For historian Christian Shaw, nothing ruins Family Game Night faster than murder. Prosector Joe Poli Dead is late joining the game night when he has to work regarding the death of Sandra Kule, one of the heirs and working owners of Kule Ice Cream. The suspects, let’s just say they’re all in the family. The police like her sister Barb for the deed, but Joe isn’t so sure. Now Christian is using her specialized knowledge to root out the truth.

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ABOUT Sorry
The game Sorry was created in England in the late 1920s by William Henry Storey, who registered it as a trademark in the UK in 1920 and receive a US patent in Aug 1930. The patent link is in the show notes. The patents describes in detail the parts of the board, the men, the cards, and how to play. Mr. Storey went on to say “the above apparatus used as above described is calculated and has been proved by experience to be a prolific source of amusement and provides a game which calls for the exercise of a great deal of judgment while being dependent in a measure on an uncertain factor such as is calculated to add to the excitement of the game, though due to the choice of moves allowed when certain cards are turned up, the influence of the element of chance as a determining factor is much reduced in comparison with the skill exercised by a player in choosing his moves.”

Several sources cite the Indian game Pachisi as inspiration or basis for Sorry. The link to the Wikipedia page is in the shownotes. Rather than a square board, Pachisi uses a cross-shaped board. The goal is to move all of your pieces onto and around the board before the other players. The number of spaces moved is determined by throwing shells and counting how many land upright. There are several variations of the game, some dating back to 1100-800 BC.

Rabbit Hole Material:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US1903661.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorry!_(game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachisi

ABOUT Kathleen Marple Kalb
https://kathleenmarplekalb.com
Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including the Ella Shane and Old Stuff mysteries, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, online, and in anthologies, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat.

SORRY NOT SORRY is part of Kathleen’s Old Stuff Mystery series. When Hollywood comes to a small Connecticut town, it should be the stuff of dreams…but a fading movie star drops dead on-set and a whole different kind of stuff hits the fan. Historian Christian Shaw uses her knowledge of old things to track the killer in THE STUFF OF MURDER, Kathleen Marple Kalb’s new Old Stuff Mystery, out now from Level Best Books.

The Machine Murders: Desert Balloons is a serial killer story. Death has again found Interpol Chief Data Scientist Dr. Manos Manu. Hot air balloon pilots are being murdered in the United Arab Emirates, frozen to death high above the earth. Manos is dispatched to Dubai to support analysis by a software he led the creation of. But to generate correct answers, the software needs data, data that hides in the dark traits of men.

Bottom line: The Machine Murders: Desert Balloons is for you if you love high-tech code nearly as much as you love mysteries.

Listen to the mystery set up chapters here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast

Strengths of the story. The greatest strength of this story is the expert detail presented in the development, testing, and augmentation of machine learning systems. In his day job, CJ Abazis runs a software company and his expertise shines through here. The Machine Murders isn’t the typical high-level use of IT common in television shows like NCIS or Criminal Minds. Instead, the program is a rich as character as any of the humans and the language is true to life.

Much of this story is set in the Emirates. I found it to be a new and fresh scene, with texture and depth that supplemented the mystery. The justaposition of the uber high-tech with the traditional Arab culture made for fascinating reading. I cannot comment on how accurate Abazis’ representation of the culture was, just that it was well developed and added to the story.

The Machine Murders is structured as an extended story told in two parts. The first, Island Buoys, kicks off the story of Dr. Manos Manu and the use of machine learning models to hunt for the killer. The second, this story called Desert Balloons, picks up shortly after the end of the first. I have not read the first. The author does introduce the continuing Interpol characters and software basics to new readers. I do wonder if the machine learning would have been easier to follow if I had read Island Buoys.      

As to how the logic stands up from the finish looking back, the result is fair. This is a mystery where the solution isn’t driven by testimony or evidence. The machine does the reasoning, using the additional information Manos identifies. We aren’t privy to actions or history of the suspects to be able to assess the logic of the solution and, as such, have the rely on the results from the computer system as correct. Manos confronts the killer, giving readers a satisfying end that the guilty party was found, but I was left with questions.

Overall, the pacing of the story did well to hold my attention. There were a few sections where I did not follow the change from one scene to another. While these ultimately did not affect the outcome of the story, I was pulled out of it as I went back to re-read. The thriller elements were written to align with a main character that was a chief data scientist, with Manos using his brains rather than fighting he way out of situations.

While the greatest strength of the story is the detail of machine learning, it is also the element that makes its less than accessible for some readers, including myself. Being an average technology end user at best, I simply could not follow the directions given to modify the code or or appreciate the results it generated.  

The Machine Murders: Desert Balloons is unique in the mystery world for making the software itself a main character and is a must read for lovers of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and systems programming.

The Machine Murders: Desert Balloons is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers.

About CJ Abazis

CJ Abazis manages a software company in Athens, Greece. His Machine Murders stories were written in Greek and translated to English. You can find out more about the stories on CJ’s website and social media outlets.

www.TheMachineMurders.com

A comic universe convention scavenger hunt ends in murder. Four newly aquainted friends go out to hunt for the final items; only three come back alive. Two cops, a journalist, and you have to deduce who became the hunter.

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According to Britannica.com, America writer and hostess Elsa Maxwell is credited with creating scavenger hunts as a party game. Maxwell was renown for your parties both for the A-list guests and for the novelties she created to amuse them. Maxwell was an interesting, self-made woman. Born in 1883, she supported herself as a theatre pianist and accompanist while in her teens. She worked with a Shakesperean troupe, in vaudeville, and in music halls, all without ever having been taught music. She published some 80 songs over her lifetime. By the end of World War I, she was a professional hostess and event organizer across Europe. It is certainly believable that a woman as talented as Elsa Maxwell was – both artistically and in managing events – that she could create a game that is both simple and endlessly creative.

Wikipedia notes that scavenger hunts are held at American universities and that Escape Manor, Inc. in Ottawa currently holds the Guiness World Record for the largest hunt with over 2,700 participants.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elsa-Maxwell#ref668963

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scavenger_hunt

ABOUT Nick Andreychuk

Nick Andreychuk is a Derringer Award-winning mystery writer. His stories, which range from classic whodunnits to hardboiled crime to suspense thrillers, have appeared in numerous publications, including Bullet, Hardboiled Crime Scene, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Plan B, Techno Noir, Who Died in Here? and Woman’s World. Reviewers have described Andreychuk’s work as “clever,” “fast-paced,” “action-packed,” “quirky,” and “bloody brilliant.”

The Ice Princess is a Whodunnit. Alexandra Wijker appeared to have it all – successful career as an art dealer, doting husband, beautiful home, good looks. There was no rational reason why she would climb into a bath and cut her wrists. When its proven she couldn’t have suicided, the hunt is on for her killer.

Bottom line: The Ice Princess is for you if you like complex whodunnits led by engaging characters and set in the beauty of Sweden.

Strengths of the story. THE ICE PRINCESS is listed on Amazon as a Police Procedural. In my opinion, it is a cross of several mystery subgenres. The first half is dominantly an amateur sleuth as writer Erica Falck, who is asked to write a biography of Alex, investigates the last years of her life. The police procedural elements begins with the introduction of the Tanumshede police and detective Patrik Hedstrom. In addition to the dual lines of investigation, there are side stories of Erica’s and Patrik’s own lives.

Introduction of the amateur sleuth element was very well done as the victim’s parents commission Erica to write and thereby investigate. Erica has written several biographies and so she has some skills when it comes to unearthing details of people’s lives.

Technically, I suppose police procedural is an accurate genre but this story does not go into depth on the practices and procedures of the Swedish police. It is more about Patrik’s interviews of people and, to an extent, being in the right place at the right time. Cop fiction might be a better descriptor as it’s about the people more than the policies.

The town of Fjallbacka, the suspects, and the witnesses are all colorfully depicted and are a large part of the story’s charm.

The mystery itself is reasonably solid. When you are at the end and look back, you can see how the pieces fall into place. There are a few places where the choices made by Alex (the victim) seem inconsistent with the picture we get of her through Erica. Since we don’t hear from Alex herself, it is hard to know if this assessment is true or a false impression on my part.

I really enjoyed these lead characters and want to continue following their story.

Where the story fell short of ideal: As a whodunnit, there were very few clues for Erica and Patrik to work with and nearly as few suspects. The author did almost too good of a job at hiding evidence and clues and having witness who give partial answers.

This story is written in third-person omniscient from the point of view of the section’s narrator. This is dominantly Erica or Patrick, but also includes several minor characters. 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. If I know what she thinks about her weight, I should know what’s in the article when she reads it, not ten pages later when she gets around to telling someone else about it. In talking to other readers, some have the same pet peeve, others don’t. This is definitely a subject issue.  

Roulette is a Medical Thriller. A new drug has hit the Gainesville, Fl rave scene and what it’s doing to people is the stuff nightmares are made of. When the strange happenings go beyond what Sheriff Dewey Steen can handle, the feds send help in the form of Eric Bannon, a supposed forensic accountant. With Dr. Stacie Swann and Dewey’s nurse wife, Carol, the four set out to do the impossible – find the root of the devastating drug and stop it before the college population pays the price.

Bottom line: Roulette is for you if you like medical thrillers with high stakes, conspiracy elements, and riding by the seat of your pants.

Strengths of the story. There are several strengths of this story, the first being the premise of an extraordinary tale from ordinary beginnings. College kids and young adults doing drugs and going to raves is fairly ordinary. But if you ask ‘what happens if one of the drugs is new and experimental?’, then you are at the start of extraordinary.

The story is lead by four characters, not equally featured. All were well crafted and developed. It was added fun that there are two in their thirties and two in their fifties, balancing action and strategy, experience and knowledge. There is someone in the group that everyone will relate to.

The pacing of the story is excellent. It unravels at a pace that draws the reader into the intrigue, not spilling too much too soon, but also not drawing things out too long. The thriller and suspense elements were excellent as well.

Where the story fell short of ideal: There wasn’t much for me to pick on here. The bad guys, their motivation and actions were well thought out. Heroes and bad guys both drove the story, countering each other. The premise held up, the authors lived by the rules they created without relying on coincidence, incompatible twists, or just-in-time saves from outside the core team.

The race to the finish was fast paced and epic. At the end, I wanted to know more but was satisfied with what I was given.

It’s Halloween and Sam Spade is taking the night off and attending a party. Naturally, he’s going as himself, the world’s greatest private detective. His flirting with the beautiful Marilyn Monroe is interrupted by a six-foot tall jackalope, who falls dead at their feet. It’s no mystery what killed him – a samurai’s katana. What is a mystery is which of the party goers skewered him. It’s a cast of suspects unlike anything Sam has seen before: a samurai, a jester, a mime, a fairy, a dragon, a pirate. . . and her parrot, Luther

Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast

25 to Life is a PI Mystery and is also characterized as Noir Fiction and Crime Thriller. Jack Bertolino is back for his fifth case. A law student is dead. Her crime? Working on a Project for the Innocent case on behalf of Carl Forbes. What Gloria Millhouse finds? Well, it stinks. Before she can move on it, someone moves on her. Now Jack is on the case, looking for the scum behind the shiny badges of the LAPD SWAT team to find the answers.

Bottom line: 25 to Life is for you if you like classic hard-boiled PIs who punch first and ask questions later and do the dirty work that the good cops can’t.

Listen to the first chapter here or wherever you get Mystery to Die For podcast

Strengths of the story. The set-up is classic PI. A bright, talent law student is killed in a murder made to look like an accident. (I don’t consider this a spoiler b/c if it was an accident, there wouldn’t be a story.) She’s connected. Her father is a renowned attorney and political supporter who asked his friend the Los Angeles mayor for help. That help comes in the form of Jack Bertalino, former NYPD inspector turned private investigator. I really like this set-up because it gave Jack a legit reason to dive into the case and the backing to go places and ask the questions he needed to.

The pacing is excellent. At no point did my attention wander or did I get bored. I got a little anxious a few times, but that was a good thing.

This is Jack’s fifth case. I have not read the prior ones and this one stood solidly alone. Lansing did an excellent job of briefly providing any needed back story without providing a full page synopsis of the prior cases. It is obvious that Jack’s team were in the previous books as they were fully developed characters, comfortable in their own skin.

Where the story fell short of ideal. There wasn’t a place it fell short of ideal, per se. There were a few grammar typos, such as “ in the wrong place, but those were minor and did not detract from the story.

While I thought the final confrontation with the Big Bad was excellent in terms of action and excitement, I did roll my eyes at the set up. It was the only time that I thought Jack acted out of character. He is brave and aggressive, yes, but he is smart, manipulating situations to put the odds in his favor.  This time, he chose to run into hell carrying a water bottle. At least he put a vest on. This is obv my pet peeve. I bet most of you hard boiled PI lovers will love it just the way it is.

Estelle Cummings patrols Jawnville’s Locust Valley Park with the Silver Apostles (a senior version of the Guardian Angels) keeping the park safe from the elusive Nature Jacker. But on this particular night, Estelle stumbles across the alleged flasher, khaki’s around his ankles and body still warm. With the police eager to shelve the murder investigation because who cares who killed the public masturbator, it’s up to Estelle to solve the mystery.  Toss in a dash of fentanyl, an anti-woke march, a handful of clues best observed under a blacklight and our amateur sleuth is in over her head.

A Short Mystery from the Rockfish universe

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