The Weight of an Infinite Sky
Oline H. Cogdill

The Western novel and Shakespeare’s Hamlet may seem like polar opposites, but Carrie La Seur skillfully weaves elements of both into her finely crafted second book. The Weight of an Infinite Sky delivers a lyrical, compelling look at a young man struggling with his identity and place within his family following the death of his father.

Anthony Fry returns home to Billings, Montana, to help his mother, Sarah, run the family cattle ranch following the sudden death of his father, Dean. While home, he hopes to also pursue his real passion, running a theater camp. Anthony quickly finds that his help at the ranch isn’t needed as much as he expected, though. His father's brother, Neal, has taken over operations at the ranch. And just three months after Dean’s death, Neal and Sarah marry.

As Hamlet would say, “A little month, or ere those shoes were old with which she followed my poor father's body.”

But an uncle-turned-stepfather isn’t Anthony’s only problem: a mining company is pressuring him to sell the ranch so coal can be strip-mined; his ex-girlfriend, Hilary, has also returned to town; and Anthony’s sleep is disturbed nightly by dreams about his father—oh, and one of his campers claims to have seen his father’s ghost near where he died.

In the hands of a lesser talent, the plot might seem contrived, but La Seur makes the story seem fresh by concentrating on intense character studies. While in Hamlet there is a clear division of good and evil, La Seur knows the value of shades of gray, and gives each character layers. Each is trying to find his or her place in the world as he or she struggles with the past and the future.

These big questions (Should Anthony have come back? What happened to his father? What would it mean to sell off the family’s ranch?) all unfold against Big Sky country’s breathtaking beauty, as well as its harshness. It is an evocative exploration, showing the meaning behind the title The Weight of an Infinite Sky.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 17:06:03
The Silent Room
Craig Sisterson

Former probation officer Mari Hannah has built a fine crime-writing reputation on the back of her tales set in the north of England starring Detective Chief Inspector Kate Daniels. Here, Hannah veers from that award-winning mystery series to deliver a hard-hitting standalone thriller. And she does it with aplomb.

It kicks into high gear early, as a prison van carrying a disgraced top cop is hijacked on the way to Durham Prison. But has former Special Branch officer DI Jack Fenwick been broken out by the villains he was in bed with, or kidnapped? His protégé and friend, DS Matthew Ryan, has been suspended and is under surveillance in the wake of his boss’ arrest on corruption charges, but still believes Fenwick is one of the good guys—a sentiment few of his colleagues share. As a manhunt gathers steam and an official investigation sputters, Ryan goes off-grid with a collection of unlikely allies to try to dig out the truth.

Hannah delivers pace and excitement in spades with The Silent Room, a ripsnorter of a thriller where most of the main cast move among shades of gray. She brings the characters to life as conflicted and multilayered human beings, rather than just moving pieces for the story line. There’s a lot to like about this tale, which will have you whirring though its pages to find out what happens to the people you have come to care about.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 17:11:36
My Brother’s Keeper
Craig Sisterson

Are some deeds too horrible to ever be forgiven, no matter the circumstances or how much time has passed? Are we more than our worst moment? These questions and other thought-provoking issues bubble just under the surface of New Zealand screenwriter Donna Malane’s sophomore crime novel.

My Brother’s Keeper is a sequel to the gritty and impressive Surrender (2010), and sees the welcome return of missing persons expert Diane Rowe, a compelling heroine whose personal and professional life regularly entangles her with the police—whether she likes it or not.

Rowe once again finds herself face-to-face with a killer in My Brother’s Keeper. But this time, it’s the killer asking for help. Recently released ex-con Karen comes to Rowe, wanting her to use her skills to track down Karen’s 14-year-old daughter, Sunny, and check that she’s okay. A simple task, perhaps, except Sunny has spent years trying to forget that her drug-addled mother tried to kill her and her little brother. Sunny survived, her brother didn’t.

Rowe is torn about taking the case, and her creeping sense of unease grows as she uncovers as many questions as answers. Is Sunny in danger? Why does Karen really want to say goodbye to her estranged daughter before fleeing abroad to a religious commune?

Unsurprisingly given Malane’s screen storytelling pedigree, the plotting and pacing of My Brother’s Keeper is excellent, with great visuals and action. But what makes this tale even richer is the portrayal of Rowe’s outer and inner worlds. She’s a fascinating heroine, authentic and flawed, who’s easy to empathize with, even if we question her choices at times. She intrigues, baffles, even frustrates.

My Brother’s Keeper is a complex tale that twists on itself as it builds to an exciting finale where past and present collide.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 17:14:54
Mood Indigo
Sharon Magee

In this, the ninth of Ed Ifkovic’s series about the playwright Edna Ferber, it’s been three years since the financial crash that started the Great Depression. The down-and-out huddle around trash-can fires on the cold streets of New York City, while above them sparkle the holiday lights of Noël Coward’s penthouse windows, where laughter and music from the playwright’s 33rd birthday party drift down.

Edna Ferber is in attendance, as is most of Broadway’s glitterati, including Irving Berlin, Clifton Webb, and Cole Porter. Into this glamorous gathering comes Dougie Maddox, the scion of an old-money family, and the love of his life, Belinda Ross, an actress whose meteoric rise on Broadway has made her everyone’s darling. But Belinda has a shady romantic history, and Dougie is the jealous type. So when Belinda is found dead in an Times Square automat with Dougie’s scarf wrapped around her neck, it’s little wonder he is the prime suspect.

But Edna can’t see what Dougie would gain by Belinda’s death, so she and her cohort, Noël Coward, investigate. Many suspects float to the surface: Belinda’s brother Jackson Roswell, left behind as she rose to fame; Tommy Stuyvesant, an older uberrich ex-suitor who still had a thing for Belinda; and the lascivious producer Cyrus Meerdom, who had also fallen under Belinda’s spell. As Edna and Noel find themselves delving not only into her glamorous New York life, but also her dirt-poor early existence with an ex-husband, more and more questions arise.

Ifkovic has done his research and brings the world of the 1930s rich and famous to life, but readers don’t have to be fans of the period to enjoy Mood Indigo; they only have to enjoy a well-written mystery.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 17:18:30
Dominic
Matthew Fowler

In Dominic, Mark Pryor drops the audience into the world of the titular character, a prosecutor—and a self-proclaimed psychopath. When the brother of Dominic’s romantic partner gets into trouble and an inquisitive detective begins looking into a closed case Dominic was involved in, Dominic has to consider what and whom he is willing to sacrifice in order to stay out of trouble himself.

Pryor has put together a very readable book in a surprisingly lean form. And while the page count of the novel (239) might look short at first glace, the plot and steadily ramped-up tension make the novel feel whole and well rounded. Plot twist after plot twist ensures that the reader is sucked into the story. As the story slides in and out of the tertiary characters voices, readers also meet the coworkers and romantic interests of the protagonist, who collectively add to the portrait of the man at the center of the story. Even the office politics that the characters find themselves navigating are intriguing. This is of course mostly due to the perspective we get from our lead.

Dominic is, by his own admittance, a dangerous man with little-to-no empathy for other people. And yet, somehow Pryor rummages through Dominic’s psyche to create an unlikable character captivating enough that readers will question for whom they should ultimately be rooting.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 18:06:49
Death in the Stars
Joseph Scarpato, Jr.

It’s 1927 Yorkshire, England, and British private investigator Kate Shackleton is hired by popular theater singer Selina Fellini to accompany her and her fellow theater troupe attraction, comic Billy Moffat, to a prime location for watching a total eclipse. Kate eagerly accepts the lucrative assignment, although her detective instincts raise concerns that the assignment may not be as simple as stated.

Shortly after the eclipse, Billy is discovered nearby, unconscious and gravely ill with the remains of a cigar next to him. Although his symptoms are initially deemed to be problems related to wartime injuries, Kate’s instincts kick in and she puts the cigar in her purse for later analysis, and finds that he was poisoned. Billy doesn’t recover, and Kate learns that he is the third member of the troupe to die in the past year under unusual circumstances, prompting Selina to ask Kate to stay on as companion/protector.

Is someone killing off the members of the troupe, and if so, why?

With the help of her housekeeper, Mrs. Sugden, and her friend, insurance investigator Jim Sykes, Kate begins looking into the puzzling mystery, interviewing the troupe manager and each of the remaining acts, from acrobats and a strong man to ballet dancers and a memory woman. Her final interview is with Selina’s husband, a man whose face was disfigured in the war. He shuns most people and spends much of his time in a hidden underground tunnel beneath the theater.

This well-written mystery brings to life the old vaudeville era in England, and includes one of the most effective red herrings I’ve ever come across.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 18:09:52
The French Girl
Sarah Prindle

In debut author Lexie Elliott’s suspense novel The French Girl, the dark side of friendship and love is explored through a circle of friends whose lives are interrupted by a murder investigation. Ten years prior to the beginning of the story, Londoner Kate Channing and her college friends vacationed in France, where they made the acquaintance of Severine, a mysterious young woman who then vanished without a trace.

When the story opens, Kate’s carefully constructed world—her fledgling business, her steady friendships—is turned inside out when Severine’s body is found in a well near the farmhouse where the group vacationed a decade ago. As the transnational investigation takes shape and the police ask tough questions, Kate and her friends face a horrible truth: one of them could be the murderer. Kate begins to wonder how well she really knows her friends. Could one of them have murdered Severine and why?

Elliott’s psychological thriller has a promising premise, teasing clues, and a suspenseful climax. Memorable characters also add to the mix, from Kate’s steadfast friend Lara to her ex-boyfriend Seb, to her overambitious frenemy Caro. Their relationships with one another make up a core part of the book, and multiple motives and alibis throw characters’ testimonies into question, adding to the sense of intrigue and mystery.

Parts of The French Girl seem overly lengthy at times, though it doesn’t go into enough detail about the pivotal summer when the murder took place. The lack of justice served at the end may also be especially aggravating for mystery readers, and make for a disappointing close to an otherwise gripping novel. Still, The French Girl is overall a solid read and lovers of mystery suspense may enjoy seeing if they can solve the mystery before Kate does.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 18:12:36
I Know My Name
Eileen Brady

In I Know My Name, a woman wakes up on a remote Greek island in the company of four strangers and no recollection of how she got there. Alternating chapters set on Kommeno Island, northwest of Crete, and in a suburban home on the outskirts of London, gradually reveal more about the mystery woman who we learn is the missing housewife and mother of two, Eloise Shelley. Information parceled out in small bitess force the reader to piece together the mystery of the woman’s identity along with the character.

What light can Joe, Hazel, Sariah, and George, the only people left on Kommeno Island, shed on the boating accident that stranded this unknown woman in their midst? As her memory begins to return, Eloise can’t help but notice that her new friends, all writers on an annual retreat, lack an internet connection and a working phone. The only boat that can take them off the island is lost in a storm. Yet they don’t seem concerned at all.

Back in London, the frustration and anxiety of Eloise’s husband, Lochlan, is especially well depicted as he desperately tries to find his wife, hide her absence from their four-year-old son, Max, and deal with being the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. Less well drawn are his inlaws, who initially seem strangely withdrawn from the mystery. Without giving too much away, it’s safe to say that the two story lines resolve in an unpredictable surprise that ultimately challenges the concept of identity.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 18:34:14
Robicheaux
Craig Sisterson

There’s a brutal poetry and strange majesty to two-time Edgar winner James Lee Burke’s novels, a beguiling mix of beautiful passages and vile deeds, God-kissed landscapes and grotesque characters. Burke’s latest book sees the return of grizzled Louisiana investigator Dave Robicheaux for a 21st turn on the dance floor—and Robicheaux has plenty of eclectic partners to zydeco with.

Sparked by the tragic death of his wife in a motor vehicle accident, Robicheaux is teetering and about to topple. Assailed by his decades-long battle with alcoholism and penchant for morose thoughts, he tumbles off the wagon. Hard. He wakens from a blackout and finds himself the lead suspect for the killing of the man blamed for his wife’s death. And that’s not the only problem in Robicheaux’s life, as he and old pal Clete Purcel crisscross paths with a corpulent gangster who wants to be a Hollywood producer, dirty cops, venal criminals, race-baiting power players, a slimy local politician, and a local bestselling author. Oh, and there’s a bizarre killer who gives ice cream to kids and abhors impoliteness, before blowing people’s heads off.

Robicheaux is another masterpiece from Burke. The past elbows hard into the present, Robicheaux is haunted by dreams of Vietnam and ghostly sightings of Confederate soldiers, and the best and worst of humanity is often jarringly contained within the same characters. Robicheaux may be a “noble mon,” as Clete is wont to say, but there are plenty of times he hurts and kills without hesitation. This is a heady gumbo of a literary thriller where everything is multilayered, blending, contrasting, and suffused with flavor.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 18:38:31
Don’t Look for Me
Craig Sisterson

If you like page-whirring thrillers centered on an enigmatic, action-oriented central character, then you definitely want to give the Carter Blake books from Mason Cross a try. Although Cross is Scottish, he sets his tales in the United States; this fourth installment largely revolves around Las Vegas and the Southwest.

Having finally shrugged off the lethal shadow of his days working for the Winterlong organization, Blake is enjoying a sabbatical when a different part of his past unexpectedly flares back to life. He receives a message from an email address belonging to a woman, Carol, who meant a lot to him years ago, but who’d vanished after Blake’s actions put her in grave danger. Despite his exceptional talents for finding those who don’t want to be found, Blake had respected her final note: “Don’t look for me.”

But the email isn’t from Carol, instead former journalist Sarah Blackwell has found the address in a notebook left by her mysterious neighbor Rebecca, who vanished one night along with her husband after an altercation at a neighborhood party. The couple’s’ house was then burglarized by shady figures, but the police aren’t interested. Blake is interested, and worried.

Cross delivers a ripsnorter of a thriller, where the highly skilled Blake finds himself up against equally talented and well-financed adversaries. Plenty of suspense, violent action, tension, and twists blend into a propulsive narrative. A one-sitting read that keeps the revs high, while delivering some nice shading in terms of character and setting, Don’t Look for Me will leave readers wanting more Carter Blake.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 18:41:51
The Hush
Hank Wagner

Johnny Merrimon, the young hero of 2009’s The Last Child, returns in John Hart’s latest effort, The Hush. A minor local celebrity partially due to the events chronicled in The Last Child, Johnny has grown into an appealing, albeit moody 23-year-old, who rarely ranges beyond the 6,000 acres where he makes his home. A loner by nature, he seems to have a symbiotic relationship with Hush Arbor, as the area is known, protecting it from interlopers and poachers, while seemingly drawing energy and sustenance from his surroundings.

In the aftermath of a brutal killing in those mysterious woods, Johnny becomes a murder suspect. Although he knows he is innocent, he is going to have a devil of a time proving it, as the actual explanation is just a little short of mind boggling.

Ambitious and inventive, The Hush brings to mind the work of a wide range of authors, including William Faulkner, John Grisham, and Michael Koryta. Besides his winning cast of human characters, Hart manages to bring Raven County and its environs to vivid life, imbuing it with a dark personality all its own. A worthy sequel to the outstanding The Last Child, The Hush, a happy blend of legal thriller, murder mystery, Southern Gothic, and ghost story, is almost certain to become John Hart’s sixth New York Times bestseller.

Teri Duerr
2018-03-09 18:44:41
Laura Lippman, Brad Meltzer, James Rollins
Oline H. Cogdill



Most of the time, I pay little attention to Parade magazine when it comes in my Sunday newspaper.

I read the questions on the second page, flip through the rest, and am done.

(Yes, I get a newspaper delivered to my home; actually I get three newspapers every day.)

But lately, Parade has run a feature that I am most interested in—“Books We Love,” which lists three examples recommended by authors. And the first three are mystery writers.

Laura Lippman’s latest is Sunburn, a standalone novel of which I was most enthusiastic.

In my review, I wrote that Lippman’s 22nd novel Sunburn “ignites as a classic hard-boiled mystery and contemporary domestic thriller. Lust, deceit, and the simple quest of happiness rule the plot as Sunburn works well as an homage to Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Anne Tyler. Lippman delves into a study of contrasts with a story that is as cynical as it is hopeful, a look at hearts of darkness coupled with a domestic thriller.  

Lippman’s three picks for Parade magazine are:

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

Citizen Vince by Jess Walter

Sharp by Michelle Dean


Brad Meltzer’s latest novel is The Escape Artist, which marks Meltzer’s 20th anniversary as an author and launches a new series.

In my review I wrote, “Meltzer’s novels come with certain expectations—a plot filled with carefully researched but often obscure bits of American history and the government. Those facts may seem far-fetched but are true and elevate the characters’ adventures.”


Meltzer’s three picks for Parade magazine are:

Rivers of London: Volume 1 by Ben Aaronovitch

Vision (Marvel) by Tom King

The Oracle Year by Charles Soule



James Rollins’ latest Sigma Force thriller is The Demon Crown, which, as usual, has his mix of science, medicine, and technology. (I did not review this novel.)

Rollins’ three picks for Parade magazine are:

The Midnight Line by Lee Child

Artemis by Andy Weir

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Oline Cogdill
2018-03-17 21:59:47
Michael Niemann’s “Illegal Holdings”
Oline H. Cogdill



(Mystery Scene continues its ongoing series in which authors talk about their plots, characters or process.)

Author Michael Niemann’s third novel is Illegal Holdings, which finds his series character, United Nations fraud investigator Valentin Vermeulen, on assignment in Maputo, Mozambique. He’s sent there to find out if UN money is being properly used. But there is a little matter of a $5 million transfer that is missing.

Niemann grew up in a small town in Germany, ten kilometers from the Dutch border. Crossing that border often at a young age sparked in him a curiosity about the larger world. He studied political science at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität in Bonn and international studies at the University of Denver. A fiction-writing course changed his career direction.  

In this essay, Niemann shows how his character, Valentin Vermeulen, views the world and his background.

Here’s Valentin Vermeulen speaking:
How does a kid who grew up on a farm in western Belgium end up being a globetrotting investigator for the United Nations? Well, stuff happened. I should just leave it at that. The less said, the better. But you’re not going to be satisfied with that answer. I can see that.

So let’s get the formalities out of the way. My name is Valentin Vermeulen. I’m six feet tall, I got blond hair and my face is on the large side—rugged would be a kind description. I carry a Belgian/European Union passport. I was born a few years before The Clash started performing just across the North Sea. I used to fantasize about London. I’d be walking on the dike, staring across the steel gray water, and imagined being in a big city.

My village wasn’t on any map. Just a bunch of small farms, raising Guernsey cows and the crops necessary to feed them. Once a day, the coop truck stopped to pick up the 100 gallons of milk. Thinking back, I’m still amazed that my dad stuck it out as long as he did. By the late 1970s, the European Community was awash in milk and small producers like my father were totally unprofitable. The government wanted to consolidate farms and eventually, he threw in the towel.

We moved to Antwerp in 1983. Talk about culture shock. The biggest city in Belgium, a huge port, and me, the kid from the boondocks. The beginning was tough. But the hick from the sticks could stand on his own and learned the ropes. After school I was drafted and served in the Belgian military. The weird logic of bureaucracy assigned me to military intelligence. Good thing, too, instead of crawling through the dirt, I got to sit inside and analyze intelligence reports. The Cold War was still a thing and we were paranoid enough to see Soviet spies everywhere. As a draftee I didn’t do any spying in mufti, but I did get a course on clandestine investigations. It wasn’t really my thing. Gorbachov was in power and I could see that the Cold War was about to end. So I quit as soon as the conscription ended..

I enrolled at the law faculty of the University of Saint Ignatius of Antwerp. Justice had always been such an abstract idea and seemed to have little to do with the law. Observing my dad being pushed off the farm taught me that. It was all legal and it was unjust. How could that be? At the university, I learned that law isn’t some abstract concept, but something made and remade every day. Once I figured that out, I found my calling. I specialized in financial crimes.

That first year, I also found my first real love, Marieke, who was studying social work. We married right away and ten months later, our daughter Gaby was born.  In hindsight, it was all too fast, we should’ve been more careful. But at the time we couldn’t wait to start our family.

I got good marks and the Crown Prosecutor’s office in Antwerp hired me right after I got my law degree. I was the financial guy in the organized crime unit. The cases kept on coming, each one as complex as the global connections that coalesced in our port city. I spent eighty to ninety hours a week at work. Once on a case, I couldn’t let it go. Worse than a dog with a bone. There were nights when I slept on the sofa in the coffee room because I stayed so long, it wasn’t worth going home.

My family noticed. I didn’t. When Marieke asked for a divorce. I had a dim understanding that all wasn’t well, but no clue how bad things were. And they were bad. We fought. A lot. Gaby couldn’t take it and ran away. The police didn’t do much. I searched for her and found her in some hell hole, strung out on heroin. I got her clean again, but she refused to speak to me for a long time. The short of it was, I had to get out of Antwerp, away from it all. And that’s how I ended up at the United Nations.

Not a story I am proud of, to be sure. But Gaby and I eventually made up. So there is little bit of a sweet ending.



Oline Cogdill
2018-03-20 14:41:42
Brad Parks Hurries on Down to Hardees
Oline Cogdill

Several years ago, I interviewed Brad Parks for a profile that ran in the Spring 2013 edition of Mystery Scene, Issue No. 129.

An evergreen question I often ask authors is: “Where do you write?”

The answer often is surprising. Sure, a lot of authors have an office in their home, or actually go to an office. But some go to coffee shops or social clubs. Some have sheds in their backyards converted to a writing space. One had a guest house built in their backyard. Still another starts in his office but moves throughout the house as the story comes together.

Brad Parks had, perhaps, one of the oddest answers.

He went to his local Hardees.

Here’s an excerpt from that profile:

 
“By 7 a.m. most mornings, Parks can be found at his local Hardees and, no, he’s not there for the fast food restaurant’s Original Thickburgers. While some authors write at a coffee shop, Parks takes his laptop to Hardees.

““It’s the only fast-food restaurant in the county, said Parks. But there are more important reasons why he writes there. ‘It is not my home and I cannot be distracted [by chores] and it has no wireless internet and that is often my biggest distractor. A thousand words a day and lots of Coke Zero. That’s my plan.’”

Parks’ corner in Hardees has now gained national recognition.

Well, kind of.

In a way.

After the Staunton, Virginia News-Leader recently ran a story about Parks that mentioned his writing space, Hardees responded with a tweet:

“Novelist @Brad_Parks has written seven novels at his local Hardee’s,” Hardee’s tweeted. “His eighth, Closer Than You Know, drops Tuesday and will be a bestseller if it’s the last thing we do.”

The fast food restaurant even started a hastag: #BestsellerBrad.

Parks responded with this tweet: “Can’t believe it. Ten years after I started writing novels there, @Hardees is finally following me. I feel like I’ve won a Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Hardees also took out a full page ad in the News-Leader to show its support.

According to the News-Leader, Hardee’s will present Parks with a commemorative Lifetime Achievement Award plaque, which will likely be put on display on his booth at the Staunton location and personalized business cards, making Parks a Hardee’s ”Resident Novelist.”

“We love hearing about customers doing extraordinary things,” a Hardee’s spokesperson told the News-Leader.  ”We nearly fell out of our chairs reading Brad’s story and knew right away we had to do something special for him,” the newspaper reported.

“We’re dedicating the booth Brad used in our local Hardee’s restaurant with a special plaque, and will rally our fans on Twitter to get Brad’s latest work on the bestseller list,” the Hardees spokesman told the News-Leader.

According to the News-Leader, and my interview with him, Parks’ Hardees habit began in 2008 when he and his family were living in Middlesex, Virginia.

Parks wanted to get out of the house to write, far from the distractions of two small children, errands, and normal household interruptions.

“The only place that was open at 6 a.m. was Hardee’s,” stated the News-Leader.

“Hardee’s was really the writing sanctuary,” Parks told the News-Leader.

When Parks and his family moved to Staunton, he continued his writing routine at the local Hardees.

Parks is the author of eight novels, six in his series about newspaper reporter Carter Ross and two standalones, Say Nothing and his latest Closer Than You Know.

Closer Than You Know is a domestic thriller about a woman whose life spirals out of control when her child is taken away from her after she is falsely accused of running one of the largest drug operations in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. My review is here.

As for Parks’ future with Hardees, expect him back there when he starts his new novel.

“The number one rule of writing is: When something works for you, stick with it,” Parks told me in an email. “Hardee’s works for me. I don’t plan on writing anywhere else.”

Oline Cogdill
2018-03-24 12:13:07
Remembering Philip Kerr
Oline H. Cogdill

Philip Kerr’s death on March 23 caught many of his longtime readers by surprise.

Kerr, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Bernie Gunther novels, was at the top of his game, writing books that delved deep into his characters and captured the Nazi Germany era about which he was writing.

His 2017 novel Prussian Blue was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. (The Edgars will be presented to the winners at the 72nd Gala Banquet, April 26, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.)

And Kerr’s latest novel, Greeks Bearing Gifts, is due to hit bookstores and devices on April 3.

While Kerr’s novels never lagged, few of us knew that he had been battling cancer for more than eight months.

Despite social media and book events, most readers know little about the authors they follow.

And I think that is the way it should be. Authors and, I believe, entertainers don’t owe us the details of their lives. We don’t need to violate their privacy.

We are not their best friends, we are their fans. Their work is what should speak for them.

And Kerr’s work certainly spoke for itself.

Writing about a cop who lives and works in Berlin during WWII, dealing with the depths of Nazi- and postwar-era Germany, is a gutsy thing to do. But Kerr made his Bernie Gunther a man who hungered for justice, loved his country, and hated what had become of it.  

As I wrote in my review of A Man Without Breath, Kerr expertly explored complex moral dilemmas in an immoral society. My review stated: “Bernie struggles daily to keep his soul intact away from true evil and to bring at least a smidgen of order where chaos rules. Bernie is no Nazi sympathizer and his refusal to compromise his integrity drives Kerr’s solid plots. Kerr’s meticulous research delivers myriad surprises about life under the Third Reich while smoothly melding with an intense thriller supported by realistic characters.”

Kerr’s debut novel, March Violets, introduced the character of Bernie and was the first installment in the original Berlin Noir trilogy, which was published in the United States in 1993 and included The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem.

Kerr left the character of Bernie for 13 years, returning to him in The One From the Other.

Kerr wrote nine additional Bernie Gunther novels: A Quiet Flame, If the Dead Rise Not, Field Gray, Prague Fatale, A Man Without Breath, The Lady From Zagreb, The Other Side of Silence, Prussian Blue, and the upcoming Greeks Bearing Gifts.

Several of Kerr’s Gunther novels became instant bestsellers, including six New York Times bestsellers (Prussian Blue, The Other Side of Silence, The Lady From Zagreb, A Man Without Breath, Prague Fatale, and Field Gray) and five USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestsellers (Prussian Blue, The Other Side of Silence, The Lady From Zagreb, A Man Without Breath, and Prague Fatale).

Kerr also was honored with several award nominations and honors. He was a three-time nominee for an Edgar Award for Best Novel for Field Gray, The Lady From Zagreb, and Prussian Blue; a Shamus Award nominee for If the Dead Rise Not, and a winner of both a Barry Award and the British Crime Writers’ Association’s Ellis Peters Historic Crime Award for If the Dead Rise Not.

In addition to its Edgar nomination, Prussian Blue was also nominated for a Barry Award for Best Novel.

Kerr’s novels have been published in 37 territories.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 22, 1956, Kerr studied law and philosophy at the University of Birmingham. Following university, Kerr worked as a copywriter for several advertising agencies.

In addition to his Bernie Gunther novels, Kerr wrote two nonfiction books, 15 adult novels (including the Scott Manson series), and ten children’s fiction books (including the Children of the Lamp series).

Kerr lived in London and is survived by his novelist and journalist wife Jane Thynne and their three children.

Rest in peace, Philip Kerr, and thank you for the wonderful novels that will continue to enthrall readers.


Photo: Philip Kerr photographed at his home in Wimbledon, London, during the fall of 2016. Photo by Nina Subin; used with permission of Putnam.

Oline Cogdill
2018-03-27 19:45:59
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Teri Duerr
2018-03-31 14:36:03
My Book: Head Wounds

Nietzsche once wrote, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

Perhaps. Then again, Nietzsche never met Sebastian Maddox, the villain in my latest suspense thriller, Head Wounds. It’s the fifth in my series about Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist and trauma expert who consults with the Pittsburgh police.

What makes the brilliant, tech-savvy Maddox so relentlessly dangerous is that he’s in the grip of a rare delusion called erotomania, also known as De Clerambault’s Syndrome.

Simply put, erotomania is a disorder in which a person—in this case, Maddox—falsely believes that another person is in love with him, deeply, unconditionally, and usually secretly. The latter because this imaginary relationship must be hidden due to some social, personal, or professional circumstances. Perhaps the object of this romantic obsession is married, or a superior at work. Often it’s a famous athlete or media celebrity.

Not that these seeming roadblocks diminish the delusion. They can even provide a titillating excitement. Often, a person with erotomania believes his or her secret admirer is sending covert signals of their mutual love: wearing certain colors whenever a situation puts them together in public, or doing certain gestures whose meaning is only known to the two of them. Some even believe they’re receiving telepathic messages from their imagined beloved.

What makes the delusion even more insidious is that the object of this romantic obsession, once he or she learns of it, is helpless to do anything about it. They can strenuously and repeatedly rebuff the delusional lover, denying that there’s anything going on between them, but nothing dissuades the other’s ardent devotion.

I know of one case wherein the recipient of these unwanted declarations of love was finally forced to call the police and obtain a restraining order. Even then, her obsessed lover said he understood that this action was a test of his love. A challenge from her to prove the constancy and sincerity of his feelings.

As psychoanalyst George Atwood once said of any delusion, “it’s a belief whose validity is not open to discussion.”

This is especially true of erotomania. People exhibiting its implacable symptoms can rarely be shaken from their beliefs.

Like Parsifal in his quest for the Holy Grail, nothing dissuades them from their mission.

In Head Wounds, Sebastian Maddox’s crusade—when thwarted in his desires— turns quite deadly, and requires all of Rinaldi’s resourcefulness to save someone he cares about. In real life, the treatment options for the condition are limited to a combination of therapy and medication, usually antipsychotics like pimozide. If the symptoms appear to stem from an underlying cause, such as bipolar disorder, the therapeutic approach would also involve medication, typically lithium.

What makes erotomania so intriguing as a psychological condition, and so compelling in an antagonist in a thriller, is the delusional person’s ironclad conviction—the unshakeable certainty of his or her belief.

Nonetheless, as philosopher Charles Renouvier reminds us, “Plainly speaking, there is no such thing as certainty. There are only people who are certain.” 

Head Wounds, Dennis Palumbo, Poisoned Pen Press, February 2018, $26.95

Teri Duerr
2018-04-01 22:35:43

Nietzsche once wrote, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

Tom Pitts and Milestones
Posted by Oline H. Cogdill

(Mystery Scene continues its ongoing series in which authors discuss their works, or their lives.)

Tom Pitts is the author of two novellas, Piggyback and Knuckleball, and several short fiction pieces. Pitts is also an acquisitions editor at Gutter Books and Out of the Gutter Online. His first novel, Hustle, came out in 2014. His latest novel is American Static (Down & Out Books), which takes place in San Francisco, Oakland, and California wine country and features bottom-feeding criminals, corrupt cops, and death-dealing gangsters.

But here, Tom talks about a more personal plot involving a milestone he didn’t see coming.

Life’s real milestones
By Tom Pitts
The other day I received yet another application for an AARP membership.

A laughable milestone many of us go through when we hit the top of the hill, but it got me thinking about milestones. The ones that you expect and the ones you deserve.  

When you’re young, you expect the trail of life to be littered with big moments. And life is. But those moments never come when you expect them, and they certainly don’t unfold like you want them.

Anticlimax was definitely a watchword in my nihilistic youth. You soon learn counting on life’s big moments doesn’t really buy you anything.  

So you start to look toward life’s smaller moments to mark your passage through time. Life’s real milestones. Looking back it wasn’t graduations and weddings and big contracts. More like rehabs, arrests, and broken bones.

Recently I had a tooth pulled. I’m 50 years old and I’d been lucky enough to have never lost one till now. I mentioned this to my dad—who’s 85—and he chuckled. “Never? There’s a first time for everything!”

Of course, this is coming from a guy who still has every single one of his teeth. I remember lying in the chair as four dental school kids yanked and wrenched on my sad molar, thinking about my station in life, my expectations versus life’s actual payout. It hurt more than the extraction.

As a writer you think the big markers will be the first novel published, the first time you’re asked to sit at the big table with writers you’ve read and respected, the first royalty check you cash, the first time you get the call from Hollywood telling you they want to make your book into a series….

And although all these things have happened, the outcome (or the high) is never as you’d hoped.

I think the most exciting writing milestone for me—the one that most made me feel like a six year-old on Christmas morning—was getting that first story published.  

When asked what it was like to pitch in the World Series I once heard Orel Hershiser quoted as saying it was no different that pitching in Little League, that the excitement, the thrill, was no greater than when he was a kid on the mound.

And I believe him.

I’ll do well to remember life’s real milestones: the loss of a parent, losing a tooth, colon cancer screenings, IRS audits, and all the magic moments you watch your kids go through. Knowing they may not be milestones, but they’re magic just the same.




Oline Cogdill
2018-04-03 16:48:52
Who Characters Read
Oline H Cogdill

I am always amused when mystery authors reference others’ works in a novel. It’s kind of a wink to readers. It also shows that authors and readers are all part of a community.

So here are some recent authors who mention other writers in their novels.

Skyjack by K.J. Howe (Quercus) Howe has her niche in the women’s adventure genre with her action-packed series about kidnap and rescue expert Thea Paris. Thea’s intelligence as well as her mad skills in fighting, flying a plane, shooting or just about anything required of her. Thea also is a reader and a fan of British mystery writer Martina Cole, who’s been called “the queen of crime.” And Thea is most interested in Cole’s appearance at a local bookstore. Cole’s novels include The Good Life, Betrayal and Damaged.

The Way I Die by Derek Haas (Pegasus) The assassin Copeland has a different kind of assignment—protecting a software designer and his sons. Copeland’s grief over his wife’s death fuels his actions. Copeland’s fond memories of his wife include her enthusiasm for reading, especially with her “nose buried in a Jeff Abbott thriller.”

City of Sharks by Kelli Stanley (Minotaur) The reading tastes of Miranda Corbie, the heroine of Kelli Stanley’s excellent series set during WWII in San Francisco, are very much a part of her time. So she often loses track of time delving into The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and The Thin Man.

Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates (Picador) This story about a horrific crime committed in childhood and how it affects the lives of the three people as they become adults features a crime reporter. Her favorite book is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, fitting as she wants to write a book just like that. She also is a big fan of David Simon's HBO series The Wire.

White Bodies by Jane Robins (Touchstone) A bookstore is a central part of this story about twin sisters, one of whom seems to have a wonderful marriage and the other may be jealous, or concerned about her sister’s seemingly perfect husband. In the course of the novel, one character enthusiastically mentions Harlan Coben, and Scandinavian authors Henning Mankell, Camilla Lackberg, and Jo Nesbo.

Oline Cogdill
2018-04-07 11:02:55
Thriller Award Nominations
Oline H. Cogdill

The nominations for mystery fiction awards continue to roll in.

Here are the nominees for the 2018 International Thriller Writers' Thriller Award. Winners will be announced at ThrillerFest XIII, July 14, 2018, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

Congratulations to all the finalists.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
Dan Chaon: Ill Will (Ballantine)
Denise Mina: The Long Drop (Little, Brown and Company)
B.A. Paris: The Breakdown (St. Martin's Press)
Gin Phillips: Fierce Kingdom (Viking)
Riley Sager: The Final Girls (Dutton)

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Steph Broadribb: Deep Down Dead (Orenda Books)
Daniel Cole: Ragdoll (Ecco)
Walt Gragg: The Red Line (Berkley)
K.J. Howe: The Freedom Broker (Quercus)
Sheena Kamal: The Lost Ones (William Morrow)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Christine Bell: Grievance (Lake Union)          
Rachel Caine: Stillhouse Lake (Thomas & Mercer)
Layton Green: The Resurrector (Layton Green)
Adrian McKinty: Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly (Seventh Street Books)
Lori Rader-Day: The Day I Died (William Morrow)

BEST SHORT STORY
Lee Child: “Too Much Time” (Delacorte)
Mat Coward: “What Could Possibly Go Boing?” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Zoë  Z. Dean: “Charcoal and Cherry” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Willy Vlautin: “The Kill Switch” (Hachette)                                 
Ben H. Winters: “Test Drive” (Hachette)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Gregg Hurwitz: The Rains (TOR Teen)
Gregg Olsen: The Boy She Left Behind (Polis Books)       
Sheryl Scarborough: To Catch a Killer (TOR Teen)           
Rysa Walker: The Delphi Effect (Skyscape)
Diana Rodriguez Wallach: Proof of Lies (Entangled Publishing)      

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Sean Black: Second Chance (Sean Black)
Jeff Gunhus: Resurrection America (Seven Guns Press)
Alan McDermott: Trojan (Thomas & Mercer)   
Caroline Mitchell: Witness (Thomas & Mercer)
Kevin Wignall: A Fragile Thing  (Thomas & Mercer)

Oline Cogdill
2018-04-10 14:03:46
Jacqueline Winspear on The Great Gatsby
"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."

My love of books stemmed from when I had my first library card at about two years of age. In fact, we didn't have library cards then, but small cardboard “pockets” with the reader’s name and address printed on the front. You would hand your “pocket” to the librarian with your book, and she would slip the card from inside the book into the pocket, which then went into a file on the desk until you returned your book and you were given your little pockets again, ready to take out another couple of books.

Every Saturday, my mother would walk into the town two miles away, pushing an old-fashioned heavy pram with my brother tucked up inside, and me seated on top, legs dangling under the handle, or I walked alongside until my little feet ached. As we made our way up the road, my mother would stop at neighboring houses to collect library books from the elderly folk who lived nearby, and she would take “orders” for them. Most of the time she was told, “Oh, you know what I like, dear – you choose.” My brother would end up squashed up against the pile of library books at the end of the pram!

I quickly learned that there were all sorts of books and that everyone liked something different – Mr. Kilby’s Westerns, Mrs. Croft’s mysteries, and then there were the “Angelique” books that Miss Oliver seemed to eat up! Mum would choose books for herself and my father, and I was allowed to select my two books, so it was clear to me that the ability to read and to be excited about reading was non-negotiable. It was just what we did.

My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I was about 15 at the time. Until then I had been raised on a fairly solid diet of British classics. I’d read my share of mysteries – the first was The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey, and of course I’d delved into the cheap paperback thrillers that were passed around at school (The Godfather automatically fell open at page 19).

But Gatsby changed everything for me.

The language was so spare in places, and I loved the way he wove a scene with metaphor, describing, “swirls and eddies” of people at a party (I don't have a copy on my desk as I write this, so that might be a bit wrong). I could clearly see life among the “ash-heaps and millionaires,” and who doesn’t wish they could have created Gatsby’s green light? That was it for me – I was off to the races. I read everything by Scott Fitzgerald, followed by Hemingway, then John Dos Passos. Then I read them again, having completely fallen in love with a whole era of writers. Even now, I find it interesting that Gatsby was published only three years after The Forsyte Saga, by John Galsworthyit might as well have been half a century.

Teri Duerr
2018-04-12 15:56:00

"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."

Jacqueline Winspear on The Great Gatsby
"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."

My love of books stemmed from when I had my first library card at about two years of age. In fact, we didn't have library cards then, but small cardboard “pockets” with the reader’s name and address printed on the front. You would hand your “pocket” to the librarian with your book, and she would slip the card from inside the book into the pocket, which then went into a file on the desk until you returned your book and you were given your little pockets again, ready to take out another couple of books.

Every Saturday, my mother would walk into the town two miles away, pushing an old-fashioned heavy pram with my brother tucked up inside, and me seated on top, legs dangling under the handle, or I walked alongside until my little feet ached. As we made our way up the road, my mother would stop at neighboring houses to collect library books from the elderly folk who lived nearby, and she would take “orders” for them. Most of the time she was told, “Oh, you know what I like, dear – you choose.” My brother would end up squashed up against the pile of library books at the end of the pram!

I quickly learned that there were all sorts of books and that everyone liked something different–Mr. Kilby’s Westerns, Mrs. Croft’s mysteries, and then there were the Angelique books that Miss Oliver seemed to eat up! Mum would choose books for herself and my father, and I was allowed to select my two books, so it was clear to me that the ability to read and to be excited about reading was non-negotiable. It was just what we did.

My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I was about 15 at the time. Until then I had been raised on a fairly solid diet of British classics. I’d read my share of mysteries – the first was The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey, and of course I’d delved into the cheap paperback thrillers that were passed around at school (The Godfather automatically fell open at page 19).

But Gatsby changed everything for me.

The language was so spare in places, and I loved the way he wove a scene with metaphor, describing, “swirls and eddies” of people at a party (I don't have a copy on my desk as I write this, so that might be a bit wrong). I could clearly see life among the “ash-heaps and millionaires,” and who doesn’t wish they could have created Gatsby’s green light? That was it for me – I was off to the races. I read everything by Scott Fitzgerald, followed by Hemingway, then John Dos Passos. Then I read them again, having completely fallen in love with a whole era of writers. Even now, I find it interesting that Gatsby was published only three years after The Forsyte Saga, by John Galsworthyit might as well have been half a century.

This “Writers on Reading” essay was originally published in “At the Scene” enews April 2018 as a first-look exclusive to our enewsletter subscribers. For more special content available first to our enewsletter subscribers, sign up here.

Teri Duerr
2018-04-12 15:56:19

"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."

Audie Award Nominees
Oline H Cogdill

During the last couple of weeks, I have had at least two discussions about audiobooks.

And the talks began and ended the same way: Is listening to a book actually reading a book?

My response is, of course it is.

It is a different experience as you are “hearing” the book not just through the author’s vision but also through the narrators, as opposed to just you and the author.

And while to me there is nothing like holding a book in your hand and reading, audiobooks also give you that connection.

I always have an audiobook going on in my car at all times.

In fact, when I was recently buying a new car, it came down to two models. I chose the one that had the CD player, which most new cars no longer have.

Here are the finalists in the mystery and thriller categories for the 23rd annual Audie Awards®, as announced by the Audio Publishers Association.

Winners will be revealed at the Audie Awards® Gala on May 31, 2018, at the New-York Historical Society in New York City. You can find further details here. And yes, there are other categories.

Congratulations to all the finalists:

MYSTERY
The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz, narrated by Simon Vance (Random House Audio)
Glass Houses by Louise Penny, narrated by Robert Bathurst (Macmillan Audio)
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, narrated by Samantha Bond (HarperAudio)
Onervice: A Royal Spyness Mystery, Book by Rhys Bowen, narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Audible Studios)
Telling Tales by Ann Cleeves, narrated by Julia Franklin (Macmillan Audio)

THRILLER/SUSPENSE
The Breakdown by B.A. Paris, narrated by Georgia Maguire (Macmillan Audio)
Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben, narrated by Steven Weber (Brilliance Publishing)
The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer, narrated by Ellen Archer (Hachette Audio)
The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini and Graham Winton (Recorded Books)
A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré, narrated by Tom Hollander (Penguin Audio)                                                                                                                                 
Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles, narrated by Scott Brick (HarperAudio)

Oline Cogdill
2018-04-14 16:07:37
At the Scene, Spring Issue #154

154 Spring cover, Elizabeth George

Hi Everyone,

One of the biggest headaches of running a small business is what to do when the time comes to retire, or even just step back a bit. Many small presses fold at this point and it’s a loss to all of us. That’s why we’re happy to report that the venerable Crippen & Landru Publishers, founded by Douglas and Sandi Greene in 1994, has a new publisher, Jeff Marks. Congratulations to all—including us readers. Doug offers more details in a letter on page 6.

There are Anglophiles and then there is Elizabeth George. Over the past three decades, this American author has chronicled the cases of the quintessentially English Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers, two police officers with legions of fans from all over the world. Oline H. Cogdill chats with the author in this issue.

Henry Slesar was once the Scheherazade of daytime TV, penning hundreds of hours of soap operas such as the mystery-themed The Edge of Night. Michael Mallory takes a look at this versatile writer who, in addition to writing many short stories, worked for the iconic TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

True crime documentaries have exploded in popularity, sparked, perhaps, by Serial, the investigative journalism podcast hosted and produced by Sarah Koenig. (The convicted murderer, Adnan Masud Syed, profiled in the phenomenally popular first season has just been granted a new trial.) Jake Hinkson takes a look at some other docuseries, including Making of a Murderer and Wormwood, in this issue.

Jane Cleland brings her own extensive knowledge of antiques to her character Josie Prescott, an antiques appraiser. She says the first thing she does for each novel is pick an antique which must be “intriguing, beautiful, valuable, and rare.” She talks with John Valeri in this issue.

Gordon McAlpine opened up a Sherlock Holmes story—and walked right in. His Holmes Entangled offers Sherlock, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Mrs. John Watson in a complex and imaginative tale. Joseph Goodrich gets the details in his interview of McAlpine.

Isabella Maldonado brings over two decades of law enforcement experience to her well-regarded Veranda Cruz novels. Betty Webb has the colorful story in this issue.

Jon L. Breen has given us his annual round-up of recent legal thrillers in this issue. His verdicts, as always, make for some wonderful reading.

Jessica Strawser spent the first part of her literary career on the blue pencil side of the author/editor equation. After years at Writer’s Digest, she has embarked on a promising career as a novelist herself. John Valeri chats with her in this issue.

The Hardy Boys are still at it nine decades after their first adventure. Craig Sisterson examines the enduring appeal of these boy sleuths in this issue.

Enjoy!

Kate Stine
Editor-in-chief

Teri Duerr
2018-04-17 16:43:40
Spring Issue #154 Contents

154 Spring cover, Elizabeth George

 

Features

Elizabeth George

She always knew she was meant to write, but it took teaching a high school creative writing class—in California—to inspire George to create her quintessentially English detecting duo, Inspector Thomas Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers.
by Oline H. Cogdill

Henry Slesar: Crime With a Twist

This master of the twist ending at one time had the largest audience of any writer in the US.
by Michael Mallory

Binge-Watching True Crime

Our Golden Age of Television is creating a boom in high-quality true-crime documentaries.
by Jake Hinkson

Jane K. Cleland

The creative life came naturally to this successful cozy crime author—she’s herself the daughter of a crime writer.
by John B. Valeri

Gordon McAlpine: Untangling Holmes Entangled

Taking the reader to a mind-bending alternate universe with Sherlock Holmes and friends.
by Joseph Goodrich

Isabella Maldonado

Twenty-two years on the job— and the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding—gave this writer inspiration for her Latina homicide detective Veranda Cruz.
by Betty Webb

Justice For All: Recent Legal Thrillers

An array of new novels that focus on the highs and lows of the justice system.
by Jon L. Breen

Jessica Strawser

After almost ten years of editing Writer’s Digest, Strawser was inspired to give fiction a try herself.
by John B. Valeri

Double Takes

by Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini

The Case of the Hardy Boys

n their ninth decade the sleuthing brothers are still solving cases and thrilling readers.
by Craig Sisterson

“Bloody Scotland” Crossword

by Verna Suit

 

Departments

At the Scene

by Kate Stine

Mystery Miscellany

by Louis Phillips

Hints & Allegations

My Books Essays

 
 

Reviews

Small Press Reviews: Covering the Independents

by Betty Webb

Very Original: Paperback Originals Reviewed

by Hank Wagner & Lynne F. Maxwell

Short and Sweet: Short Stories Considered

by Ben Boulden

Sounds of Suspense: Audiobooks Reviewed

by Dick Lochte

What About Murder? Reference Books Reviewed

by Jon L. Breen

Mystery Scene Reviews

 
 

Miscellaneous

The Docket

Letters

Advertiser Info

Teri Duerr
2018-04-17 16:49:49