A Fresh Bouquet of Spring Reads

 

The coming of spring means more than new flowers and colorful clothes. It means new books! Here are some fresh new reads for a variety of tastes. Enjoy!

 

Crying Blood: An Alafair Tucker Mystery, Donis Casey, Poisoned Pen Press.

In the autumn of 1915, Shaw Tucker, his brother James, and their sons go on a hunting trip to the derelict farm his stepfather had bought years before. Instead of a quail, Shaw's dog flushes an old boot containing the bones of a foot. The dog then leads them to a shallow grave and a skeleton with a bullet hole in the skull.

That night, Shaw awakens to see a pair of moccasin-clad legs brushing by his tent flap. He chases the intruder, but he had disappeared so completely that Shaw wonders if he imagined him. Had he also imagined the ghostly voice that called his name?

Shaw can't shake the memory of the disembodied legs and voice. His concern is justified when he realizes that someone - or something - has followed him home.

Having written all her life, author Arizona author Donis Casey wrote a book "in her youth," that was shopped around for years by an agent. No sale, she says, but "I did get a lot of useful feedback from editors. In the interim, I did quite a bit of professional writing in academic journals."

Casey taught English in Oklahoma , got a masters in library science and worked in academia for years. She then started a small business importing gifts from Scotland and Ireland , which she ran for 11 years. After reaching a point where she "didn't absolutely have to work to live," she began writing full time. Her first published mystery, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming , was published in 2005. Crying Blood is her fifth book in the Alafair Tucker mystery series.

Ironically, even as a voracious reader, Casey wasn't big on mysteries until a couple years before she decided to write one. "I would always choose a historical novel above any other genre," she says. "For me, a historical novel is like a cheap vacation. I love to go to a place and a time and live there for a while, like time travel."

After reading all the historical novels she could find by her favorite English author Edith Pargeter, Casey discovered Pargeter's other books – the Brother Cadfael mystery series written under the pseudonym Ellis Peters. She says, "this series has everything I love about a historical novel as well as a clever, thought-provoking, always surprising mystery in every book." She thought, "I want to do that."

Casey says she "comes across her own storytelling talents honestly," having grown up with parents and grandparents who loved to spin "yarns." Casey began her own series "sort of" in 1999 via the pages of a family genealogy she began to research as a Christmas gift for her siblings. "In the course of the research, I ran across stories and anecdotes about ancestors, which led me to remember stories my grandparents and parents had told me about their parents and grandparents, and life on the farm," she recalls.

"I began questioning my mother, and wrote down my own memories. When I shared my stories with my husband, he began to reminisce about his (extremely colorful) Oklahoma pioneering family. This led me to begin questioning his siblings. At the end of the process, I had a book-length genealogy packed with stories from the French and Indian wars, the Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, ambushes, murders, adoptions, divorces and adultery — settlers and Indians, massacres, poisonings, axings, shootings, drownings, and smashing people in the head with beer bottles. In the end, I said to myself, 'Donis, you have enough material here for 10 books.'”

Excerpt from CRYING BLOOD:

Long experience had taught Alafair to have faith in Shaw's instincts. She also knew that Shaw Tucker was not a man to act rashly. He knew exactly what he was doing and he knew it was dangerous. Why else would he have gone to such particular lengths to conceal his plans from everyone? From her?

There was a thing that Shaw had to do and it didn't matter whether she understood or not.

* Read the first chapter at http://www.doniscasey.com .

* Check out Casey's blog: http://www.typem4murder.blogspot.com

 

Among the Departed: A Constable Molly Smith novel , Vicki Delany , (Poisoned Pen Press, May 3, 2011)

Fifteen years ago a young girl by the name of Moonlight Smith went to her best friend Nicky Nowak's house for a sleepover. Moonlight joined the family for breakfast the following morning and was then picked up by her mother. Shortly after, Mr. Nowak went for a walk. He was never seen again.

It is now autumn in the mountain town of Trafalgar , British Columbia . Searching for a lost child in the wilderness a police dog discovers human remains. When Sergeant John Winters reopens the investigation into the disappearance of Brian Nowak he finds a shattered family and townsfolk desperate to keep their secrets. Among the Departed is much more than a mystery novel: it is also a story of love – new and old, long-concealed, life-affirming and fatal.

Author Vicki Delany's love of planting clues and wrapping up a mystery can be partly explained by her former career as a computer programmer and systems analyst in the banking industry. She loves details.

Amusingly enough, she actually thought she'd be writing for children instead of adults. "I have three children and one year I wrote them each a story for Christmas," she recalls. "Their names were the main characters. I thought I'd take some courses, but quickly decided that mystery novels were more up my alley."

She's now been writing for about 15 years and sees no end in sight, writing every morning, seven days a week. Well, most days, she admits.

"I'm a binge writer," she says, "if I don't have a solid block of three or more free hours, I won't even try to write. I have to be at home. If I'm travelling, I don't write a word. And, yes, procrastination has been known to creep in. I find I really struggle with tearing my attention away from my e-mail and other exciting things on the Internet."

Once she finds her story, of course, she loves the writing, though it does have its good and bad parts. My favourite part is probably the relationship between the ‘old' lovers," she says. "I am in that age bracket myself and I loved the idea of two people who've been attracted to each other for a very long time but life was in the way.

"My least favourite is trying to deal with Molly Smith's ongoing indecision about her future. She and I both know that if she is to have a good career in the police, with the possibility of promotion, she needs big-city experience that she isn't going to get in her quiet little town. However, the town of Trafalgar ( British Columbia ) and Molly's family and friends are so much a part of the books that I don't want to take her away. Now that she is settling into a relationship, it's even more difficult for her as she isn't sure if she wants to take the relationship to the next level."

Excerpt from AMONG THE DEPARTED:

(This is from the beginning. The RCMP police dog, Norman , is searching the woods for a lost child.)

Again, Norman sniffed the ground. He spent a lot of time at the tent entrance. He was a German shepherd, a big one, with ears the size of satellite dishes, a long sweeping tail, and he walked with a lope, hips low to the ground. Norman was six years old and had lived and worked with Adam Tocek for five.

Molly Smith knew Adam loved her, but she sometimes thought if it came down to a choice between her and Norman, the dog would win. She smiled at the thought.

* Learn more about Vicki Delany's books at her website: http://www.vickidelany.com

 

Mahu Blood, Neil Plakcy, (MLR Press, March 1, 2011)

Mahu Blood begins on Hawaii Statehood Day in August, about ten months after the action of Mahu Vice . Statehood is a controversial issue in Hawai'i , because many native Hawaiians perceive the United States as an occupying force that overthrew a sovereign monarchy in 1892.

Two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist Neil Plakcy returns to the Hawaiian Islands with a new mystery about blood ties in a state torn by ethnic tension. Openly gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa'aka must investigate a series of murders that threaten his own family as well as the citizens he struggles to protect.

Billions of dollars are at stake in a fight over who the land of the Aloha State really belongs to. Is it the United States-- or the indigenous people of the islands, many of whom feel their sovereign kingdom was overthrown by American businessmen?

At the same time, Kimo and his fire investigator partner, Mike Riccardi, deal with the stress of moving in together to create their own ohana –a Hawaiian term which means family, as well as community.

Author Neil Plakcy began writing short stories around 17 and had his first novel published in 2005. Mahu Blood is the sixth book in the Mahu series. A prolific writer with more than 20 titles under his belt, Plakcy grew up with a love of words honed from a love of reading.

"I loved to read mysteries when I was a kid, starting with Freddy the Detective and Encyclopedia Brown and moving onto classic British crime fiction as a teenager," he says. "But I didn't seriously start writing mysteries until I was in graduate school at FIU ( Florida International University ), because I had a lot of trouble with plot, and having to unveil and investigate a crime gave me a structure for my books."

That he became an author is no surprise given his love of words. He realized in high school how powerful words could be. "My 10th grade English teacher assigned us to write our own version of the classic novel, A Separate Peace ," he recalls. "That's when I first realized how emotionally rewarding it was to get my thoughts out onto the page. I haven't stopped since, though I did take a hiatus for a few years through business school and long hours working on construction sites."

His love of writing never stopped, however. He decided to get his MFA in creative writing and so happened to have authors like Vicki Hendricks, Barbara Parker and Dennis Lehane as classmates at FIU. With such inspiration at hand, who could stop?

Plakcy has no intention of doing such a thing. That visit to Hawaii and an interest in finding mysteries set in the islands inspired him to write his own series, a series he still loves to write and sees continuing as long as the ideas keep coming.

"The message in Mahu Blood, if there is one, is that we are all members of an ohana- - a family, a community, by blood or simply affection," he says. "I was inspired by the emotional journey my protagonist, Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa'aka, undergoes-- making his own family together with his partner. I'm also always considering what can make my stories uniquely Hawaiian. In the case of this book, it was a series of demonstrations at the Iolani Palace by native Hawaiians who sought rights and compensation for past problems."

Excerpt from MAHU BLOOD:

They were typical stoners, slow to wake up and even slower to process our questions. They knew Aunty Edith, because of the trouble she'd been causing for them, but when Ray asked if they knew who had killed her, they laughed.

“Yeah, man, we climb up on da roof and shoot her,” Leroy said, making a gun with his thumb and index finger. “Bang, bang!”

He and his brother laughed like Santa Claus, their big bellies shaking. They pretend shot each other, each grabbing his chest and staggering around as if dying. “Yo, dude, a lady's dead,” Ray said. “Have some respect.”

* Get details on Neil Plakcy's books at his website, http://www.mahubooks.com

 

The Truth Sleuth: A Kim Reynolds Mystery, Jacqueline Seewald, Five Star/Gale/Cengage (May 18, 2011)

In this fast-paced, contemporary mystery novel, librarian Kim Reynolds , (heroine of THE INFERNO COLLECTION and THE DROWNING POOL) is in for major shocks when her normally sedate life takes some surprisingly dangerous twists and turns. Kim finds the body of high school student Sammy Granger and becomes involved in a complex murder investigation that includes police detective Mike Gardner.

Author Jacqueline Seewald says she's been "writing a lifetime. I started writing short stories and essays for contests back in elementary school."

Seewald began teaching high school English and creative writing at the college level, then went on to do technical writing and work as an academic librarian. That she began writing novels, too, is no surprise. She says, "I always loved reading mystery novels so I guess it was natural that I'd want to write my own. I was always an avid reader with a big imagination. It was just natural to want to write my own stories."

Her imagination, and the perfect workplace setting, proved to be great inspiration for her first mystery. " I became intrigued with 'inferno collections' during the time of my library studies at Rutgers and while working at Alexander Library," she says. "A Princeton University librarian did a symposium lecture on the topic and I was so fascinated that I decided to do further research. An inferno collection is a collection of banned books considered inappropriate for general public display and reading. Often these were books deemed salacious and kept separate or hidden. They were common in the Victorian era. I thought the idea of a secret, hidden book collection would make an interesting frame for a mystery novel. That's how THE INFERNO COLLECTION, the first Kim Reynolds' mystery, got started."

The best part of writing a series, says Seewald, is that each book allows her to explore a bit more of her character's life. "Each of the three mysteries in this series is unique, but each develops the character of Kim Reynolds and gives her life further depth and meaning," she says. "I suppose the underlying message is that women need to create their own identities. If they're not satisfied with who and what they are and how their lives are going, they should see what they can do to reinvent themselves the way Kim has done and continues to do."

Another enjoyable element of writing a series is adding a bit of romance in her characters' lives, Seewald says: "My mysteries all contain an element of romance. For me, this is the most enjoyable part to write. Also the novels are serious in tone but I always like to include some humor. I'm a romantic at heart. And I also enjoy humor; I believe it's good for the soul."

Excerpt from THE TRUTH SLEUTH, A Kim Reynolds Mystery:

But what had started out as a pleasant afternoon began shifting to something quite different. Kim was developing an uncomfortable feeling of wrongness; a kind of prickling sensation slithered down her spine. She recognized the feeling for what it was but shook her head, trying to dispel the spasm of dread that suddenly gripped her. God, not this again! Would she ever be free of it?

Then Kim gasped, seized by a stab of pain. In her mind, she heard a silent scream, an astonished cry for help. She felt another's panic and terror. She began to shiver and tremble.

“What's the matter?” Bert asked, her dark brows rising then knitting together in concern.

“Someone's been hurt.” Those were the only words she managed to choke out.

“Who? Where?” April asked, glancing around in confusion.

“Maybe we better have a look,” Bert said. Her height of six feet gave her an advantage over both Kim, who was five foot six inches, and April who was barely five foot two inches tall.

The crowd was starting to thin out, many bikers revving up their engines in anticipation of leaving now that today's entertainment was over. Kim led, Bert and April following behind her. Although she was not really certain where she was going, Kim plowed blindly through the garbage-strewn grounds. And then she saw him: a very young man sitting in an aluminum beach chair, head slumped forward as if he were in a deep sleep.

“He's dead,” Kim heard herself say with certainty. Her voice sounded hollow, expressionless and faraway, as if it belonged to someone else.

“Oh, God, are you sure?” April asked, tossing her gold-tinted curls as if to deny Kim's statement.

“Kim's got this gift of knowing stuff like that,” Bert said.

 

 

Deadly by the Dozen, 12 Short Stories of Murder and Mayhem, Editor Mark Terry and 11 other authors, Orox Books (B& N eBook, Kindle, Smashwords) (Feb. 2011)

Edited by award-winning thriller author Mark Terry, the collection includes 12 stories:

A HARD LINE DRIVE TO WRONG by Jude Hardin
I DIED, I DID by Natasha Fondren
IDENTITY THEFT by Robert Weibezahl
LIVING ON THE BLOOD OF OTHERS by Betsy Dornbusch
INDIAN SUMMER by Lise McClendon
FLAT-FOOTED by Mark Terry
INTO STONE by Keith Snyder
MARIGOLD MOURNING by Merry Monteleone
LITTLE SIBERIA by Erica Orloff
A BREAK IN THE OLD ROUTINE by Simon Wood
WHEREBY IGNORANT PEOPLE ARE FREQUENTLY DELUDED AND DEFRAUDED by Mary Reed & Eric Mayer
PLUNDERED BOOTY by Travis Erwin

Author Mark Terry has been a full-time freelance writer, editor and novelist since 2004, though he began "seriously" writing around 1986. "I read an essay by Stephen King when I was in college called something like 'The Making of a Brand Name' and it inspired me to try writing a short story. The short story was SF and it was about intergalactic war called 'When Red Eyes Blue.' It wasn't any good, but I was hooked."

Terry also loves writing mysteries though he actually has a degree in microbiology and public health, a great background for thrillers, which is what he usually writes now.

But there are the exceptions, as in this recent anthology he edited and contributes to. Why such an anthology?

"As I write in the introduction, as something of a lark I serialized a long short story on my blog called 'Flat-Footed' featuring a Los Angeles P.I. who also happens to be a dwarf," he says.

"It was well received by readers and I wanted to publish it in some way. I have been 'traditionally' published, but I've also self-published some eBooks. I was considering writing a series of short stories and self-publishing it as an anthology, but I was pretty sure that if I did that it would never get done. Then I realized I had an awful lot of friends who were short story writers, novelists and freelance writers--really, over the years I've made a lot of friends in the business--and I asked a bunch of them if they were interested and they were. And here we are."

The collection itself went together well given the "loose" guidelines— "DEADLY BY THE DOZEN has no theme, per se," he explains. "I told my friend, 'look, I want some sort of crime in the story. Dazzle me.' And you know what? They did. So yeah, there's your theme--dazzling crime stories. These people are just wonderfully talented and I was repeatedly surprised and delighted--yes, even dazzled--by each story. I like the variety and I like the moods and I like the surprises."

Choosing a title was another matter, he says: "...Because I wanted this in many ways to be a collaborative creative process, I came up with a few titles for the collection and sent them to all the participants, then spent the rest of the day fielding this increasingly ridiculous conversation online until I finally threw up my hands and picked a title. It's a lot like the old saw about economists: ask 10 economists for their opinion and you'll get 11 opinions. It was Keith Snyder who somewhere mid-way during the conversation typed: Writers really suck at titles."

* See Mark Terry's website: http://www.markterrybooks.com/

* Details, "Deadly by the Dozen: http://markterrybooks.blogspot.com/2011/02/deadly-by-dozen.html

Excerpts from DEADLY BY THE DOZEN:

Men don't notice my face or my ass anymore, but they sure as hell notice my money. They notice my gun, too, once I grace them with its presence.—From Betsy Dornbusch's "Living On The Blood Of Others."

Naturally, his trial and subsequent conviction had generated a wealth of material for the late-night comedians: Come to Skaggs's, where we put the FUN back in funeral… From Jude Hardin's "A Hard Line Drive To Wrong."

He went about burning a disk for her. “Would you like to meet me after work for drinks in exchange for that information?”

“No.”

“Compare notes?”

“No.”

“Dinner?”

“No.”

“Dancing? Horseback riding? Lakers game? Putt-putt golf?”

“You're not my type.”

“Too manly?”

“Too short.”

“Together we're sort of average.”

“The answer is still no.” – From Mark Terry's , "Flat-Footed"