Tag: mystery fiction
Release: It's Always Raining In Noir City Anthology Available Now!
Is the Noir Crime sub-genre always dark and downbeat? Is there a time when Bad has a change of conscience, flips sides and takes on the Good role?
Noir is almost always a dish served up raw and bloody – Fiction bleu if you will. So maybe this is a chance to see if Noir can be served sunny side up – with the aid of these fifteen short order authors:
Laurence Raphael Brothers, Shannon Hollinger, Lillie Franks, H. E. Vogl, Allison Whittenberg, Bruce Harris, Robert J. Mendenhall, Shawn Kobb, Dan Meyers, James Roth, Jesse Aaron, Julian Grant, E. James Wilson, Brandon Barrows, Hollis Miller and Joe Giordano
All fifteen give us dark tales from the stormy side of life – which is probably why it's always raining in Noir City….
Thrilled to have my story Money Talks included!
Follow the link to BUY NOW
Monday (Mini #BookReview) Madness
This week I read:
There's so much going on it this book! A teenage boy struggling to reconcile the wild stories his grandfather told him with reality after his loss. A mysterious island where he meets mysterious children that give him a glimpse into his grandfather's past. And . . . Nazis? Yeah, Nazis. But the author does an excellent job of weaving all the threads together, making the outlandish and impossible seem quite sane and able. I found myself accepting even the paranormal-ish aspects of the book without question. An enjoyable adventure!
I've read several of White's books before, and can usually count on her for a good thrill. This one felt different from the start, though. Usually her books center around the suspense of who will be murdered, but this one starts with the murder and switches between what led to the crime and the trial. Still a compelling read, but it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat quite as much as I'd hoped. It did, however, wrap up with a nice twist!
I just started:
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Cover Reveal. . . Detecting Fear!
Detecting Fear
Your heart pounds in your chest, breath catching in your throat as the hair on the back of your neck slowly prickles with the feeling of being watched.
What is it that you're truly afraid of?
The neighbor next door who might be a serial killer? Falling prey to a psychopath? Or your own inner demons, unleashed? Murder, mystery, mayhem – pick your poison.
The stories in this anthology, previously published in periodicals ranging from Suspense Magazine to The Saturday Evening Post, run the gamut from Hard-Boiled to cozy, noir to funny, with whodunit as the theme.
Whether you're a fan of great past detectives like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Poirot, or modern investigators like Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad and Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta, you'll find something to satisfy your inner sleuth within these pages.
I'm thrilled to finally share the cover for my short story collection, Detecting Fear, with you all! The book hits stores February 21st, 2021.
The ARC will still be available for request on Netgalley for the next few weeks. Click here to request your FREE copy on Netgalley!
No Netgalley account? No problem! You can get a PDF, Mobi or ePub version over at Bookfunnel, no account needed, just follow the link for a download. Click here to get your FREE copy at Bookfunnel!
Please don't forget to leave a review!!!
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Publication Announcement: Short Story Anthology
If you're a subscriber to my newsletter, this won't be a surprise for you.
Last year I was contacted by an acquisitions editor in Russia who had stumbled upon a story of mine that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, wanting to know if I'd be willing to consider working with the publishing company she represented on a book. They were specifically interested if I had more short fiction featuring Detective Shaw, the main character from the piece It's All About The Cat.
Well, I did. Detective Shaw is a reoccurring character who's stories have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies. But I felt a little sketchy about the offer, because, at least in my experience, this isn't the way it usually goes . . . it seemed to me like it could have been a scam.
It turns out it wasn't!
The publishing company purchased the use of all my previously published pieces featuring Detective Shaw to use in a book intended to help Russian speakers learn to speak English, and vice versa. This would be achieved, they explained, by presenting the stories in both languages. It was simple enough on my end – all I had to do was sit back while they performed the translation, the formatting and design. Easy peasy.
And now . . . the book was just released and I have my contributor copies in hand!!!
But it got me thinking . . . why not release a version in the US?
So guess what? I am!
Check back later this week for the cover reveal! And if you don't feel like waiting, join my mailing list and be among the first to check it out and get a copy for FREE!
Click here to JOIN NOW!
February 15, 2021 14
5 Books Like Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None' To Add To Your Spooktober Reading List
Halloween's my favorite holiday, but this year it looks like it's going to be a little . . . different. But that doesn't mean it has to be disappointing!
And if there's one author who never disappointed, it's the Queen of Mystery herself, Agatha Christie! And my personal favorite? You guessed it!
Here are 5 books to add to your Spooktober reading list if you're looking for something like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None!
If you're looking for more spooky books to add to your reading list, check out:
5 Gory Books For Your Spooktober Reading List
5 Atmospheric Books For Your Spooktober Reading List
5 Fun YA Books For Your Spooktober Reading List
Monday (Mini Book Review) Madness
Very simplistic in its style, and a little bumpy in places, but it's a CLUE pastiche! CLUE!!! After a childhood (and adulthood) spent defending my undefeated CLUE championship title, I feel like there was no way that I couldn't have loved this book – and I did! Looking forward to the next book in the series!
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as The Sundown Motel, but still a solid, suspenseful ghost story. Plenty of atmosphere and mystery made this a hard book to put down!
This one had suspense and intrigue, but I didn't feel vested in the characters. There were several subplots and plenty of red herrings, but ultimately lacked that little something that would have elevated it from a good mystery thriller to a great one. Recommended for those looking for an easy beach read. Not recommend for those looking for a procedural mystery.
This one seemed to be almost as much about outgrowing old friendships as it was about the murder mystery. There were lots of directions this one could have gone in, and I liked the way the author kept you guessing about who it was who had been murdered for the first half of the book, but the foreshadowing was a little heavy handed and once I knew who the body belonged to, I knew what had happened except for a subplot that came as a surprise. Recommended for those looking for a mystery set in an interesting locale. Not recommended for readers who want likeable characters.
Free Short Fiction ~ A Campfire Tale
A Campfire Tale first appeared in issue 18 of Dark Moon Digest Magazine. It was also chosen for the Best Horror Shorts 2015 anthology.
"Tell us a story Aunt Fran," Lilly-Anne suggested.
"Yeah, Aunt Fran, please," the other children chimed in.
Aunt Fran gave them each an apprising look. The sun was fading fast past the horizon, the last of the golden rays casting long shadows about the campgrounds. She looked over at her siblings, across the site with their spouses starting a large bonfire which they no doubt planned to drink by until all the wood was burnt and alcohol consumed, leaving her to watch their spawn.
"OK," Aunt Fran conceded. "What kind of a story do you want?"
"A ghost story," Lilly-Anne said.
"No, a scary ghost story," Samantha said.
"How about I tell you a true-life horror story?" Aunt Fran asked. The children eagerly edged closer to the small campfire, their marshmallows abandoned in hopes of a good tale.
"Yeah, right," Frankie said. "As if."
Frankie, being eleven, was at the age where he was convinced he was too old and cool for any kid stuff. Aunt Fran remembered his father, Jeff, being the same way at that age too.
"Honestly," Aunt Fran promised. "I'll tell you about the most horrible, terrifying thing that's ever happened to me."
Frankie rolled his eyes but moved closer on his roughhewn log.
"Well," Aunt Fran began, "When your parents and I were younger, our parents used to take us camping. Not like this." She gestured around. "Not a picnic where you stay late, then drive home. No, they used to drive us way out into the woods, hours past civilization to the most secluded spots they could find, and that's where we'd pitch our tents for the night."
"Our parents would stay in one tent, and all us kids would stay in another. My parents would put a padlock on the zipper of our tent. They said it was to keep the bears out, but we all knew it was to keep us from sneaking out and roaming around the woods at night, which, given the opportunity, we would have done."
"I was seven the year they drove us way out to the wilds of Canada to go camping. It was summertime, but I remember it still being so cold that you could see your breath in the air. They had zipped us up in our tent for the night, me and your parents, and we huddled together for warmth and fell asleep."
"This is stupid," Frankie interrupted.
The other children hushed him and returned their rapt attention to Aunt Fran.
"The thing about being in the woods," Aunt Fran told them, "is that even though it's quiet, it's not." She held up a hand to stop any questions, a signal that she would explain. "There are no noises from civilization in the woods, no sirens or car horns or barking dogs or blaring TVs. That's why people go camping, for the peace and quiet. Only it's not quiet. There are little noises everywhere. An animal chewing. A bug buzzing. Twigs cracking, branches bending, the wind blowing. And when you're a little kid, it's really quite spooky."
"I was the last of us to fall asleep that night. I remember listening to the sounds of the woods, imagining every type of creepy crawly that might be prowling around in the dark on the other side of the thin fabric of the tent. Finally, I focused on everyone's breathing, as one by one my brothers and sisters fell into the easy rhythm of sleep. It made me feel safe, knowing they were there with me, and eventually the thoughts of bears and wolves and snakes that I attributed all the noises to fell away and I joined them in sleep."
"To this day I don't know what woke me that night. I was sleeping soundly, and then I awakened suddenly in a complete fright."
The children clustered closer, anticipating the good part of the story.
"I laid still, on my back, unable to see anything in the pitch dark, listening to the noises around me. For once there was silence outside. All I could hear was my siblings' breathing, but something didn't sound right. Not how it had before. Someone was breathing too hard, and, well . . . anyway. My heart was racing and the hairs on my arms were standing straight out. I was trying to lie still, to pretend to still be sleeping, but I was going crazy, being so afraid and not knowing why."
"So, I whispered into the dark to my sister. I was so scared to make a sound. The first two times I tried nothing came out, but I worked up my nerve, and I called her name. I put the words out there into the night. But she didn't answer."
Aunt Fran looked around at the children, who were hanging on her every word. "I was terrified to move, frozen with fear. It took everything I had to move my fingers, inch by inch through the dark until I found her hand. I took her small, cold hand in mine and squeezed, trying to wake her up. But she didn't respond. I squeezed again and again, but nothing."
"I didn't know what to do. I was afraid to wake anyone else up, afraid they would think I was being silly, just their dumb little sister. I felt that if only I could see, could look around for a moment, I'd feel better. I had stolen a lighter from Jeff, your dad," she pointed to Frankie, "earlier that day. I could feel it in my pocket, heavy with the weight of the guilt of stolen goods. I moved my hand, ever so slowly, fearful of making any movement fast enough to be detected in the gloom where God knows what lurked, until I had my hand in my pocket. I wrapped the lighter in my sweaty palm and began the painfully slow process of bringing it up."
"I don't know if it took minutes or hours, but it seemed like an eternity. Finally, I had it, in my hand, right up by my face. I was so scared to light it. To discover what it was that was in the tent with me, concealed by the dark, making me feel so frightened. But then I rolled my thumb on the lighter, the flint sparked, the fluid lit, and I could see."
Aunt Fran paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. The children gathered even closer, clutching at each other, waiting for the moment when the adult yells "Boo" and they all got to scream and laugh.
"What did you see?" Lilly-Anne asked, biting her nails.
"I saw," Aunt Fran said. "I saw my sister Georgia." Her voice faltered.
"Georgia?"
"Yes, Georgia," Aunt Fran snapped. "There used to be seven of us, but I'm sure your parents never told you that." She closed her eyes for a moment, lost in the memory. When she opened them again, she had regained her composure. "I saw my little, baby sister Georgia, laying there in the dark beside me. Her eyes were open," Aunt Fran recalled. "Those beautiful gray eyes. They were open, but they weren't blinking."
The children shifted uncomfortably, feeling awkward. They exchanged nervous glances.
"I screamed. I screamed like I have never screamed before or since. Everyone woke up. Our parents came running over with a flashlight, opened the tent, and then they saw too." Fran sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "My mother scooped me up and carried me out of the tent. She made the other kids come with her. But not before I saw. Not before I knew."
"What did she die of?" Frankie asked, curiosity overcoming his need to be aloof.
"My parents said it was just one of those things. Like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. That it was just her time."
"Why did you tell us this?" Samantha asked.
"Because that wasn't the truth. I saw with my own eyes, the bruises around her neck. Someone had strangled her. We were locked in that tent. No one could get in or out. One of your parents killed her."
The kids recoiled in shock. One of the younger ones started crying.
"That's bull," Frankie challenged.
"Believe what you want, but it's the truth," Aunt Fran said. "If you don't believe me, tell your parents you met a little girl named Georgia with curly blonde hair and pale gray eyes and see how they react."
"Who . . . who do you think did it?" Lilly-Anne whispered.
"I wish I knew for sure." Aunt Fran swallowed hard. "At first I thought it was your dad," she said, pointing at Frankie. "I thought he may have believed that Georgia was the one who stole his lighter. But to be honest, it could have been any one of them. Your mom, or your mom, or your dad, or yours." She pointed at each of the children in turn. "They all have anger issues, I'm sure you've seen that. All I know for sure is that one of your parents killed my baby sister."
Aunt Fran rose from her seat by the campfire. "I've got to go. It was nice seeing you all. You guys be good. And be careful," she added as an afterthought over her shoulder. She exchanged distant waves with the adults as she made her hasty exit, forcing a smile to her lips before she got in her car.
The thought that none of their kids would sleep that night, or possible ever look at them the same way again, provided her with little solace. She started the engine and backed slowly out of her parking spot. She would never forgive her siblings. Not any of them. She drove down the narrow dirt road that led back to the highway. One of them had killed her little sister, making her the youngest. If Georgia was still alive, she'd be the one stuck living at home, caring for their invalid parents, not Fran.
The children were silent until the taillights from Aunt Fran's car were swallowed by the darkness. "Do you think she was telling the truth?" Lilly-Anne asked, eyes wide with fright.
Samantha picked up a photograph from the spot where Aunt Fran had been sitting. It was faded, well-worn with time and use. She looked at it closely. "I think maybe she was," she said in a hushed tone, showing the picture to the others. The image was of their grandparents, much younger but still recognizable. Before them stood seven children, the smallest of which was a young girl with blonde curls.
"What do we do?" Lilly-Anne asked. She looked at the younger children, feeling suddenly burdened with the task of their safety.
"Sleep in shifts and watch each other's backs," Frankie said, taking the photo from Samantha. He balled it up and threw it in the fire. "And never say a word of this to any of them."
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Bad Moon Rising . . .
I'm thrilled to announce that my story, "Bad Moon Rising," is available in the July issue of Mystery Weekly Magazine! Mystery Weekly is, in my opinion, the more approachable, hipper, sassier younger cousin of Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines!
If you like short mystery and crime fiction, you should give this magazine a read. If you're a short fiction writer, this is a market you need to check out! (FYI – it's a qualifying market for the Mystery Writers of America – so if you've got your eye on active membership or that Edgar Award, definitely consider submitting!)