CHECK IN/CHECK OUT ~ #MARCHMYSTERYMADNESS

2017 #MarchMysteryMadness TBR (Long Version)

First of all guys I want to apologize.  I wish (on everything I love) that I could make those simple, snappy videos.  Some people are so good at it.  But I’m long-winded at times.  When I look back at videos I wrestle with providing information on the book(s) or keeping matters as brief as possible.  But, at the end of the day, I hate just throwing books up without talking about them.  So, like last year, I just went ahead and made a short/long version of my 2017 #MarchMysteryMadness video.  It was the only way I could keep my sanity on this one.

Link to #MarchMysteryMadness TBR SHORT Version

Link to #MarchMysteryMadness TBR LONG Version

Anyway, add links and such to your TBR in the comments.  And let’s have fun!

As Whitney once said: “Love is a Contact Sport.”  So thanks for hanging out with me and ish.

#MarchMysteryMadness Goodreads Group

#MarchMysteryMadness on Twitter

#MarchMysteryMadness Co-host on the YouTube

Elizabeth on YouTube

Di on YouTube

My Blog Post on the Challenges

Books mentioned via Amazon (affiliate links):

1.  The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher

2.  Burn Marks by Sara Paretsky

3.  Death Assemblage by Susan Cummins Miller

4.  My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due

5.  Babysitter’s Club Mystery #26 by Ann M. Martin

6.  The Bride’s Kimono by Sujata Massey

7.  Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

8.  Hitler’s Furies by Wendy Lower

#MarchMysteryMadness Challenges & Link Video

2017 #MarchMysteryMadness Challenge

GROUP & LINKS

#MarchMysteryMadness GOODREADS GROUP

#MarchMysteryMadness on TWITTER

CO-HOSTS ON YOUTUBE

DI'S CHANNEL

DI'S BLOG POST

ELIZABETH'S CHANNEL

~~~~~ The Classic Mystery 50 Years or Older~~~~~

(Read a classic mystery from or before 1967)

“But suppose one doesn't quite know which one wants to put first. Suppose," said Harriet, falling back on words which were not her own, "suppose one is cursed with both a heart and a brain?

'You can usually tell,' said Miss de Vine, "by seeing what kind of mistakes you make. I'm quite sure that one never makes fundamental mistakes about the thing one really wants to do. Fundamental mistakes arise out of lack of genuine interest. In my opinion, that is.” 

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

There’s a phrase that’s been popular at lot less longer than these old classic pioneers of the mystery genre. It’s “she gets it from her mamma.” In this case, we’ve tumbled deep into getting it from our great-grandmothers and fathers. Now I’m not one to manage numbers well, but anyone shooting for Patricia Wentworth or Mary Roberts Rinehart will nail this one. Unless I’ve miscalculated once again.

But hey. The default is anything by Poe or Christie, right?

They’re always a safe bet. But who wants to be safe this year?

~~~~~ The First or Sequel~~~~~

(Read the first book in a series, or the sequel to another) 

“Even at a glance, even in this light, I could tell my friend was dead. He lay on his side in what common sense told me must be blood. Only it didn’t smell like blood.

My fingers clutched the flash. I stood for a moment, several moments. It seemed like hours. Finally I knelt and dipped my finger into the pool of liquid. It was thick and sticky. Paint. Bright-red house paint.

I straightened, wiping my finger on my jeans before I realized what I was doing.

‘Oh, Jake,’ I said, louder. My words echoed in the cavernous room, and then the old house enveloped me in ponderous silence. From outside came the bellow of foghorns on San Francisco Bay.”

The Cheshire Cat’s Eye by Marcia Muller

The question everyone wants to know is what happens next to our sleuth? What is the next logical or illogical step? Should the sleuth immediately call the police? Should the sleuth exam the body and, effectively, tamper evidence? Or the most important question: what is our sleuth's background? Or are you acquainted with his or her background and here for the next row of shenanigans? Or are you totally new to his or her system?

I guess the question is would you rather have new shoes or stick with your old hats?

Up Date: "Y is For..." by Sue Grafton

Amazon finally gave us a summary of Sue Grafton's next-to-final Kinsey Millhone book, Y is for...

"The darkest and most disturbing case report from the files of Kinsey Millhone, Y begins in 1979, when four teenage boys from an elite private school sexually assault a fourteen-year-old classmate—and film the attack.  Not long after, the tape goes missing and the suspected thief, a fellow classmate, is murdered. In the investigation that follows, one boy turns state’s evidence and two of his peers are convicted. But the ringleader escapes without a trace.
Now, it’s 1989 and one of the perpetrators, Fritz McCabe, has been released from prison. Moody, unrepentant, and angry, he is a virtual prisoner of his ever-watchful parents—until a copy of the missing tape arrives with a ransom demand. That’s when the McCabes call Kinsey Millhone for help. As she is drawn into their family drama, she keeps a watchful eye on Fritz. But he’s not the only one being haunted by the past. A vicious sociopath with a grudge against Millhone may be leaving traces of himself for her to find… "

OUT AUGUST 22, 2017!

1st Book Haul of the Year

ROOT OF THE CRIME: Loving Female Sleuths, School Years, Reading Passionately (VIDEO)

Elizabeth Chase: One Female Private-Eye You May Or May Not Have Heard Of

Let’s talk about another female private investigator you may or may not have heard of. 

In 1995 author Martha C. Lawrence introduced readers to her female private investigator, Dr. Elizabeth Chase.  And Chase is anything but your conventional fictional private-eye.  She has an interesting hook serving her layers of profession.  What could that hook be?  Well, she’s an astrologer.  Or psychic/parapsychologist to expand the point. 

So basically Elizabeth Chase can get all Susan Miller on a murder investigation.  She can break down that pesky Mercury Retrograde phenomenal to, perhaps, unfurl the brain of the forgetful suspect.  All done to gather a clue, of course.  She can probably map out the Age of Aquarius, to see which suspect is likely to get his or her hands dirty in the business of killing.  Hell, maybe the dates of eclipses can help her stop a pre-mediated attempt at murder.

Who knows?

I’m more than positive that within the five books in the series, something extraordinary and uniquely flavored is going to happen.  Without (I’m certain) the author cheating both the readers and her protagonist.  I mean let’s get real, a book with a psychic detective ain’t worth beans if all she has to do is close her eyes to tap into her “source” for the answers.

No, no.  I’m sure it won’t be like that. 

Anyway, I’m kind of excited and ready to get started with what Martha Lawrence and her sleuth, Elizabeth Chase, are going to get into.  I have a feeling both are going to take me (and hopefully you) along mystery avenues hardly spoken of and far from traditional.  So–after having never heard of this author–this was the number one reason why I grabbed the first book in Lawrence’s series, Murder in Scorpio, the second I spotted it.  It's always why I value the good ole used bookstore circuits.  There’s so much to discover if you look.

For more on the author, visit her website at www.marthalawrence.com.

Have you heard or read any of Martha Lawrence’s books?  Drop me a comment to whet my appetite on what I have to look out for in the future.

Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta #24 Chaos Trailer

Delilah West: One Female Private-Eye You May Or May Not Have Heard Of

I have got to admit that I love female private-eye series pre the 2000’s.  And from the 70’s on into the early 90’s is where I often find the best stories.  Unless an author has established him or herself during those periods; post 2000 female private-eye series always seem to have this distracted flavor to them.  If I could put it into words, I would say there’s hard-boiled then there’s hard-boiled just to “look cute.“  Or, to be a lot more transparent, the rash of relationship drama and sex to maintain an audience tends to kill my vibe.  (Here’s to you Stephanie Plum.)  

Though I can’t speak on this with any totality of thought (if that makes sense).  Still, hardly have I experienced the whole “once to bed, twice is enough” experience in series built in the two decades following Maria Muller’s genre-shaking debut.  You know, of her 1977-birthing of female private-eye, Sharon McCone.  And Sharon was a great protagonist to flush in writers serving the world female-led hard-boiled stories during the 80’s and 90’s.  Of course without characters tip-toeing pass hotel wallpaper to slide into bed for a clue.  Usually with the unbeknownst killer.  

Muller gave writers a model of a female private-eye, and in turn, those writers served their special and unique versions of what translated as a woman detective carrying hard-boiled stories.  Plus, stories back then knew how to fill the pages with actual words–and procedural work.

But, incidentally, Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone wasn't the first contemporary American woman taking lead as a fictional private investigator.  Apparently, Maxine O'Callaghan's Delilah West came first.  Had it not been for a recent trip to a used bookstore, where I discovered West tucked in a stack, I never would've known.

As For Delilah West Herself

First, I have got to say that while researching O'Callaghan, I noticed she has newer reprints of her series.  And I have got to say I do not like the covers.  At all.  No shade to young adult books, but that’s precisely what the new covers of her Delilah West mystery books look like; some angst-filled YA book about vampires and love gone bloody.  Thank God I ran across her original paperback covers first.  And I’ll be sure to hunt for the original covers to this series here forward.  As dated as they may appear, it’s always best to keep to the classics in cases such as this.  I really, really can’t believe how awful the new covers are.

But I digress...

As I mentioned, the character of Delilah West pre-dates Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone.  West first appeared in a short story featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine back in 1974 (three years before McCone debuted with Edwin and the Iron Shoes).  I suppose the short story break sort of did a strange disservice O’Callaghan’s protagonist, as Muller’s Sharon rose to attention and commercial success three years later.  While continuing to publish yearly releases to this day.  

Nonetheless, Orange County resident and ex-cop private-eye, Delilah West, broke into her first full-length book in 1981 with Death is Forever.  From 1981 until 1997, O’Callaghan released six Delilah West mysteries and a short story collection.

I say it’s high-time we catch up with Delilah West and keep her in mind when we’re talking about the beginning of the contemporary female private-eye. 

       

Free Amazon Kindle Mysteries!

Everybody likes free stuff, right?  Well, looks like Amazon Kindle has a number of free mysteries available for download.  Many of them are the first in their respective series.  I picked out a few–with the intent of using my Kindle a little more.  Download and enjoy!

Links are Amazon affiliate.

CHOP IT UP | S is for Silence by Sue Grafton (VIDEO)

(Video) Mix & Match | September TBR

CHOP IT UP | R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton (VIDEO)

Final Thoughts | Boar Island by Nevada Barr (VIDEO)

Why I Did Not Finish (DNF) Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal (VIDEO)

CHOP IT UP | Chile Death by Susan Wittig Albert (Video)

Random Mini Book Haul (SO RANDOM)

After reading The Serpent’s Shadow, I was still in the air about how quickly I wanted to pick up another Mercedes Lackey Elemental Masters book.  Removing this post from all the details on that hesitation, I’ll just link to my video thoughts on the book.  Nevertheless, it goes without saying that if you find a book you’re even slightly interested in nudged on a shelf for a $1, you may as well get it.  So, as luck would have it, I got this pristine copy of the second book in Lackey’s Elemental Masters series, The Gates of Sleep.  Why the hell not, eh?  Might as well for the future.

(Goodreads info on the book is linked HERE!)

Now this next book was one that had me gasping when I uncovered it during the whole browsing process.  Seriously, I was that surprised and pumped with glee.  A Cold Day for Murder is the first book in Dana Stabenow’s Alaska-based Kate Shugak mystery series.  I bought the third book back in March.  Needless to say, it’s been sitting around waiting on the first.  But, no lie, I really couldn’t believe my eyes when this book struck me.

LUCKYYYYY!

(Goodreads info on the book is linked HERE!)

Well, that’s it.  Not really intentional, but hey.  When you’re in the stacks, you’re in the stacks!

Carry on.

Elizabeth Peters' Laughing Mummy Case

By this book we’ve established that British socialite turn Egyptologist, Amelia Peabody, is a wife and mother.  A series told in her first-person narrative, it's clear this life change is an adjustment of sorts.  Especially from the solitary life she led in the first book.  Now Amelia, her husband Radcliffe, and their four-year-old son heighten the thrill of her adventures.  As well as comedy.

As for the third book, The Mummy Case, Amelia’s infamous archaeologist and Egyptologist husband has been invited to a pyramid excavation.  Or, to be clear, he’s prompted dispatched to sniffle among the rubble of an abandoned excavation.  Somewhat at arms length, archaeologist in his profession never really wants him around.  He’s known as the “Father of Curses,” and is thus better left on the outskirts of any great discovery.  

Angered by this, Amelia’s husband decides to take on the "rubble" task anyway.  Gathering his wife and son, he ships his family out of England and into Egypt.  There may be nothing in and on this barren excavation handed to him, but he’ll make do to prove something to the rejecters of his talents as an archaeologist.  He has his pride and dignity after all, as well as a crew of shaky–but fiercely loyal–crewmen.  

But matters get choppy when his wife starts snooping around the crime scene of an antiques dealer she recently visited, for a scrap of papyrus.  Then an excavated Mummy case goes missing.  A suspicious Christian fellowship begins banning citizens together in the nearby village, but with their own secrets of abuse to hide.  An equally suspicious gang made up of Egyptian men are boiling for a fight to kick the fellowship out of their village.  And, eventually, Emerson, Amelia, and Ramses find themselves buried in the well of a pyramid.  While a killer runs loose covering his tracks.

Sounds like a lot, right?  Well, it’s an adventure that shouldn’t be missed!

Catch Rita Mae Brown's Cat

So what exactly is going on in Rita Mae Brown’s Cat as Cat Can, book #10 in her popular Mrs. Murphy pet detective cozy series?  Well, as always with these books, the story opens up with the change of seasons; in this particular entry, it’s finally spring again.  And with spring comes the blossoming of special events in the small town of Crozet, Virginia.  This spring, it’s time for the residents to get dolled up for the annual Dogwood Festival.  Meanwhile, strange occurrences are happening around town.  And with Crozet’s postmistress, Minor “Harry” Haristeen, somewhere in the middle of said occurrences. 

It started with a dead woodpecker found on her back porch.  Before one of her cats could take the bird’s corpse into its claws, Harry snatches it up.  Because of the bird's uniqueness, she plans to take it to a local taxidermist.  And, while going about her business, Harry then finds her friend, Miranda Hogendobber, in the midst of a hubcap robbery.  Miranda walked into a local grocery store, and walked out to find someone swiped her hubcaps in a blink.  Considering the hubcaps' worth, Miranda, Harry, and Deputy Cynthia Cooper make way to the local salvage yard first.

But then the bodies start piling up.  It began with one of the owners of the salvage yard turning up dead, and follows with the taxidermist Harry visited only days before with her dead woodpecker.

Believing the two deaths are connected, Harry investigates.  And as she gets closer to the killer, her team of pets have to stay miles ahead of her to keep her safe.