Stories for the puzzle lovers
Jake Randall delighted in playing every “vagina” card in his Cards Against Humanity to the discomfort of the female players. Detective Ana Friedman, one of those women, escapes to the bathroom for some quiet reading time. And that’s when somebody struck. Now Ana needs to solve Jake’s murder or live with her vic dying while she was on the toilet.
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Objects of Desire is a PI Mystery. Two years ago, PI Rita Mars broke up with Diane Winter. It was loud and messy end to their relationship. Now Diane is missing and the note left behind points in Rita’s direction. Juggling a case of corporate embezzlement, Diane’s disappearance, and a mother with early dementia means Rita has to do a lot of juggling to keep the balls in the air and her butt out of jail.
Bottom line: Objects of Desire is for you if you like mysteries without murder, female-centric casts, and clean storytelling.
Listen to the Prologue and Chapters 1 & 2 here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
Strengths of the story. The second in the Rita Mars thriller series, Objects of Desire is listed as an LGBTQ+ Mystery and Women’s Detective Fiction on Amazon. I do agree with the genres of mystery and detective fiction, moreso than thriller. Rita runs her own PI agency and juggles two cases, keeping both stories moving forward. While there were implied threats to Rita from the police investigation, this was a subplot, which placed the mysteries front and center.
The characters of Rita, her assistant Beverly Hills, her best friend Mary Margaret Smooth, and IT wizard Roswell were comfortable in their roles, which reflected this being the second book in the series. Rita was a PI who relied on her team to extend her reach and resources. As compared to other PI characters, she runs a team and uses them to their strengths. The characters were both likable and interesting. Rita’s mother played the role of the comic relief with her sugar and Oreo obsession.
I have not read the first Rita Mars story but had no problem reading Objects of Desire. Webster did a nice job of giving new readers the information needed to jump into Rita’s world.
Webster’s storytelling style is clean, without cursing, sex, or on-stage violence. There is the implication and threat of violence but not actual depiction of, which makes this a great choice for readers who prefer classic mystery styles of Miss Jane Marple, Nero Wolfe, and others. On the spectrum of cozy to hard boiled, this is closer to the cozy end.
The financial mystery was well developed. While Rita developed the theories, the technical nature of the crimes meant that Roswell did more of the leg work than Rita. This worked to keep the story progressing while Rita worked on Diane’s case.
The kidnapping mystery was a straighter story. The biggest challenge here is there was nothing for Rita or the cops to start from. Rita had to return to PI gumshoe roots, working through all of Diane’s friends, acquaintances, and other exes to get to a clue that led somewhere.
This mystery is categorized as LGBTQ+ with the majority of the main characters being gay. Rita Mars and Objects of Desire stands as a solid mystery because of the plot, not because of the characters’ enduring attraction to the same sex. While being gay is central to Rita’s identity, much as being from Belgium was central to Poirot, it has no bearing on her capability as a PI. If you are a reader looking for a lead from the LGBTQ+ community, read Rita Mars. If you are a reader looking for a clean mystery with an intelligent PI, read Rita Mars.
Where the story fell short of ideal. Considering Objects of Desire as a mystery, there was a lot to like, as already mentioned, but I had a few minor items. I did think that the urgency of finding Diane was undermined by both the financial case and Rita’s mother, at times slowing down the pacing of the storytelling. The evidence in the financial case evolved consistently where Diane’s case turned when Rita latched on to a single comment during an interview. The smoothness of the former heightened the abruptness of the latter for me. Finally, I struggled with Rita’s actions in the ending being consistent with her approach and decision making throughout the book. None of these affected the overall logic of the storylines or appeal of the characters.
The Objects of Desire is published by Valerie Webster with Ignited Ink Writing and promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers.
About Valerie Webster
Valerie Webster spent a career developing law enforcement applications for surveillance, security and forensics. She has also been a triathlete and a crime reporter. She honed her writing skills through “Sisters in Crime” and “Mystery Writers of America’s” mentoring program. Valerie makes her home near Boulder, CO.
Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers virtual book tour services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
It’s August, 1968 and the rural community of Titus Town, South Carolina is looking forward to the cow bingo fundraiser. But before Katie Hammet’s Jersey cow can do her thing, Deputy Sandy Buford has to figure out who snuffed out the local hip-pocket lender and emptied his till.
Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries for Die For podcast
About Paul.
Paul A. Barra is a chemistry teacher, a former newspaper reporter, and Naval officer. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V and other decorations for his service on the rivers of the Mekong Delta. He is married and has eight children with his wife, the former Joni Lee. They reside in Columbia, South Carolina.
Help support Paul and make writing for Mysteries to Die For the best decision he’s ever made by going to his website and buying his books. Then write a review and help other mystery lovers find him.
The January Corpse is a PI Mystery. Former lawyer turned investigator Dave Garrett is picking up sloppy seconds with this case. The family of Daniel Wilson has filed suit to declare the man missing for 7 years as dead to claim the life insurance benefit. What should be a chore of routine investigation into a cold case gets messy, mean, and dirty in the blink of an eye.
Bottom line: The January Corpse is for you if you like fast-thinking private eyes, cases with too many loose ends, and action and adventure in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Listen to the first chapter here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
Strengths of the story. Dave Garrett is an intellectual PI who uses his head rather than brute force for investigating. Being an ex-attorney, he is a different take on a private investigator than characters with backgrounds in law enforcement or military. Dave has some emotional scars, making him an interesting character and somewhat outsider.
The mystery itself is the right size for something solved in 3 days. You would think after 7 years, it wouldn’t be so easy to solve the disappearance of Dan Wilson. Does Dave get lucky? Some could say that, but he invested the time and tenacity that ended up paying off. No one gifted him with the answers, he earned every single one. This is one of the biggest strengths, Dave Garrett is the hero of his story.
The setting is Philadelphia, 1990. I loved the details on Philly and the surrounding area, the kind that come from an author really knowing the area. For example, there is a passage discussing the odd travel patterns. Some days, it takes 10 minutes to get into the city, then you’re stuck in gridlock for 3 blocks. Other times it takes 90 minutes and once you’re in the city, you’re free an clear. You don’t get those types of observations using Google Earth. The descriptions of the neighborhoods, people, and buildings give texture to the story.
The pacing is excellent for those of us looking for a reason to binge read a book in one sitting (yeah, I did that.) When Dave gets the case Friday morning, it’s with the expectation of appearing in court to testify on Monday. The clock starts ticking immediately. I like that part of the story includes Dave weighing what is the best use of his limited time – especially limited business hours. In that short period, there is a fight, a car chase, a hostage situation, and a hot chili pepper romance scene.
Where the story fell short of ideal: Not much to pick on here. The logic of the story held up well, something I always look for. The events that were surprising and action packed when reading fully made sense with the benefit of hindsight. As is often the case with PI stories, people lie to Dave but he sniffs out the truth in a way where he does the heavy lifting of sleuthing (i.e. no coincidences, etc) and the lies make sense.
A word of warning and an explanation – you may see some typesetting errors, like open quotes at the end of dialog instead of closed quotes. Talking with Neil, technology has been working against him, as it does all of us at one time or another. He’s aware of them and working to correct. If you find one, treat it like a four-leaf clover, something to smile about as you continue reading this very excellent story.
About Neil Albert
Neil Albert is a trial lawyer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and this book is based on a real presumption of death hearing. He has completed nine of the projected twelve books in the Dave Garrett series and hopes to finish with December within the next two years. His interest in writing mysteries was kindled by reading Ross Macdonald. Neil operates a blog with an in-depth analysis of each of Macdonald’s books. In his younger years, he was an avid fox hunter. His best memory is that he hunted for fifteen years and was the only member not be to seriously injured at least once.
The January Corpse is promoted by Partners In Crime. Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers virtual book tour services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
The Preacher is a mystery. The body of a young woman is found. Naked and broken, she is found on a blanket. Beneath the blanket are bones, not of one person but two. Patrik Hedstrom has his hands full with the new murder, the old murders, and the imminent birth of his first child.
Bottom line: The Preacher is for you if you like complex whodunnits led by engaging characters set in the beauty of Sweden.
Strengths of the story. With this second book, the story settles with Patrik Hedstrom was the lead. The mystery is a police procedural that brings in everyone at the Tanumshede police station. While Patrik does lead, the other police officers have meaningful assignments, which gives the mystery a rich texture. This is not a story where one man does all the work.
Surrounding the mystery is the drama of Patrik’s home life. He is living with his girlfriend, Erica, in her family home. She is eight months pregnant during a heat wave. And there is the never ending stream of free loading family looking for a few days on the water.
I personally enjoyed the balance between the mystery and the homelife. This mystery is pretty heavy. The homelife gives a nice counterpoint that is a mix of humorous, sweet, and ridiculous.
As with ICE PRINCESS (Book #1), this mystery is very complicated. There is no way for readers to solve this one ahead of Patrik. This book is listed on Amazon as a serial killer thriller, a kidnap thriller, and a murder story. This isn’t especially strong as a thriller – Patrik is working in a police procedural manner. He is not in danger. The categories give away that there is a serial killer element as well as a kidnapping element, both of which give an urgency to the investigation that creates a mood more alike a thriller.
Where the story fell short of ideal: This story crosses lines of mystery and thriller. If a reader prefers one or the other, you may not be fully satisfied with this story. It is for crossover readers. While the reader does get a full explanation of what happened, the author hands it to us, the detective doesn’t earn it. On one hand, it’s satisfying. On the other, the structure of the story did not enable the mystery to be resolved.
As with the first book, I struggled with the author holding back information. This story is written in third-person omniscient from the point of view of the section’s narrator. Intellectually, I know it is supposed to build curiosity and intrigue when the character whose head I am in looks, for example, at a newspaper article but doesn’t say what’s in it. For me, this creates frustration. In talking to other readers, some have the same pet peeve, others don’t. This is definitely a subjective issue.
California, 1849. Captain Rake Caldeen is searching for an army deserter when he arrives at a gold mine camp. What he finds is a dead man who stole from his neighbor, swindled his friend, abused his claim workers, probably killed a woman and, yeah, he cheated at faro. You and Caldeen need to figure which of the victims is now a killer
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Broadcast Blues is an amateur sleuth mystery. Channel 10 News’s Clare Carlson prayed to the news gods for an explosive lead story and she got it. A car bombing in the middle of New York City killed private investigator Wendy Kyle. Wanting to break the story to stave of the station’s new owners, Clare starts digging and discovers Kyle was into more than just cheating husbands.
Bottom line: Broadcast Blues is for you if you like brassy female leads, the pressure and pace of local TV news, and a mystery you can sink your teeth into.
Listen to the prologue and first chapter here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For
Strengths of the story.
Clare Carlson is a fully established character who is comfortable in her own skin. She is confident and has a sharp edge that she wields on her executive producer, some witnesses, and the occasional ex-husband. Perhaps those characteristics are the reason she thrived in the industry. In this story, she is dealing with the imminent approach of her 50th birthday, the reality of three failed marriages, and a complicated relationship with the daughter she gave up for adoption. She isn’t a two-dimensional character but juggles work-life-play like many of us do. It was when she struggled that I most connected with Clare.
The setting of the local TV news brings a sense of urgency to everything Clare does. Often, the element of urgency can feel contrived or artificial but in Broadcast Blues, it’s a normal part of Clare’s life. It pushed Clare forward when she had little to go on.
The story has a nice level of complexity. At first, it seems like there is too wide a field of suspects, those being all the unfaithful spouses Kyle exposed. The story settles into a single line of investigation at a pace that, in my opinion, was just right. It wasn’t too fast, jumping to a conclusion, and it wasn’t so slow, drawing things out. I especially liked the ending. It wasn’t predictable, it was exciting, and wrapped up the whodunnit questions.
This is the 6th book in the Clare Carlson Mystery Series and I have not read the previous books. The mystery is stand alone and does not rely on knowledge from prior books. There are some continuing characters and Clare’s character arc that do bridge across books but Belsky gives us what we need to understand without making you feel like you’ve been left out.
Where the story fell short of ideal: I did have a challenge with an element of the writing style – there were several passages where I lost who was speaking in extended back-and-forth dialog. Consistently, there were only two people speaking, but sometimes there were other people in the room. Each time I lost track, I pulled out of the story to back track and to figure out who was speaking. Other readers may read through the passages without the issues I had.
Standing at the end looking back, I have a few questions. They aren’t about the heart or the logic of the mystery itself- that is solid. My questions are on one particular detail that pushed the investigation forward. If you tend not to reverse engineer a mystery, then you’ll enjoy Broadcast Blues for dynamic storytelling that it is.
The Broadcast Blues was released from Oceanview Publishing and is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers.
About R.G. Belsky
R.G. Belsky is an award-winning author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. His newest mystery, BROADCAST BLUES, was published on January 2 by Oceanview. It is the sixth in a series featuring Clare Carlson, the news director for a New York City TV station. The first book, Yesterday’s News, was named Best Mystery of 2018 at Deadly Ink. The second, Below the Fold, won the Foreward INDIES award for Best Mystery of 2019. Belsky has published 20 novels—all set in the New York city media world where he has had a long career as a top editor at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. He also writes thrillers under the name Dana Perry. And he is a contributing writer for The Big Thrill magazine and BookTrib.
Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers virtual book tour services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
I am fortunate in that the Toe Tags I do as part of Mysteries To Die For exposes me to many authors and titles I wouldn’t ordinarily find on my own. Add to that list the books that are recommended by other readers and the ones my husband gives me and, well, I read a lot of mystery, crime fiction, and thrillers. This post contains those that I gave 5 start ratings to. To earn 5 stars from me, a story has to have flawless logic, no loose ends, great characters, and, of course, be entertaining. One is missing: Room 13 by Edgar Wallace. This 1924 mystery was one of the coolest I’ve read. Happy Reading Detectives!
Jack Frost, that naughty sprite, is found strangled in a greenhouse. Mother Nature and Father Time have called for Themis, the titan of justice. The suspects include Pare Noel, El Nino and La Nina, Alena Vera, and all the baby new years since the start of time.
This character mash up is our gift to everyone in our M2D4 audience. Here’s hoping 2024 is filled with only good mysteries.
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Friend of the Departed is a PI Mystery. Stef Kopriva used to be a cop, but that was more than ten years ago. A shooting, a wrong call, and a deep, personal relationship with a liquor bottle took him from a stand-up guy to the bottom of the barrel. He’s unofficially in the business of doing favors for people who need help. This time the call comes from Joel Harrity, the defense lawyer who came when Stef was the one calling.
Bottom line: Friend of the Departed is for you if you like gritty heroes and stories that zig before they zag.
Strengths of the story. Kopriva is a well-developed character, having been part of Zafiro’s River City series and then taking the lead in Waist Deep (Book 1), Lovely, Dark & Deep (Book 2) and several short stories. You get to know his backstory through the cops who won’t let Stef forget what he did. This one opens with Stef at the bottom of a bottle and fighting his way out.
The premise for this story is classic. A defense attorney is being asked to take a case. His potential client, however, is accused of killing her husband, a friend of the attorney. Joel Harrity is the best defense attorney in River City and he’s not afraid of tough cases. But, if he’s going to take this one, he needs to know that she didn’t do it. With nothing to go on, he calls Stef.
The mystery gives puzzlers a lot to work with. The victim, financial advisor Henry Brassart, was struck by a car while out for a run. The force shot him into a wooded area, where he struck a tree, dying from his injuries. With a nice life insurance policy and a fairly new damage to her car, the cops look at his wife, Marie. She says she didn’t do it.
As so often happens, Henry was well liked and respected. He didn’t have any enemies. He was a top performer at work, a leader in his company. So who killed a perfectly likeable man?
I like where Zafiro took Stef in this book. In the first two books, Stef is working to get out of his 10-year slump. In this book, I felt like he turns the corner and, at the end, is ready to start living life forward rather than in the past.
This is the 3rd book in the series. The mystery is completely standalone, and no past Stef Kopriva experience is needed. The character development does continue from the previous books. I don’t think you need to read the prior books to understand where Stef is, but certainly reading the prior books will enhance your appreciation for his progress.
Where the story fell short of ideal: Standing at the end and looking back, there isn’t much to pick on. The characters are true to their nature, especially Stef, which is important because he’s the hero who keeps us turning the pages. The whodunnit is nicely constructed, the mystery resolved through conversations that reveal the smallest deviations.
About FRANK ZAFIRO
Frank Zafiro writes gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge. Frank served in the U.S. Army from 1986-91 in military intelligence as a Czechoslovak linguist. In 1993, he became a police officer in Spokane, Washington. During his career, he worked as a patrol officer, corporal, and detective. In 2002, he became a sergeant and entered into leadership roles. He was fortunate enough to command patrol officers, investigators, the K-9 unit, and the SWAT team. He retired from law enforcement in 2013 as a captain in order to write full time and to teach.
TG Wolff 