan Mattson. She’s only ever had a professional relationship…
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R.B. Young: Crimes of Disrespect
Pamela Renard is an exchange student from the Coyote River First Nation high school to the Woodmore Academy, a private school. It’s a rough start, another student Rose Molloy throws racial slurs at Renard making her time there difficult. As the school and Renard try to educate the students about the unceded land taken from…
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Moonlight & Misadventure
Moonlight & Misadventure is a journey into the devilish minds of several crime fiction authors. Some I’d read before and some new reads. The discovery and re-discovery is always an entertaining process. Here’s a quick overview to whet your appetite: Michael A. Clark – Scavenger Hunt, has an undercover FBI agent in a skiff with…
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Mark Leichliter: The Other Side
It starts with a missing girl, like those that are so often never found. And the beginning of the search brings us into the realm of Detective Steve Wendell. As we move into the investigation and no trace of Brittany Rogers can be found, Wendell doesn’t give-in. It’s not obsession, but as a good cop,…
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David Heska Wanbli Weiden: Winter Counts
This incredible book by David Heska Wanbli Weiden has been received with wide acclaim and my blogging friend Meredith Rankin gives Winter Counts it’s full due in her review. Click Here to read it now and know that I agree with everything she writes, up to and including examining food choices. Also, the LA Times…
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Paul Heatley: Bloodline
He’s AWOL from a black-ops unit and moves often to leave no trace. It’s when his brother Anthony’s pregnant wife is murdered, that Tom Rollins comes home. The once fuck-up Anthony had gone undercover for the FBI and infiltrated a neo Nazi group. He was outed, leading to his wife’s death, and his own brutal…
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Adam Bregman: Angelino Heights
Dalton Everest’s life as a teacher is pretty standard. While quite the character with his quirky wit and offbeat sense of humour, he has a narrow group of friends and leads a steady life. He frets about his lack of height and sticks to corduroy jackets from thrift shops to make a statement. A chance…
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Robin Yocum: The Sacrifice of Lester Yates
Hutch Van Buren is the Attorney General of Ohio and bored beyond belief. Always someone who roots for the underdog and a talented, driven prosecutor, he longs for more of… something. ‘Something’ walks into his office one day without an appointment. Black binders carried by prison guard Reno Moretti. Lester Yates, the Egypt Valley Strangler…
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Stephen J. Golds: Love Like Bleeding Out
With an Empty Gun in Your Hand Love Like Bleeding out is a broad look at the work of Stephen J. Golds and it will rouse and churn you. It’s the kind of collection impossible to complete in one reading. For me, breathing space was necessary to ruminate and digest. The kind of work your…
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Amy Suiter Clarke: Girl, 11
Available April 20th Elle Castillo is a podcaster who investigates crime. She’s good at it, having solved two cases in as many years as she’s been on air. Deciding to investigate whether The Countdown Killer (TCK) is alive 20-years after he stopped, has her listener audience rapidly increasing. Investigators believe he died in a cabin…
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Jonathan Brown: Don’t Shoot the Drummer
There’s a 3-member burglary crew around Los Angeles targeting homes under fumigation tents. The press dubs them, the Tent Gang. They’ve been successful, in and out with no problems. Until the night a security guard catches them and is shot and killed for his efforts. Lou Crasher the dynamic, amateur PI is working with the…